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Information on what may be a 1965 L-1


BIRD909

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11 hours ago, BluesKing777 said:

 

I was thinking, thinking, thinking......of all the guitars over the years, I think I only got a Gibson stencilled case on 2 - a new J45 in 2010 and the 2005 Dove I got at a pawn shop, and that Gibson case looks like it was run over by the delivery truck! The rest came in various schitty cases and bags that don’t fit, latest being my 2002 J50 from same pawn shop in a ripped plakky bag with Japanese tags everywhere???

Every other guitar I have ever bought came in a (fairly) nice case! I went mad on Hiscox cases, but they are almost extinct at the moment with Covid sourcing problems. None for sale here, anywhere.

And my 1952 LG2 from Ebay came in a bag with the zip broken! That is how it was delivered to my door, no box. Wow, it made it. That lives in an ill fitting local Maton case as well - lots of those for sale 10 years ago, not so squeezy now.

Anyway, my 52 LG1 is behind rack with 5 guitars in cases on it  - second row back in a closet, and I have meaning to drag it out to see if it has all its bits......but I have to shuffle all those nice ones around.......hmmmm. 😬

News report just in......Man found this morning survived the night in his basement after a row of guitars in cases collapsed on top of him while moving some around. His dog found him early morning and directed other family members to assist. When questioned, one replied that they though he was still returning from a gig......

 

BluesKing777.

 

 

I have only owned one ca. 2000 stenciled Gibson case.  Then again, I have only owned one Bozeman-made Gibson.

Of the guitars presently in the house I have the original Geib case which came with my 1920 L3.  There is nothing on it though to ID it as a Gibson supplied case.  It is amazing condition given its age having only had the lid straps replaced.   I still have the Lifton case which came with my wife's 1960 J200.  It is in rougher condition so even though I have a nice 1950s Geib 17" archtop case my wife prefers to carry it around in a newer Guardian case.  The third case is that which came with my 1963 B45-12 which I kept and now houses my 1961 B14-12.  Both of these have the small Gibson plaque by the handle.  

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20 hours ago, zombywoof said:

I used to have the habit of snapping up used cases when I ran across them on the cheap.  I figured I would eventually bring home some guitar which would fit in them.  At present my '32 L1 is residing in a case which once housed a  Dobro while my '42 Harmony H165 is in a 1960s Guild case, my '56 H40 in a TKL-made Martin case, and so on.  

I haven't had many vintage cases that looked good enough to carry a guitar. I did have one beautiful condition Lifton case from the 30's that came with an old Harmony NL that I gave to my luthier. The recent Regal I got has a chipboard case in very good condition with all hinges and latches good. I still wouldn't use it for protecting my  guitar. It also fits a Martin D and a Gibson J. I'm not into old cases so I'll sell it off. Not sure if the G on the latches means it's a Geib.

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Finding this Gibson made me wonder about my other one.  I believe it’s an L 50 but I am not sure if the mother of pearl inlay is on the fretboard make it a more specific model.  Also the serial number is 397130 which,  I believe makes it a 1953 model but, I could be wrong about that too.  There seems to be a lot of different information online when it comes  to serial numbers.  I tried to take a picture of the model stamp on the inside.  On the subject of cases neither one of these have cases.  I got the L-50 from my Dad, who got it secondhand when he was in college and it never had a case.  Still doesn’t.

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ACF9E2C2-4FBB-47EA-AED3-5DE12414DEA0.jpeg

Edited by BIRD909
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38 minutes ago, BIRD909 said:

Finding this Gibson made me wonder about my other one.  I believe it’s an L 50 but I am not sure if the mother of pearl inlay is on the fretboard make it a more specific model.  Also the serial number is 397130 which,  I believe makes it a 1953 model but, I could be wrong about that too.  There seems to be a lot of different information online when it comes  to serial numbers.  I tried to take a picture of the model stamp on the inside.  On the subject of cases neither one of these have cases.  I got the L-50 from my Dad, who got it secondhand when he was in college and it never had a case.  Still doesn’t.

ED5D55DF-0EA0-4E85-8137-8E9527FA618D.jpeg

ACF9E2C2-4FBB-47EA-AED3-5DE12414DEA0.jpeg

 

Looks approx 1950....

Google 1950 Gibson L50.....the inlays on the board begin late 40s models.

 

BluesKing777.

 

 

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2 hours ago, Dave F said:

I haven't had many vintage cases that looked good enough to carry a guitar. I did have one beautiful condition Lifton case from the 30's that came with an old Harmony NL that I gave to my luthier. The recent Regal I got has a chipboard case in very good condition with all hinges and latches good. I still wouldn't use it for protecting my  guitar. It also fits a Martin D and a Gibson J. I'm not into old cases so I'll sell it off. Not sure if the G on the latches means it's a Geib.

52123863342_264ed4c2c3_b.jpg

 

52137547819_f11b94c9fd_b.jpg52137309726_c6264b0236_b.jpg

 

52136282472_aef494d990_b.jpg

 

52137547804_bfc3752e6f_b.jpg

 

52137331993_77a7c39a34_b.jpg

 

 

Your mention of a Regal made me think of those felt lined bottom loading canvas cases with the goloshes latches.  I have one which came with my Sears Supertone.  I still keep the guitar in it.

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1 hour ago, BluesKing777 said:

 

Looks approx 1950....

Google 1950 Gibson L50.....the inlays on the board begin late 40s models.

 

BluesKing777.

