bobouz

Yes, although this is not a structural issue, if you can do a return, I would tend to agree with Ian. The dip on your headstock is easily noticeable compared to mine, and could impact it’s future selling price. On the other hand, if you got a screaming deal on it you may want to keep it - or negotiate a partial refund with the seller, based on what you feel would be a reasonable amount. Hope it all works out to your satisfaction!

Yes, it does make sense. I have two ES Gibsons that slant low on the treble side like yours - one just a little, the other noticeably more, but not quite to the level of yours. Indeed, they too play beautifully. What is going on here is that the guitar has been plekked to compensate for the headstock twist, so the fretboard is level & everything is fine in terms of playability. You have already noticed the difference in the nut's slot depth from one side to the other, and that's part of the compensation that's occurred. Essentially, this boils down to a cosmetic issue, but you'll have to decide whether or not it's going to bother you on an ongoing basis. Interestingly, I have a Lloyd Loar era 1922 Gibson 'A' mandolin that's a wonderful player, and it's headstock also dips down noticeably on the treble side. No plek machine back then, but the fingerboard is perfect!

Is that an ES-330L on the right? Sure looks like it. I have a 2010 in Beale St Blue & love the 60/30 neck profile.

Indeed, there’s someone I haven’t thought about in a long time. Always enjoyed his posts.

Never have particularly cared for that huge-white-bordered Gibson TRC. To my eye, it’s always seemed to be a bit too much in terms of the white portion. But apparently my favorite Gibson TRC is no longer available, so I can’t even throw it out there as a recommendation. It was commonly available as a “genuine historic” part for a number of years. Then I could only find it on eBay through Philadelphia Luthier. Now I don’t see it at all. It was used by Gibson in the ‘50s & was a bit narrower, with a slightly wider white border (compared to today’s standard issue TRC). Edit: At their site, Philadelphia Luthier has one listed as a "Historic '61 Les Paul" that is the one I'm referring to, but it's engraved with LP's name. Anyway, keep working on it, Bruce. Eventually you’ll end up with one you like. The best news is that it’s an easy diy fix - as opposed to needing something like, say, a neck reset/binding repair/bridge reglue on a relatively new high-end Martin!

I switched to Fret Doctor after using F-One for quite some time. F-One is good and contains only natural oils, but it tended to dry out rather quickly. In my experience, fretboards treated with Fret Doctor (after previously using F-One) show a slightly more natural depth of color, a slightly darker hue, and retain their newly treated appearance well beyond what F-One delivers. I’m not trying to totally trash F-One, as it is a good product, but it is clearly formulated differently from Fret Doctor. I also do not know if all products sold as “bore oil” are created equally. My guess is that there probably are differences in formulations from product to product. The only bore oil product I’ve tried and can vouch for is Fret Doctor, and thus far it’s delivered the best results of any fretboard treatment I’ve come across. And finally, an important note: A dirty fretboard, or one layered with an assortment of various treatments over the years, will hinder optimal absorbing characteristics. A used or vintage piece could be especially impacted from the action of previous owners. In a simple two step process, I now thoroughly clean fretboards (& polish frets) with fine (or 0000) bronze wool, and then apply Fret Doctor. Bronze wool is superior to steel wool in that it is not magnetic (great for electric guitars) and does not shed as profusely. To date, the end results have been the best I’ve ever obtained.

Fret Doctor (bore oil) here as well - the best! Personally, I would stay away from Old English. It contains petroleum products & other chemical goo that doesn’t need to be anywhere near a fingerboard. Googling “boredoctor” will reveal a lot of comparative info regarding assorted oils often considered for fretboard treatment.

The LG-1’s non-adjustable plastic bridge was a whole different animal, and really was a bad idea since string energy had to travel through the plastic. On the other hand, with the adjustable plastic bridge, that energy was instead routed to the spruce top via the adjustable metal posts - somewhat akin to an archtop bridge design. Add in the ceramic saddle, and many of these instruments acquired a bitingly crisp & unique tone that can be wonderfully addictive. I’m currently on my third guitar with this setup, sporting it’s original parts in excellent condition. The first two were traded away in fits of tonal change, but that metallic-overtoned sound remained locked in my brain & I had to have it again. This guitar’s not going anywhere!

A beautiful & relatively rare acquisition. Congrats & Enjoy!

There's just something about a sunburst Gibson jumbo. I'll never forget my first glimpse of Dylan's Nashville Skyline album cover. Made you want to jump into the picture & wrap it in your arms!

Yes, everything about it says WM-45: White headstock logo, gold Grovers, black pickguard, belly-down bridge, & black binding. I’ve owned two WM-45s in the past. The earlier version had a gloss top with satin back & sides, while later examples were gloss finished throughout. They also sported a morado fingerboard & bridge.

I would say the probability is greater that an individual with repair/restoration skills modified the instrument. Japanese makers were not known to engage in such deception, as they were invested in establishing legitimate worldwide distribution structures for their products.

Along with the allen wrench issue, there is no center back brace, and the wood does not appear to be maple, as it should be. The bridge is also clearly incorrect, and tends to indicate that the guitar may be a modified Japanese copy era instrument, intentionally meant to squeeze maximum profit from a fake. So sorry this happened to you.

The trussrod utilizing a metric Allen wrench tells you all you need to know. This guitar is a fake & was not built in Kalamazoo by Gibson. Where it actually was built is rather a moot point. If you ever choose to sell it, simply be honest & list it as a ‘Gibson Copy’.

Usually called SJ-200, but J-200 will work in pinch, too! Beautiful guitar !!!

A very cool guitar! I have a 2012 ES-330 VOS in a natural finish, and from others that I've seen, to my eyes the VOS finish seems to work particularly well with lighter colored instruments. Pelham blue would be a great color for the VOS treatment!

Tom - Thanks so much for sharing all of this info!

Beautiful guitar! The serial number will reveal the year. As for how many were made, give Wildwood a call & see if they can provide the info. Enjoy!

Wonderful that it came! That five hour drive will fly by with anticipation, and the drive home will be even better!

I owned a very nice sounding early ‘70s Heritage. The main differences I recall versus it’s early ‘70s Blue Ridge counterpart include the Heritage’s ebony fingerboard & bridge, along with it’s higher level of bling (fingerboard & headstock inlays, mustache bridge, backstrip marquetry).

Gorgeous color & burst - Nice you got it back!

Time for a congratulatory beer!

Jeff - Thanks for making me look, because this is a little weird. I clearly remembered the measurement incorrectly, but guess what? Mine is even wider than yours! Like you, I have the all-natural Ltd Ed mahogany version, made in 2016. I triple-checked the measurement, and it’s 15-10/16” at it’s widest point. Hard to imagine a 3/16” discrepancy on the same exact model, but there it is. I have the guitar in a case that’s listed as 15” wide, which might be how that figure got locked in my mind. But this also explains why it’s a very snug fit!..... Bob

The current version of Epi’s EL-00 Pro is 15” wide at the lower bout.

I tend to think of it more as up or down eras (hopefully rather short-lived when down). Even Ren made note of this in the 3-part video series he did with Music Villa’s Tony P regarding his years with Gibson. I recall him specifically citing certain periods where they were at the top of their game, and others where they were not - for a variety of reasons.