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1965 J-50aj parts


holeshot1982

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Hey guys I've got a 1965 J-50adj I want restore and I'm wondering about interchangable parts. I know it's been 50 yrs but has anything changed? I'm looking to replace the saddle, bridge, tuning keys, nut, and get a refret done. I'd like to use Gibson parts. Would there be a sound difference in buying new versus vintage? And I know a J-50 is just a J-45 so am I able to search for vintage J-45 parts if need be?

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The tuners that would have come on your guitar were made by Kluson and would not have had the Gibson logo on them at that time. I think they started that about 1968 or 69. If your tuners are worn out, replacements are easy to find, as the Kluson brand was brought back to life some years back and are being made in Korea. They are good quality and will be a direct replacement. I would be sure to keep the old tuners though. If you ever go to sell it, the buyer will appreciate it.

 

As to a bridge, Gibson did (more or less) reissue the J45-ADJ (and maybe the J50-ADJ) so a replacement bridge is OUT there...if you can get Gibson to sell you one directly. Maybe they'd be willing to sell to one of their dealer/repair centers.

 

Nut/saddle: They get replaced all the time for many reasons. Don't even worry about being genuine; be more concerned about a tailored fit. Whoever does it will begin with a bone (or similar) blank and shape it to fit YOUR guitar.

 

Same with fretwire.

 

Good luck.

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The original tuners should be double line "Kluson Deluxe". You can find original Chicago-made tuners in nice condition fairly easily and without digging very deep in your pocket or as ksdaddy noted go with the offshore-made repros. Won't make any difference in sound whichever way you go. The nut will not make a lick of difference in sound either. If you want to stay with a stock bridge Allparts sells an ADJ saddle bridge. Personally, I would go with a fixed saddle inset. If you do, I would also have the laminate bridge plate replaced with a maple plate.

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I have the same guitar and used these Kluson tuners, they work really smoothly, much better than the originals. There are many variants on these vintage Klusons, but this seller was the only place I could find that had off-white buttons.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Kluson-Double-Line-3-on-a-plate-Tuners-w-Cream-Buttons-fit-Gibson-Epi-etc-/351234325720?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item51c7327cd8

 

These are just slightly different from my original tuners which said "Kluson Deluxe" down the center. But I couldn't find any of that style that had ivory colored buttons and thought the bright white would look odd. Here are the new and old ones together. I used steel wool and fine sandpaper to rough up the finish a bit on the new ones and after two years, they look right at home on the 1965 J-50. :)

 

65j50_new+old.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

The tuners and bridge pins are the only things I changed on my 1965 J-50, it still has the original bridge and rosewood adjustable saddle.

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I have the same guitar and used these Kluson tuners, they work really smoothly, much better than the originals. There are many variants on these vintage Klusons, but this seller was the only place I could find that had off-white buttons.

 

 

1965 was a transitional year for the tuners and like everything else Gibson you tend to get a mixture of old and new. Those are the older style single line Klusons. I tend to keep quite a few tuners from the 1920s into the 1960s on hand. I have one set of the double line Klusons that a friend gave me on which he replaced the plastic buttons with buffalo head nickels. I have not used them on anything yet but am looking at one of the Sovereigns.

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Are you replacing the adjustable with fixed bridge? It would be my first modification if I had the choice.

 

Yeah I guess I forgot to mention I do want a fixed bridge.... I'll note, this guitar was my Dad's, he bought it fairly new and it was handed down to me when I was 19. No way in hell I'd ever sell it and he was against me making any repairs (which I thought was funny because he put some cheap tuners on it and had a shop install a pickup up in which they drilled out a bigger hole for the strap button!!!) He passed last year and while I respect his wishes, the guitar is not playable to me in the condition it's in so I've decided to restore it as much as possible....

 

I do want to ask if anyone knows.... The pickguard has the Gibson logo on it and all the other 65' J-50's I've seen online don't have the logo on it. Was that random?

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I do want to ask if anyone knows.... The pickguard has the Gibson logo on it and all the other 65' J-50's I've seen online don't have the logo on it. Was that random?

If the pickguard is original, then the guitar was made after 1965. The logo pickguard first shows up in late '67 or early '68 - definitely not original to a 1965 J-50.

 

There can be a bit of confusion re serial numbers in those years, with some number sequences being re-used. On numerous occasions, I've seen a Gibson listed as a mid-sixties model, when it was actually made in the late '60s - and the difference in construction can sometimes be quite significant.

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Any other way to know? Because that’s the date Gibson told me.

 

As bobouz said the Gibson logo on the pickguard does not show up until 1967. The structural differences between a '65 J-50 (unless you have an early one with the 1 11/16" nut) and a '67 will not be as great as the difference between a '65 and a '68. But it takes a trained eye to pick up on something like the heavier bracing in the '68 guitars. As noted above, serial numbers for guitars made between 1965 and 1968 roll over several times so it would be almost impossible to pick out a year based on that. You have to go by features.

