jedzep

Hey, by the way, I forgot to ask earlier if you play it, since it looks partly unstrung? There are certainly other issues of playability that you'll have to check out, string height and neck angle, to be specific. How did it play before the bridge broke off? Does it have orig tuners?

Tears of joy.

I've had bridges repaired that were in much worse shape, BTW.

I know those guys are out there and serve a function, but there are many who have the passion of period correctness and originality. Also, it keeps the value preserved. These are the only luthiers I deal with up here in the great white north. I hope your guy is a meticulous, careful, craftsman. That'll be good enough. If you suspect he lacks confidence, take the time to truck it around. You might find one of those passionate restoration guys. A 79 year old guitar is pretty special, but the Gibson name and model is what makes it so.

One of the great all time guitars! Lucky you just missed the introduction of the big problematic pick guard. Keep it in good playing shape.

Best of luck! I hope you can somehow keep the original bridge on. Let us know how you make out.

Are there bolts under the dots on this? Might have tightened too much at that corner. That's a delicate pressure point if overtightened again. Googling guitar repair in Charleston WV shows a handful.

Yeah...it's gotta' come off, as Nick observed.

If you have a back up guitar to play, I'd at least show it to the other guy. I'm surprised there are just two luthiers in Charleston, a fairly big town. I'd search for others in the area.

Well, that bridge should be removed and repaired, as it's valuable in itself. Don't know what the extent of cracks to be fixed is, but $450 is about the cost of a neck reset. My guy gets about $165 to remove and replace a bridge, however I can't make judgements from a photo. It looks usable the way it is. True? I can understand how it might be hard to guarantee the corner will hold when pressure is applied to reglue to the top. If you replace it, make sure you keep the original.

What year model is the guitar?

That's pretty steep, even to remove and replace. Do you have other luthiers available for estimates?

Seems like he's fairly set all the conditions for repairing it, and the only damage I can see in the pic is the corner broken off, looking like an area not under the stress of string tension. School me if I'm missing something I can't see. I've had several bridge repairs done successfully and that looks like a good candidate for a fix, especially if it's Brazilian. You don't date the guitar so losing a BRW bridge would diminish the value. Did your guy want to remove it to repair. which would be the better way, the way I see it?

I think you're onto something there, as it reminds me of the acrylic floor polys I've used, adding zero character or color to the wood, almost like laying a piece of clear food wrap over it. Also, it has superior hardness, showing no wear in the pick guard area, only shine where the side of my hand rubs and rests. The guitar is so light and thin topped, I can't help but think it adds crispy life to the great dry tone. You have one much like it so I'm preaching to the choir. If I can get the sound hole ring restored I'll put the original guard back on and call it a win.

Yeah, thanks Nick. As you may recall, it came to me coated in 'polyshade' type coating which I stripped to this point. The chemical that removed the poly didn't mess with this satin finish, which buffed out nicely. I may have to touch a tiny area with dif solvents to figure out what it is. Whoever sprayed this coating on did a masterful job, like glass, with no spray beading. Obviously something to not mess with. Dave

Hey 'guys'. Being a vintage geek, I've always loved the yellowing that occurs over time on natural spruce tops. My 1950 J50 doesn't budge though, from it's whiter 'ashy' tone, though it hangs in a indirect sunlit room with all the other ambers, that get deeper golden with time. I'd love to hear theories on why it retains it's pale tone under the satin finish.

Hey Nick. Both my L's have tapered bridges. Dave

Ingles, por favor, bro.

I owned two 50's era LG2s, but both seemed to have lackluster low E bass response tone, uncharacteristic of the punchy balance I found in the other 5 strings. I found the L00 filled the bill and was more even across the board.

Deja Vu. My ('31?) only shows barely legible 965 on the neck block.

You're a good man, BK, but I'll never get it. Precious little time to fine tune my flat-picking mediocrity.

Your Martin will certainly sound more mellow than an LG-2, but I ended up ditching the two vintage ones I owned because I felt frustrated by the muted tone of the bass E string. Seems the thump went away right at that string. Both were otherwise awesome guitars. You'll have a good barometer and comparison point in the SJ bass end, and while I know they are vastly different instruments, when you A/B the two the LG-2 might sound similar in a Gibson way, but quieter. I prefer the L00. Check that out in the mix if you can.

Calm down there 75HB. Now that Gearbash found that there is an actual break, my exploratory advice becomes obsolete. I think he's blown past my suggestion. Dave

It looks like it could be an ominous looking finish check, indicating stress at that point, that may or may not be into the wood. I would sand or carefully strip to the wood surface to see if there's actually wood grain separation. A lesson in long term storage. 1 step down ain't enough.

I'm down with Boyd, and I have some really old and fragile geetars. Haven't cased a guitar in ten years and more or less thumbed my nose at humidification, but found my newer guitars needed something. Venta makes quiet, ez to service machines. Of course, you have to have the size room this would work in. For instance, a big one with a vaulted ceiling would be tough to even out.