zombywoof

The second-generation luthier who fixed my '42 up handed it back with the words his father called guitars which sounded like mine a "once in a blue moon Gibson." He also said he never heard his father use that accolade on any Gibson other than those built in the 1940s.

When was the last time you saw a shop that repaired luggage?

I am still in that place where I just do not get emotional about guitars. In a way it is kind of liberating. Plus, it is a great rationalization for spending money on other things - the what the heck, I would have dropped that much on a guitar in a heartbeat thing.

Nope. Just walked out the door without even asking to try it out.

Whatever that unknown force which brings me and Gibsons together is, it still got its Mojo working. I went out today looking for a particular LP being offered on Record Day in a town about 20 minutes down the road. Utterly failing in my mission to find the vinyl, I decided just for grins to stop by a music shop that I know pretty well. Good selection of new stuff but not a place known for carrying vintage guitars. Lo and behold though what do I see hanging on the wall up on the second floor near the repair shop with a note saying please do not touch and ask for assistance - an early-1930s 16" round soundhole Gibson L4.

These are the kinds of guitars that you do not as much feel you own but have been appointed the caretaker of. I know because I have had a 1942 J50 living with me for something over 12 years now. It is also the instrument where it finally hit home that the guitar you were meant to have will find you. And while I do not want to make you weep, my total investment in this guitar came to $1K less than what a new Historic Collection '42 Banner J45 would run me. But I have always been one lucky S.O.B. when it comes to Gibsons.

Best guess is that Bozeman not being up to full speed just yet was sending guitars out to entice buyers into placing advance orders. Within a year or so they would be able to boast putting together one of the greatest assemblages of guitar building talent ever see under one roof seen in a very long time.

While over the decades I have gotten my hands on pretty much everything from at least early-1960s Epi Frontier on I have never been able to make peace with for lack of a better description Gibson Dreads. Although I make no claims to having dog hearing, I think the reason is precisely what others love about them which is they are voiced more to the upper end than their slope shoulder kin. Then again, I could be on puppy chow.

Bozeman, of course, did not go into full production until 1991. While my memory is not what is once was, if I recall properly a guitar bult up to the end of 1990 or early-1991 will sport a Fullperplast rather than nitro finish. The finish was necessitated by the fact that up to a point Gibson relied on the what the Flatiron plant has been set up to shoot. What might account for your question about the finish is that these tended to develop an orange peel effect. Fullperplast also has the reputation of being tough to repair. A guitar built in 1990 might also still have the paddle neck joint. Depending on who you are talking to, these were either a tough row to hoe when it comes to neck resets or were no problem at all. But there is no way that I know of being able to tell if this is the case or not just by eyeballing the guitar.

Didn't the Waterloo archtop project fall apart after Bill's death? Maybe those now calling the shots did not have the same faith in it Bill did.

While it may be heresy, I have found I prefer Epiphone f-hole archtops. But I do have a definite thing for round soundhole Gibson archtop. In fact, my Capital went in the trade which landed me the 1920 L3. The model though which continues to intrigue the heck out of me is the L50 particularly the last two round soundhole versions which sported narrower waists. I also would love to get some quality time with the very first L1 flattops some of which were supposedly built with leftover arched backs. If they do exist that would truly be something to behold. I have never even saw the Waterloo archtop you are talking about. I just may have to do some poking around on that one.

I love those valve cover tuners. The set my 1942 J50 now sports came off a Regal with those covers. In fact, I bought the guitar just to get the tuners paying a whopping $35 for it. National was also big on them.

I have only owned one Gibson archtop which was a 1936 Capital. I did come within a hair though of buying a 1939 L-12. Hindsight being 100 proof, I probably should have just ponied up the admittedly measly $2800. Gibson bult instruments with the Capital moniker for the Jenkins Music Store chain. What was interesting about this guitar is that it sported the X bracing Gibson went with on archtops from 1936 into 1939. So, just wondering if you have had the chance to compare 1930s Gibson archtops with both X and parallel bracing? I found that I actually cottoned to the parallel braced instruments more.

If there are better strip tuners currently available then the Waverlys, I have not run into them. That does not mean that there aren't any, just that I have not had experience with them. So, best to take this opinion with a grain of salt. I guess the most common modern choice though would be Golden Age Restoration tuners. I believe they still offer both standard and short post versions. That said, when replacing the tuners on my old Harmony Sovereign, I opted for a set of Sta-Tites. They sure worked a lot better than the original Klusons and I like the way they look including the metal buttons on at least that guitar.

I think I will just stick with my 1942 J50.