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Also keep in mind that the car you bought at the same time as the nice guitar in 1970......... How is that poor thing going?

 

1

 

I had a (late 60s)Ford Zephyr Mk11 English build in 1973 - someone had painted black around the windows and it looked a bit like a bandit - it didn't make it to the end of 1973

 

 

BluesKing777.

 

 

Actually, if I still had the cars I had prior about 1972, I could sell those today and buy some really nice guitars. Who knew that the 1968 VW bug I got for college graduation would become a collector's item? Or the 1953 Chevrolet, or the 1958 Chevrolet, or the 1964 Chevrolet Impala with the 327 V-8 I talked my father into buying when I was a senior in high school?

 

And I only put about 200,000 miles on that Bug before getting rid of it for a slightly newer one, so it was just like new. Except for the rust, of course.

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Actually, if I still had the cars I had prior about 1972, I could sell those today and buy some really nice guitars. Who knew that the 1968 VW bug I got for college graduation would become a collector's item? Or the 1953 Chevrolet, or the 1958 Chevrolet, or the 1964 Chevrolet Impala with the 327 V-8 I talked my father into buying when I was a senior in high school?

 

And I only put about 200,000 miles on that Bug before getting rid of it for a slightly newer one, so it was just like new. Except for the rust, of course.

 

 

The sea air here is wicked and killed every car I have ever owned including a panel van which motor was still running when the rest of the car literally flaked apart....only exception is my 1989 BMW coupe - they galvanise every join and potential weak points....worked!

 

 

BluesKing777.

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Wouldn't we all love to have access to that time machine!

 

You seem to have a surfeit of SJ's in your Gibson stable. But I guess there's no such thing as too many guitars, and you ae the living embodiment of that.

 

Actually you actually found a mistake in my picture -- I know this is actually like telling you there is not Santa Clause, but I made a mistake. One of the SJs appeared twice instead of one (banner 43) SJ and one (banner 44) J-45.

 

But being a sound geek, we try to not have multiple copies of individual guitars. Our SJs are 43 Mahogany, 43 RW, and 54 Mahogany -- identifiably different guitars periods and/or materials. Here are our slopes 1935-1954.DhHuHIu.jpg

 

Best,

-Tom

 

 

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Actually you actually found a mistake in my picture -- I know this is actually like telling you there is not Santa Clause, but I made a mistake. One of the SJs appeared twice instead of one (banner 43) SJ and one (banner 44) J-45.

 

But being a sound geek, we try to not have multiple copies of individual guitars. Our SJs are 43 Mahogany, 43 RW, and 54 Mahogany -- identifiably different guitars periods and/or materials. Here are our slopes 1935-1954.DhHuHIu.jpg

 

Best,

-Tom

 

 

What's the block logo (non-banner) J-45 in the far right of the photo?

 

Bridge looks like it might be a replacement.

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What's the block logo (non-banner) J-45 in the far right of the photo?

 

Bridge looks like it might be a replacement.

 

53 -- both it and the 54 SJ don't quite top the banner hogs sonically. The 43 SJ RW is from an entirely different planet. The two go to guitars -- in different States -- are the 43 SJ and the 44 J-45, which get played a lot when not playing bluegrass. Finger picks. Both are players -- the 43 J-45 is mint, but because of that it does not go out much. Sad.

Best,

-Tom

 

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...or the 1964 Chevrolet Impala with the 327 V-8 I talked my father into buying when I was a senior in high school?

My dad had passed away a number of years before, so in 1965 when I was fourteen & we needed a new car, my Mom essentially let me pick out the car. I was already a Chevy fan, frequently going down to this one particular dealer to sit in their Corvettes & dream away.

 

The car I picked out "for mom" was a two-door '65 Chevy Malibu Super Sport, with the 327 V-8. A while later on my learner's permit, that fine machine assisted me in landing a ticket for doing 90mph on the newly opened & relatively empty 605 freeway in LA.

 

Fun car!

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The opposite of the Chevy V8, my sister buys the new little Suzuki (Sprout?) [biggrin] , gets massive warranty, cheap service for 3 years close to her work etc, etc, and trades in the last one for not much. I drove the latest (bright red) on her last visit from interstate and it goes like a proverbial rocket - motor so small I couldn’t find it but a turbo that could send you into space. Took off from the lights and left everyone for dead.....hang on, hang on, how many points do I have left on my licence? Stop it. And the electronics package would not need a whole lot to convert to driverless. I don’t want one though...lots of plastic and I love the old shoe feel of my leather steering wheel and manual gear shift..... <_<

 

A guitar to match the Suzuki would have to be a red pointy electric thing.

 

 

BluesKing777.

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My dad had passed away a number of years before, so in 1965 when I was fourteen & we needed a new car, my Mom essentially let me pick out the car. I was already a Chevy fan, frequently going down to this one particular dealer to sit in their Corvettes & dream away.

 

The car I picked out "for mom" was a two-door '65 Chevy Malibu Super Sport, with the 327 V-8. A while later on my learner's permit, that fine machine assisted me in landing a ticket for doing 90mph on the newly opened & relatively empty 605 freeway in LA.

 

Fun car!

 

I took my road test in my father's work car - a 1966 VW Bug which then got handed down to me.

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Yes, basically. Just because you've ordered your dinner doesn't mean you can't look at the menu.

I guess we are sort of buffet people.