 

 

I googled 1950 L 50 and that sure looked like it.  I then googled 1953 L 50 and it pulled up guitars that look just the same as the 1950.   I’m guessing they made the exact same guitar for a few years.   I didn’t know if the different inlays denoted custom, deluxe or anything like that or if it just varied year-by-year.

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27 minutes ago, BIRD909 said:

I googled 1950 L 50 and that sure looked like it.  I then googled 1953 L 50 and it pulled up guitars that look just the same as the 1950.   I’m guessing they made the exact same guitar for a few years.   I didn’t know if the different inlays denoted custom, deluxe or anything like that or if it just varied year-by-year.

I think they stayed the same until they quit making them in 1971

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On 6/12/2022 at 10:49 AM, BluesKing777 said:

 

Anyway, my 52 LG1 is behind rack with 5 guitars in cases on it  - second row back in a closet, and I have meaning to drag it out to see if it has all its bits......but I have to shuffle all those nice ones around.......hmmmm. 😬

News report just in......Man found this morning survived the night in his basement after a row of guitars in cases collapsed on top of him while moving some around. His dog found him early morning and directed other family members to assist. When questioned, one replied that they though he was still returning from a gig......

 

BluesKing777.

 

 

 

I didn’t do any of what I said. 😃

Dog didn’t have to search for me - my Eric Clapton was in the front row of the rack and spoke to me.

After my luthier tortured it back to submission, it is just fabulous to play.

3 mistakes I made: 

1. I didn’t record.

2. I didn’t take more photos.

3. I didn’t ring my luthier and thank him....again...🤪

The LG1 value keeps going up and I WILL drag it out, get my luthier to fix it up and paint it black to cover the awful top crack. Meanwhile, I have nice guitars to play.

 

BluesKing777.

Edited by BluesKing777
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30 minutes ago, BluesKing777 said:

 

I didn’t do any of what I said. 😃

Dog didn’t have to search for me - my Eric Clapton was in the front row of the rack and spoke to me.

After my luthier tortured it back to submission, it is just fabulous to play.

3 mistakes I made: 

1. I didn’t record.

2. I didn’t take more photos.

3. I didn’t ring my luthier and thank him....again...🤪

The LG1 value keeps going up and I WILL drag it out, get my luthier to fix it up and paint it black to cover the awful top crack. Meanwhile, I have nice guitars to play.

 

BluesKing777.

You answering your own stuff?   I do that as well.   🙄

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Had posted a response to the duplicate thread of this, like Dhanner.   Which disappeared....  Only thing I don't see covered nicely already here -  the value of LG1s has indeed been 'surging' as BKing noted.  It was steady around the $1K mark  but is now over double that.  The used market increase is much less obviously.  And, yeah,  ymmv - depends on the condition of the guitar, the need/want dynamics  of the potential buyer, etc.  But Reverb is a barometer you can't ignore.      So, Bird9,  your LG1 is certainly worth investing in maintaining or improving its  stability, playability and tone.   Case.  You need to want one !   Easy to find - price a function of how well it protects.  If you aren't taking it on a plane, you don't need a tank.  Conveniently, most standard classical guitar cases also fit the LG1.   If you bring this to a luthier wrapped in a blanket,  he may scratch his head. 

Edited by fortyearspickn
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13 hours ago, fortyearspickn said:

Had posted a response to the duplicate thread of this, like Dhanner.   Which disappeared....  Only thing I don't see covered nicely already here -  the value of LG1s has indeed been 'surging' as BKing noted.  It was steady around the $1K mark  but is now over double that.  The used market increase is much less obviously.  And, yeah,  ymmv - depends on the condition of the guitar, the need/want dynamics  of the potential buyer, etc.  But Reverb is a barometer you can't ignore.      So, Bird9,  your LG1 is certainly worth investing in maintaining or improving its  stability, playability and tone.   Case.  You need to want one !   Easy to find - price a function of how well it protects.  If you aren't taking it on a plane, you don't need a tank.  Conveniently, most standard classical guitar cases also fit the LG1.   If you bring this to a luthier wrapped in a blanket,  he may scratch his head. 

Thanks.  Excepting the case, what to you think the ballpark cost would be on the upgrades you are discussing?

 Thanks 

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I have/had a 64 LG1 I bought new for $125.   Gave it to my son, 7 or 8 years ago. Looked into replacing the plastic bridge ten years ago.  Luthier said it was working perfectly fine and change would only be cosmetic.  ZombyWoof touched on that.  So you may first want to find out if yours is working ok, and if there are any other issues - chewed up bridge plate?  ZombyWoof noted both these issues.  Cost - like getting a quote from a Car Repair Shop - can vary.  Jedzep guessed around $500 and I'd go with that.   Pickguard?    I'd be less worried about getting one to maintain the 'originality', ostensibly to preserve/increase it's re-sale value - then the other issues.  The original p/g was close to  1/4" thick.  Mine fell off twice, so I left it in the case.   The phantom outline of the former p/g adds mojo, at least to me.  But, if you're a heavy strummer, there are lots of thinner, more flexible and more attractive ones out there.  You can get them as cheap as $5.  Average 'decent' is $15 on this site.  https://guitarpartsresource.com/pickguards_acoustic.htm    Lot's of choices.  If you go that route, do not use any strange cleaners to prepare the surface or you'll destroy the existing finish and really reduce the value of your guitar.   Congrats on your new-to-you  guitar !

 

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