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2002 j-50


jefleppard65

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hello. all. new, old guy here. kinda like brand new used. i was on this forum regularly years ago. but i'm back bec i've recently bought (but not yet received) a 2002 j-50 and i'd like your opinions regarding its authenticity. i bought it from a reputable seller who assured me it was a real j-50 - of course, why wouldn't he??!? but the absence of a headstock stamp left me wondering. i contacted a gibson rep who said that everything looked consistent with a 2002 j-50 - that there were reissues back then that had 40's/50's style labelling and that the headstock serial number may have been inked and worn off. still, i'd like another round of opinions. i dont remember who to properly post photos so that might come into play. ahem. does this link work? if not, some advice on how to do it correctly would be appreciated

 

https://photos.google.com/

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so....

 

I'm not really trying to be an arse,, but asking the guys here to check the authenticity of a guitar after it's been purchased is like trying to get home owners insurance after your house burns down....

 

If you've passed it thru Gibson CS, then that's probably as far as it needs to go.

 

btw, your photo link just goes to Google Photos, not the ones you want us to look at.

 

Welcome back to forum!

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Fwiw - I own or have owned quite a few Gibson acoustics from the early 2000s, including a J-50. They all had the serial number stamped on the back of the headstock, in the typical fashion.

 

However, some could be stamped quite lightly & very difficult to see after application of the nitro finish. Take a close look at it under light from various angles - there might be hints of a number tucked away under there.

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It looks like a J50 to me w/ added strap button and custom truss rod cover. I know they ink stamped the neck block on later (j45) TV models. I wasn't aware of them doing a j50 TV but everything looks legit from here.

 

 

My thoughts as well.

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I am with kidblast here. But I guess it is nice to be reassured that you were not ripped off. Seems though there is a lot more paranoia going around that there once was.

Just 'cause you're paranoid-it doesn't mean they're NOT out to get ya.

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Yeah yeah. I seen the clip.

 

Never seen one mounted there

Only ever seen them in a neck block

 

My Taylor GS Series Jumbo (Not a mini).. has a similar setup but on the Bass top bout. But yea,, you're right, most of the time that's where they are located.

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Construction looks legit, but there are some inconsistencies from what I've typically seen in that era.

 

What I'll note below is what I've seen on every Gibson acoustic I've encountered from 2000 to 2002, including a 2001 J-50. I currently have a 2000 J-100xt, and a 2002 J-45 Rosewood built after yours, and they conform to the following:

 

> Serial number on the back of the headstock.

> No serial number on the neckblock.

> Battery mounted horizontally to the neckblock by a 'C' shaped metal clip.

> Orange label with two lines: Model (J-50, etc), Number (serial number).

> Gibson logo on lower half of the orange label, encircled by the "Tone, Feel, Appearance" moniker.

 

The "Tone, Feel, Appearance" logo was used extensively at that time by Montana, and appears on cases from that era, as well as the acoustic catalogs for 1999, 2001, and 2003.

 

All three catalogs show the J-50 as a standard model with the multiple rosette rings as in your photos, so visually, yours looks right. But the differences I've mentioned do puzzle me.

 

I know the dealer you purchased the instrument from, and they are good folks. If I were in your shoes, I would mention the inconsistencies, investigate further, and just get a promise that they'll allow you to do a return if there is anything unusual going on here.

 

I'm truly not trying to worry you, and everything may be perfectly fine. It's just that those items I've noted do not conform to what I've seen first hand from that era.

 

Best of luck with this & keep us posted. If you find other examples like yours, it would be very good to know for future reference!

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Thanks for your help. I've been looking around similar examples of this model and found one that was sold a year ago on reverb's site. Also no headstock stamp and the serial number is two digits different than the one I bought.

 

https://reverb.com/item/3415337-2002-gibson-j-50-reissue-acoustic-guitar-great-sound-player

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Construction looks legit, but there are some inconsistencies from what I've typically seen in that era.

