EricP Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Greetings from a newbie who has just had the good fortune to acquire a 1931 L-2, at least I think it's a 1931. Has the gold sparkle purfling that I believe was only featured in L-2s from that year, as well as The Gibson + Jester pearl headstock inlay, white three-on-a-plate tuners with engraved plates, white binding, no pickguard, one-piece spruce top and mahogany back and sides, and most important the very light bracing and indescribable tone and responsiveness. Just a very very sweet guitar. As you can see, she has also been refinished with a large suburst -- a shame perhaps, though Lordy knows what kinda shape the finish was in before, and it's a very nicely done burst, I'm a player not a collector and and (here's my bottom line) the drop in value caused by the refin is what brought this instrument into my price range. Acquired from Carter's Vintage thanks to a lucky visit just before the guitar was posted to the shop's web site. <br style="min-width: 0px; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"> So what did she look like before the refin? I imagine this guitar started out with the Argentine Gray finish -- but I don't know for sure. Did all 1931 L-2s come with that finish? And is this a 1931 ... or could it be late 1930? Here's why I ask. The FON on the neck block is either 8769 or 9769; hard to be sure. I don't find an 8769 FON for a batch of L-2s in Spann's guide. (I do find a 1927 tenor banjo with 8769.) And I do find a batch of L-2s with 9769 FON ... but Spann dates them in 1930 (late 1930, if I'm reading the charts correctly). So this is interesting. I have read that 1931 is the only year the gold purfling was offered. Could Spann have the 9769 FON misdated by a year, or could that FON have straddled 1930 and 1931 (and possibly have included 1930 L-2s without the gold purfling and 1931s with the gold purfling)? Or could this be a rare 1930 L-2 with the gold purfling? I'm told that with vintage Gibsons pretty much anything is possible, but I'm hoping someone here might be able to point to the likely scenario. Carter's Vintage dated it as a 1931 L-2, by the way, probably due to the gold sparkle inlay. I have not asked them about the discrepancy with Spann's since I only noticed it yesterday. I'm not sweating whether this is a 1931 or a 1930 -- I just feel very, very fortunte to have this wonderful instrument. But I'd love to hear what ya'll think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedzep Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Freekin' gorgeous. The real nerds will likely chime in with usual good info. I'm exhausted from my most recent Ebay vintage purchase negotiations so I have to lie down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Cool Guitar.. pre 34 though.. I have a 14 fretted 34.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricP Posted February 9, 2016 Author Share Posted February 9, 2016 1454994580[/url]' post='1738909']Cool Guitar.. pre 34 though.. I have a 14 fretted 34.. 14 frets have their advantages, but 12-fretters have my heart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricP Posted February 9, 2016 Author Share Posted February 9, 2016 Two early Gibson experts weigh in! First I PM'd Joe Spann, author of the guide to early Gibson FONs, and his reply says: Joe Spann : Gibson factory order number 9769 is definitely from a 1930 production batch." So what we seem to have here is a guitar -- the Gold Sparkle L-2 -- that was long believed to have been produced only in 1931, now appearing unexpectedly in a batch of late 1930s L-2s. Perhaps a prototype, or a test run for dealer and catalogue use? So case closed? Not so fast. I also heard back from Walter Carter, the great Gibson archivist and historian who co-authored those authoritative histories with George Gruhn and now runs the awesome Nashville vintage shop Carter Vintage, where I was lucky to acquire this L-2. He says: "The L-2 came to us from a collector in Oregon with that finish already on it. He doesn't know who did the refinish. "Joe Spann has certainly advanced our knowledge of Gibson dates. He is very authoritative about his information. I know that he has made note of many, many serial numbers, sales receipts and any other dating information he could come by. But I don't know how many of the numbers he has filled in. In other words, if you have documentation that #100 and #110 are from 1930, it would be logical that 101-109 are also from 1930. Logical, and probable, but with Gibson not absolutely certain. "The dating that I and others before me have done has been based to some degree on catalogs, which we know are not completely reliable. The main serial number list was compiled by Julius Bellson years ago, and it's usually accurate within a year but it's not infallible. There's also the issue that Spann brings up of when the instrument actually left the factory. So almost any date is approximate unless it has the date of the factory order, the date of shipping, and/or a customer sales receipt. "A lot of instrument owners would obsess over whether something is a '30 or a '31. Ultimately, the year doesn't make any difference. It is what it is. If it's a great guitar from '31, it's still a great guitar if it's from 1930." Well said, Mr. Carter. Thanks again for the great guitar from ... whichever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricP Posted February 11, 2016 Author Share Posted February 11, 2016 Joe Spann further advises that gold sparkle L-2s were made in 1929, 1930 and 1931. The FON makes clear that mine was made in 1930. Case closed. Thanks Joe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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