je302 Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 Yesterday I went to check out what the owner describes as a 1972/73 J-50. The guitar was solid and had a nice tone but I had a few issues that made me very skeptical. First, the guitar had an arched-type back "made that way, not bulged" and the inside had no back bracing or Gibson sticker. Im not that familiar with square shoulder Gibbys, but I dont think that they ever had arched-backs. the back and sides were mahogany, and the binding was tortois, which I know they did use in that era. The top binding had been replaced with white binding, so the binding didnt match. The top appeared correct with the right rosette and pickguard, tuners appear to have been replaced, and the headstock had a stamped serial #, and inlayed gibson logo, not gold print. I was just wondering if any of this seems right? or if it was pieced together from other guitars? Any help would be nice. I obviously passed on buying it because there were too many red flags, and the price seemed high, heres the link.... http://fortmyers.craigslist.org/lee/msg/2835968602.html Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 The 1970s Gospel had a laminate arched back (which explains the lack of bracing) but I believe the body on those was maple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfox14 Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 Boy that guitar looks suspicious to me. Never seen a J-50 with an arched one-piece lamintae back with no bracing. I would stear clear of this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
je302 Posted February 18, 2012 Author Share Posted February 18, 2012 Ya thats kinda what I thought... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
je302 Posted February 18, 2012 Author Share Posted February 18, 2012 Thanks to Zombywoof's input ive done some more research, and it appears to be a Gospel model. If this is a 73 gospel, does it have any value? Like I mentioned it is solid/ no cracks, has good tone. And the only repair I noticed was a replaced bridge. Is it worth looking into further? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 I don't know about value but those arched backs are nice especially in an era when Gibsons were not known as having the most presence of any guitar on the planet. I would not worry about the replaced binding or bridge as they are probably something you would have done on your own anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
je302 Posted February 18, 2012 Author Share Posted February 18, 2012 I might have to go back for a second look then. Thanks for you help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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