Dave F Posted October 10, 2023 Share Posted October 10, 2023 I bought this guitar last summer at a price where I could play around with it. I set it up with the original rosewood adjustable bridge and left it that way for a few months to see how I liked it. It was different but it did nothing for me, so I decided to convert it to a bone saddle. Here's some before and after my updates with me trying not to make it look too pretty. I secured 5 cracks on the top, replaced the pickup with an Anthem SL and plugged up the old jack hole, painted and decal the head stock, repaired the divots on the first four frets, dressed all the frets, made a rosewood insert with a bone saddle and filled in the gaps of the lifting bridge. It plays and sounds great plugged in or not. The rosewood insert is just a snug fit, did not glue it in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted October 11, 2023 Share Posted October 11, 2023 Glad you found your way - it's a guitar I'd like to hear. Of course both before and after the (well-crafted) switch, but guess that's impossible. P.S. - The headstock works fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted October 11, 2023 Author Share Posted October 11, 2023 11 minutes ago, E-minor7 said: Glad you found your way - it's a guitar I'd like to hear. Of course both before and after the (well-crafted) switch, but guess that's impossible. P.S. - The headstock works fine. The rosewood insert can be pulled out and the adjustable saddle and hardware can be put in with no mods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted October 11, 2023 Share Posted October 11, 2023 Did you buy it real reliced or Tom Murphy reliced? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted October 11, 2023 Share Posted October 11, 2023 Wow Dave, what a fun and worthy project. I love it when those two combine and a great sound is a bonus. Very cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegreatgumbino Posted October 11, 2023 Share Posted October 11, 2023 This looks awesome. Congrats on bringing it back to life! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted October 11, 2023 Share Posted October 11, 2023 That is a cool & very worthy project.. Is there a reason you didn’t go with a stock adjustable Bridge? Did you replace the Nut? What did you fill the divots with? Nice job on the Headstock.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted October 11, 2023 Share Posted October 11, 2023 Good for you. One of the guitars which remained with me the longest was a 1956 Epi FT79. I only snagged it because I got it for $400. I initially figured with just a little bit of TLC it would make some great trade bait for an instrument worth maybe six times what I had put in it. Funny thing happened though. While it was one of those guitars which did not do anything terribly well, I found it sounded really good trying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted October 11, 2023 Share Posted October 11, 2023 Great job! I'd like to hear it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted October 11, 2023 Share Posted October 11, 2023 Guitar Rescue 101 !!! Fantastic Job. Saved this one - it had one foot on a banana peel and the other in the trash heap. Also curious how you fixed this divots ?? They seem to suggest this guitar was played and loved for at least 50 years on a regular basis. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted October 11, 2023 Author Share Posted October 11, 2023 7 hours ago, Larsongs said: That is a cool & very worthy project.. Is there a reason you didn’t go with a stock adjustable Bridge? Did you replace the Nut? What did you fill the divots with? Nice job on the Headstock.. Is there a reason you didn’t go with a stock adjustable Bridge? The original rosewood adjustable saddle was usable, and I tried it. That saddle and the bridge slot had distorted into a slight banana shape and one of the stud holes was off center to the slot. That's why I went the insert route. Did you replace the Nut? No, the nut is original and not altered. What did you fill the divots with? I used the Frank Ford method. I've had vintage guitar frets filled in by a luthier in the past but did not like the dark spots it left. I read this a while back and decided I would try it or have my luthier try it the next time I needed it. I made a short 12" radius sanding block so I would not have to remove the frets. It worked really well, and I like the way it looks. FRETS.COM Nice job on the Headstock.. Thanks. I didn't bother smoothing the surface and filling in any dings or voids so it would not look too pretty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted October 11, 2023 Share Posted October 11, 2023 18 hours ago, Dave F said: The rosewood insert can be pulled out and the adjustable saddle and hardware can be put in with no mods. 