Dave F

First thing I saw were the man hands. They're a little large.

Best place to look is Reverb sold records

I've had pickups rewound by TOM BRANTLEY REWINDS and he can wind them to what you're wanting. He's pretty sharp on wire sizes, windings, magnets and output. I would just send him a message and see what he recommends. Besides rewind service, he makes a wide variety of new pickups and he's very reasonable.

My guess is 2000 was a limited run so you have the # of # but 2002 was not limited. I’ve seen the hand written ones before on other models.

Here's a 2002 on reverb. Looks the same.

I think Dub has left the building.

Looks legit to me. Japan is a large market for Gibson so it would not surprise me that the literature would be in Japanese. I would contact Gibson to verify the s/n.

I wanted an old looking pickup for a '41 Regal Recording King. I found a non-working monkey on a stick and had it rewound and a new volume pot installed. I was blown away by the sound. Gives me an option for the three acoustic arch tops I have, Sound hole-wise I have a sunrise.

If he figures out how to look the same as he did 48 years ago, I want some of that.

I bought a slide decal off eBay that looked pretty good. I have a'68 J50 that someone stripped the head stock. The guitar is in a very well worn state and I did not want it to look too pretty.

I agree with checking the nut. a $5 fix.

Used - I've noticed the L00 does not hold its value very well probably due to popularity. The Standard models can be had every day for under $1600. Their current line up is fairly limited. Bang for the buck looks to be the G-00. They're all short scale. If you search you can find some special runs out there. A good dealer should give you 15%-20% off except on the G series. G-00 - Natural $999.00 - Spruce over walnut, Advanced Response neck shape, no electronics, plug up the port hole if you don't like it. L-00 Standard - Vintage Sunburst or Ebony - $2,999.00 - Spruce over mahogany, slim taper neck, LR Baggs VTC L-00 Deluxe - Rosewood Burst $3,999.00- Spruce over rosewood, slim taper neck, LR Baggs VTC, extra bling The ones I have - L00 1932 RI - Similar to the Legend model without the VOS finish. Spruce over mahogany, V neck, long scale, wide bridge string spacing Nick Lucas Mystic Rosewood - 12 fret, deep body, standard C neck, short scale Genuine Mahogany L00, 14 fret, Mahogany over Mahogany M2M L00, Aged Spruce over rosewood, short scale, slim taper neck.

Just my opinion, as long as there is not a neck angle or truss rod issue, any guitar can be setup to your liking. As some other considerations (some already mentioned), neck shape, nut width, string spacing at the bridge, string tension (scale length and string choice), tone woods, bracing, body style and probably a few things I forgot, all go into the equation. I've setup some very inexpensive guitars for friends with them saying it was the best guitar they've ever played. Gibson-wise, if the J45 (Gibson's dread) is too large they are many models to start stepping down. The G series is still 16" wide but thinner as is the J180 body. Then the J165 body, L00, LG and so on. Many models in that mix. I have a wide range of models from the Super 400 to the LG. The L00 seems to work the best for me comfort-wise. "

I like it and that darker guard.