[MK- 72 Guitars]

Hey nice to hear from you Ksdaddy. Appreciate your quick reponse, expertise and insight on the MK-72 and 70's Gibson's neck twisting issue. I have a few Les Paul's and a blonde 335 ESTD with the phase out switch or whatever it is called and half of them have that twisted neck. They play fine but it is uncomfortable at times chording at the end of the neck. I have been told that the neck can be steamed and put in a "neck brace" to correct that problem. Have you heard about anything like that to correct the twisting. The Les Paul Custom has no twisted neck syndrome at all and is a dream to play, by far my favorite solid body electric(Black). Not too sure of the year somewhere between 73-75.The Les Paul Deluxe was purchased new in 1969. Can't remember when I purchased the 335 maybe around 78-80. Boy there's a lot more to these guitars then I ever could have imagined. I just bought them at different times cause I liked the way they sounded or played at the time in the store. You are so right about how many guitars one had to chose from just hanging from the racks like 30-40 years ago.

[MK- 72 Guitars]

Since you've had yours so long with no issues, I doubt you'll have any trouble. As to the distortion in the top... hard to say. I wouldn't get too worried. I have a '58 Gibson classical and the top looks like an old 45 rpm record that sat in a hot car. If you don't have any braces that are loose, don't sweat it.

 

My only sage advice when shopping for a MK applies basically to any 70s Gibson. Not bashing them, just pointing out what I've encountered:

 

1. Twisted necks. Sight down it like a gun barrel. Some guitars do have a slight twist, even the best of them. But some 70s Gibsons are much worse than others. I don't know of any fix.

 

2. Make darn sure the truss rod works. Guitar 101 I know, but I've seen more than one snapped 70s rod.

 

3. Neck set (Guitar 101 again). Neck sets on 70s Gibsons are more complex due to the weird extra dovetail tounge under the fingerboard extension. The reset is the same, but removing the neck is horrendous (so I'm told).

 

4. Ebay language: "Minor crack in top along fingerboard". Look closely at the top where the 14th fret is.... see a dip there? Also look at the soundhole rosette. See any distortion by the crack? Danger. The top has cracked alongside the fingerboard extension and the neck is shifting forward. I've fixed them but I won't let you watch. I have to be part chiropractor. This seems to be a 70s thing but I recently did some work on a '57 LG-1. I think every brace had popped loose. There was also a crack on the treble side of the fingerboard where the pickguard had shrunk. The crack went all the way from the sound hole to the binding. I glued and cleated it without issue but if it had gone another year it could have done some serious damage.

 

30 years ago we could walk into a music store with the luxury of browsing a half dozen old Gibsons or more and we could turn our noses up if an old J45 had Grovers rammed into it or if it had a half dozen repaired cracks. We don't have that luxury now. We find a 50s J45 in any condition and it's a good day. Well, we haven't quite reached that point with the Mark Series. There are plenty of MK35s marked "2nd" with missing pickguards and as of right now we CAN turn our noses up. I haven't gotten mine yet; I want a blonde MK53. It'll happen, it's just not on the front burner. If I were to find a clean original one that passes the "70s Lookout!" checklist, I'd probably whip out the Visa.

[MK- 72 Guitars]

Hey thanks for the heads up. Yeah I heard of some of those issues you mentioned but you definitely have added a few new wrinkles that at this time are not the case with my guitar. Yeah I will try to get a hold of KSDaddy

[MK- 72 Guitars]

KSDaddy once gave me a schooling in this type of guitar. There ARE things that you need to be aware of, like loose neck blocks, collapsing bracing on the top, etc. etc. Best to ask him, he has all the info on them. I, too, am attracted, and if I get to play a nice one, maybe I'll add that some day......good luck!!!

[MK- 72 Guitars]

I am very interested in how many of you out there own a Gibson MK-72 or any guitar from the MK series. And what do you think of it. It is my favorite guitar to play by far. Have been told that is sounds better from a distance then from the guitar while you are actually playing it. I've been told that only a few of them are left because of they way they were designed, apparently a lot of them collapsed because of lack of support under the bridge and they just collapsed after a period of time. Mine is holding out well and looks like it did when I bought it in 1976.There is a little lifting behind the bridge and a very slight dip in front of the bridge. Any recommendations on how or who to take it to that could actually straighten that out. Otherwise the action is nice and low and plays very true. I've been quite disillusioned about some of the comments and value of the guitar as I had chosen it over a J-200 and many D-45 Martins that were priced considerably higher and have no regrets over that decision even to this day. Played one Martin D-45 that was unbelievable but my cousin bought it before I came back to pick it up once I had enough money for it.Oh to be a starving musician again.