Se7entyTimes7 Posted September 5, 2014 Posted September 5, 2014 Can anybody tell me the year of the j50 I just purchased off ebay and if I got a deal. I paid 3500 flat. FON number 9307 3 on neck block. There are two hairline cracks in the back that have been repaired. Other than that it is in incredible condition.
Martin 1940D28 Posted September 5, 2014 Posted September 5, 2014 Looks like a nice one. A quick guess would be 1951-1953 only because the headstock does not appear to be tapered. I'll bet it sounds great. Enjoy.
j45nick Posted September 5, 2014 Posted September 5, 2014 Nice find! That FON, plus all the visible characteristics, says 1951. For some reason, there are a lot of J 45/50's from 1948-1954 for sale on ebay right now. Some of these guitars from that period are very, very good guitars, in my limited experience. If you have a real luthier locally, it might be worth having him go over the guitar. The back braces in this period are often knife-thin, with very little gluing surface. It's common to find some of them loose, and they should be professionally re-glued if they are. Having just recently gotten back to good internet access, I was trawling through ebay last night, and found a 1948-'50 J-45 for sale that looked almost exactly like mine did when I bought it in 1966--same 'burst pattern, etc. The hair on the back of my neck stood up when I looked at the picture of the neck block and FON. FON was 3644 20. My own old J-45 is 3644 8. Was your guitar a good buy? If it is in the condition it appears to be, and if you like the way it sounds, I would say it was a very good buy. Welcome aboard.
zombywoof Posted September 5, 2014 Posted September 5, 2014 Congrats! In my opinion, the guitars made starting in 1950 were, by Gibson standards, incredibly consistent. The days of a worker saying a part was finished when it looked close enough were gone. They no longer were building instruments using a mishmash of tools, dies and all as the plant was expanded, re-tooled, and re-organized.
zombywoof Posted September 5, 2014 Posted September 5, 2014 . For some reason, there are a lot of J 45/50's from 1948-1954 for sale on ebay right now. Some of these guitars from that period are very, very good guitars, in my limited experience. If you have a real luthier locally, it might be worth having him go over the guitar. The back braces in this period are often knife-thin, with very little gluing surface. It's common to find some of them loose, and they should be professionally re-glued if they are. Ain't it the truth. In my opinion, the eBay deal of the century was a late 1940s J-50 needing some work (lifting bridge, some loose braces, a couple of cracks) listed a while back. The sucker ended up going for only a little over $800.
Se7entyTimes7 Posted September 5, 2014 Author Posted September 5, 2014 Looks like a nice one. A quick guess would be 1951-1953 only because the headstock does not appear to be tapered. I'll bet it sounds great. Enjoy. Actually it does have a tapered headstock. Does that mean it was a different year?
j45nick Posted September 5, 2014 Posted September 5, 2014 Actually it does have a tapered headstock. Does that mean it was a different year? No. There is disagreement here on when the tapered headstock went out. That FON is reasonably definitive, along with the features. Features overlap a bit in this period. Almost certainly not late 40's, in any case.
Se7entyTimes7 Posted September 5, 2014 Author Posted September 5, 2014 No. There is disagreement here on when the tapered headstock went out. That FON is reasonably definitive, along with the features. Features overlap a bit in this period. Almost certainly not late 40's, in any case. Gotcha. Well all things considered was $3500 a good price on this guy?
j45nick Posted September 5, 2014 Posted September 5, 2014 Gotcha. Well all things considered was $3500 a good price on this guy? As I said, if it is in as good a condition as it looks, and you like the sound, I would say yes. Not a steal, but a good value.
zombywoof Posted September 5, 2014 Posted September 5, 2014 I agree with the above - a good but not what I would consider a killer deal.
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