bobouz

Gibsons from the '70s do indeed have a less than stellar reputation, but there were some good ones mixed in there. I had both a early '70s Dove and Heritage Custom, and found them to be quite satisfying instruments tonally. However, the Dove was no more than eight or nine years old & needed a neck reset. The Heritage was fine in every way.

The Indonesian Samick factory is building some amazingly good guitars for the price point they're focused on in today's market. Not only do they sound & play good, but the interior (as well as the exterior) workmanship on those I've examined has been very clean. A lot of bang for the buck!

Just happen to have my '66 Epi Cortez out for a spin as we speak. Personally, I find the Epi hourglass headstock to be one of the most aesthetically pleasing within the world of guitars.

Very high probability that it was made in 1966, with a bridge replacement. Measure the nut width as mentioned, and '66 will be confirmed if it measures 1-9/16".

The OP indicates that the fabric fell out along with the saddle. A strip-type pickup would be attached to it's related wiring, unless the wires had been clipped.

I've used very thin strips of birch laminate to make shims, with virtually no change in tone. These are generally available at craft or hobby stores. Birch is quite similar to maple, and can work well in a number of internal repair applications. In fact, some early Gibson instruments that were speced with maple bodies, were actually made from birch. Shim or no shim, getting the saddle to fit snugly in the slot is a key factor. Not super tight, just snug.

Initially recall encountering Mickie Most's name on the first Animals LPs released in the states. Good stuff!

Yes, a very enjoyable guitar. I've previously owned two WM-45s, including the satin & gloss versions. You might want to try darkening the morado bridge with some F-One fingerboard oil to better match your darker fingerboard. F-One is my new favorite, with natural oils & no petroleum distillates. The tuners & pickguard match up nicely with that instrument - tastefully done!

Adjustable bridges & the various saddle inserts have come up quite a bit lately! Like you, I have a Terada-Japan-made '64 McCartney Texan (built in 2005). The saddle material is a little different than Tusq, and was probably sourced in Japan. Hard to know exactly what it is, but I like the tone of my Texan, so it's staying on there. As for the ceramic saddles, the material is very hard, and nothing like Tusq or bone. Trying to lightly sand or shape it is not an easy task, and it can be chipped if you're not careful. Overall, it seems similar to any white ceramic kitchen item, but with no outer glaze. On my '66 Epi Cortez, I swapped the original rosewood saddle with an old ceramic saddle I'd removed from a B-25 many years ago. Imho, the guitar sounded good with the rosewood saddle, but now sounds perfectly dialed in with the ceramic!

Not interested in that thing at all. But do another Sorrento reissue without the "plate" headstock logo, and I'll be right there. Based on a '64 would be nice, and make it (as CB says) with period correct features - such as proper body & F-hole dimensions, two-hole TRC, and of course Gibson mini-humbuckers!

Just turn the nut counterclockwise to add more relief, and clockwise to straighten & reduce relief. Turn in small increments & do not force the nut if it doesn't turn rather easily. If it doesn't turn at all, put a tiny dab of WD-40 on the front & back of the nut using WD-40's applicator that looks like a paint stick (non-spray) to avoid getting it on the surrounding wood. As for cleaning the finish, Virtuoso Cleaner is one of the best for serious gunk, and it's specifically formulated for nitro finishes.

That is the correct bridge for 1967. The plastic bridge was standard from '63 to '66. Early versions with a rosewood bridge had a different headstock shape & triangular truss rod cover. The heel of the neck has pulled away slightly on the treble side, and this may have effected the neck angle. It would be a good idea to have a competent luthier look the guitar over for structural issues, and give you a repair quote. Hope it all works out well for you!

The tuners appear to be replacements. A view of the front would provide a lot of information.

I tried to scare BBG away from all this in post #27. Good news is that he hasn't done anything yet!

BBG, the answer is yes, it will make your guitar explode! Or more to the point, it will probably end up causing your area of concern to explode into a truly ugly mess - and you will have created it, so it will drive you even crazier than what you have now. That is a finish scratch. The nitro touch up will sit there in a blob, or series of blobs (no matter how miniscule), and you'll have one heck of a time smoothing it out & making it look like anything besides a hack job. You'll also most likely end up with visible alterations to some of your surrounding finish by trying to blend this area in (because black shows everything). If this were a dent or chip, it would be a totally different story. Bottom line: Take it to someone who is experienced in working with nitro finishes !!! If you simply must attack it yourself, the only thing I'd recommend would be to use some Virtuoso Cleaner (light to moderate pressure) on a fine microfiber cloth to buff down & remove some of the scarred finish within the scratch, and follow up with a bit of Virtuoso or Gibson polish to keep any of the cleaner from settling in..... sometimes it works & sometimes it doesn't. But please, just back slowly away from that black nitro!

