Help! Need help with specs

[nyxabovetime]

Greetings!

Back in 2002, my husband won a MM axis at a NonPoint concert. In 2003 he was in an accident that broke his neck and he no longer has use of his left hand, resulting him not being able to play a guitar anymore. So, we are looking to sell it, but neither have any real experience or in depth knowledge of guitars. There a few questions we are hoping to get answered so when we do decide to put this guitar up for sale, we can give the buyer all the information they need, and to sell it at a reasonable price.

The first, and most important question is, how would we be able to remove the signatures on it without destroying or compromising the finish? The sigs where written in metallic silver sharpie, and we did come across someone mentioning to use the magic erasure on it, but we don't really feel too comfortable with that idea. Any suggestions would be awesome!

I'm going to post pics of it, because the rest I can really ask, since I don't know what I'm asking about, lol. We weren't able to find the color name of it, the best we can come up with is a cherry starburst sparkle of some sort. It's nice, but we would like to do better with the name, lol. And all the specs on it would be fabulous. I did browse around here before posting, and have noticed a lot of people who know what they are talking about, so needless to say, it's inspired confidence in being able to get the right information we need.

Once again, any help would be immensely appreciated and welcomed! And I apologize for the obnoxiously large photos. I tried to resize them, and failed, lol.

 

[Dante]

that is a music man axis, finished in burnt apple (a finish no longer available).
i dont know much about removing those signatures. if you manage to remove them the guitar is worth a little more because the finish is discontinued.

you should check the for sale thread for an average price on second hands axis's.

you can get the specs here:
Ernie Ball Music Man Axis Guitar

 

[jamminjim]

Hi, nice Axis. It's possible someone would want the guitar as a collectible, don't know what the odds of that would be though. I did google NONPOINT and read about them in wikipedia. This Axis has the signature of Andrew Goldman on it. He was the guitarist for the group until recently. This might make the signatures a little more desireable, but again, who can tell untill you try selling it. How are you going to market it for sale? Ebay? Craigslist? Locally? I'd probably put it in this forums "MM For Sale" thread and see what interest that generates, then if no interest here, put it up on ebay. Ebay isn't the most desireable place to sell because of the fee structures, but the audience of potential buyers is HUGE. I would also accept bids from some overseas countries, like Japan, England, FRance, Germany, Netherlands, Australia, etc. I think the last thing I'd do is take it into a music shop until I knew it's value. And an Axis in a discontinued color with original ONPOINT signatures is worth something, in my mind at least $800 in good shape, and it looks to be in excellent condition. Someone else here will know it's value better than I.

http://www.ernieball.com/forums/music-man-guitars/20928-music-man-guitars-sale-3.html

Also check on ebay for current offerings and prices. Also do a search of completed items in the advanced search window. You may have to use a few different titiles/terms to see them all.

Music Man Axis, Musical Instruments, Music items on eBay.com

Good luck.

 

[Spudmurphy]

Hi and thanks for coming to the forum for info.

Sorry to hear that your husband had his accident - let's see if we can help you out here.

Good advice given so far. Get a can of lighter fluid (used in Zippos) and a cotton bud.
Try to remove say a tiny portion of one of the signatures. If you can remove it then when you advertise the guitar for sale, you can categorically say that the signatures will come off.
That way, you can entice fans of the band or Ernie Ball lovers who can no longer buy a new guitar in that colour.
Don't worry the lighter fluid will not damage your guitar - I use it all the time on mine.

 

[nyxabovetime]

Thank you all so far for the quick responses and awesome advice/info!

We did take it to a local guitar shop here in our area during the summer, and they appraised it to be around $1500-$1700 without signatures. It has never been played before, my husband practiced on another one he had prior to this. But we hardly doubt anyone would buy it now at that price, looking at how badly the economy has turned, and it is signed by a band that isn't exactly a huge name.

We will definitely try out the lighter fluid, and see how well that goes over. A teensy corner should be fine, I'm just paranoid and don't want to end up ruining the finish, especially now that we know it's been a discontinued color. But I do very much like the option of being able to know that it can be removed safely, thank you so much for that, again!

Well, it looks like we will be placing it up on ebay pretty soon. I will for sure throw it in the sale section here on the forums prior and see what comes up. Who knows, right?

 

[Spudmurphy]

Great that we could be of help - make sure you post it for sale on the sticky thread at the top of the page.

I know I have said it - but the Naphtha in the lighter fluid will be fine on the finish.

Please let us know:-
a) about the signatures (if they will come off), and
b) how you get on with the sale?

I hope that others will chip in with ideas of how much it's worth - just so you get a guide line.

Cheers
Spud

 

[TNT]

I personally would not touch that guitar!!!

If it is unplayed and signed by a reputable band it can ONLY increase the price!!!!

Then, if someone wants to remove the names, they can at a later date, however, you cannot add the names back on.

In addition, that it not a cheap guitar, so it must have been a pretty decent "raffle or benefit" to offer that guitar as a prize. That event can also be included in the related memorabilia of that signed guitar.

 

[nyxabovetime]

The band gave it to him when he went to a (hed) PE concert at the Webster Theater in Hartford, CT. I don't exactly know how he won it, I am assuming he was just picked out of the crowd, as the Webster is quite small. It definitely a gorgeous guitar, never fail to smile when you open you the case, lol. If I played, I would probably keep it, but between school and work, don't have time to learn, and right now, we could use the extra money.

It's still going to be a little bit before we put it up for sale though, we aren't in this super hurry or anything, but I will definitely keep you posted as to what happens to her!

 

[Spudmurphy]

Cool - I think it's sound advice but at least see if they can be removed as this info will help in the sale of the guitar - after all a small dab of fluid on a cotton bud - nibbling away at an edge of the sig will determine that.

It is a nice looking guitar for sure.

Good Luck.