ToRNado Posted September 20, 2019 Share Posted September 20, 2019 Thanks to the forum for identifying this well worn 1956 J-160e This was a major mess, I wanted to get it in playing order to give to my brother for his birthday, but not put more into it than it was worth. I took it to a local respected luthier, he felt it needed a new bridge and neck work (high spot at the 15th fret, indicative of slight neck lifting) and it wasn't worth doing all of it. And he was concerned if he just did the bridge I wouldn't be happy. I was willing to pay for the bridge work, but he declined. So, faced with a wall ornament, I decided to give it a shot myself. Never touched a guitar repair, but have done high quality auto restorations. The good news is I did it all including fixing the belly bulge, replacing the bridge, saddle and nut, installing an eBay Epiphone EJ160e pickup set and knobs with new period correct aged Klusen tuners and Pyramid flat wounds for less than $200. I was able to work around the neck issue with slightly higher action (0.125" at 12th fret). Sounds great and I love the knocked about look. Here are the parts, minus the Blisstone bone nut, saddle and pins off Amazon, which I tea stained to age. The electronics and tuners were off eBay and particularly good finds. The tuners were realistically aged by the seller and the style is virtually identical for 1956. I was able to knock the belly bulge down substantially. I created a jig similar to a Bridge Doctor and used the existing adjustable bridge holes to clamp through. Dampened the bridge area and ladder braces, put the jigs and guitar in the sun until the metal registered close to 150F, guitar with neck covered just at 100F. Clamped it up and waited two days. The existing bridge was off in string length by more than 1/2 inch (!), the saddle was a disaster and the strings were not centered on the fretboard. The bridge pins holes were a mess. I filled all the holes and the adjustable bridge slot for top stability and added a string ground with fuse for safety. I used the bridge slot to locate the new bridge, the string lengths agreed closely with the StewMac fret calculator. The period correct aged tuners look much better than the 70s era Ibanez tuners. Overall a fun project and I was able to revive a guitar older than I am to be playable again. Looking forward to giving it to my brother in a few weeks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToRNado Posted September 20, 2019 Author Share Posted September 20, 2019 Here is a link to my original post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle fester Posted September 20, 2019 Share Posted September 20, 2019 Pretty cool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted September 20, 2019 Share Posted September 20, 2019 Sheeesh. A nastier bridgeplate (and top just above it) has not been seen on these pages in quite a while. 'Wonder what it sounded like, the last time it held strings at tension. Most people would've raised the white flag, conceding to a complete replacement of the bridge plate. Yankee ingenuity award for your efforts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted September 20, 2019 Share Posted September 20, 2019 You're very seldom if ever are going to be up on the 15th, I would just sand it down. Without a cutaway those upper frets are just there for looks. If you're close to me, I have a heavy duty aluminum block with the 12" radius about 20" long Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToRNado Posted September 20, 2019 Author Share Posted September 20, 2019 Thanks Dave great suggestion and maybe gives me a way to slightly lower the bridge. Thanks for the sanding block offer, but I think I'll just work down the problem fret without touching any others, as they are worn to start with. And it is interesting that car guys and guitar guys have a very different definition of "not worth saving"! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Proclaimer888 Posted September 21, 2019 Share Posted September 21, 2019 I'll be your brother......Cool project and ya get cool points for the photos. Thanks for posting!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted September 21, 2019 Share Posted September 21, 2019 I own a 2000 Gibson J-160E. It's a Bozeman Masterbilt with the Solid Top. I have Martin's & other Acoustics but the J-160E is my favorite... Yours is very cool! You are doing a great Restoration from what I can see.. That is a very Collectable Guitar IMO. Can the original P90 Pickup be repaired? No offense intended but that beautiful USA Gibson Guitar deserves a proper USA Gibson P90... Not the Asian P100... Otherwise congrats on a beautiful Guitar & restoration... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratherbwalkn Posted September 21, 2019 Share Posted September 21, 2019 Lot of work! Is that bridge plate metal? if it is I would enjoy hearing that thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToRNado Posted September 21, 2019 Author Share Posted September 21, 2019 Larsongs, the original electronics were long gone when my dad picked this up in a North Carolina flea market about 40 years ago, otherwise I would have restored them as well. Ratherbwalkn, the metal plates were the top straightening jig. I was able to save the original bridge plate, you can see it in the underside pic. I added a small metal strip underneath to ground the strings to significantly reduce ground hum. I know the Epiphone reproduction does this, not sure how it was done in 1956 on the adjustable bridge. I made it similar to the Taylor ground https://www.taylorguitars.com/taylorware/string-ground-fuses/es-string-ground-fused I used a 40mA fuse rather than the Taylor 10mA, as I read that static electricity can blow the 10mA one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted September 21, 2019 Share Posted September 21, 2019 (edited) Well done renewal and fascinating post documenting it. I admire your talent, skill, and tenacity! I hope you get years of enjoyment playing your awesome J-160E! Red 333 Edited September 21, 2019 by Red 333 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted September 21, 2019 Share Posted September 21, 2019 You'd mentioned at the top that you were looking to give it to your brother for his birthday? What a fine and thoughtful gift- he can always put a Gibson pickup in it if he ever feels the need. And thanks for the added info about the plate under the bridge plate, and for the added info on the fuse. Red- good to see you about these parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drathbun Posted September 21, 2019 Share Posted September 21, 2019 It is wonderful to see that old guitar (as old as me) back in playable condition. I don't think it matters much what it sounds like acoustically. These J160e's are designed to plug in anyway and with a good pickup and electric strings, you'll get that "I'll Feel Fine" vibe easily. And the amount of mojo on that guitar is fabulous! History. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted September 22, 2019 Share Posted September 22, 2019 Exceptionally inspiring and informative ! Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToRNado Posted October 13, 2019 Author Share Posted October 13, 2019 (edited) I gave the guitar to my brother when he was visiting, he loves it! After a week playing it, he felt it sounded great acoustically and even better as an electric. Once he got home, several of his guitar buddies played it and loved the acoustic tone as well. I am certain that having a well coupled saddle makes a huge difference. When I was setting the saddle height, the bone Blisstone saddle was too short and did not fully fill the length of the slot. I temporarily shimmed the height with several plastic shims to get it to the proper playing height. Playing with this setup was uninspiring, a strummed chord would die out after about 3-4 seconds and the tone was lifeless and dull. I then thought I would try the plastic saddle that came with the All parts GB-0859 J24 bridge. I sanded it to height and once installed, it sounded totally different. Now a strummed chord sustains for 7 - 8 seconds and the tone is much fuller and richer. Maybe a proper bone saddle would be even better, but it sounds good enough with the plastic saddle so I am leaving it that way for now. My guess is that many of the complaints about the J-160e as an acoustic relate to the adjustable saddles and the lack of acoustic coupling to the body. I was shocked at how much difference there was between the temporary bone saddle plus shims and a properly sized plastic saddle. Too bad for owners of nice originals, where going with a fixed saddle would destroy the value. But they would end up with a much better sounding guitar! Edited October 13, 2019 by ToRNado typos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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