ashtone

That’s replay not enough information to help you with any degree of certainty. “Humming noise” can be from a number of things. I would first check the ground wire running from the controls to the tailpiece. Use your multimeter to test continuity from the tailpiece to the ground lug of the output jack. If you don’t want to unscrew the jack plate, plug in a cable and test the sleeve to tailpiece ground. Check the pots and control wiring (including toggle switch) for rotated pots or loose connections, and then check the condition of the output jack itself. Is the hum consistent when changing pickup settings? Good luck!

Is this a scratch or a crack? It would be very common for this to be a crack. Somebody stepped on their guitar cable.

Reg, those look like bronze acoustic guitar strings. Might sound a bit weak through an amp until you get to the two plain strings. They’ll be louder, like electric strings.

After closer scrutiny, it appears you have some significant fretboard wear. Since I cannot see where the strings touch the frets when you play, I can’t see if there is fret wear, but with the visible fingerboard wear, it’s likely you need new frets or at least a leveling. Again; this is just normal wear. But you could consider it a “fretboard restoration”. Maybe that’s what you meant.

That, my friend, is a Melody Maker, and a factory 2nd. That’s usually because of a finish issue, and not a big deal. Pelham Blue, I believe. I’m sure someone will give you an approximate year from the SN. You can probably find yourself with a quick online search. I don’t believe you need a “skilled restorationist”. From the looks of it, I’m pretty sure that it’s all original. Looks to be from your photos. You just need a set up and new strings. Don’t know what kind of a guitar player you are, but those guitars were made to be strung with wound G string. So if you’re playing rhythm, I would strongly recommend using a set with wound G string

...and here ya go.

Good call on the angled plug. I’ve fixed numerous Gibson guitars with that top mounted jack. The wood is thin, and it doesn’t take much to crack or break with the torque applied when stepping on a cord with a straight plug.

Hers someone you may recognize playing a Wiltshire like yours...

What I meant by “factory specs“ is the thickness of the body and the way the contours were originally cut. When people strip and sand without having good woodworking skills and the awareness of maintaining the contours, edges and general dimensions, it’s usually a bad outcome for the guitar. Not that it can’t be played or enjoyed, just that it can’t be restored to its original state if the contours are gone. Which only means it won’t have the value of a properly restored instrument. so, my best advice would be to put the parts you have back on it, string it up and play it. Maybe take it to a qualified luthier and have it set up correctly, so you know it’s playing at its best. Then give it to your relative in the future as you mentioned. the part you are missing is the bent steel spring that attaches to the tailpiece in that slot you see. It is pinned into it; another thing to have someone experienced do for you. Then you need the actual tailpiece that holds the strings and the tremolo arm, and is held on the bent steel spring by the string tension. Look up some images of an SG standard with the Maestro Vibrola, and you will see what I’m talking about.. And you’ll still have the holes where the stop tailpiece bolts are now. If you can find those parts, they won’t be cheap. I think you might want to check the Allparts website because they sell a reproduction of that whole bridge. It should fit right where the original one is, and probably cost less than $150. But again, I would just put the stop tailpiece back on there, get it set up correctly and play it.

My guess is 1968 on the SG, based on the only date code I can read on the pots. 137-68?? on the treble tone pot. Im not sure on the amp, but someone here will know. Restoring this guitar will be expensive, to say the least. It appears that the sanding was done without a block, so corners are rounded over and contours have been distorted. Correcting these issues is possible, but it’s not certain what the changes from “factory” specs would be in the end. That neck break could be done properly, but maybe not. I can’t tell from the pictures. Also, a stop tailpiece was added, which is a modification from stock specs. If your desire is to keep it and play it, the expense may be justified. If you want to sell it, restoring it will cost too much to justify. I’ve restored a few SG’s over the decades, and if the contours on that body style are distorted it will require a lot of work. Be aware that in this case you really do get what you pay for. Craftsmanship and experience are expensive. If your goal is to make it nice and keep it, it may be worth the expense. But if you want it to be nicer so it brings more money when you sell it, you will be lucky to break even. So if selling is your goal, my suggestion would be to part it out. T-top humbuckings are valuable as is what’s left of the Maestro vibrola. All the original parts have value.

Early ‘60’s; not late ‘60’s.. The P-90’s were later replaced with mini humbuckings. There's one very close to this one on eBay for $9,999.00, but that’s the asking price. Here’s the eBay item number: 164293364495

That looks to be original, and probably late ‘60’s. Not possible to be certain without serial number and better/closer photos. It’s not “fake” because nobody would go to the trouble to fake that model; the value isn’t there. Not that it isn’t worth much, just that it’s not tens of thousands of dollars, so not worth the effort it would take to create. Try looking up the sold values on Reverb if you are trying to establish a value. The Vibrola is original, as is the finish as far as I can tell from the photo. Nice little guitar! I’m sure it sounds great with those P-90’s; very much like an SG special, except it has an ABR abridge instead of the stop tailpiece bridge an SG Special came with.

Vintage tuners can be a crap shoot. If you choose a modern key that requires no modifications to the guitar, you’ll be better off. Check Stewart McDonald.

“Authenticity” meaning that you are worried it might be fake? I would ask for high res close up photos of the instrument, but you need to know what to look for. If you aren’t familiar with factory construction details (like tooling marks) it would be difficult for you to be certain.

Hi everyone. I have a Gibson Custom 1963 SG Standard in VOS Alpine White with a Maestro tailpiece. I purchased it from Wildwood Guitars in Colorado. Gibson makes a big deal about how accurate their vintage specs are, but I sure don’t agree. I understand why they don’t use Brazilian Rosewood, but do not understand why they can’t get the little details right. The shape of the inside upper and lower cutaways (horns) are not at all accurate, and there are a few odd humps, apparently from whatever CAD machining process was involved in construction. I’ll try to attach a picture. Additionally the fingerboard shows tooling marks from the radius cutter, the fingerboard extension onto the body is too thick, the binding color is wrong (too yellow) and they left masking tape on the short piece of binding on the heel of the fingerboard. That’s not every single thing, but it’s enough to be disappointing when talking about a $3K guitar. I’m 66 years old, and had a couple of originals. The little details may not mean much to some, but these things add up to a lack of attention to detail on Gibson’s part. Don’t tell me how accurate your vintage detail is unless it’s true. Gibson, it’s not accurate. Some of us actually know and care.