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J-45? Need help identifying.


lars509

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Hi, 

Can someone help me identify this guitar? To me it looks like a J-45, but I know nothing about it. The guitar needs work, it has a crack at the base of the neck and in the head, and the bridge has seen better days. The number at the bottom of the neck is '1206' and there is no banner logo.

Photos:

 

Photos here:

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AteP5ekcJXDjurUnyAgbSq7MHsBXxA?e=Y1hxl7

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AteP5ekcJXDjurUls6oOk1bUtroAVg?e=7dp7ii

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AteP5ekcJXDjurUkKms7zZfsevzIZg?e=dYp2VN

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AteP5ekcJXDjurUjdHPSVB9n7qeOwA?e=odI5AR

 

 

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

Lars

332412294_112399298388128_2059302300365125124_n1-sm.jpg

Edited by lars509
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This is older than a J-45. It appears to be an Original Jumbo, probably from 1934 by the Factory Order Number.

It's a rare bird, indeed.

The truss rod cover is not original. The Grover G-98 tuners may well be original.

The case looks period-correct.

This is a guitar worth the time and money it will take to make it right. It should go to a specialist luthier for the job, someone with a lot of experience with vintage Gibsons. Do not let anyone else touch it.

Edited by j45nick
correction
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1 hour ago, j45nick said:

This is older than a J-45. It appears to be an Original Jumbo, probably from 1934 by the Factory Order Number.

It's a rare bird, indeed.

The truss rod cover is not original. The Grover G-98 tuners may well be original.

The case looks period-correct.

This is a guitar worth the time and money it will take to make it right. It should go to a specialist luthier for the job, someone with a lot of experience with vintage Gibsons. Do not let anyone else touch it.

That's great news. Thanks for the info.

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55 minutes ago, zombywoof said:

I would think a Jumbo should be easy enough to ID due to certain distinct features that model had.  If you can get your hands on a copy of Spann's Guide you can look the instrument up.

That's probably a first-year guitar, so the characteristics may vary a bit. Notably, it has an unbound fretboard. The FON could be ambiguous because of Gibson's helter-skelter tendencies in that period, so you have to combine the FON with distinctive OJ characteristics to pin this down. As I told the OP, only, a first-hand inspection will confirm what it is.

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3 hours ago, zombywoof said:

I would think a Jumbo should be easy enough to ID due to certain distinct features that model had.  If you can get your hands on a copy of Spann's Guide you can look the instrument up.

52727877269_211d2eeee1_z.jpg

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8 hours ago, lars509 said:

I own it, but being a bass player, I did not know what it was. Not for sale, right now I'm just trying to figure out if I should insure her or not.

Well you have a Gem there. Really Nice.  I would be inclined  to insure it .  

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