Spectboy Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 I just got onto the Forum so if this question has been answered a hundred times in the past, I apologize in advance. Lately there have been a few Gibson J-45's floating around for sale where apparently the serial numbers are too faint to see. One in particular claims to be from the early '60s. The bridge has already been replaced with a belly-up bridge/bone saddle. Question: What other ways can one date an old acoustic Gibson without relying on the serial number? Thanks for any help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilliangirl Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 Hi Spectboy, welcome to the forum. There's a few avenues you could take I guess. There is a website that provides quite specific changes seen in vintage Gibsons, but I can't find the darn website at the moment. Does anyone else have it at their fingertips? Provide.net-something rather. You could post pictures and someone here may be able to ballpark it for you. You can send pictures to Gruhns (if it's your guitar) and they will estimate it for you. There's lots of fakes out there so you have to be careful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry K Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 vintage gibson page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 Question: What other ways can one date an old acoustic Gibson without relying on the serial number? Dating most Gibson guitars, especially older ones, takes investigation and comparison of many features of the guitar. The serial number is just one of many things that must be considered, and sometimes is the most useless. During the sixties and early seventies not only were serial numbers duplicated, but the record keeping also left much to be desired. There are many published sources on the history and details of Gibson guitars, and sometimes even these published sources contradict each other. In many cases it takes a comparison of various reference materials to accurately establish a year of manufacture, and in some cases a few year period is as close as it is possible to determine. Other details that figure into the research of guitar dating are: Types of woods used Body size and shape Headstock logo Finishes Headstock decorative inlays Fingerboard inlays Tuning machines Pickguards and fingerrests Bridges and saddles Neck to body joints and general construction methods Factory order numbers Paper labels And the list goes on and on. Even within the history of a single model many of these things have changed over the years due to the evolution of that model, available materials and construction methods. I know of no single resource that has all the answers, and it's always better to crosscheck and confirm information from multiple places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spectboy Posted May 16, 2009 Author Share Posted May 16, 2009 Thanks for the input everyone. I'll see if I can find a few of these sites. If you enjoy cruisin' the web, check out www.myspace.com/peteshackett for some of my music and http://mysite.verizon.net/resu0a0b/ for my guitar collection and history. You might get a chuckle. Thanks again for being helpful to the nubie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyK Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 Get a picture of it, post it and ask KSDADDY. He's usually pretty good at this.... or... he's blowin' smoke up our collective skirts, as no one else has a clue. Seriously KSDADDY is pretty good at this sort of thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jannusguy Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 hey pete, nice to see someone from my neck of the woods here! are you looking to date something you have?or something you might buy? i have some books that might help out. rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spectboy Posted May 16, 2009 Author Share Posted May 16, 2009 I'm thinking about purchasing this particular guitar but I've seen a few with the same sad story. I have all the info for serial dating. .. maybe that's the only date I can get lately... heh, heh. It started me thinking of how anyone might go about either previous to buying, figure out how to get close to the age or post buy, where to find things to look for or a way to "bring out" the faded serial number. One thing that may may help is to know if serial numbers from that time period were stamped or inked (or both or neither). If they are stamped, there may be a way to bring out the numbers under (just guessing) black light or some such technology. Again thanks for the interest. This forum rocks. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spectboy Posted May 17, 2009 Author Share Posted May 17, 2009 Quick inquiry for Jannusguy. If you happen to check this, is that for Jannus Landing in St. Pete? If so, I played there many times in the Mad Beach Band. Great venue. I also played in a small pub next door to the Detroit as my single act (the name escapes me now but then, so does mine most of the time). Thanks for your input. Let me know if you hear of a J-45 for sale at affordable prices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballcorner Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 :-. . . Let me know if you hear of a J-45 for sale at affordable prices . . . I think all US prices are reasonable!! You wouldn't want to know what we pay for Gibsons here in Canada. Of course, there is always an exchange rate that impacts the prices, but jobs here actually pay less raw dollars than in the US for most industries and professions - so where a US buyer is perhaps spending a month's salary on a Gibson, up here it might be closer to two months' pay. Current examples: Gibson Advanced Jumbo - $2999 Gibson Hummingbird - $2699 Gibson J-200 - $3575 Gibson SWD - $2599 I often see used Gibsons here on the forum that make my head spin. At $1200 and $1500 US - I would love to get my hands on another AJ. The same guitar here, used, is about $2300-$2500. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jannusguy Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 :P Quick inquiry for Jannusguy. If you happen to check this' date=' is that for Jannus Landing in St. Pete? If so, I played there many times in the Mad Beach Band. Great venue. I also played in a small pub next door to the Detroit as my single act (the name escapes me now but then, so does mine most of the time). Thanks for your input. Let me know if you hear of a J-45 for sale at affordable prices.[/quote'] yes, pete, that's me. who was it you and TC opened for at jannus awhile back? we do so many shows i forget after a while. i just sold one of my J45s a month ago. had it listed here but it went to a guy on the AGF.i'll let you know if i see anything out there that looks like a deal. rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spectboy Posted May 18, 2009 Author Share Posted May 18, 2009 Thanks Rob I haven't played out for a bit, the last time at Jannus Landing was a MBB reunion with TC, Merrigan, Harry Dailey (Buffett), Stormin' Norman and Hector!! That's how long ago! Yeah, please keep your eyes out for me, thanks. If you get a few moments, check out my Verizon site listed above in one of the replies. It's got pics and histories you may remember and email addresses. Yeah, Ballcorner, I'm from New Hampshire originally. Everything up there and north seem more expensive. And with duty and/or taxes, getting one up there has got to be tough. I bought a guitar case from folks up that way. Really nice case and great price coming this way, but something put a hole right through the shipping carton and ripped and dented the case. Shipping is a roll of the dice. One of my questions still remains, how can you tell the year of a guitar if you can't make out the serial number. I guess you have to have it "in hand" and take it to a guitar guru. Pete (Spectboy) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.