Berserker82 Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Hi gang, why do some guitars use wood side stays while others use fabric? My J40 has tan fabric ones. What's does the material typically say about the guitar, if anything? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrplefty Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 I'm here to learn. What is a side stay? That is a term I'm not familiar with. A quick google search yields many sites for the tab to Stay By My Side JRPLefty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Gibson switched from fabric side stays to wood side stays about 1948, at least on the guitars I've owned. They don't seem to use side stays at all now except on some repro vintage models, like the Legends. You would think the whole body would vibrate better with no stays, the way they do it now. The fabric ones probably have negligible impact on body vibration. I assume they are there to reduce the chance that the sides would split. The wood stays would seems to be more likely to have an impact on sound, but would also seem likely to provide better support if the risk of side splitting is an issue. The are basically flat vertical braces glued on the inside of the sides of the guitar, They're typically about 1/2" wide and about 1/8" thick, oval in cross section, with scalloped ends,spaced typically on about 6-8" centers. Sort of like small popsicle braces. I've seen substantially larger wood side stays on some vintage Gibsons, but I'm not sure if they were original or not. The fabric stays are a little over 1/2" wide, and appear to be a muslin-type fabric similar in weight to the strips that were typically used over the top braces to hold things in place while the glue cured, and to give a little more gluing surface, particularly at the X-brace intersections. They are on some modern Gibsons, such as the Legends, but not on others. Gibson seems to have decided that they are not necessary, so I have no opinion on them one way or another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 It was surprising to even see the topic of side supports come up. The last time it got some attention was when Charlie (vw1300) had posted about an old refinished J-45 of questionable vintage. Interior shots provided by the seller showed side supports, which a little research had suggested, had last been seen on 1951 Gibsons: Nick's thoughts that side supports had pretty much become unnecessary sounds about right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountainpicker Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 When Ren Ferguson went to Guild and designed the Orpheum series I kept an eye open for one. My Orpheum 12 fret (a Smeck inspired design) has the fabric side supports. I don't know if he thought them to be structurally important or just something that harkened back to that era but there they are. I think that he is generally recognized here as someone that knows what he's doing though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 MtnPkr: True; there they are (deep-bodied Guild Orpheum 12 fret side supports): Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissouriPicker Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 The knowledge in this place borders on extraordinary. Blows me away. I had no idea about "side stays."....No doubt, this is The Gibson Forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vacamartin Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 ceo-7 has 'em too! I think they're classy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berserker82 Posted December 14, 2015 Author Share Posted December 14, 2015 Very interesting! Seems as though the stays date back to the '40s/50s. So wierd that my J40 has them. I have seen others with them as well. I wonder if these were made with left over parts from guitar models? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berserker82 Posted December 15, 2015 Author Share Posted December 15, 2015 What's the best way to find info about my specific guitar? In addition to the fabric side stays, I have so many questions about it. I was thinking of using the serial number and calling up Gibson directly to try and get information. Has anyone had luck with that? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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