nickjwill Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 If this is the wrong venue for this forgive me. Just a heads up. http://tampa.craigslist.org/hil/msd/3001489813.html I'm no expert but the dot neck tells me it's not legit. Fretboard replacement? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rar Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 Fretboard replacement? Looks like. But the price is disturbingly low, even assuming some issues (such as the fretboard). -- Bob R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jannusguy2 Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 If this is the wrong venue for this forgive me. Just a heads up. http://tampa.craigslist.org/hil/msd/3001489813.html. I'm no expert but the dot neck tells me it's not legit. Fretboard replacement? I posted this same ad in the vintage forum. pretty sure it's a scam. notice you can't reply through CL. You have to use the email addy in the title. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 Link seems to be dead in any case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jannusguy2 Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 I sent an email asking for more info. Here is the response I received: Hi, Thank you so much for your interest. Here's a perfect player that I'm being offered-1939 Gibson Super 400 18" Archtop Acoustic Guitar.The serial number is no longer readible, but all the features scream 1939, 13 5/8th at the upper bout, X braced and has the early type allen screw tailpiece. Because it is X braced, is from early 1939. The only non-original part is the floaring bridge. I'm selling the guitar because my daughter of only 15 years old, died 4 months ago in a car accident, a drunk driver hit her and my husband. This was her guitar and it brings me bad memories and that's the reason I want to sell it.The price is $2,631. If you are really interested in purchasing the guitar please reply to this email and i will provide further instructions regarding payment and delivery. Thanks and have a good day, Julie This was my reply: Bullsh*t. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 Sob Story. Scam at its Lowest as well... .. but it is a Super 400 ... replacement Fingerboard.. I had a L5cn perty Much the same way.. replaced board with Dots... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 Not trying to play the devil's advocate here just for the sake of being contrary, or hijack this thread, but..... I've been around the block a few times, and I've never seen, or played, a guitar where the fingerboard was replaced. And for what reason would a guitar require a fingerboard replacement? I've got a 65 year old guitar with a rosewood board, and another one that is 52 years old, and although there is certainly some fingerboard wear, they are in no way close to needing to be replaced due to normal playing wear. So to me, a replaced fingerboard screams major structural repair, broken truss rod, neck reset/replacement, etc, and even then, in most cases, the original fingerboard can be/would be removed and then reinstalled. My next question regarding the particular guitar in question is why would anyone with the top-of-the-line Gibson archtop replace the fingerboard with one off a run of the mill student model. No one who took pride in their instrument or craft would do that. Add to that the fact that fingerboards are inlayed and slotted as raw slabs, what dot-neck fingerboard would be the proper scale length for this guitar? In this case, and most others where the "replaced fingerboard" theory comes up, I don't buy it. The bleeding-heart story from the seller is also a red flag, and add to that the question of what was a 15 year old girl doing with a 1939 Super 400, not to mention the low selling price. If the deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Everything about this deal to me screams "Run Away". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 Not trying to play the devil's advocate here just for the sake of being contrary, or hijack this thread, but..... I've been around the block a few times, and I've never seen, or played, a guitar where the fingerboard was replaced. If the deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Everything about this deal to me screams "Run Away". Larry, I wouldn't argue with the concept that if the deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is. However, I would differ with you on the board replacement question. When I returned my old J-45 to Gibson in 1968 for repairs, two of the things I had done were a re-fret and a fretboard replacement. In hindsight, I should have had them re-fret without replacing the board, but hindsight is wonderful stuff, and I've got it by the barrel full. The original board had very heavy wear in the first position, enough so that it did impact a bit on playability. If I knew then what I know now, I would have told them to plane the board when re-fretting, and all would have been well. As it was, I believe they took the neck off and did a re-set, as they replaced the top at the same time. What I didn't foresee when they did this was that they would install the then-current narrow board, and modify the neck slightly to suit. I'm not for a moment suggesting the guitar in this ad is what it is represented to be, but fretboards can and do get replaced in some circumstances. I love unraveling guitar mysteries, and would love to see this one in the flesh (if it exists) to try to figure it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 My next question regarding the particular guitar in question is why would anyone with the top-of-the-line Gibson archtop replace the fingerboard with one off a run of the mill student model. Not saying the story does not reek to high heaven. But I have to disagree as well. You are thinking from today's perspective. There was a time when these guitars were only valued by a few folks in the know. Most of us never imagined there would come a day when these guitars would be worth the amount of scratch they now bring. These were just used guitars. Lawdy, I did all kinds of horrible things to guitars that today would be worth easily five digits if I had not done what I had to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jannusguy2 Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 Not saying the story does not reek to high heaven. But I have to disagree as well. You are thinking from today's perspective. There was a time when these guitars were only valued by a few folks in the know. Most of us never imagined there would come a day when these guitars would be worth the amount of scratch they now bring. These were just used guitars. Lawdy, I did all kinds of horrible things to guitars that today would be worth easily five digits if I had not done what I had to them. Zombywoof, trying to reach you. Did you see my message? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickjwill Posted May 8, 2012 Author Share Posted May 8, 2012 check this link http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&rt=nc&nma=true&item=251041689317&si=EZfH5yAMeiUIczZmgc615PJiXus%253D&viewitem=&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc#ht_6289wt_1270 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 check this link http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&rt=nc&nma=true&item=251041689317&si=EZfH5yAMeiUIczZmgc615PJiXus%253D&viewitem=&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc#ht_6289wt_1270 IT'S THE SAME GUITAR! That's the same photo on the e-bay listing from SoCal as the one you posted from Tampa Craigs List, and the personal reply you received from "Julie" is word for word the description from the e-bay ad. In other words, IT THE SAME GUITAR! The guitar does not exist in two places. What's this tell you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 Well...mystery guitar. I love a good mystery. The EBAY seller seems legit, with lots of history. I would guess the CL lister used this guitar, pic, and description to make a fake post. But did it really sell for 5000$?!?! I realize a '39 in good shape would bring good cash, but one that had as much work as this? I dunno. I could see at some point, an 'ametuer' luthier or woodworker replacing the fingerbaord with this. My Grandfather built some guitars in the 60's, and used fingerboards from a vender- premade with frets installed. This fingerboard looks a LOT like those. I recognize the rough finish, the perpendicular tooling marks, and the color/inlays/frets look like it could be the same thing. So I could see someone with skills to do woodwork who wouldn't have the skills to do fretwork, or a steamer, might end up with this. I got curious about the f-holes, because they looked wrong to me, but kinda looked right too. I googled images, and the only thing I could say for sure is that there is a lot of variation, but none like these I could find. I DID find some 90's reissues that had the same f-holes, though. So...could it be a forgery? would someone forge something with such a "lame" fingerboard? Some details about the guitar look authentic, some don't. I am having a little trouble with the finish on the body...looks to good. And from what I have seem of old guitars, refins usually don't fare so well, and usually look worse than original finishes if they are old like the fretboard might suggest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.