FredH Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 So here is a story you're not going to believe. After spending a long time looking for a late 1960s Gibson L7 C, I finally found one. I drove two hours to inspect the guitar and after spending two hours in the showroom, decided it was the "right" guitar for me. It is a 1968 model with a Johnny Smith pickup. It is in near mint condition. I negotiated a fair price, packed the guitar up and drove home. I cleaned it up last night, spent two hours getting the tape off of the case and contemplated what kind of strings would work best on it. This afternoon, I spent getting accustomed to it. I put the guitar down on stand and started to walk out of my studio....when all of a sudden, a picture frame with a glass cover that was at least six feet above and to the left of the guitar fell off the wall. It bounced off of one my guitar cases and the glass literally was at such a weird angle that it hit the back of my mint guitar, just below the heel - causing a one half inch gash, right down to the bare wood. I was stunned. The frame was no where near the guitar but it fell at such an angle that it skirted the back. The glass did not even break! The previous owner had this guitar for 47 years and I managed to do more damage to it in 24 hours than he did over a lifetime. I wish I could blame it on my own stupidity but I can't even do that. I want to get it repaired, even though it is on the back of the guitar. I do not know any reputable guitar re-finishers and I just don't want to give it to anyone. I live in South Jersey, just outside of Philly. If anyone has any recommendations or advice, I would truly appreciate it. I just told the story to a friend of mine who had come over to see it - fifteen minutes after he left, the freak accident happened. He is just as sick about it as I am. Advice, please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 First of all, what a sad set of circumstances! Secondly, I would love to see pics of the guitar and of the damage. I do not know of anyone to recommend for repair, but am sorry that it happened to you, at any rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedzep Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 Don't fret! This is how the world behaves, and all day long, everywhere, these outbursts of random chaos rule the human quest for serenity. The Maharishi Mahesh Yogi said that there are no accidents. A good luthier will fill it, touch up, and buff it out until it's just a little blur you see IF you know where to look. You're out a couple hundred bucks, but you will have to do some research to find the right craftsman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredH Posted June 26, 2015 Author Share Posted June 26, 2015 After talking to a couple of people and searching the net, I found a fairly well know guy in New Jersey (my home state). His name is Mark Simon and lives in Bridgewater, N.J. He has great experience and lots of very satisfied customers. Hopefully I will be one. I contacted him and he was able to take on my project. As I suspected and he confirmed, the refinish work will take time to dry and to be honest, he is not inexpensive. But I have been warned that individuals who can claim to do the work quickly and inexpensively generally do work that reflects their own inexperience or worse, incompetence. So I will post photos of his work when I get back to the guitar. Mark has a website, I believe it is under Mark Simon Guitars for those who might be interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 Fred, Just reading your post,, wow,, what a weird circumstance.. kind of creepy actually.. Finish repairs like this (Small area of finish to be repaired) are not terribly expensive. I've had some bad luck in the past too, (two occasions about 2 months apart on two guitars) the repairs were pretty affordable (under 80 bucks in both cases) and the results were favorable. The duration wasn't long either, only a few days in each case. On the worse incident of the two, you can't even see the repair. I went to two different guys too, both times, it worked out ok. I think you'll make out fine. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredH Posted July 10, 2015 Author Share Posted July 10, 2015 Thanks, yeah really creepy for sure. Not even a rational explanation! Convinced it must have happened for a reason, but boy, even my vivid imagination cannot think of one. I found a reputable luthier in my home state, N.J. He has had it for about three weeks and will probably have it for most of the next month. He also found a number of other technical issues that could be corrected, so I am hoping his stellar reputation can work some magic on my L7. Sorry I am just responding to you, but I've been away from the forum for a couple of weeks. Thanks for the kind words. I'll post some pictures (assuming I figure out how to do that) when I get my guitar back. Fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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