Help me identify please pre 1970's J-200

[jonk]

My godfather pulled this bad boy out of the attic. It needs restored, but all in all in one piece.  Only thing I can read is the number 562552.

It says "custom" on the truss cover on the headstock.  I'd like your help identifying the year and model this particular guitar is.

[j45nick]

That serial number says 1969. The orange label should say "union made" on it.

Don't be in a hurry to "restore" it. It may be just fine.  More pictures might help.

The label should tell you if it is anything other than a standard J-200

Edited April 1, 2020 by j45nick
additional info

[slimt]

Looks like a decent J200.   Very Nice.  

[j45nick]

The missing fretboard inlays should be fairly straightforward to replace, if you don't still have them.

[zombywoof]

Cool!

While I am not up on my Gibsons made after the early-1960s,   I do not believe Gibson offered anything other than the stock J200 in 1969 unless you ordered something special from the factory.   The "Custom"  designation is probably no different than the "Deluxe" moniker which adorned TRCs and labels in the 1970s.  This also would be one of the last Gibsons built before they were acquired by  ECL Industries  at the end of the year.

As to "restoration" other than replacing the missing inlays if you are lucky about the only other thing that the guitar may need to have done would be  to remove the large suspended brace screwed into the center of the X brace (assuming Gibson was still installing this in the late-1960s).   These things popped up in 1961 and just sucked the sound right out of the guitar.  As they were held in place by one large easy to get at screw,  removal was  no big deal so many were removed.  

The case look to be original.  In 1961 Gibson abandoned the brown hard-shell Lifton cases and started using black cases.  The earliest version was lined with yellow and the later ones with blue. 

Edited April 1, 2020 by zombywoof

[j45nick]

2 hours ago, zombywoof said:

 

As to "restoration" other than replacing the missing inlays if you are lucky about the only other thing that the guitar may need to have done would be  to remove the large suspended brace screwed into the center of the X brace (assuming Gibson was still installing this in the late-1960s).   These things popped up in 1961 and just sucked the sound right out of the guitar.  As they were held in place by one large easy to get at screw,  removal was  no big deal so many were removed.  

The case look to be original.  In 1961 Gibson abandoned the brown hard-shell Lifton cases and started using black cases.  The earliest version was lined with yellow and the later ones with blue. 

The floating brace was certainly in use in 1968. When Gibson re-topped my first J-45 in 1968, they installed the floating brace with the adjustable bridge support screw. I thought it was something they left in by accident, and removed all except the vertical supports glued to the sides when it came back in late 1968.

Ross Teigen removed those in 2010 as part of the guitar's million-mile tune-up. I still have the old pieces in my spare parts box, along with the adjustable bridge  and plywood bridgeplate he removed at the same time.

This was a time when Gibson was clearly more concerned with reducing warranty repairs than they were with producing quality musical instruments.