jehale Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 I have my Dad's old Gibson acoustic, but Dad is gone now and I am not sure of the Model of this guitar or the year. I play this guitar regularly and enjoy it. I would like to know the Model and and year, if someone could help me ID it? Front: https://share.icloud.com/photos/0cC7FZDRJfdMOsUdxalgoVlqg Headstock: https://share.icloud.com/photos/05y8RYaluC8qRhBixqDY3GuoQ Back: https://share.icloud.com/photos/0ag4GEDkDXKXFvYP7-E3oqDGw Bridge: https://share.icloud.com/photos/04aWWe_V5Ivt5GmnG-wICW57A Headstock Stamp: https://share.icloud.com/photos/0psExlTr7B3z8k4nIjWWki3zw Bottom: https://share.icloud.com/photos/0j4xFlpSCndWwLCulB7C6VFOQ Interior Stamp: https://share.icloud.com/photos/0kO84fEp_ec-FZ5t364EZ-cSg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vw1300 Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 It looks like a J-50 - The FON stamped on the inside starts with Y, which indicates a 1953 body. But the 20-fret neck and especially the serial number on the back of the headstock (70388) point to a mid-to-late 60s neck. I'm sure others may chime in here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 Im guessing reneck at some point in time.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jehale Posted April 5, 2020 Author Share Posted April 5, 2020 Neck redo makes sense. Dad was always looking for a bargain. I have an old Martin D28 with a different neck too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 I had one identical to this. Y serial number with 20 fret neck. Sold it a few years ago. My luthier who is very good said he saw no signs of the neck ever being replaced. He said it was not unusual for Gibson to mix match necks and bodies within a year or two. I had the saddle slot filled and remachined to correct the intonation. Your saddle looks like a makeshift being short on length and choppy on the ends so you may want to check out the intonation. Handed down guitars are special. Take care of it, play it and treasure it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jehale Posted April 6, 2020 Author Share Posted April 6, 2020 (edited) Not sure what to think about the year, with neck stamp seeming to be ~1964 and Y stamp In the body ?1953. At least I know its a J-50. Edited April 6, 2020 by jehale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 I agree with Dave. Enjoy it. It was not uncommon to see these guitars get swapped out parts. It happened back then lots , like now adays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jehale Posted April 6, 2020 Author Share Posted April 6, 2020 Yes, thanks to all. 1953 body with swapped 1964 neck seems to make the most sense. I will update if I have more from a luthier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boyd Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 I have a 1965 J-50, and my only comment is that the tuners are not right for mid 60's. But maybe he swapped those when he put the custom truss rod cover on? 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jehale Posted April 6, 2020 Author Share Posted April 6, 2020 Could be. May the tuners were a later addition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 I can't open the pics. it was Gibson;'s habit though to stamp a serial number on the back of the headstock on a pre-61 guitar they got in for extensive repair. But this guitar obviously does not have its original neck. But as a few of us can testify, Gibson also did not use period-correct replacement parts on guitars they got in for repair but whatever they were currently using. If you think about it though, prior to the internet and the appearance of books on the histories of this or that guitar most of us would not have known we had bought a guitar with a replacement neck. There was no place to go to look up what the original specs were or even look up an FON to figure out when the thing left the factory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boyd Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 (edited) Looks like the tuners are gold-plated (but it's a little hard to tell in that blurry picture). I don't think Gibson ever used gold tuners in the 1960's, did they? Edited April 6, 2020 by Boyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jehale Posted April 6, 2020 Author Share Posted April 6, 2020 The tuners are gold plated, with some wear through to a silver colored base. I don’t know Gibson tuner history. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 53 minutes ago, zombywoof said: I can't open the pics 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 1 minute ago, 62burst said: You can see the old screw holes filled in very nicely. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 1 minute ago, Dave F said: Good catch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jehale Posted April 6, 2020 Author Share Posted April 6, 2020 Great catch! I can see the filled holes clearly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 In 1964, you would still have three-on-a-plate closed-back Klusons in any case. This is truly an odd one, particularly if the number on the back to the headstock bears no relation at all to the FON inside. When my original J-45 was at Gibson for work in 1968, they stamped the 1950 FON from the neckblock on the back of the headstock, and the new fretboard they installed was a 20-fret board. I don't know at what point in production back in 1964 a neck acquired a serial number. Was it before it was mated to a body, so that the serial number actually "belonged" to the neck? If so, maybe they just grabbed a replacement neck that already had a serial number. Most curious, for sure. Like ZW, I could not access the photos, so thanks to 62burst for posting them. Any chance he could post the photo of the FON inside? It's a lovely J-50, by the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 (edited) Edited April 6, 2020 by 62burst Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jehale Posted April 6, 2020 Author Share Posted April 6, 2020 Here is a different exposure picture of the FON. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 It may just be the distortion of a wide angle lens, or there may have been damage to the neck block during construction. It looks like a vertical saw cut at the bottom left corner of the neck block, and maybe a chunk of the corner of the block missing at that corner. that may well just have been something that happened during construction. On one of the top braces of my "new" 1950 J45, part of the top of one brace split off, probably while it was being scalloped, and they just glued it back in place. Out of sight, out of mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boyd Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 (edited) Original tuners on my 1965 J-50 On a somewhat related note, I see that Guitar Center has at least four 1964/64 J-50's, all around the $2000 price point. Maybe not a screaming bargain, but lower than these have been on their site in the past. Maybe we are starting to see prices drop with more used guitars coming in and fewer buyers? Edited April 6, 2020 by Boyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 36 minutes ago, Boyd said: On a somewhat related note, I see that Guitar Center has at least four 1964/64 J-50's, all around the $2000 price point. Maybe not a screaming bargain, but lower than these have been on their site in the past. Maybe we are starting to see prices drop with more used guitars coming in and fewer buyers? Those could be really good value at that price, depending on the condition and nut width. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 8 hours ago, Boyd said: Looks like the tuners are gold-plated (but it's a little hard to tell in that blurry picture). I don't think Gibson ever used gold tuners in the 1960's, did they? I have seen gold Pat Pending Grovers on J200s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 (edited) One of my more bizarre schemes is to dig up a 1960s Gibson body on the cheap, slap on a Harmony Sovereign neck, and add an octave G string. Edited April 6, 2020 by zombywoof Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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