Gibson L48

[Ben Eckroth]

So, a friend of mine recently gave me an old Gibson L-48 (post 1946 because of the 16" body...but have yet to locate FON) that needs quite a bit of work to be playable (meaning all new hardware, a cracked side, and two loose braces). I have a few questions that I hope someone can answer for me.

 

1) Should I string a guitar with a cracked side and loose braces?....because I'm impatient and want to play it NOW...

2) I'm looking at THIS tailpiece...acceptable?

3) I was also looking at THIS bridge, but I'm unsure if I should, instead, get the tune-o-matic bridge or bone saddle bridge.

4) It's also going to need a new nut and I'm planning on having someone cut me a bone nut, but this is my first archtop and I really have no idea.

5) The original case is gone and I would like a new hardshell for it. Research told me that it should fit in any of the Gibson ES cases but I just wanted to make sure before I bought a $150 case.

 

Basically, what I'm saying is I really have no clue about what to do with an archtop and I'm just blindly searching for replacement parts. If anyone has one of these guitars and could share some info that would be greatly appreciated.

[L5Larry]

1. No

2. Yes

3. Yes

4. Yes

5. No

[Jabberwocky]

I feel this one might be more suitable for a deep bodied L-48: http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges,_tailpieces/Archtop_guitar_tailpieces/Kluson_Archtop_Guitar_Tailpiece.html .