jonathanmdecker Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 Hello, My name is Jon Decker and my friend found this mystery guitar in a house he recently bought, serial number 39312. It is hollow, with a bigsby, and a florentine cutaway. The guitar is a shorter scale, with beautiful figuring on the neck (which looks like a 3 piece. It is in beautiful condition. My thoughts were initially a Les Paul florentine, but it it doesn't say "Les Paul" on the headstock, then because of the shorter scale I thought ES-140. The only thing that throws me off is that most ES's I see don't carry the "custom" branding and have a dog-eared P-90 instead of the the humbucker that this one has. The only thing I am fairly certain of is that it was made in 1961. This guitar is in excellent condition. Any help or information would be of great assistance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjsinla Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 1369835686[/url]' post='1381030']Hello, My name is Jon Decker and my friend found this mystery guitar in a house he recently bought, serial number 39312. It is hollow, with a bigsby, and a florentine cutaway. The guitar is a shorter scale, with beautiful figuring on the neck (which looks like a 3 piece. It is in beautiful condition. My thoughts were initially a Les Paul florentine, but it it doesn't say "Les Paul" on the headstock, then because of the shorter scale I thought ES-140. The only thing that throws me off is that most ES's I see don't carry the "custom" branding and have a dog-eared P-90 instead of the the humbucker that this one has. The only thing I am fairly certain of is that it was made in 1961. This guitar is in excellent condition. Any help or information would be of great assistance! Never seen anything like that before. Can you provide a few more pictures? Is that pickup mounted at a slight angle or is it just a trick of the picture orientation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathanmdecker Posted May 29, 2013 Author Share Posted May 29, 2013 I don't believe it's at an angle, but I'll try uploading a few more pics, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathanmdecker Posted May 29, 2013 Author Share Posted May 29, 2013 Here's a link to a few more pics. http://www.flickr.com/photos/96716975@N08/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 I have never seen anything like that either. Its damn cute and pretty though. Just wonder if the humbucker is a PAF. I love the Pat.Pend. grovers also. It looks Gibson. Something looks a little off with the serial #,s at first glance but who knows? I think the strangest thing is him finding it in a house that he just bought........ I would like to think that "if and when" I sell my house, I would not forget and leave a Gibson in there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathanmdecker Posted May 30, 2013 Author Share Posted May 30, 2013 Yeah - the serial number points to 1961. It wasn't just "found" in a house though - he's a project manager for a company that buys foreclosures, short sales, etc and apparently this house had a death with no next of kin and sat empty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 Empty?.....except for the mystery Gibson. Kind of creepy! Is that the dead man's strap?...or your buddy's....? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathanmdecker Posted May 31, 2013 Author Share Posted May 31, 2013 The house was full of stuff - many guitars and amps. The strap is a dead man's, and I heard back from George Gruhn about this guitar. It seems to be a one-off custom made in 1961 based off of the ES-140. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimR56 Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 Very interesting, and quite cool. It's always fun to see unusual custom Gibsons. Thanks for the pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted June 1, 2013 Share Posted June 1, 2013 Thanks for the update from Gruhn! I figured that he may provide the 'definitive' info... However, you had it pegged before his confirmation....Bravo! So cool, I am jealous of a 'find' like that.... MY-T-SWEET.. Dead Man's strap...... and guitar! How cool is that B) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjsinla Posted June 1, 2013 Share Posted June 1, 2013 The house was full of stuff - many guitars and amps. The strap is a dead man's, and I heard back from George Gruhn about this guitar. It seems to be a one-off custom made in 1961 based off of the ES-140. What kinds of amps and guitars did you find that weren't a mystery? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted June 1, 2013 Share Posted June 1, 2013 [crying]Probably the "usual suspects'.....'59 Bassman,'62 Princeton, '65 Deluxe Reverb....Dot neck 335, '53 ES-295......NO Mystery..... Yeah, I'm a bit jealous.....Buy a dead man's house full of vintage gear....Jeesh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted June 1, 2013 Share Posted June 1, 2013 Hello, My name is Jon Decker and my friend found this mystery guitar in a house he recently bought, serial number 39312. It is hollow, with a bigsby, and a florentine cutaway. The guitar is a shorter scale, with beautiful figuring on the neck (which looks like a 3 piece. It is in beautiful condition. My thoughts were initially a Les Paul florentine, but it it doesn't say "Les Paul" on the headstock, then because of the shorter scale I thought ES-140. The only thing that throws me off is that most ES's I see don't carry the "custom" branding and have a dog-eared P-90 instead of the the humbucker that this one has. The only thing I am fairly certain of is that it was made in 1961. This guitar is in excellent condition. Any help or information would be of great assistance! Hello Jon Decker! At least you are not Rick Wilson....He's a dead man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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