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Help identifying real old Gibson acoustic


Justinjtm

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I have the opportunity to purchase this vintage acoustic for $750 but it is in need for a repair. Looking for more info on the model and if its worth the investment with the repair that is needed. Any help would be appreciated.

 

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa202/justinjtm/1-1_zpsjgmyehbx.jpg

 

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa202/justinjtm/1-2_zps23efrmbv.jpg

 

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa202/justinjtm/1-3_zpsqejllmkz.jpg

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That is one scaaary crack, but when repaired won't be under string tension. It should become invisible, though having it run through the neck heel is a weird one. Can't tell for sure whether the crack has allowed the neck angle to increase, but you may have to consider a neck reset.

 

It's a 30's era L00. Certainly one of my favorite guitars. Light as a feather, so don't use heavy strings. Good luck!

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That is a REAL nasty crack on the side. Too nasty. I think it's dead or not worth repairing or buying. If it was an auto, I'd say it's totaled. No matter what you do to repair it, it's always going to be a highly damaged guitar unless you had the entire side or sides and where it joins the neck replaced. And, then, its value still will be low because it's not original and has been highly replaced. And, then it's not the same guitar.

 

I'd pass on it.

 

That's my take on it.

 

QM aka Jazzman Jeff

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In that condition, it's a wall hanger worth at most a couple of hundred bucks as a conversation piece. The $750 price is unrealistic.

 

Repair would be a significant undertaking, and because of the apparent cosmetic condition, it will never be a guitar of significant collector value even if properly repaired to playing condition. In that cosmetic condition, but properly repaired structurally, the guitar might be worth about $2000. But repairing it could easily cost more than $1500 just from what is visible, with no idea from the photos of the state of the rest of the guitar.

 

As has been mentioned, these are lightly built guitars. The trauma that caused the damage seen here may well have damaged all of the internal structure. Any way you look at it, the neck has to come off and be rebuilt--it is missing a big chunk of the heel--and either the top or back will need to come off to repair the rims and internal structure. And that's without knowing the condition of the back.

 

The guitar is a 1930's L-OO.

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There's not enough information here to assess the purchase even half-competently. Who knows what the insides look like or if that tonewood isn't ruined from the get-go. To begin with, what model exactly is it?

 

For sure, it's a major repair job that not only takes a skilled luthier but also a pretty penny to get right.

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I have the opportunity to purchase this vintage acoustic for $750 but it is in need for a repair. Looking for more info on the model and if its worth the investment with the repair that is needed. Any help would be appreciated.

 

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa202/justinjtm/1-1_zpsjgmyehbx.jpg

 

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa202/justinjtm/1-2_zps23efrmbv.jpg

 

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa202/justinjtm/1-3_zpsqejllmkz.jpg

 

 

 

 

I'll have it!

 

BUT......

 

 

I fingerpick country blues mainly and these guitars are the best for just that when in playing condition. Without sounding rude, if you don't know what the guitar is, then it is probably not for you - leave it for an L-00 afficiado. It needs a doctor but not just any doctor - it needs the top surgeon with a specialty in Vintage Gibson repairs.

 

 

 

BluesKing777.

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Leonard makes a solid point. We'll have to hear more from the new owner, if these posts don't change his mind about Slim T's advice. You'd be surprised though at how these cracks can be brought together and secured. If I owned it and repaired it I would always worry about that neck heel crack not providing the extra reinforcement needed under string tension. If that neck heel is not cracked but split through it would make for extra worry about the string tension. I mistakenly thought it wasn't a factor.

 

My guy would pull that whole mutha' back together for a couple hundred bucks and you wouldn't be able to tell it was ever split. Would it hold? Yes, because it would be cleated. Even if the neck heel was split and had to be reinforced with (gulp) trim screws, it would hold and could be cosmetically concealed. Add the neck reset or more and it might run him 5-7 hundred. He ends up with a 30's L00 for under 2K. It still should sound great.

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Here is the Master, Al Pettaway, playing a 1937:

 

 

 

 

Here is Al again, but playing 3 Prewar Martins THEN a Gibson L-00:

 

 

 

And one more:

 

 

 

 

 

BluesKing777.