I have some, and it's pretty yellow. Put it on white paper first to get a feel for the color.

The Stew-Mac pens have a big fat tip, and when you press down to release the paint, it can come flying out in a blob. I've used them by dripping it into a plastic cup & then applying with a fine point brush or micro sponge.

Okay, I can buy that. To date, walnut doesn't suit your ears, expectations, playing style, etc. Guess my only remaining point would be that it does seem to suit a lot of folks who've found the J-15 to be very satisfying (as well as the Jackson Browne). I'm generally partial to the percussive sound of maple for fingerpicking, and that's what I find most present in the tone of walnut, with a little lean towards rosewood. Have I played some that were clunkers? Sure, but that's to be expected with any model, as most will be mediocre, a few will be lousy, and a select few will be great. FWIW, I too have never run into a koa instrument that clicked with me in a major way, but then I can't say that I've sampled tons of them - so again, I'll keep on open mind to the good ones that may be waiting for me to stroll by.

I played a few in the new series, and I believe the HP635W was one of them. So far, the ones I've played have had a rather average tone - nothing that made me perk up & think "nice." But still, the build quality was high, and most likely there will be some very good examples of the breed out there. Visually, I find the traditional models more appealing.

The trick is to keep an open mind, and never fully judge a model based on one sample or generalizations. The next walnut bodied guitar may knock your socks off.

The J-15 has been very popular, obviously because of it's price point, but also because many of them have turned out to be tone monsters. Walnut can produce a strong & punchy sound from low end to high, which I would characterize to be somewhat like a mix of maple & rosewood. Great stuff, really. But if you are comparing two guitars in a shop, buy the one you're drawn to, based on tone & playability. The J-15 & J-29 you're looking at may be either good or mediocre examples of the breed. No way to know unless you play a number of them. Build quality & longevity will basically be equal, so buy the one you don't want to put down 'cause you enjoy playing it!

As a fellow lover of Guilds, that's a real beauty! Congrats & enjoy !!!

FWIW - I started my obsession with guitars back in the '70s. I would scour flea markets for decent project guitars to fix up & trade in on better instruments. Came up with some darn good instruments for very cheap, and eventually worked my way up to Gibsons, Guilds, and an 00-18 Martin that stayed with me for twenty years. But at the same time, I also looked at everything new in music stores. It was very clear when comparing Epiphones to Ibanez, Alverez, Takamine, Aria, and Sigma, that those '70s Epiphones were the low man on the Japanese-made totem pole. I developed a major aversion to them because they were built so poorly. Inexpensive instruments can be very tempting, but nowadays I always stop myself & consider that the money spent on a beater would be better spent if it contributed to the purchase of a seriously good instrument. My recommendation would be to target that 1964 Kalamazoo-made Epiphone (or Gibson) & go after it. Regularly put money into a guitar fund & you'll have enough before you know it. The FT45 Cortez (X-braced, solid spruce top) is one you could save up for rather quickly. I used to have a '64 back in the seventies, and currently have a '66. A very sweet little guitar, and clone to the Gibson B-25 (replacement for the LG-2 & LG-3), and it still sometimes flies a bit under the radar. Best of luck, and enjoy the hunt!

In 1975, the bar on the decal, at the base of the Guild logo, was not attached to the letters. It was separate & slightly under the letters (note that the line on inlaid logos from this period was attached, but the D-25 had a decal logo). Also, the tuners are not period correct as standard issue for the '75 version of this model. In the '70s, Guilds were very well made, and represented one of the best values in the market, which is why I chose to purchase four of them within that decade. I currently have five Westerly instruments, three from the '70s and two from the '90s. Three have arched maple backs, one is solid rosewood, and one is solid mahogany. Arched-back or solid-back, Guilds are well worth a serious look.

For some real fun, the OP should use an inspection mirror to take a peak at the top bracing & also check out Gibson's legendary workmanship around the bridgeplate!