xlee69x Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 Hey guys, I need your help identifying my guitar. I bought it years ago from a family friend, who'd had it in his loft for aaaages in bits in a box. It was in a bit of a sorry state when I bought it, it had been completely stripped and sanded back to bare wood (mahogany I think) but most of the bits were there. After buying it, I refurbished it (Respray, new control knobs and a little re-wiring) and played it in my band for years. Anyway, further down the line, and I'm considering selling it. When I finished respraying it I had it valued for insurance purposes and was told it was mostly likely a mid 80's re-issue of a Les Paul Special, worth between £400 and £800, which I never questioned, but after a bit of research online, it seems this is not the case. Any re-issues of the special ive found all have a seperate bridge and stop, and not the all-in-one wrap around thing mine has. As ive seen my guitar sanded back to bare wood, I can also safely say that it has only ever had this kind of bridge, as there are no extra holes which have been filled in. Cosmetically, it most closely resembles an early (1955-1958) les paul special, with the single cut-away and the diamond shaped cover plate on the back, but the tuning keys are individual ones, not in rows of three (Although of course these could be replacements) There are no serial numbers or identifying marks anywhere on the guitar, either on the headstock or inside any of the alcoves on the back, which I realise makes identifying it accurately almost impossible, but just wondered if anyone had any ideas as to its age or value? I believe the P90 pickups, all in one bridge and scratchplate are original, but anything else could have been changed. cheers guys, Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xlee69x Posted October 14, 2008 Author Share Posted October 14, 2008 Apparently the stepped bridge is an original one from a 1965 Gibson SG (As its compensated for vintage strings, with the wound G string, as opposed to the plain one) The re-issue bridges for the pete townsend model are compensated for modern strings. Anyone know if this is right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry_Platt Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 It must be an original LP Special from the lat 50's because of the bridge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janward Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 My instincts tell me you've got a 1959 LP Special - everything looks right except the original cluson inline tuners rather than the schallers (?) you've got now. Looks sweet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xlee69x Posted October 17, 2008 Author Share Posted October 17, 2008 Hmm, thats what I thought too. I suppose the next thing for me to do is sand her back to the bare wood again and laquer/spray her in a more original colour. I think I'll replace the tuners and control knobs with originals too, see if we cant get her back to her former glory! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CashGap Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 The three-screw truss rod cover is a ***SIGNIFICANT*** clue as to the original brand of the guitar, as is the lack of the Gibson headstock profile. If you remove the truss rod cover, I suspect you will see that the guitar never had a Gibson two-screw truss rod cover. Information from the back of the potentiometers would allow you to estimate the date of manufacture, likely in the eighties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xlee69x Posted October 17, 2008 Author Share Posted October 17, 2008 Thanks for your advice, I'll take off the three screw truss rod cover and have a look underneath. Im going to be respraying it anyway, so I'll check if there were only ever two holes or whether its always been three. The headstock profile is a lot better than it looks in the photos, the top curves are chipped quite badly and the bare wood matches the laminate floor under the guitar, I'll try and take some better pictures. and compare it more closely. I'll let you know what I find..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CashGap Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 Also check under the pickguard. Your guitar has six pickguard screws, including two between the pickups. It should have four, with one between the pickups. If you don't see a screw hole between the pickups (in the middle, between the two screws shown in the photos), that's further evidence. Also, clearer front/back headstock photos and neck heel photos would confirm the brand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CashGap Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 Sooo... did it turn out to be an Epiphone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xlee69x Posted October 28, 2008 Author Share Posted October 28, 2008 Its definitely not an Epiphone, the headstock is the wrong shape, the knobs on the Epiphone les paul special are in the same position as a Gibson junior, and the Epiphone les pauls all have the seperate stop/bridge, and not the wrap around one piece job. The truss rod cover has about 5 holes underneath, so looks like its been changed a couple of times. I haven't had a chance to sand the body back to bare wood yet, so cant say for sure about the pickguard screws, but i'll keep you posted. At the moment, best guess is that it is either an original late 50's special base that has been rebuilt/renovated with a mixture of parts (60's SG bridge, 3 screw truss rod cover, aftermarket pickguard etc) OR Its a custom, one off body/neck made to look like a LP, made mid eighties at the latest, and rebuilt as above. Until I sand it back to bare wood and check carefully for alterations/any remaining serial numbers and headstock shape I wont know, and may never know for sure. Ive looked all over and cant find ANY other guitars, of any make, which were made pre 1990's and have the all in one wrap around bridge, which is why I think that one of the above is the only explanation. Anyone know any different? cheers guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xlee69x Posted October 28, 2008 Author Share Posted October 28, 2008 I have found this: Which was custom made by gibson in the 90's and has the same bridge, pick ups and controls as mine, and a differetn scratchplate from mine, which could shed some light on the matter... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dynadude Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 Looks like a fake to me. The rounded headstock, the recess below the bridge, The three screw non Gibson truss cover, and the lack of screw holes that would have been left by the removal of the inline tuners on the rear of the headstock all scream out "FAKE". Either that, or it's been horribly butchered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osiod Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 I have to agree with Dynadude that this guitar is probably a fake. I don't personally know of any Specials that had bound fretboards. Specials and Juniors were budget models and typically didn't have deluxe appointments like bindings. Also, I don't think the logo is correct for 50's model. If I remember correctly, on the 50's models, the dot on the "i" is connected to the top part of the "G". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MReynolds Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 I have to agree with Dynadude that this guitar is probably a fake. I don't personally know of any Specials that had bound fretboards. Specials and Juniors were budget models and typically didn't have deluxe appointments like bindings. Also' date=' I don't think the logo is correct for 50's model. If I remember correctly, on the 50's models, the dot on the "i" is connected to the top part of the "G". [/quote'] Then you need to go over to Gruhn guitars website and check out the '58 Special they have. It does have a bound fretboard. See pic below. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dynadude Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 My '61 SG Special has neck binding, so I don't think that would be an issue. I still say that guitar is a fake. The recess beneath the bridge should not be there. The headstock shape is ALL wrong, even the curve of the sides. The logo has no angle. It looks like a hastily applied aftermarket decal. Also, the three screw truss cover. I've been wrong about fakes before, but I don't think I have to worry about being wrong on this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oringo Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 In anycase, even if it was once a '58 Special, a re-finished guitar that's lost its serial number, had a recess cut under the bridge, and possibly lost a lot of headstock wood, is not going to fetch a big price. The guitar looks good as it is and I imagine it plays well. IMHO, it wouldn't be worth it to strip it again and re-finish it to try to sell it for 50's LP Special money. Serious buyers will give you the kind of reaction you've been getting to this post! Keep it or sell it as a player's guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troels Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 First of all... the pictures are terrible. I don't understand why people post such bad pictures if they want someone elses opinion - particularly in a case like this where details may be important. Anyway, look at the body in the area right beside the neck - the treble side. It should have a significant "lip" running along with the neck on the inside of the cutaway. The body and neck should not be flush here. I've never seen a recessed bridge on a Gibson before - and never a headstock like that either. The examples posted by mReynlds to prove a bound fretboard shows the correct location of the "i" dot - and shows a serial number as well on back of the headstock. The wraparound tail piece is NOT correct either (or altered) - The body looks slight arched (which would explain the recesseing of the bridge) I don't think it's a Gibson. There were tons of Japanese copies of these guitars in the 70s and 80s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.