j45nick

Another wonderful video! His work is fastidious. Love that leather apron, too. He talks about his training in this video as well. Parts of his philosophy are interesting, such as not over-sanding the board to remove divots, and not deep-cleaning a vintage guitar. The ones I have bought have sometimes been so grimy I was hesitant to handle them before cleaning. A lot of that depends on the personal habits of previous owners. I have purchased two one-owner Gibsons in recent years: a 1947 L-7, and a 1950 J-45. In one case, the grandson had inherited the guitar and never taken it out of the case (actually a gig bag).The owner of the L-7 was a chain smoker, and the guitar was unbelievably filthy. The gig bag had to be thrown away, as I couldn't even have it in the house. In the case of the J-45, the guitar had basically been put away in the late 1950's, and never played again. That guitar was dirty, but nothing like the L-7. No smell of smoke at all--just that wonderful, intoxicating old guitar smell that so draws you in.

It's strange that both of those guitars have similar damage. Looks like someone has been using them as a club.

No taper that I can see, but you need to see it directly from the side to sure. I just measured it on four guitars, three of which have tapered headstocks. Two 1950 J-45s are 5/8"+ near the nut, 1/2" at the top of the headstock. L-OO Legend is 5/8" near the nut, 1/2" at the top. Untapered headstock on 1943 SJ re-issue is a constant 9/16+. Details, details....

Sal, that was a whole bunch of fun! Have to admit I probably haven't thought of that song in 30+ years. Nice job. You really do have a good voice. Playin' ain't bad, either.

I bet none of these has a tapered-thickness headstock, either. At least the Legend series did that.

For those too young to know, "Play it for that strip club owner named Jack" refers to Jack Ruby, the man who shot Lee Harvey Oswald, the man who killed Kennedy. That set of a whole train of conspiracy theories that still surround Kennedy's murder.

My thoughts as well. In this case, it helps to have lived through that entire era to appreciate all the cultural references. I was a junior in high school when Kennedy was killed, and I remember that day like it was yesterday. Not coincidentally, I had my introduction to Dylan's music a few months later. You sort of had to be there... It's a hard rain a'gonna fall, and it's falling again. Dark days, long nights.

It certainly is an early post-banner J-45, probably no later than early '47 with that bridge and logo. I would go out on a limb and say'46. It looks like it might still have a 1 3/4" nut, although that is a tough call to make based on a video. Looks to be in very nice shape. It is direct-mic'd--no pickup-- but I couldn't see what the mic is.

Thanks, Buc. I needed that.

My Norwegian is a bit rusty, but his Norwegian-language website says he studied at the Summit School of Guitar Building and Repair, on Vancouver Island. He also appears to have worked at Larrivee Guitars in Vancouver. My ability to translate ends about there.

Lars is Norwegian. He actually trained in Canada.

Now I know why you like this, BK. It has little to do with the Dexter, and a lot to do with Molly! Whatever she's selling, I'm buying.

We see a lot of really mediocre guitar work videos. I thought this video, as well as the guy's work, deserved to be in this forum rather buried somewhere. 1974 D-28 neck re-set

My mistake for misinterpreting RB's words.

Fixing it yourself is not a good idea. A properly-done repair by someone who know what he or she is doing is the best solution. Yes, no matter who does the repair, it impacts on the value of the guitar. I wouldn't even consider a guitar that had a home-grown repair, but would look at one the had a professionally-done, properly-documented repair. It will always have less value than a guitar that had never suffered the damage.

Call Norm's Rare Guitars in LA and see if they have a local recommendation.

I suspect you haven't had much experience with Gibson repairs. A number of us here have dealt with expert repairs shops in different locations around the US, as well as with Gibson. I'll match my independent repair guy against anyone, including the factory. Gibson specializes in building guitars. Repairing them is an entirely different skill set I'm sure Gibson could do a fine job on this, but they would not necessarily be my first choice.

That can be fixed to where it is as strong as ever and completely invisible, but it is not a do it yourself job. This is a job for a really good repair guy to get it right.

And here's another, just posted from the "In My Room" series on Rolling Stone's channel. Fogarty sounds pretty good at 74, still singing this in the in the same key. Check out the guitar in the second clip ("Bad Moon Rising"). Looks to me like an early 50s SJ converted into a prototype J-160. CCR: Have you ever seen the rain?

Or you could hold the neck steady and put downward pressure on the back of the headstock to see if the crack opened. Of course, the headstock might snap off at that point, so there is some risk. It does look to me like a surface fracture along a weak grain line. That is the characteristic shape you see on the surface.

You can safely use a rag dampened with naphtha to clean gunk off the finish. Do not saturate the cloth, and change it frequently. I do not use lighter fluid, because I don't know if it is "pure" naphtha. You can get the real stuff at almost any hardware store, or at the big box home improvement stores in the US. It is a mild, slow-evaporating solvent. What you might use for cosmetic reasons after that depends on the condition of the finish. If it has significant crazing, bare spots, or a finish that is flaking off, a naphtha clean-up may be as far as you go. The go-to restoring cleaner and polish for vintage guitars--Virtuoso--should not be used on badly crazed or flaking surfaces, as it penetrates the surface cracks and leaves a residue that is impossible to remove. (The manufacturer warns you not to use it on surfaces of this type.)

I love that video, but would much rather hear that D-28 mic'd directly than through that really quacky pickup. Obviously not so easy with a big string section, but the guitar isn't that critical in those sections of the song in any case. That looks like a huge flatpick that Page is using here.

Struggling to work up enthusiasm for playing right now, but I hope this will pass. This level of uncertainty has me down.

Really nice, Guth. Glad you are back to playing. Keep those recordings coming.

Could be, but there's no way to tell.