j45nick

I never cared for Louden Wainwright for two reasons: first, he married Kate, and second, "Dead Skunk." Couldn't get past that song.

That's a very young Mayor of MacDougal Street. Van Ronk was one of my guitar-paying inspirations back in the 1960s. I still do his version of several songs, including Reverend Gary Davis's "Cocaine Blues". The group I worked with in NYC almost 50 years ago had a week-long gig at Gerde's Folk City in late 1970 or early 1971. Van Ronk used to come and sit at the bar every night. He wouldn't talk to me until I bought him a Heineken. He wasn't there to see us. Kate McGarrigle was opening for us, and he was fascinated by her. So was I. Van Ronk was larger than life, and still is in many ways. Thanks for the nudge.

Action looks a bit high, but there is plenty of saddle. All Gibsons in this period are mere shadows of their former selves. In the case of the 'bird, the parallelogram inlays are gone, replaced by the clunky block inlays. It looks to be in nice condition. Play it to see what it sounds like, but it isn't worth a lot of money. My guess would be $1500.

I'm drawing a blank on this one. The squared -off headstock is more like a Kalamazoo (made by Gibson) than a Gibson, and the painted-on pickguard is outside my experience on a Gibson. It is more typical of Gibson off-brands (like Kalamazoo). I'm hoping someone else will jump in on this.

Those pictures help a lot, actually.

I don't claim to be an expert on vintage Gibson mandolins, so I have to do some research. It's obviously a style A, but there are a lot of variations within that style. Is there any label inside, or evidence that it had a label? I'm assuming it says "The Gibson" on the headstock (face of the top of the neck, just above the tuning keys). Does it have evidence of a bracket (like a screw hole) in the side of the instrument just below the plastic pickguard?

Found pictures online. That's what it is. The distressed ones are apparently also signed by AL.

I believe Euroaussie here might have one of those. As I recall, they came in several versions including a super-distressed model that looked like AL's own guitar.

It's a Southern Jumbo (SJ) model of some variety. It may be an artist model, and someone here is likely to be familiar with it. The label would obviously tell the story, but I assume you have no clear photo of that, since those are old pictures.

Don't you wish you knew the backstory on that? Anyhow, it looks seriously cool. Did you get a good deal on it? Maybe "professional girl" means something else in southern AUS. Here it's sort of like being a "sidewalk hostess."

By the serial number, it's a 2010. As Slim says, it is modeled after classic Hummingbirds of the 1960s, with the adjustable ceramic saddle. This is similar to the Hummingbirds used by the Rolling Stones on many recordings in the 1960s and 1970s.

BK, that's pretty astounding. I never would have thought of a Dove as a blues machine, but it's all in the hands of the player, and you are the Blues King. You tuned down a full step there? By the way, the top of that Dove looks a lot older than 2005 in the picture. Does it look that old in real life?

There have been more than 40+ different J-45 models in modern times. It's likely that no one here has tried more than a handful of those. Even within each model, each guitar is an individual. Keep trying them until you find one you can't live without, whatever model you are thinking of. Don't go by the name to guess what's best: go by what your eyes, ears, and hands tell you.

I like Blondes...

Tony P on my favorite guitar J-45 on Acoustic Tuesday

Plastic bridge? That's a great shot of a plastic ADJ installation: lag screws up into the bridge, plus the brass barrel bolts and lock washers for the ADJ mechanism. That bridge plate appears to be fairly standard in sice for the period, and it looks to be solid wood rather than ply. The bridgeplate would be a good candidate for conservation (not replacement) like Ross Teigen did on one of my 1950 J-45's.

A modern 'bird vs the 1960 'bird would be a really interesting comparison, especially when it comes to bracing, not to mention the bridgeplate for the ADJ bridge. In 1960, other Gibsons were still fairly lightly braced, but the question is what Gibson did with the "new" dreadnought body style. More modern 'birds I have seen look to have very heavy back bracing compared to the slope-J, but what were they doing back in 1960? BK, it's time for you to take a look at both the modern and vintage 'birds. The 1960 one is a rare bird, indeed! How about a little "Love in Vain" on both of those?

That's actually a correct serial number format. The Hummingbird got a serial number rather than an R-prefix FON like lower-end guitars such as the J-45. The last A-prefix serial number was A36147 on February 26, 1961. The first A-prefix orange label instrument was apparently an F-5 mandolin, A20001, shipped in January of 1955. That serial number is almost definitely sometime in 1960. Apparently, 156 'birds were shipped in 1960. It could well be one of the very earliest Hummingbirds, which could well explain the inconsistencies we see compared to the "classic" 'bird. Nice find! Note: I had one of the very earliest white-label A-prefix serial number instruments, A-235, an L-7 from early in 1947. The white label was replaced by the orange label in 1955 on higher-end hollowbodies.

Most case parts are generic luggage hardware, with only the shell of the case being a proprietary component. The chipboard cases, whether alligator pattern or smooth, generally but not always had plastic handles. I have one here somewhere that originally came with one of my 1950 J-45's, but it's buried in a pile of guitar boxes in the garage, and isn't readily accessible. I just looked at an old photo of a Gibson chipboard case I bought in 1966 (and no longer have), but it's hard to tell much about the handle. It looks s bit different from the modern plastic handles. I save the chipboard cases if they are original to the guitar, but buy modern hard cases to actually store the guitar.

Pending the serial number, I wonder if that isn't a very early 'bird, before all the characteristics were finalized. It does appear to have an orange label, which may hold the key to answering many of our questions.

Go online and search for luggage repair parts.

It's hard to know what color that burst might have been originally, since so much of the red dye used in that timeframe was unstable. It may have had a lot more red in it than it currently shows. 1960 would have been a first-year 'bird. It's also possible they hadn't settle on a burst color at that point. Were the back and sides red, or conventional walnut brown? Did you happen to get the serial number on it?

Looks real to me, but that's a lot of money, even if it is AUD.

There's no reason they couldn't use a maple bridgeplate with the ADJ. The ADJ hardware is pretty heavy--somewhere I have the numbers, but can't find them right now. I will try to weigh the ADJ hardware later. The bridge itself and the saddle are probably only very slightly heavier than a standard bridge. I have a full ADJ bridge assembly (less the steel plate spring, which disappeared in the distant past), but do not have a loose conventional bridge and bridgeplate for comparison. Most of the weight difference is the ADJ hardware, plus the larger thicker bridgeplate.

Understood. I did not realize you were talking CDN. That's a very good price.