👍 Yes, figured that, , , just thought it would be too optimistic to think you'ld switch back for an A/B. But the new saddle also ignites some curiosity. Btw. saw a contemporary J-50 with adjustable (tusq) bridge/saddle yesterday. Intend to return and try it - in the ideal world slip down a ceramic original insert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted October 11, 2023 Author Share Posted October 11, 2023 8 hours ago, Sgt. Pepper said: Did you buy it real reliced or Tom Murphy reliced? Honest wear, but not by me. I was playing guitars with a friend yesterday and he said my playing style and the way I place my hands makes it look like it was my playing that did the wear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBSinTo Posted October 11, 2023 Share Posted October 11, 2023 Dave, Smartly done! I always appreciate the skill and expertise of people who work with their hands on projects like yours. I think what surprises me most is the "Gibson" logo applied to the headstock. I thought they would be impossible to source, to deter scammers from faking Gibsons. RBSinTo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted October 11, 2023 Author Share Posted October 11, 2023 9 hours ago, fortyearspickn said: Guitar Rescue 101 !!! Fantastic Job. Saved this one - it had one foot on a banana peel and the other in the trash heap. Also curious how you fixed this divots ?? They seem to suggest this guitar was played and loved for at least 50 years on a regular basis. http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Luthier/Technique/Frets/FBoardDivot/fboardivot.html Guitar was played hard. Surprisingly it has a perfect neck angle and the frets, although grooved fairly deep, had enough height to be dressed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted October 11, 2023 Author Share Posted October 11, 2023 35 minutes ago, RBSinTo said: Dave, ........... I think what surprises me most is the "Gibson" logo applied to the headstock. I thought they would be impossible to source, to deter scammers from faking Gibsons. RBSinTo Ebay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBSinTo Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 3 hours ago, Dave F said: Ebay Dave, I'm truly surprised. RBSinTo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 8 hours ago, Dave F said: Is there a reason you didn’t go with a stock adjustable Bridge? The original rosewood adjustable saddle was usable, and I tried it. That saddle and the bridge slot had distorted into a slight banana shape and one of the stud holes was off center to the slot. That's why I went the insert route. Did you replace the Nut? No, the nut is original and not altered. What did you fill the divots with? I used the Frank Ford method. I've had vintage guitar frets filled in by a luthier in the past but did not like the dark spots it left. I read this a while back and decided I would try it or have my luthier try it the next time I needed it. I made a short 12" radius sanding block so I would not have to remove the frets. It worked really well, and I like the way it looks. FRETS.COM Nice job on the Headstock.. Thanks. I didn't bother smoothing the surface and filling in any dings or voids so it would not look too pretty. I’m always amazed at the tricks & techniques Craftsmen come up with to get ideal end results.. The mind of Man is amazing.. I’m all for more Threads like this.. We’ll done my friend.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boyd Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 (edited) 14 hours ago, E-minor7 said: Btw. saw a contemporary J-50 with adjustable (tusq) bridge/saddle yesterday. Intend to return and try it - in the ideal world slip down a ceramic original insert. Have been taking a break from the guitar for awhile to concentrate on other things, but I have a 2020 J-50 with the ADJ bridge and it's still my favorite guitar. Here's one of several threads we have about that model. I am rather disappointed however because the bridge is lifting up from the guitar body on one side. Doesn't seem to affect the sound (much) and the bolts that hold the ADJ saddle are keeping it from lifting too much but someday I need to get it fixed. Edited October 12, 2023 by Boyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted October 13, 2023 Share Posted October 13, 2023 13 hours ago, Boyd said: Have been taking a break from the guitar for awhile to concentrate on other things, but I have a 2020 J-50 with the ADJ bridge and it's still my favorite guitar. Here's one of several threads we have about that model. I am rather disappointed however because the bridge is lifting up from the guitar body on one side. Doesn't seem to affect the sound (much) and the bolts that hold the ADJ saddle are keeping it from lifting too much but someday I need to get it fixed. Actually returned and tried the thing today. A very convincing guitar with a high level of response and a loud 'tongue'. Will be remarkable in 12-20 years time. However I'd like to hear it with a ceramic saddle - the tusq is too mellowblooby and doesn't caption the distinct character of the porcelain. Gibson kind of shoot itself in the foot by choosing tusq - bone would be better, but Bozeman ! GO FOR BURNED WHITE CLAY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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