Jumpsuit Jamey

Hey guys, sorry I haven't been back on to thank y'all for all your input, but I've been working a lot of hours, and I got kicked off the forum over password trouble, which proved troublesome (clearly, I solved that one). I love the idea of doing the work y'all have suggested, and making this into a super guitar; however, my luthier was less that enthusiastic. His response was, why would you wanna put 2K into a guitar that's only going to be worth 1K when you get finished? (before y'all let the steam boil out of your ears on that one, I don't think he meant those numbers literally; he was more making a point: that the squeeze wasn't worth the juice). And passing it on is not an option. It was given to me by someone I hold dear, and I don't wanna take a chance on hurting their feelings by giving it away or back. So I think that my luthier is going to come up with some sort of cobble that will allow me to play it on stage, but that won't be super expensive. I'm not as thrilled by that course of action, but I have to be realistic with my money. Again, many thanks for so much input. You guys are awesome!

Truthfully, and I hate to say it, but not much - so far. I took it straight from the gifting to my luthier. Strummed on it a bit, not too impressed; but then, it needs new strings and some work done - who knows what it may yet become? Don't know the size of the bridge plate, but I'll pass that notion onto my luthier as well. Remember, that 70's notion is my best guess, it may not be accurate. But that's how it looks to you, too? Many thanks for your feedback!

Wow, thanks for your input! That's a lot of work, but I'll pass that on to my luthier today. I think he was going to replace the saddle with bone, and use cleats or something to reinforce the neck (I may not have that quite right, way above my paygrade), but I'm sure he didn't mention anything to do with the bracing, I'll ask him about that. But reset and refret the neck? He thought it looked in good shape, was there something in the photos that you saw that dictated that? BTW, was I right about it being a 70's model? That was my best guess. Thanks for responding so quickly!

I was recently given a Hummingbird that appears to be a 70's model (I couldn't discern a serial number on the back of the headstock, but the sound hole label suggests it). The price was right, of course, but it has some cracks on both sides of the neck at the body. My luthier says the rest of the guitar is in good shape, and he can deal with the cracks. I've heard unflattering things about 70's Gibsons, though. Think it's worth it to repair these cracks and put a good pick-up in it? I front a 50's/60's country honky tonk band. Also, I would appreciate your opinion on what year model it is. Many thanks, here are the picks: https://www.icloud.com/photos/#0LTLcwsk28fu9fCGgLxrH34rA

I've recently been given a Gibson Hummingbird Custom, an old one, I think, but I can't find a serial number on it, only a label. I'll post some photos of the guitar itself, the "birdless" pick-guard (can the bird and flowers wear off??), the label in the sound hole, and the back of the neck. I'm a newbie to this so it didn't take long to stump me. Not sure where to go from here. Help! BTW, not very good at this posting pictures from my phone business, but I'll try! Here's the ICloud link: https://www.icloud.com/photos/#0LTLcwsk28fu9fCGgLxrH34rA I noticed that I don't have a photo of the back of the headstock, but then again, there was nothing there - no label, no engraving, just plain wood. *NOTE: I tried to add photos, but I kept getting a message that the files were too big.