It occurs to me that I did not really answer your question. The bridge -- which was on it when we got it -- seems to be a good quality replica replacement. I think Gibson would originally have had bridge bolts -- most modern luthiers think that is not necessary and even a bit dangerous because the distortions it may cause if/when the original glue joints fail.

WIGN8BT.jpg

 

That guitar was sort of a rescue because someone had "fixed it" (from loose braces I think) by adding and inserting a piece of a yard stick (no joke) and pouring (yes I said pouring) glue in behind. It really did not serious damage the guitar -- but the glue had to be removed in total. Randy Wood had to remove the back, but after that could pretty easily get rid of the glue. It was a lot of work.

Best,

-Tom

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I guess we are sort of buffet people.

It occurs to me that I did not really answer your question. The bridge -- which was on it when we got it -- seems to be a good quality replica replacement. I think Gibson would originally have had bridge bolts -- most modern luthiers think that is not necessary and even a bit dangerous because the distortions it may cause if/when the original glue joints fail.

WIGN8BT.jpg

 

That guitar was sort of a rescue because someone had "fixed it" (from loose braces I think) by adding and inserting a piece of a yard stick (no joke) and pouring (yes I said pouring) glue in behind. It really did not serious damage the guitar -- but the glue had to be removed in total. Randy Wood had to remove the back, but after that could pretty easily get rid of the glue. It was a lot of work.

Best,

-Tom

 

That top bracing looks very similar to that in my "new" 1950 J-45.

 

Ross Teigen, who works on my guitars, says he spends half his time on repairs undoing previous "repairs." That's why I was pleased to find this particular guitar. It needed some work, but no one had ever touched it.

 

When I decided to buy it, the seller asked if he should have anyone fix anything before shipping--for example, the endpin was broken off, which is common. I told him not to touch anything, not to clean anything, not to let anyone else do anything. The seller was concerned because the guitar looked bad to him. In fact, all it needed cosmetically was a good cleaning, which I gave it before delivering it to the luthier.

 

We sometimes talk about Gibson being sloppy with glue ("only a Gibson is glued enough"), but this particular guitar is surprisingly clean inside.

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You can plainly see the bridge bolts on my '42 J-50 (as well as the glue). It also appears that Gibson did not bother setting one of their skilled workers to doing a final sanding of the braces.

Does that bridge plate look to be rosewood to you? It wouldn’t be the first time… the ‘44/‘’45 maple J-45 ( currently at the luthier) has one.

 

 

As far as the OP question: I never thought that stuff costs too much, I just thought I wasn’t bringing in enough lettuce.

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  • 2 months later...
On 3/25/2019 at 7:05 PM, j45nick said:

 

 

Actually, if I still had the cars I had prior about 1972, I could sell those today and buy some really nice guitars. Who knew that the 1968 VW bug I got for college graduation would become a collector's item? Or the 1953 Chevrolet, or the 1958 Chevrolet, or the 1964 Chevrolet Impala with the 327 V-8 I talked my father into buying when I was a senior in high school?

 

And I only put about 200,000 miles on that Bug before getting rid of it for a slightly newer one, so it was just like new. Except for the rust, of course.

I got a 66. Bug. 

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yep they cost a lot, like beer and smokes but you get what you can when you can,  also- DONT let certain posters run you off- YOUR OPINIONS MATTTER AS MUCH AS ANY ONE HERE  EVEN IF SOME SLAGG YOU 

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 I agree with the earlier advice to buy an old one- about the same prices as new ones. But the vintage Gibson prices are rising, I am fortunate to have bought mine during the slump.

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On 3/25/2019 at 8:32 PM, BluesKing777 said:

Also keep in mind that the car you bought at the same time as the nice guitar in 1970......... How is that poor thing going?

 

1973 Fender Tele, a few weeks back, bought in about 73 1/2, not sure but it has been to 95% of the gigs I have ever played including the second. The guitar from the first gig didn't make it:

 

KODpjLml.jpg

 

 

I had a (late 60s)Ford Zephyr Mk11 English build in 1973 - someone had painted black around the windows and it looked a bit like a bandit - it didn't make it to the end of 1973

 

 

BluesKing777.

That is swwweeet. I love Teles with humbuckers.

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Interesting. Im wondering where you get your numbers?  The 2019 J-15 retails for $1749. 1899 (I believe) if you want the darker (not natural) walnut burst. You said it retails for 1340.99?  

I have an illness of going online and into guitar shops to looks at guitars and I’ve browsed and played probably hundreds of guitars most of which are Martins Taylor’s and Gibson’s.  What I’ve found is that Gibson’s are the best priced (generally speaking) guitars out there.  Martin doesn’t make a guitar that compares to the J-15 at 1700 bucks.  The closest thing they’d have is probably the standard D18 (completely different woods, just comparing quality and price) and it’s around 2500. 

By the way Gibson’s are my second favorite guitar. I’m a Martin guy 100% but I love love love my J15.

The other thing to think about is there is more to it than inflation. The cost of doing business is way higher (probably exponential beyond inflation rate) today than it was in 35.  And this goes beyond guitars. My dad bought a new 69 Camaro (in 1969) for around 2500.  I think it’d set you back about 50k today.

First post, new to the forum. Howdy. 

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10 hours ago, FZ Fan said:

What about the D-15?  And you say your a Martin guy.

LOL yes I am. I don’t consider the D15 a “Martin”. It’s made in Mexico not Nazareth PA. Might not be a huge deal for some but it is for a “Martin guy”. 

Also, the 15s are all mahogany (top included)  which is cool and all but is again an apples to oranges comparison. Really more of a specialty item. 

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