 

Regarding you not wanting to alter your father's guitar you can have a fixed saddle inset made which just slips in. No glue or anything. That way, you can always return the guitar to the stock bridge easily.

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Any other way to know? Because that’s the date Gibson told me.

 

You can post the serial number here, and we can research it for you. Gibson serial numbers in the mid-1960s are frequently ambiguous, and you sometimes have to go by the physcial characteristics of the guitar, in combination with the serial number, to pin it down.

 

The batwing pickguard with the Gibson "boob" logo was only used for a couple of years, as bobouz says. By late 1968, the ill-considered screw-on version of the batwing came into use, and by sometime in 1969, the guitar went square-shouldered. If you measure the width at the nut (where the fingerboard starts at the headstock end), and it's 1 11/16" wide, it would probably be no later than 1965.

 

You'll know the boob logo when you see it, if it hasn't worn off.

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As bobouz said the Gibson logo on the pickguard does not show up until 1967. The structural differences between a '65 J-50 (unless you have an early one with the 1 11/16" nut) and a '67 will not be as great as the difference between a '65 and a '68. But it takes a trained eye to pick up on something like the heavier bracing in the '68 guitars. As noted above, serial numbers for guitars made between 1965 and 1968 roll over several times so it would be almost impossible to pick out a year based on that. You have to go by features.

 

Regarding you not wanting to alter your father's guitar you can have a fixed saddle inset made which just slips in. No glue or anything. That way, you can always return the guitar to the stock bridge easily.

 

Yeah, that's cool, I'm not concerned about the year. I remember he was though. When I told him it was a '65 he argued and said he bought it earlier than that. Sometimes you gotta know when to just let'em go. lol

 

About the insert, I was under the impression I'd have to change out the whole bridge, so that's not the case? Not knowing much about what makes a difference in the sound what's the general consensus on what material to get it made out of?

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Sure, serial is 278834

Here's a couple of pictures if it helps.

https://imgur.com/a/XAnox

Based on your serial number, this guitar would be a '65. It's possible that the pickguard was changed out at a later date.

 

But if the pickguard is indeed original, it was made in 1967. If made in '67, research has not come across numbers in your range being reused. Number sequences slightly after yours are indicated as being used in '65, and again in '67-'68.

 

Aside from all that, let's talk about something a lot more important: That bridge!

 

There are a number of folks on this board, including myself, who absolutely treasure the tone produced by those adjustable bridges with the ceramic saddle. They will generally produce slightly metallic overtones that can become addictively sweet.

 

I would highly recommend you first have the instrument properly set up, and experiment with strings a bit to see what the guitar is capable of delivering with the current bridge setup - and make sure the rosewood bridge is not lifting. Only then can you fully assess what these beauties are truly capable of.

 

If that tone isn't quite your cup of tea, then try the fixed insert & saddle that Zomby mentions as a next step, because it's easy & reversible. Beyond that, a replacement bridge would be either rosewood or ebony with a fixed bone saddle, and typically the choice would be rosewood in order to maintain as much originality as possible.

 

Best of luck on getting it up & running - your dad left you a wonderful guitar.

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Look at the placement of that pickguard. Either the guy who put it on was in one heck of a hurry to a hurry to get out Friday afternoon or it was added later on. I know that pickguard placement is a sensitive issue around here but the one on that J-50 is ridiculous. Maybe it was a warranty issue as Gibson did not bother supplying period correct parts but rather whatever they were using at the time.

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Look at the placement of that pickguard. Either the guy who put it on was in one heck of a hurry to a hurry to get out Friday afternoon or it was added later on. I know that pickguard placement is a sensitive issue around here but the one on that J-50 is ridiculous. Maybe it was a warranty issue as Gibson did not bother supplying period correct parts but rather whatever they were using at the time.

 

It looks like there is adhesive residue in what would be the correct location for the pickguard, but it also looks like pick wear in areas that should have been covered by the guard. Maybe the pickguard fell off at some point, and was glued back on in the wrong place. Even Gibson at its most careless would not have placed it like that.

 

That serial number looks like 1965 with little ambiguity. Maybe the pickguard was replaced at some point.

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Look at the placement of that pickguard. Either the guy who put it on was in one heck of a hurry to a hurry to get out Friday afternoon or it was added later on. I know that pickguard placement is a sensitive issue around here but the one on that J-50 is ridiculous. Maybe it was a warranty issue as Gibson did not bother supplying period correct parts but rather whatever they were using at the time.

 

Nah it used to be straight. When my Dad had the pickup installed the guard had to be lowered. Don't know how they did it and worse yet, I don't know why my dad thought it was a good idea to have a pickup installed! In either case, it's one the items I want corrected when I take it in for repairs. I'm hoping it can be done.

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Nah it used to be straight. When my Dad had the pickup installed the guard had to be lowered. Don't know how they did it and worse yet, I don't know why my dad thought it was a good idea to have a pickup installed! In either case, it's one the items I want corrected when I take it in for repairs. I'm hoping it can be done.

 

Unless someone glued it on with epoxy, it can be removed and reinstalled in the correct position.

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