Dove Histronic Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 Rumor has it Gibson made a total of 100 Nick Lucas guitars in 1991 - some maple, some rosewood and some koa... This one was retopped in Bozeman, when and why, I do not know... Had a longstanding obsession with Koa and Nick Lucas guitars, so seeing the two together was more than I could resist --- got it from a local guy who goes to lots of shows, so he took the Dove and gave me a fair amount of cash back and this poor lonely thang... Great resonant fingerpicker as expected, but takes a flatpick really well too... Maybe all those "I traded my dreadnaught / jumbo for a smaller guitar" types have been right all along... Here's the pics: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 Gads....it's beautiful...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 That's a keeper...... Welcome to the Gibson Forums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack6849 Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 That Sunburst finish on the back over the Koa is extremely KOOL. Haven't seen that treatment to Koa before. Beautiful... Jack6849 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilliangirl Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 Welcome to the forum! I'm good with the 'hello Nick Lucas' part but the 'goodbye dove' part is a little disconcerting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 Welcome Fret Teaser. What a beauty! I love it - from the headstock, through the fretboard color and inlays, and to that gorgeous body. Wow! That's quite a find. Congrats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modac Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 Nice get, Keith. They're fun guitars. Nothing quite like them when you find a good one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilliangirl Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 That headstock looks absolutely regal, doesn't it? It's beautiful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dove Histronic Posted July 11, 2010 Author Share Posted July 11, 2010 Nice get' date=' Keith. They're fun guitars. Nothing quite like them when you find a good one.[/quote'] I remember when you found yours Dennis. I was 98% happy for you, and 2% jealous, or maybe it was split more like 95 / 5 or 90 / 10... Who am I trying to kid - knowing there was a Nick Lucas Supreme to be had sent me on a GASeous quest, but none were to be found, so they were forgotten about... Had a non-vintage deep body L-00 for awhile that was pretty cool --- opened me up to smaller guitar possibilities, but only the upgraded Nick Lucas inlay would so... The fancy 00 Koa Martins appealed to me, but the Steve Miller and Robbie Robertson signatures did not... But all is forgotten now, this one has some battle scars, and I ripped out the electronics an unknown prior owner had added along the way --- but it's amazingly resonant and colorful, and besides, Nick Lucas played his big hit "Teasing The Frets" with a flatpick, so it shouldn't be a shock this guitar can go both ways... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ KAREN: You are right about tthe regal headstock, so after a brief "cropping" visit back to photobucket, voila, my new new avatar... I will of course take full credit, and act like the idea was solely mine... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modac Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 Keith, you're gonna have a blast playing the blues on it. But in the interest of full disclosure, these guitars can handle just about anything. Yup, even a flat pick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MapleManiac Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 Dylan played one in the mid-60's so I have to think they sound great for strumming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larryp58 Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 That's one beautiful guitar! Man, how I long for a small-body! If you find that you want to give it to a new owner, I'm ya boy!!! Congrats, I'm jealous! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoss Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 Nice find, Keith! Too bad you had to part with that Dove--Did he make you toss in the hat as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack6849 Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 Hey Fret Teaser, Wonder if we could we get a few more pics of the sides and back to check out that finish on the Koa's grain a little better? I had no idea Koa would look that good with the "Sunburst" treatment. Any further pics would be appreciated. Top shots are always great and, as I say, would love to see a few good snaps of the sides, and that gorgeous back wood as well. Thanks, Jack6849 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilliangirl Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 Nice avatar Keith! Good choice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 A beautiful guitar. Congratulations. I'd love to hear the story re.,the retop. Back in early 1991, I played a koa NL at Sam Ash in NYC, loved it, but wasn't smart enough to buy it. Interesting guitars. Those first reissue Montana NLs had the 25.5 instead of vintage 24.75 scale, which made them quite different from the originals. I take it that this is a 25.5 scale guitar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dove Histronic Posted July 13, 2010 Author Share Posted July 13, 2010 I'd love to hear the story re.' date='the retop. ...I take it that this is a 25.5 scale guitar? [/quote'] RETOP: I got the guitar from a local guy I've traded with for years, he has a little used / vintage guitar shop and goes to shows nationwide, and has a network of buyers / sellers, etc. He got the guitar from folks out of Louisville, KY that he sometimes deals with, who told him "You wouldn't know it if we didn't tell you, but the guitar was retopped by Gibson." That's all the info he had... The top is well broken in, so our best WAG is that back when Bozeman was gearing up, sometimes there were problems with the wood not being properly dried or aged, and maybe the original top split, but that is pure speculation. Also started a thread over at the UMGF in the Guitar Critics section, and a few folks are posting photos of their NL's. There is a photo there of a NL label signed by Ren Ferguson #27 / 100 that dates to July 1, 1991 --- mine dates July 30, 1991 and the label is not signed as one of the first 100. LONG SCALE: Yes it is, resonant and loud even with bare fingers --- picked with a Wegan 1.0 it is at least as loud as some Martin dreads I've had in the past...colorful tone too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rogerb Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 Oh yeah! nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon S. Posted July 14, 2010 Share Posted July 14, 2010 VERY nice!!! Congrats!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted July 14, 2010 Share Posted July 14, 2010 Very Nice and Congrats. Seems all of my favorite Bozeman guitars were made during the first couple of years the shop was opened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanfender Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 Hey Fret Teaser, Could you described the tone of your Nick Lucas? What does it excel at? What does it not do so well? Just curious how you would describe the tone. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBK I Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 Beautiful Keith! Probably perfect for your brand of Delta thumping. Brad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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