EricHolland Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 Hi guys, I ran across this old tenor guitar which belongs to my ex girlfriend. It's an instrument that has been in her family for over 50 years, but I really cannot date the thing or exact model. Here are some pictures: The serial says "1414", and there's a label which says "Made in U.S.A by Gibson, inc. Kalamazoo, Mich." It also smells darn good! Can someone help me out with the model, or the year? (approx) From what I've "googled", I think it's a TG-1 model but I'm not sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 TG-1 from 1934. In this era the TG-1 had back binding, as your guitar. The TG-00 would not. Made for export. Looks great. Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricHolland Posted May 25, 2010 Author Share Posted May 25, 2010 Hi Terry, thanks very much, so a TG-1 from '34, wow. I tried to search for serial info but couldn't find any, do you have a good website for these dates? Can you see if there are any parts non-original? (maybe the, what do you call them in English, bridge pins?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyK Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 Unheard of? No. Just not real common. Back in the day banjoists would second on a tenor guitar, and tune it like their claw hammer. Same for mandoliners. There is a site you may find your answers on. Got a piece of paper and pencil? You might want to write this down: http://www.tenorguitar.com/ Now why didn't I think of that? Great site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricHolland Posted May 25, 2010 Author Share Posted May 25, 2010 A dutch acoustic specialist who's seen the gibson says it's likely a L0 or a L00 tenor version. Just got his email. He thinks it's a 1937 because of the "firestripe" pickguard ('36-'43?)and the FON serial between 1000-1599 with just 4 digits. What about that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cecil Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 Hi Eric, As far as I know, a typical TG-0 wouldn't have the sunburst finish (assuming that's the original finish), and a typical TG-00 wouldn't have the bound back as mentioned previously. Also, the firestripe pickguard shows up as early as '33, so I wouldn't narrow the date down too much based on that spec. By the way, really cool!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rar Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 A dutch acoustic specialist who's seen the gibson says it's likely a L0 or a L00 tenor version. Just got his email.He thinks it's a 1937 because of the "firestripe" pickguard ('36-'43?)and the FON serial between 1000-1599 with just 4 digits. What about that? I think this is an good guess. The sunburst is inconsistent with '34 -- way too big -- but correct for '37. Bound back is correct for a '37 L-00, and any Gibson could be ordered as a tenor at that time. -- Bob R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 These FONs pre letter suffix, are currently being studied. There is no website with accurate information on these numbers. A 1937 would indeed have back binding, but it would have a lettered FON that would easily date it. 1935 is currently recognized as the first year to use a letter in the FON. I have pictures of other guitars with similar and lower FONs that have the size sunburst and similar pickguards. Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rar Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 These FONs pre letter suffix' date=' are currently being studied. There is no website with accurate information on these numbers. A 1937 would indeed have back binding, but it would have a lettered FON that would easily date it. 1935 is currently recognized as the first year to use a letter in the FON. I have pictures of other guitars with similar and lower FONs that have the size sunburst and similar pickguards. [/quote'] Terry, I agree about the FON not looking right for a '37 (assuming it's legible in its entirety). Could easily be a '33, but I haven't seen anything I was sure dated from '34-'35 with a sunburst like that. However, you know a lot more about this stuff than I, so, if you say it could be a '34, I won't argue. -- Bob R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricHolland Posted May 26, 2010 Author Share Posted May 26, 2010 Well, give or take a mid 30's is close enough for me. More interesting for me is the name of the model, because not everyone agrees on the L00/L0/TG model variations. Leaving that aside, I recorded some tunes with the instrument yesterday. Holy @$@$%, that's one hell of a beautiful sound in it's own way! With a good stereo recording the melodies are so crisp and the highs are singing in a way no other regular dread or OM can reproduce I own. Not suitable for pop strumming of course but wow, when I layed down some tracks yesterday I was blown away when mic'ed up. It also plays ultra light with the new strings I installed, no buzzes anywhere. Fantastic. My ex gave it to me to find out what model it was, and to see if it has some value to sell. I kinda think it's a shame to sell such an instrument for the couple hunderds/ maybe a thousand that it would sell for. But hey, she's the regular "you've already got a dozen guitars, sell it" type kinda girl... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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