BlondieL50 Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 This is the L50 that has been in our basement for many, many years. I would lke my 6 month old grandson to use it when he is older. It belonged to his great, great gandpa. It was played in the band in his restaurant/nightclub during the 40s and 50s. I originally planned to have it totally renovated at Gibson so that it would be like new for him to enjoy. Then I began to think about the history behind each scratch and now I am debating how far to go with this. I am not deciding by monitary value of the instrument because it will never be sold. I am not concerned about the cost of renovation because it will be spread out over time. I want him to be happy with the guitar. They could do fret work and replace the tuners which are not original. They can fix up the area around the neck which is bare wood from I don't know what (perhaps a pick up?). Once the finish is removed and redone there is no going back. All the scratches will be gone, but so will the history of the instrument. Do any of you have any thoughts? Thanks, Linda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 Welcome to the forum, Linda. The L50 sounds like a nice family heirloom. I would not send it to Gibson (would be costly and time-consuming). Find a competent luthier and set-up person and have the guitar evaluated as to what needs doing, to make it playable. As you say, let the original finish be. Let it tell the story of his G-G-Grandpas history with the guitar! Just my thoughts, Rod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimR56 Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 I agree with Rod. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlondieL50 Posted December 30, 2010 Author Share Posted December 30, 2010 I actually feel better after hearing from you guys. I called "Cream City Music" in Milwaukee and spoke with a man who has been renovating guitars for almost 28 years. Several are on their web site for sale and they look good. He said he could refinish just the large blemish above the neck and leave the rest of the little scratches for "old time sake". It is bare wood in that area and I think for the sake of the instrument that should be taken care of. He asked me to bring it in so that he can look at it and make suggestions. He said he probably would not refinish the whole guitar either. I am trying to post pictures of it. I have pictures of Little Nick's Cafe that I will ask my husband help me post too. I will post what he recommends we do. Thanks for your help. Linda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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