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3K views 17 replies 8 participants last post by  Rich 
#1 ·
Hope you guys can help me. I have an inanez swirl painted 7 string which I bought in 1991. There is no serial number on then neck or headstock . The backplate number reads 918888, it Is actually signed in two places by steve via.i have the original case the guitar has no marks on it anywhere and I have the multicolored guitar strap. I have pictures of steve via with me signing it. It is priceless to me but my insurance company needs to know a value.
Any help would be appreciated.

Mark e.
 
#2 ·
Hi Mark,
Awesome guitar! Sounds like you have an original UV77MC. Some were painted by About Time Designs in the US, and some were done by Ibanez in Japan. Depending on which one you have, the price could vary pretty drastically. The ATD ones almost always sell for higher and are considered more desirable by collectors. I've seen ATD's sell for $4K (they are often listed even higher but rarely sell for more), and Japanese swirled ones sell for $1500-$3000 depending on the swirl quality. At least that's my best ballpark estimate.
Could you post some pics? Maybe we could help you determine what you have.
Mike
 
#3 ·
Well, it is not priceless, but worth about $3000-$4000 in pristine shape. The real issue for insurance is that you must factor in FUTURE valuation. A guitar like that, if it has all the original spec stuff (case, pickups, no damage) might appreciate in value 2-5% a year. So you will want to insure it for about 10 years from now or about $6000.

However, like State Farm, ALL guitars need to be professionally APPRAISED in order to be insured. They will not just take your word for it as that is how fraud happens. In that case, you need a licensed musical instrument appraiser. That might cost you $200-$400 just for the appraisal.

I know, been through it quite a bit. Artwork is even worse to get insured, costs about $150 per piece to get the appraiser to look at it and do the history.

Good luck.
 
#5 ·
LMAO S.Via x2 is priceless though.

One thing you have to remember is that it is currently a novelty with value to a limited number of collectors. 10 years from now, the novelty will have worn off, AND the number of collectors will have diminished as well. Even today, I would not pay 3000 for it. I'm not a collector though.
 
#6 ·
Thanks to all for your help. I will post pictures tonite, btw I would like to blame spellcheck on vai vs via But my typing skills aren't any better than my guitar playing skills:grin:.....lol

How do u determine where the guitar was actually painted?

I do agree the vaLue of the signatures will rise and fall with popularity of the artist . For me it was right place right time when he signed it. when I played it, it would be a great conversation starter. His name doesn't do much for exciting women though.....
 
#7 · (Edited)
The S.Via thing is a bit of an inside thing here.

The swirl style will tell you if it was swirled by MKR or ATD. Think MKR is Japan, ATD is US. ATD did the MC REissues (2010). The gallery on here has some examples. I think early production models will have been MKR. Someone who knows more will chime in. I just checked a local online shop and the MC RE is 6000 EUR! Gadzooks!

You might see something useful in the 200+ pages in this thread. Rich at Ibanezrules can probably help you as well. I don't know if he's "allowed" to make appraisals. Think he might have done that before (sorry Rich if you haven't)

http://www.jemsite.com/forums/f15/uvmc-production-atd-vs-mkr-everybodys-help-requested-24707-15.html

to add to my previous post, I can imagine the number of UVs by then would also diminish so the value could in fact increase. Overall though guitars such as these I would not consider an investment.
 
#11 ·
He emailed after starting this thread, but dissapeared.

ATD, decent balance, old pictures. You need current pictures, you can see the pink already getting light in that shot and it would only continue to fade. Signature on the front still hurts it, if I had it that's all I'd hear "if it didn't have that signature I'd buy it....."
 
#14 ·
Sharpie bleeds into the clear. I had an FP once that it bled all the way down to the fabric, it permanently becomes part of the clear, and in you remove it it'll look even worse. That's why I tell everybody do not have guitars signed in black sharpie. Sharpie paint pens can be reversed any time you wish, they just wipe off.
 
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