[JimR56]

1962 Johnny Smith


1963 L5CT


1966 L5N custom

and one Gibson-made:


1962 Epiphone Sheraton

[j45nick]

1968 ES 335-12

[retrorod]

Man, that is a "minty" beast....
How did you find that?

[j45nick]

 retrorod, on 28 February 2012 - 06:08 PM, said:

Man, that is a "minty" beast....
How did you find that?

Yeah, it's spooky clean, except for the ding next to the binding on the back that you can see in the photo. Screaming pair of non T-top early pat numbers. Virtually no play wear, and zero fret wear. Very, very light lacquer checking. An under the bed special from the upper midwest.

I did have Ross Teigen do a neck re-set, as the bridge was cranked all the way down. But it's about as close to perfect as you get in a 45-year-old guitar.

These two photos of the headstock pretty well sum up the condition.

[Slim Chance]

Hey, all of the above ... VERY NICE.

Always liked early 60's Epiphones ...

'62 Coronet (to me, sounds better than '62 Juniors) ...






and '65 Sheraton ...

[Grog]

[ksdaddy]

1964 SJ:




1969 B45-12:

[Elmer]

I don't have any to post but...I am from 1968...and that ES335 1968...is screeming my name, my address is...jealous I am, but in a possitive way!
Thanx for sharing these nice pictures...realy:
wonderful
magnificent
splendid
superb
gorgeous
grand
sumptuous
fat of the land
up to the nines

[j45nick]

 Grog, on 28 February 2012 - 09:21 PM, said:

Your '68 ES 335-12 and mine must be almost exactly the same vintage. My serial number is 980494. Yours?

[pfox14]

Man oh man there are some pretty guitars in this post. I especially like the L5-N with the CC PU.

[tvguit]

This one just barely made it:

1960 Gibson Country Western


DSC_0089 by tvguit, on Flickr

[JimR56]

 pfox14, on 29 February 2012 - 10:38 AM, said:

Man oh man there are some pretty guitars in this post. I especially like the L5-N with the CC PU.

Thanks Paul, it's really a wonderful guitar, and I feel fortunate to be the current caretaker.

Hey, here's an idea. Why don't you start a thread for one or more of the earlier decades? I know you and some of our other members have some older gems. The "Post your 50's Gibsons" inspired me to start this one, but it would be great to see one for the 40's, 30's, 20's- or earler! I'd start one myself, but the only pre-50's Gibson I've owned was a 1940 ES-250, and I don't currently have any photos digitized.

[j45nick]

 tvguit, on 29 February 2012 - 11:23 AM, said:

This one just barely made it:

1960 Gibson Country Western


DSC_0089 by tvguit, on Flickr

The early "Country Western" is really an SJ natural. Some of those from that year and the next are sleepers, and are really great guitars.

[tvguit]

This one had the Country Western Label (which I loved). It was a fantastic sounding and playing guitar. I loved it but I also loved my '53 J-45 and one of them had to go.



1960 Gibson Country Western by tvguit, on Flickr

[Mr. T]

 tvguit, on 29 February 2012 - 02:53 PM, said:

This one had the Country Western Label (which I loved). It was a fantastic sounding and playing guitar. I loved it but I also loved my '53 J-45 and one of them had to go.



1960 Gibson Country Western by tvguit, on Flickr

That is in great condition! I recently picked up a 60's Country Western that is going to need some work, but still a great sounding guitar!

[tvguit]

 Mr. T, on 29 February 2012 - 09:40 PM, said:

That is in great condition! I recently picked up a 60's Country Western that is going to need some work, but still a great sounding guitar!

Let's see it then! Square shoulder I assume?

[Craig910]

my 1966 Gibson J-45

[Grog]

 j45nick, on 29 February 2012 - 07:59 AM, said:

Your '68 ES 335-12 and mine must be almost exactly the same vintage. My serial number is 980494. Yours?

Mine is 300XXX. The shipping total book show only 216 shipped that year, along with 124 in cherry. One would think that the serial numbers would be closer.

[j45nick]

 Grog, on 01 March 2012 - 06:27 PM, said:

Mine is 300XXX. The shipping total book show only 216 shipped that year, along with 124 in cherry. One would think that the serial numbers would be closer.

My sources show yours as a 1965, rather than a 1968. That would also be consistent with the small F-holes, rather than the larger ones usually seen in 1968.

[JimR56]

 Slim Chance, on 28 February 2012 - 07:57 PM, said:

and '65 Sheraton ...

Very nice, Slim. Very similar to mine, of course.

I have to ask... is your pickguard starting to "go", up near the top? It almost looks like there's some greenish corrosion of the gold finish at the tip of the Tremotone handle. If the guard is out-gassing, I hope you've already removed it. That gas is nothing to mess around with, which I've unfortunately learned from experience (the pickguard in the above photo of my L5CT did the same thing).