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sparty

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Posted

Need a lot more information and photos to help you: serial number, etc.

I thought it was in the Topic, It's an F25 Serial # 857205

 

Thanks so much!!

Posted

This is a tough one as the sunburst F-25 was available only as a special order. I have never even seen one so have no way of knowing what the heck it would bring.

 

Also hard to say the year because that range of serial number was rolled over so the guitar was made in either a 1966 or 1969.

Posted

The guitar dates to the late 60s. These guitars were sold with while plastic golpedores (pickguards) above and below the sound hole....yours is somewhat unsusual in that it has a sunburst finish, most were natural clear finish. They are basically a 12 fret LG-2 with a 2 inch nut, intended to use either steel or nylon strings. They are neat guitars but demand for them is modest. Recent sales i have seen range from 800-1700. I would bet given the sunburst finish you could be looking at $1200-1500 if you found the right buyer. A few folks on the forum have em and they get good reviews. cool guitar!

Posted

It says Kluson Deluxe

 

Thanks so much everyone!

 

 

While specs will differ from model to model and I am no way real knowledgeable about F-25s, I would then guess your guitar was made in 1966. Again, take it with a grain of salt as specs varied from model to model and there is often a lot of overlapping when they do change.

Posted

The VG Guide says a '66-'69 F25 "Folksinger" is between $1000 and $1200 low to excellent condition. It also says most have a double white pick guard with a natural finish.

Posted

Holy Cr*p!!! A F-25 in sunburst!! The one I have is #811975 and my research showed it was made in '66 so I would guess yours is a bit newer than that. They were made from '61 to '69 I believe. I've seen pictures of others and have never seen it with a burst. Mine has rather cheesy refinish of the top so I don't know what the original top looked like but at times I thought it may have had a burst because there are two matching waves in the grain in the lower bout that look a bit odd and I wondered if they may have been covered by the dark part of the burst. Mine also has the "belly up" bridge and the "shadows" of the Flamenco style tap plates.

I don't know why anyone would have put nylon strings on a guitar braced for steel strings, they would not sound good. Also the bridge is a steel string bridge.

I love mine despite its rather ragged looks.

Posted

I don't know why anyone would have put nylon strings on a guitar braced for steel strings, they would not sound good. Also the bridge is a steel string bridge.

 

Peter Yarrow and Paul Stookey of PP&M played nylon or silk n' steel strung Martins, and a lot of "folkies" thought it meant this was the way to go. Also, a nylon-strung guitar is a lot easier to fret for beginning players, and this was the time that Gibson was churning them out in response to the Great Folk Scare of the mid-late 1960's.

 

That's the only logic I can come up with for this guitar and the way it was promoted.

Posted

Holy Cr*p!!! A F-25 in sunburst!! The one I have is #811975 and my research showed it was made in '66 so I would guess yours is a bit newer than that.

 

The OP's guitar falls within the same range of serial numbers as yours so how did you determine your guitar was made in 1966 and not 1969?

Posted

Mine is #850873 , has a belly up bridge and the big while guards. I use D'A lights.

Gary, thanks for the pix. Nice guitar.

Posted

Why is this model not more popular?

 

X-braced, 12 fret...that's pretty cool to me. The double pickguard is pretty lame but that can be removed. Is the bridge wood or plastic?

Posted

Why is this model not more popular?

 

X-braced, 12 fret...that's pretty cool to me. The double pickguard is pretty lame but that can be removed. Is the bridge wood or plastic?

 

 

this will be in a future line up... Im guessing... the last kick at the cat before reissuing the 70s Line up... :rolleyes:

Posted

this will be in a future line up... Im guessing... the last kick at the cat before reissuing the 70s Line up... :rolleyes:

lol

 

All jokes aside I've seen these guitars before but never closely. I guess that ugly pickguard threw me off. Cool specs

Posted

Ours is very loud and raw -- it is good for stuff a loud raw guitar is good for. Talking to others, it seems like there was a bracing change around 1965 that calmed the model down. For light responsive stuff it is great -- for power stuff, it is very raw.

 

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

 

 

Let's pick,

 

-Tom

Posted

Why is this model not more popular?

 

X-braced, 12 fret...that's pretty cool to me. The double pickguard is pretty lame but that can be removed. Is the bridge wood or plastic?

 

 

I think their appeal is limited by a 2 inch nut, no radius on the fretboard (flat like a classical), and the white double pickguards....

 

I keep an eye on these and about a year ago saw a nearly perfect one in sunburst sell on eBay for about $1100....I got home late and missed bidding on it by about 10 mins. This is the first sunburst one I've seen since then.

 

Wood bridges on all the ones I have seen.

 

If Gibson came out with one in VSB, 1 3/4 inch nut, and a radiused fretboard it might do alright in today's market. A 12 fret LG-2 would be cool.

Posted

The adjustable belly-down bridge didn't appear until '68, so I'd place it somewhere between '68 & '70 (without consulting serial number lists). Nice looking, but a low lust factor since 14 frets clear is a must for me.

 

I've played the earlier white pick guard version & will never forget that gigantic neck!

Posted

The adjustable belly-down bridge didn't appear until '68, so I'd place it somewhere between '68 & '70 (without consulting serial number lists). Nice looking, but a low lust factor since 14 frets clear is a must for me.

 

I've played the earlier white pick guard version & will never forget that gigantic neck!

 

 

It really is a bit of a Frankenstein of a design: LG-2 body (which was also Gibson's classical body), with a classical neck (but 12 frets clear), choose your strings. Sounds like something that came out of a marketing meeting. Then there were those golpeadores.......

 

You could play "if I had a Hammer" in Flamenco style while beating on the golpeadores. It boggles the mind.

Posted

... Then there were those golpeadores.......

 

You could play "if I had a Hammer" in Flamenco style while beating on the golpeadores. It boggles the mind.

 

Ha! Good one, Nick :).

Posted

The adjustable belly-down bridge didn't appear until '68, so I'd place it somewhere between '68 & '70 (without consulting serial number lists). Nice looking, but a low lust factor since 14 frets clear is a must for me.

 

I've played the earlier white pick guard version & will never forget that gigantic neck!

 

 

Good point on the bridge. As I recall 1969 was the changeover year from the Kluson Deluxe to Gibson Deluxe labeled tuners so assuming there is some overlap '69 looks right fior the OP's guitar.

 

The necks while wide are fairly shallow. As I like wide nuts I probably would have been jumping all over one of these if they had a late 1950s neck profile.

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