VinnieDaArm Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 My Uncle (who was a stellar luthier here in our area) has had my dad's '49 L7 (label shows serial number A-2746) for quite some time to refinish it. Back in February of 2019 he passed away. Two months later my dad passed away as well. I now have the guitar and have NO idea what to do with it. I hate for it to just sit in my house for ever (I have plenty of guitars already) as it seems pretty cool. No hardware, unfinished at this point. I thought before I started calling around to have it refinished to find if it is even worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 If you’re looking to sell it, you’d be better off auctioning it as is. It’s lost any collector value from it being stripped. And the fretboard has been replaced. I doubt you’d recoup what the refinish would cost. Best to let someone else use it as the base for a custom finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedzep Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 The bridge parts and tuners are gone? Not impossible or that expensive to get. I think the finish is appropriate for a guitar that age, so that would be wasting money, but I think it would be interesting to at least get it usable, better for selling. How'd you know the fretboard was replaced, K? Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 L7s had split parallelograms starting earlier in the 40s. Not sure exactly when but definitely all post war models. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VinnieDaArm Posted January 2, 2020 Author Share Posted January 2, 2020 Thanks! I appreciate your feedback. Are there specific auction sites, or just eBay type of thing. ~ V2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedzep Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 I like Reverb, but a local C'list or guitar shop might work for you. So are there no other parts than what's in the photo? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VinnieDaArm Posted January 2, 2020 Author Share Posted January 2, 2020 He didn't mention replacing the fretboard. Could have happened before he bought in the mid-50s. No other parts. I have his '59 (I think it was '59) Byrdland too. I'm keeping that baby as it was his main guitar since the mid-60s. 🙂 My kids have my dad's others. All of my uncle's stuff was auctioned off by his sons. He was an amazing luthier, but no way to get anything anymore. 😢 You can hear the Byrdland here, but not much. My uncle (the bassist in my dad's band) always cranked it. That is my dad's horn section along with a few pieces of Ike Turner's. My dad and he were friends and hung out a lot together back in the day. Mom is singing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 So is the finish actually stripped now? Or has it just been disassembled in prep? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 On 1/2/2020 at 5:28 PM, ksdaddy said: L7s had split parallelograms starting earlier in the 40s. Not sure exactly when but definitely all post war models. The fretboards were also bound with white ivoroid, like the headstocks, so this is a new fretboard. (I had a 1947 L-7, serial number A-235.) The L-7 P, (cutaway) like this one are worth more than the non-cutaway L-7. Since some of these were natural tops rather than sunburst, it will not have lost as much value as normal if the top has been stripped. The fact that it is an L-7 P helps a lot. It actually looks like there is clear finish on the top. If that is the case, just leave it like it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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