 

What I'll note below is what I've seen on every Gibson acoustic I've encountered from 2000 to 2002, including a 2001 J-50. I currently have a 2000 J-100xt, and a 2002 J-45 Rosewood built after yours, and they conform to the following:

 

> Serial number on the back of the headstock.

> No serial number on the neckblock.

> Battery mounted horizontally to the neckblock by a 'C' shaped metal clip.

> Orange label with two lines: Model (J-50, etc), Number (serial number).

> Gibson logo on lower half of the orange label, encircled by the "Tone, Feel, Appearance" moniker.

 

The "Tone, Feel, Appearance" logo was used extensively at that time by Montana, and appears on cases from that era, as well as the acoustic catalogs for 1999, 2001, and 2003.

 

All three catalogs show the J-50 as a standard model with the multiple rosette rings as in your photos, so visually, yours looks right. But the differences I've mentioned do puzzle me.

 

I know the dealer you purchased the instrument from, and they are good folks. If I were in your shoes, I would mention the inconsistencies, investigate further, and just get a promise that they'll allow you to do a return if there is anything unusual going on here.

 

I'm truly not trying to worry you, and everything may be perfectly fine. It's just that those items I've noted do not conform to what I've seen first hand from that era.

 

Best of luck with this & keep us posted. If you find other examples like yours, it would be very good to know for future reference!

 

My 2006 Fuller's 1943 SJ re-issue has the same label as this J-50, serial number ink-stamped on the neck block and not on the back of the headstock. These seem like what I would call "normal" Gibson inconsistencies. The ink-stamping on the neck block seems more common on "special" runs, and this J-50 (as opposed to the "J-45 Natural") may well be part of one of those, especially since another identical J-50 showed up was similarly marked on the same day and is only to units away in serial number.

 

My L-OO Legend has no label at all, and has the serial number ink-stamped on the neck block (as does my 1948-1950 J-45). I don't know who makes the decisions on how these guitars are marked and labeled, but it must have been a conscious decision on someone's part when it came to this run of J-50's.

 

There is nothing I see on the J-50 that suggests it is anything other than as represented. The construction details you can see, such as the wings on the back of the headstock and the book-matching of the back, are absolutely correct.

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Thanks for your help. I've been looking around similar examples of this model and found one that was sold a year ago on reverb's site. Also no headstock stamp and the serial number is two digits different than the one I bought.

 

https://reverb.com/item/3415337-2002-gibson-j-50-reissue-acoustic-guitar-great-sound-player

Glad to hear that, and good to know!

 

Thanks too, Nick. Interesting that this guitar looks like the standard production model, but has these special run markers.

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I agree with you both that gibson has so many irregularities with these types of things. It crossed my mind that this may be the earmark of a special run. And yes you're right - thunder road in Seattle seems like a reputable shop. Thanks again for the input.

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Now I'm wondering about my own J-50. Regarding the rosette - my 2001 has a single ring - did that change in 2002 or does it vary from year to year? Otherwise it has the usual 2001 era features as bobouz described including the number on the back of the headstock.

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Now I'm wondering about my own J-50. Regarding the rosette - my 2001 has a single ring - did that change in 2002 or does it vary from year to year? Otherwise it has the usual 2001 era features as bobouz described including the number on the back of the headstock.

In 2001, I purchased a new J-50, and it too had a single rosette ring, along with the serial number & label info I mentioned above. The catalogs from that era show multiple rings on the J-50, but I've seen other errors in the catalog photos vs actual instruments (including my 2000 J-100xt), so I wouldn't put too much stock in that.

 

Gibson has gone back & forth on the J-50's rosette rings for decades, including vintage pieces, so we continue to have it both ways. My 2015 J-50 is a Custom Shop model, and has the single rosette ring.

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For one of those "it's a small world" moments:

 

Last week I sold an instrument to Thunder Road Guitars in Portland,

 

to finance the purchase of a J-50!

 

lol. is it one of the VOS models? if so, funny bec i withdrew an offer on one and went for the one in seattle instead.

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