Chris in Balt Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 Recently picked up a 1956 LG1. Overall is really good condition. Unfortunately, about 40 years ago, someone decided to strip the sunburst off the top and make it a natural finish. Doesn't look bad, but not period correct. Is it worth it to have it refinished or just enjoy it as is and play it. Not looking to sell it, just bugs me a little that someone did that to such a nice guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 Looks great. Enjoy it as is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 What KS daddy says. The value has been compromised already, and restoring something approximating the original finish will not bring that value back. Enjoy it just the way it is. It's still a nice guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 (edited) First congrats on the Gibson. I suspect you are not old enough to recall when such was no big deal. These were just used guitars and had not yet magically transformed into a "vintage" instrument. I once stripped what remained of the original finish off my 1950s Tele and shot a clearcoat over it. Why? Because I wanted it to look nicer. Who knew that down the road it would knock $10K off the value. And there was a day Martin would overspray every guitar, they got in for repair, no matter how old it was. so it would go home looking nice and shiny while Gibson replaced parts not with repros of what was on the guitar when built but with whatever they happened to be using at the time.. My 1942 J50 was refinished. While the old timers here know the story, while the FON places it is the first batch of J50s made, it left the factory with a burst to cover up a screwup in the top build.. Somewhere along the way it lost that burst. My repair guy found evidence of it along the fingerboard extension and underneath a ton of gunk on the inside and decided he had to return the guitar to wat it looked like when new. burst. He took the care to copy the burst on 1944 J45 he had in the shop and shot the lacquer in a very thin coat so it would start to craze quickly and catch up with the rest of the guitar. I would not swap that guitar even in a straight across trade for any pristine Banner J45 out there. If I were you I would count my blessings and be glad that they reused what look to be the original bridge and pickguard. I have seen more than my fair share of refinished instruments where they had been replaced. Edited January 27, 2020 by zombywoof Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 ^^ 100% ^^ We did what we did and are sorry now. There are Japanese Squire Strat from 1985 out there that got locking nuts and Kahlers and nobody blinked. Some forum in 2030 is shuddering at the notion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 6 hours ago, ksdaddy said: ^^ 100% ^^ We did what we did and are sorry now. You know what they say about hindsight. I just figure it is a Folly of Youth finish option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 (edited) Leave it as is and put it in Open D tuning and if you don't know any slide, start now! My 52 is fabulous in Open D (I may have a 16 on the first string for smoother bottleneck). In a previous life, I think someone must have sat on it and squashed it flat and someone put it back together and sold it to me expensive (opposite of cheap!!!) and sent it to me airmail in a black guitar bag worth a few cents but with the neck sticking out the top. Somehow it made it........ my dog loves the bone saddle I had put in....................... BluesKing777. Edited January 27, 2020 by BluesKing777 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 41 minutes ago, zombywoof said: You know what they say about hindsight. I just figure it is a Folly of Youth finish option. I have been guilty of that one, big time. On the plus side, I did discover that with careful masking, stripping, scraping, and sanding, followed by the application of clear lacquer, you can turn a J-45 with a 1968 cherryburst finish into a passable facsimile of a J-50. And by reversing that process 35 years later, and with the help of a talented luthier (rather than the 23-year-old doofus who has now owned said guitar for more than 50 years), you can turn that "J-50" back into a reasonable facsimile of the sunburst J-45 it began life as back in 1950. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 (edited) 18 hours ago, BluesKing777 said: Leave it as is and put it in Open D tuning and if you don't know any slide, start now! My 52 is fabulous in Open D (I may have a 16 on the first string for smoother bottleneck). In a previous life, I think someone must have sat on it and squashed it flat and someone put it back together and sold it to me expensive (opposite of cheap!!!) and sent it to me airmail in a black guitar bag worth a few cents but with the neck sticking out the top. Somehow it made it........ my dog loves the bone saddle I had put in....................... BluesKing777. At least the dog did not lift his leg (assuming it is a boy) which be about as profound an opinion as there is. While it may go against general guitar wisdom, I have found I prefer plastic saddles on my ladder braced guitars. Then again, I also dumped the bone saddle I had put on my '61 Gibson B45-12. and went back to the wood one. Edited January 28, 2020 by zombywoof Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 (edited) 5 hours ago, zombywoof said: At least the dog did not lift his leg (assuming it is a boy) which be about as profound an opinion as there is. While it may go against general guitar wisdom, I have found I prefer plastic saddles on my ladder braced guitars. Then again, I also dumped the bone saddle I had put on my '61 Gibson B45-12. and went back to the wood one. Luckily, it is a girl dog with manners......and a bone saddle/nut connoisseur! Though my previous boy dog wouldn't have thought much of your plastic saddle and would be ...err..hard to contain.....but probably just show no interest.... BluesKing777. Edited January 28, 2020 by BluesKing777 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 31 minutes ago, BluesKing777 said: Luckily, it is a girl dog with manners......and a bone saddle/nut connoisseur! Though my previous boy dog wouldn't have thought much of your plastic saddle and would be ...err..hard to contain.....but probably just show no interest.... BluesKing777. BK, is she a cattle dog? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, j45nick said: BK, is she a cattle dog? Rescue dog, Nick. But the'adoption' agency person claimed she was half Australian Cattle Dog and half Staffordshire Terrier, so very, very, very clever as in chimp clever, but also does the Staffy excited Woooooooo sounds! In a first, they brought the doggy to our house instead of us hunting the dog pounds. As she walked up our path she went: "Wooooo, this is it! Leave me here, boss!" Likes guitar, hates the computer and me working.... Frisbee since eaten: She had never seen the ocean or beach before: And she has taken up her rightful place as a princess!: (I had a full Australian Cattle Dog given to me years ago and it could almost talk. It amazed visitors with some complicated tricks ...like me hiding their $20 and the dog coming back with $10! 3 barrel rolls in a puddle and getting the mail from the box were nothing!). BluesKing777. Edited January 28, 2020 by BluesKing777 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 Check this cattle dog out! They are incredible. Sorry to hijack your LG1 thread - I do LOVE mine, really - Open D rules, ok. But here is the 'best listening dog in the world. supposedly. BluesKing777. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cabarone Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 Cool guitar, even cooler dog...you're livin' the dream! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holiday Hoser Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 My dog Tiki seems to enjoy my guitar playing but then there is no telling taste.. 1/2 German Shepard 1/2 Basset Hound. Found him in a vineyard here is wine country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.