Joe W Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Hello, I am new to the forum and enjoy checking out the pics and learning about various Gibson guitars. Anyway, I bought a B-25 10 years or so ago and play it all the time. The question I have is.....there is no b-25 stamp inside the sound hole like other b-25s I have seen. There is only the letter "G" stamped inside towards the neck. My friend says it just means Gibson but I am thinking their might be a more logical answer? I have included a picture next to my 64 C/W. Thanks for your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedzep Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Probably just a line worker rushing out on a Fri before a long weekend who grabbed the wrong stamp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobouz Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Joe - Unless your bridge has been changed, I don't think your B-25 was made in '66. The '66 model had a black plastic reverse-belly bridge. The bridge in your photo is consistent with the '68 or '69 model ('67 had a rosewood reverse-belly bridge). Every '66 B-25 I've seen has been stamped on the center back-strip. That inconsistency would also lead me to believe it is a later model, but I don't have any information on the G stamp. Regardless, they are sweet little guitars. I currently have a '66 Epiphone Cortez, which was Gibson's Epi clone of the B-25 (exactly the same, except for the headstock & pickguard). In the past I've also owned a '65 B-25, and a '64 Epi Cortez. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe W Posted January 26, 2014 Author Share Posted January 26, 2014 Thanks for the quick response. The serial # starts with 700 so the Gibson guide says 66 or 67. It does have the adj. Rosewood bridge. I took it to a Luthier friend of mine after I bought it to get his opinion, confirm it was a b-25.....I heard some prefer to replace the adj. bridge. He advised me not to touch it. He liked the sound and said I should leave the guitar in original condition. Over the years the guitar sounds and plays even better so I am glad I took his advice. Funny, he said the same thing that it was probably made at the end of the day close to Happy Hour!! Oh well, I guess "G" stands for Great Guitar! I am not familiar with the Epiphone Guitars you mentioned so I will check them out. I used to have an older Epi 12-string and the neck broke so I have steered clear of them. I ended up giving it to someone. Now I just wish I had tuned it down a few steps and been a little nicer to it!! Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichG Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 I have an Epi Cortez with the original adjustable bridge. Sounds great, in fact just as good as my new LG 2 American Eagle except that the LG2 is easier to play because of the skinny neck on the Epi. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedzep Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 I agree you should leave it alone Joe, but a few of us have swapped out the adj saddle w/o doing any irreparable harm, with good results. I loved my '67 B-25. Unfortunately, it became a gateway drug for my G.A.S. problems. I replaced it with a '50's LG-2. I replaced that with a '30's L00, for more net financial loss, though I had gotten good deals on all of them at the time. There's a pattern here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grampa Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 My Gibson F-25 from '66 used to have F-25 stamped on the strip on the inside but over the years it faded away. Maybe yours did also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe W Posted January 26, 2014 Author Share Posted January 26, 2014 I agree you should leave it alone Joe, but a few of us have swapped out the adj saddle w/o doing any irreparable harm, with good results. I loved my '67 B-25. Unfortunately, it became a gateway drug for my G.A.S. problems. I replaced it with a '50's LG-2. I replaced that with a '30's L00, for more net financial loss, though I had gotten good deals on all of them at the time. There's a pattern here. Funny....I actually sold my 64 C/W to a friend back in 1979 for $350(stupid me...just out of High School...needed $$). He played it for years professionally and swapped out the adj. bridge, added Grover tuners, pick up etc. I saw him again a few years ago and talked him into selling it back to me. It sounds and plays great, but I can tell you I did not pay $350 to get it back!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fullmental Alpinist Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Funny....I actually sold my 64 C/W to a friend back in 1979 for $350(stupid me...just out of High School...needed $$). He played it for years professionally and swapped out the adj. bridge, added Grover tuners, pick up etc. I saw him again a few years ago and talked him into selling it back to me. It sounds and plays great, but I can tell you I did not pay $350 to get it back!! That's a cool story--the guitar finally came back home. Welcome to the Forum. FMA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PHJimY Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 Those adjustable bridges were a bad idea. The 1958 J-50 in my profile picture had an adjustable bridge till a few decades ago when the adjustable saddle was replaced with a fixed saddle. Perhaps changing the saddle might devalue the guitar to collectors, but it certainly is an improvement to players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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