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Please help me date this J45


Jemmie

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I have posted about this guitar in my introduction and in the acoustic guitar category but figured some might see it here that don't frequent those areas.

 

I have provided pics of the guitar so, perhaps, the date can be nailed down. I will say that the only images that I have found on the web of a J45 that match this box are of a 1948 model. I also know that my dad bought this used roughly 55 years ago.

 

The serial number is in this format X XXX XX The characters "look like" Z 335 14 BUT the first character is very vague. Among the pics at the link below I have a few pics of the stamped serial number as well as shots of the guitar from many angles.

 

 

Lots of pics

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1952. The "Z" Fon prefix indicates that it was made in 1952. The belly up bridge with slot saddle was used this year but transitioned to the drop in saddle in 1953.

 

If you look at a profile view of the headstock you'll see that the head stock is straight from top to bottom. A 1948 Gibson J-45 would have a tapered headstock, skinny at the top and thicker near the nut.

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