Can anyone confirm or refute...

[Muddville]

...some conflicting information I've been getting?

 

I have a '67 EB2D sunburst (the same one in my profile picture) that I bought from the original owner in 1973. At the time I bought it, he indicated that the neck had suffered damage within the first year that he owned it, and that it had been replaced under warranty by Gibson (and presumably in Kalamazoo). There is no serial number on the back of the headstock, however the black-on-orange label is inside with model and serial number. Gibson TN tells me this bass left the (Kalamazoo) factory on 03/15/67.

 

Does anyone know for sure whether it was a hard and fast policy for Gibson KZoo to re-stamp the original serial number on a replacement neck in '67-68? A former KZoo Gibson employee who stayed behind when things moved to TN (and who still operates a repair facility in the area) told me this afternoon that he thought they did "sometimes...usually", but that it was possible for replacement necks to occasionally get out without any numbers "if someone was in a hurry to get the repair done." Over the years I've seen a few other Gibsons with replacement necks installed by factory authorized facilities which had no serial numbers on the headstock, but I've also been told by a few people that Gibson ALWAYS transferred the old numbers to the new neck. I'm inclined to believe the former KZoo guy who tells me that he thought they put the old numbers on the new neck "sometimes, but maybe not all the time," but at this stage of the game, I'm not sure what or whom to believe. The replacement neck is identical to an original neck from the same era, headstock, logo, rod cover, etc. are all perfect, as is the installation, and I believe the guy who sold it to me when he says that the work had been done by Gibson.

 

I've been guesstimating the value of this bass for insurance purposes for years, but the older it gets, the more I think I probably ought to have some sort of fairly accurate idea at this stage of the game, and the major stumbling block seems to be the question of whether or not there ought to be numbers on a replacement neck.

 

Anyone care to take a stab at this? Thanks in advance for any insight you may be able to offer.

[ksdaddy]

Your best bet would be to contact George Gruhn for an appraisal. He charges $50 but if you're thinking insurance it's well worth it. My own two cents is that he seems to be a little on the generous side with values; I doubt I could ever sell any of the guitars I've had him appraise for the dollar amount he quoted. However you will receive a good appraisal printed on his letterhead/stationery which would be worth a lot if it got stolen or otherwise lost. My only caveat is to be careful what you provide him for a description as he will insert that into the appraisal verbatim. Choose your words carefully is all.

[Muddville]

I guess I should have included the fact that I spoke with Walt Carter at Gruhn"s (and formerly of Gibson) today as well, following a referral from Gibson CS. I was trying to find some confirmation regarding what might have been SOP for neck replacements and whether the lack of numbers on the new one was something that occurred in specific instances. He filled me in on the appraisal service they offer and I'll certainly consider that if I can't get any sort of enlightening information elsewhere, although I'm at a loss to understand how one could get much of a definitive appraisal of an instrument from anyone who hasn't inspected it "in person," which is probably why I don't make a practice of buying guitars over the internet.

 

Thanks very much for the reply and if I learn anything that might help others here, I'll be sure to get it into a post.