JuanCarlosVejar Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 Folks, Check this one out: Personally ... I like it! JC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanCarlosVejar Posted December 7, 2018 Author Share Posted December 7, 2018 Could be a neck put on another guitar. They swapped tuners a few times. Or a fake who knows. It’s a Gibson alright. That much has been confirmed by the Gibson repair and restoration dpt. But not much else. JC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorrisrownSal Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 it's clearly a dove... or a vulture Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 it's clearly a dove... or a vulture Or a Mockingbird. Juan Carlos- very cool, that is indeed a mystery guitar. A mix of clues spanning 30 or so years. By the footprint & the deep body, it could’ve started life as a custom Nick Lucas, done in rosewood, the pickguard from the late ‘30’s/early ‘40’s Super 400? With the L5 neck we were just talking about Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 That wide neck heel would date at least the neck to the mid-1930s, around 1933 or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanCarlosVejar Posted December 7, 2018 Author Share Posted December 7, 2018 Updated info From the owner of the guitar: For over 50 years it's been owned by friends and the lore was that it was custom built for a Mexican celebrity - perhaps a woman or child star - as it has a unusually small body for a Gibson of that likely vintage. I love everything about it ... and that bridge design is way cool! My guess is this can be considered the grandfather of today’s L 200/J 200 M JC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drathbun Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 Why would a 12 fretter need 21 frets? That's nine full frets past the body! It would be interesting to measure the scale length. Measure from the nut to the saddle. That might tell us if that neck belongs to that body. I suspect not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanCarlosVejar Posted December 7, 2018 Author Share Posted December 7, 2018 Why would a 12 fretter need 21 frets? That's nine full frets past the body! It would be interesting to measure the scale length. Measure from the nut to the saddle. That might tell us if that neck belongs to that body. I suspect not. The neck is two piece maple which is consistent with the prewar jumbos. Maybe this guitar was built on a deadline and they didn’t have the proper tooling for a smaller neck. If more info is posted ... I’ll share it here. JC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuestionMark Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 JC-is this your guitar? Where’d you find it? Any info the seller gave you? Are the photos yours or from the Internet? What a very interesting guitar. QM aka “Jazzman” Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanCarlosVejar Posted December 7, 2018 Author Share Posted December 7, 2018 JC-is this your guitar? Where’d you find it? Any info the seller gave you? Are the photos yours or from the Internet? What a very interesting guitar. QM aka “Jazzman” Jeff Jeff, No, not mine. It was posted by the gibson’s repair and restoration team on facebook. The photos were taken by those guys I believe. JC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 Off mobile device, now. . . that's quite a curvaceous waist (photo 1)- as tight as one of the Kalamazoo KG-3/4 Sport models. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 What an odd guitar! That bridge is way back on the body to accommodate the long scale of the neck. There's a lot of distortion in the photos, so it's hard to get a feel for the exact shape and size of the body. But the rosewood back and sides, body depth, and shape suggest maybe a 1933 Nick Lucas body with back-shifted bracing and soundhole to accommodate the unusual neck configuration and bridge placement. Seriously funky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drathbun Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 The neck is two piece maple which is consistent with the prewar jumbos. Maybe this guitar was built on a deadline and they didn’t have the proper tooling for a smaller neck. If more info is posted ... I’ll share it here. JC It certainly looks like a pre-war J200 neck! Fascinating guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanCarlosVejar Posted December 7, 2018 Author Share Posted December 7, 2018 The other small bodies I have shared here over the years are: Autry’s Whitley: http://collections.nmmusd.org/PluckedStrings/Guitars/Gibson/5991/WhitleyGuitar.html JC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 Ray Whitley "Party Guitar"? Really? Hmm. . . Well done, Juan Carlos- you've connected many dots with the posting of the Ray Whitley small body link. NMM 5991. Guitar by Gibson, Inc., Kalamazoo, 1940. Ray Whitley Custom "party guitar" (13-5/8"). Tall hips on that small body guitar. Seeing it next to the Mexican Mystery Guitar on the right: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldCowboy Posted December 8, 2018 Share Posted December 8, 2018 Incredibly cool, whatever it turns out to be! Makes me think of John Koerner (w/o a 7th string) for some reason that I couldn't explain under brutal interrogation😒 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted December 8, 2018 Share Posted December 8, 2018 Absolutely worth goin' for - those tall slim back-braces hold a promise and the bridge makes my eyes dance. The whole thing is one big secret - a charismatic enigma. But remove that Dove-sign fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted December 8, 2018 Share Posted December 8, 2018 I like the Quasimodo guitar. It is the perfect combination of the deranged and the beautiful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted December 8, 2018 Share Posted December 8, 2018 I like the Quasimodo guitar. It is the perfect combination of the deranged and the beautiful. Whoever came up with that bridge was smokin' some pretty good stuff... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted December 8, 2018 Share Posted December 8, 2018 Whoever came up with that bridge was smokin' some pretty good stuff... ‘Wondering if that bridge was anything other than ebony, if it would still be intact at the “points“ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted December 8, 2018 Share Posted December 8, 2018 ‘Wondering if that bridge was anything other than ebony, if it would still be intact at the “points“ Good question. That pickguard is the original version of the one we see on some of the J-200 Western Classics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted December 8, 2018 Share Posted December 8, 2018 I would be interested in it.. is it up for grabs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanCarlosVejar Posted December 8, 2018 Author Share Posted December 8, 2018 Here’s RW with a very similar guitar: The bridge looks almost identical but it’s not exactly the same. JC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted December 8, 2018 Share Posted December 8, 2018 Thats a Cool Little Gibson.. I seen one just like it at the King of Prussia Burnette Guitar show in Philly.. quite a few years ago.. That one has to be in a ledger somewhere.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cabarone Posted December 8, 2018 Share Posted December 8, 2018 My first impression was somebody squeezed it too tight in the middle...like a toothpaste tube...upon further perusal, I've decided I'm jealous and want one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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