 

 

 

Oh, nearly forgot, here is mine - almost re-made 1937 Gibson L-0:

 

 

5JzWMrk.jpg

 

 

TKvjCae.jpg

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I think this is why Waterloos are awesome. Lots of people think they are a bit overpriced for what they are, but you'll pay way more for an original 30's L00 in ok condition, or roll the dice with a beat to heck one, then sink another small fortune into it repairing/restoring it. You can get a new Waterloo WL for under $2k and they are amazing guitars. Vintage guitars are great, but you'll have to pay to play. Kind of like restoring old cars. If it's something you're not familiar with and factor in what you'll have to spend to get her up and running, I'd say steer clear and go for something new. Same thing with vintage amps. The Waterloo has a very vintage vibe and feel to it. It's meticulously built but still feels old, the finish feels old and like nothing else you'd find on most new guitars, it's a fairly loud little bugger if you want it to be, bright and articulate but still has warmth and is never hears, and just keeps getting better and better. It also arrived with a PERFECT setup, is 100% playable and intonates perfectly up the neck.

 

20170218_132952_HDR_zpsmq5aytza.jpg

 

20170218_133020_HDR_zps34ifz0zm.jpg

 

20170217_172811_HDR_zps9cy8bali.jpg

 

20170217_172855_HDR_zpsco1zvfp8.jpg

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So, the owner said he had another party interested and told me i would need to come up to $900 to own it and i passed. I appreciate all the advice and didnt get into somethimg over my head.

 

Yeah. That's where I would pass.

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So, the owner said he had another party interested and told me i would need to come up to $900 to own it and i passed. I appreciate all the advice and didnt get into somethimg over my head.

 

 

You did the right thing. If you have an interest in vintage Gibsons, but haven't owned one before, that guitar was not the place to start.

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There are only 3 - maybe 3.5 ways that I'd have advised you to take that one on:

 

1. If it was next to free.

2. If your luthier owes you lots of $ and/or a really big favor.

3. If you happened to be a luthier with some spare time.

4. (3.5😄) If it was the last guitar on earth.

 

Hopefully, 3.5 won't be an option for a while!

That is a complete restoration - I hope the fella with $900 isn't spending rent or food money😏

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I am glad to see these responses. I was going to tell op to run screaming into the night, but I thought it premature and then I'd be all wrong because it would be a 1492 Gibson Deluxeomatic or something and I'd be dumb. Glad I held off.

 

rct

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You could easily sink $2,000 (or more) into that, and potentially have it still sound like crap.

 

On the other hand, you could take that $2,000 and buy something quite nice, in playable condition right now, test drive it, and have a return policy to fall back on if need be.

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You could easily sink $2,000 (or more) into that, and potentially have it still sound like crap.

 

On the other hand, you could take that $2,000 and buy something quite nice, in playable condition right now, test drive it, and have a return policy to fall back on if need be.

 

 

 

Ha ha!

 

It could end up great?

 

 

Would I do it again? Common sense says to save up the extra for one in great condition already, but they are slim on the ground, not rare perhaps but in real estate terms - tightly held. I haven't seen one for sale in driving distance for trying it since I bought mine and had it fixed up. Not one. So it would be another internet buy untried. Had my luck and done with that, I think, so.....

 

But I did it and I have a great guitar and....I have played the Waterloo and I have a BK and even the Martin CEO7 based on the L-00......and they sound nothing like my 37 L-0!

 

 

But it didn't have that horrible crack through everything, so glad the OP gave it a miss.

 

 

 

BluesKing777.

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But it didn't have that horrible crack through everything, so glad the OP gave it a miss.

 

BluesKing777.

 

 

Exactly. I was trying to figure out what type of trauma could have caused that damage, and the list is pretty discouraging. There's bound to be other damage that isn't visible from those few and uninformative pictures.

 

I once saved an 1870's New York Martin which was in pieces, but nothing was smashed: it just came apart over 100 years. Yep, the bird's beak headstock joint had failed, but with no damage at all to the neck or the headstock. It was the first time I realized how Martin necks and headstocks had originally been built, and why modern Martins have the unique residual volute.

 

The body was intact, but had numerous open cracks from radical changes in temperature and humidity over 100 years unprotected by a case through Midwestern US summers and winters.

 

It was in pieces, but it was all there, with no signs of trauma.

 

The L-OO in the op's post, on the other hand, looked like it had been used as a weapon to battle your way out of a bar fight, then used as a paddle for getting your canoe across a river to get away. And more.

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