Ifnot4u

Hey Dave, Thank you for your respose. I am including a photo of the bridge, another disappointment in their workmanship. That bridge looks nice on yours.

I want to thank all of you for your comments and help. It is apparent that you have the same appreciation for vintage guitars that I have. There is nothing like picking and strumming these old beauties. The materials in today's store bought guitars are just not like the ones from my younger years. I am in my 60's now, and although I do own a few newer American Martin's, I just can't enjoy them as much as my earlier D28's. It's an addiction, I know, but once you're hooked... Nick, you mentioned the neck angle and braces re-glue. I am sharing some photos of the neck reset, with a photo through the sound hole where they unfortunately replaced the neck block. I will take your advice and not hurry this project, and instead get her an "A" grade setup. Jedzep, if you decide to not use that pick guard, please let me know. I think I will pass on that $300 bridge and just keep my eyes open. You kind of guessed right on what I spent, it was just under 5k. BluesKink777, what I was disappointed in really was the fact the seller hid most of the repairs from me, along with deceptive photos leading me to believe the guitar was much nicer than it actually is. It is partly my own fault for not being more diligent in my research, but I really wanted a 1946 J-50, and you don't see them come up for sale often. BTW, these photos are from a digital Canon, but it is a bit dark in this room. Again, thank you all for your responses and helping me decide my next move.

So I just received my new purchase, a Gibson 1946 J-50, and found that it is not everything I was hoping for. Being a long time buyer of Martins and my familiarity with them, I was not very familiar with Gibsons, and feel I have made a bad purchase. The guitar itself seems like it was hardly played, telling from the absence of normal wear, but seems like it was not stored correctly, so there are issues. There are two cracks which have been mended on the face, a cracked pick guard, a reset neck, replaced tuners, and a replaced bridge. I live in Reno Nevada where there are few options for luthiers, so I have to settle with Reno Guitar Repair. They seem fair in their pricing, so I will let them do the work which needs done. I want to restore this guitar to its original state, so I am looking for a pick guard and bridge from the era. I have found tuners which look as if they are correct, but are absent of any makers mark. I have included a photo of the tuners along with photos of the guitar. If anyone has advice, comments, warnings, or questions, feel free to let me know.

Hi everyone! I am new to Gibsons, being an old Martin lover, and just purchased a 1946 script logo J-50, just like the one Dylan has on his first album.