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Trying to ID an Older Gibson


packrat

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Hey guys,

 

I bought this older Gibson (ES-?) and I'm having trouble narrowing down

the exact model. I haven't been able to locate the serial number. The

body is 17" by 21" and nearly 3.5" deep.

 

I'm posting a few pictures of the guitar. There's also a photo of a tag

listing work done at some point.

 

If another picture or some additional spec would help, let me know.

 

Thanks in advance for any info you can provide.

post-74555-030801600 1445789253_thumb.jpg

post-74555-027870500 1445789254_thumb.jpg

post-74555-067129300 1445789301_thumb.jpg

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Nice. Good find, I think.

 

One thing sticks out to me...that is, the knob placement seems off. I can't be sure of that. But I can tell you, I have a similar guitar that had pups added at some point, and the placement is off. I think it was quite common when these were just guitars, and not "vintage collectible", adding pups was a common thing and they often put the pups and knobs where ever seemed right, as opposed to making sure they were where "factory Gibson" would have them.

 

So...therefore, perhaps not an ES- model, but maybe a L- model of some sort.

 

But again, I am not sure of any of this.

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It's an ES-150. The pickup cover was changed; should have been black. The earliest ES-150s had a 16" body but went to 17" after WWII. In the early 50s they went to a bound neck with parallelogram inlays.

 

Thanks for the quick reply and info.

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Nice. Good find, I think.

 

One thing sticks out to me...that is, the knob placement seems off. I can't be sure of that. But I can tell you, I have a similar guitar that had pups added at some point, and the placement is off. I think it was quite common when these were just guitars, and not "vintage collectible", adding pups was a common thing and they often put the pups and knobs where ever seemed right, as opposed to making sure they were where "factory Gibson" would have them.

 

So...therefore, perhaps not an ES- model, but maybe a L- model of some sort.

 

But again, I am not sure of any of this.

 

 

Thanks. All information and opinions are appreciated. I am not a music guy so I am flying blind. I had been told that the pickup had been changed. In restoring same, should I replace the pickup to the original black? Also pick guard is damaged so I assume it should be replaced? And needs restringing. Is this something I should send to Gibson, or can a local music store handle it? Thanks again.

 

Larry

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If we keep this thread up, maybe the "experts" on the forum will help more.

 

I think thus far, KSDADDY might be the most correct.

 

There should be a number ink stamped inside? many old Gibby's such as this will have a number called a "factory order number"" ink stamped inside. This number is used to help date the guitar.

 

A few more pics will prove useful...maybe the back of the headstock, the back and sides of the body.

 

The "experts" will likely ask for these things.

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If you find a number stamped inside, tell us. If you have it serviced, see if they can read the code off the volume and tone controls. If it's 1947 or later, the date of manufacture of THOSE components can be determined.

 

Don't be too quick to assume the pickup has been changed. It definitely has the correct pickup for the guitar other than the cream cover, which is easily replaced with a black one (a repro is cheap on ebay).

 

The pickguard is damaged, yes, but it might be saved even if the repair shows, which is infinitely more desirable than a repro. A repro guard can be had for $30 or so. But plase try to fix the old one.

 

The clear unnumbered knobs look correct for the era, late 40s I would say.

 

Typically Gibson went from 19 frets to 20 in 1955 and therefore most would look at this guitar and proclaim it to be 1955 or later; however when ES-150s went to a 17" body after WWII they also went to 20 frets...so ALL 17" ES-150s had 20 frets to the best of my knowledge.

 

Sweet guitar. Go easy on it. No, it doesn't need to go back to Gibson, just to someone who respects it. Easy fixes as far as I can see.

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It's an ES-150. The pickup cover was changed; should have been black. The earliest ES-150s had a 16" body but went to 17" after WWII. In the early 50s they went to a bound neck with parallelogram inlays.

I concur with regard to almost everything ksdaddy has said so far. One minor correction... it's not relevant to this particular guitar, but when Gibson changed the fingerboard inlays on the ES-150 model in 1950, they went from dots to trapezoids, not parallelograms. The (double) parallelograms were used on the ES-175, ES-350, and later on the ES-345 (among others). Trapezoid inlays are well known for their use on the Les Paul Standard, and some others.

 

Since your guitar has a (silkscreened) "script" Gibson headstock logo, it likely dates to 1946, 1947 or possibly 1948. By 1948, Gibson was beginning to use the "modern" headstock logo that has been in use ever since.

 

Edit: Also, packrat, with regard to your pickguard... I see what appears to be finish damage on your upper frets (and possibly other metal parts such as your pickup's pole pieces). This suggests the possibility that a previous (?) pickguard experienced a chemical breakdown. I can't really tell from the photos you provided what the state of your pickguard is, or whether it may not be original, but I would advise you to read this thread, and pass along the information to any repairman you may choose to work on your guitar: http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/108170-decomposing-pickguards/

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  • 5 months later...

Met someone in the business and he looked at my guitar. He confirmed it to be an ES-150 with a changed pickup. Dating to early 1950's. He said it had a paper label which is missing.

 

Pretty much confirms what you had said. Thanks so much to everyone who posted and helped out.

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Met someone in the business and he looked at my guitar. He confirmed it to be an ES-150 with a changed pickup. Dating to early 1950's. He said it had a paper label which is missing.

 

Pretty much confirms what you had said. Thanks so much to everyone who posted and helped out.

Unfortunately, the person you showed it to does not seem to know a lot about Gibson guitars. Your guitar is definitely not from the early 50's. With that script headstock logo, it's definitely earlier, as I said above. As ksdaddy told you, the pickup may be original, with only the plastic cover having been changed. Did you ever look inside the body for any stamped numbers?

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Met someone in the business and he looked at my guitar. He confirmed it to be an ES-150 with a changed pickup. Dating to early 1950's. He said it had a paper label which is missing.

 

Pretty much confirms what you had said. Thanks so much to everyone who posted and helped out.

 

That script non-banner logo says no later than 1947, and probably 1946. Definitely 1945-1947.

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