Mid 60's gibsons any warnings?

[Robosapien]

Hello everyone. I'm being lured in by some mid 60's Gibsons I'm seeing at a price I could do. For example, 1965 southern jumbo.

Are there any concerns to be on the lookout for? Are there any inherent problems with this era in Gibson acoustics?

Thx.

[JoePa and Son]

Son and I own a 65 Southern Jumbo. It was my first guitar, purchased new.

Ours has the undesirable (for many) 1 9/16 nut. Takes me all of less than a minute to "adjust" to from wider spacings, so I don't mind it at all. Actually, I find it a fun size....barre chords are way easy, but I wouldn't prefer this size, otherwise.

We did have the adjustable bridge/saddle removed and replaced with a compensated bone saddle. The difference...improved sound is amazing. Those original parts weigh a lot. Some say that set-up as original is fine, but not with ours. It now has a wonderful Gibson sound. BTW, until I found this site I'd never have known about this option.

I know of no other "inherent" concerns or problems with this era. For sentimental and other reasons, we'd never let this one go.

[Looburst]

Plenty, some have the smaller nut, 1 9/16 not as desirable, not all have this but many do. Watch out for plastic bridges, not good at all. They warp and cause added problems. Also the adjustable ceramic saddles, the tone is not as desirable as a fixed or standard saddle. Some like them but I don't. Make sure none of the tuner shafts aren't bent, could cause you to replace them. All these are added costs that many have dealt with in the past. Make sure there are no loose braces inside the guitar, also can be costly.

[dwasifar]

Well, I would warn you against Mel Gibson, but he's only 61.

Yes, actually from Gibson itself. Quoting their website, which details a history of Gibson acoustics (http://www.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle...c-story.aspx):

Sales of Gibson’s Jumbos and smaller L Series flat-tops (now ‘LG’ for ‘little guitar’) ticked along nicely, but just when the competition was capitalizing on the folk boom of the late 1950s and early ’60s, Gibson executives decided to “upgrade” many models in ways that would ultimately only make them less desirable both to players and collectors. This seemingly pointless decline in design integrity persisted through portions of three decades. A height-adjustable bridge fitted to many flat-tops in 1957 served mainly just to deaden these instruments’ tonal response, while other efforts to strengthen tops further choked off acoustic resonance. In 1971, Gibson — now under new owners Ecuadorian Company Ltd (ECL), soon renamed Norlin — began doubling its X-bracing to create sturdier, but tonally dead soundboards. Meanwhile, Gibson’s gradual move from Kalamazoo to Nashville, TN, was underway. Norlin had opened offices in Nashville in 1970, followed by some manufacturing facilities in 1974. In 1984 Gibson production left the Kalamazoo plant entirely. By this time, however, Norlin was running into difficulties. Rather than the signaling the death of the 100-year-old brand, however, the impending change probably saved Gibson entirely. A team of friends who had met at Harvard Business School applied their studies to the ailing company, trimmed and refined it, and soon was seeing a profit. The new owners turned their attention first to electric guitar production in Nashville, but soon established a plan to bring Gibson acoustic guitars back to their former glory.

There are a lot of people, however, that own Gibson acoustics from that era that love them. Although the trend during that time was towards lower quality, these guitars need to be tried individually before approval or rejection.

[12fretter]

Originally Posted by JoePa and Son

Son and I own a 65 Southern Jumbo. It was my first guitar, purchased new.

Ours has the undesirable (for many) 1 9/16 nut. Takes me all of less than a minute to "adjust" to from wider spacings, so I don't mind it at all. Actually, I find it a fun size....barre chords are way easy, but I wouldn't prefer this size, otherwise.

We did have the adjustable bridge/saddle removed and replaced with a compensated bone saddle. The difference...improved sound is amazing. Those original parts weigh a lot. Some say that set-up as original is fine, but not with ours. It now has a wonderful Gibson sound. BTW, until I found this site I'd never have known about this option.

I know of no other "inherent" concerns or problems with this era. For sentimental and other reasons, we'd never let this one go.

I'am with JoePa on the nut width ...I have a J-50 with 1 9/16 and have no issue going back and forth from 1 11/16 or 1 3/4 back to 1 9/16 ...i also replaced the adj. bridge & bridge plate.

[Parlorman]

Like JoePa, we've replaced the adjustable bridge on the Hummingbird with a solid bridge and bone saddle. Tremendous improvement in how it sounds.

Some Gibsons from the 60's have a "2" or "2nd" stamped on the back of the headstock. Supposedly they were considered factory seconds.

[Rob W]

Try a '63 if you can find one at a decent price. '65 is when things got weird.

[Robosapien]

Good stuff to know. Y'all never fail to bring the goods.

[Looburst]

1965 is NOT when things got weird, I don't know what Rob W is talking about but he obviously does not know what he's talking about. The adjustable bridges started in the late 1950s and so did the smaller nuts, so the craziness did start in the late 1950s, much earlier than 1965,,,,oh brother!

[Mr Fingers]

Glad to see al the warnings here. The guitars vary by year and are inconsistent within years. Many have terrible, anti-tonal features and are often overbuilt and/or overfinished. Some of the colors used can be garish. All that being said, there are some truly wonderful instruments n this mix, so it depends on the specific guitar -- not the model; the individual guitar -- and what you're looking for. Though it is rare for any of these Gibsons to be anything like a decent Martin, acoustically, as rhythm guitars, recording guitars, and singer-songwriter backing guitars, they can be terrific because they lack booming low end, and do not have the complexity of overtones found in Martins. The Beatles and tom Petty, to name two greats, used Gibsons of this era often, to great effect. As some note, some of the more ridiculous features, like the deplorable bridges and saddles, can be remediated, though at no little cost. Good luck! I'm into my third decade of trying to find a decent old Dove. No luck so far!

[Goodallboy]

Myself and 3 friends had mid 60's Gibson J-45's. All were great acoustic guitars.

[zombywoof]

Originally Posted by Mark Stone

Yes, actually from Gibson itself. Quoting their website, which details a history of Gibson acoustics

LG does not stand for "Little Guitar." The "L" designation, as the blurb notes, had been used as a series designation for decades. The "G" stood for Gut String as the LGs had the same body specs as Gibson's classical guitars.

Originally Posted by zombywoof

LG does not stand for "Little Guitar." The "L" designation, as the blurb notes, had been used as a series designation for decades. The "G" stood for Gut String as the LGs had the same body specs as Gibson's classical guitars.

Well, you'll have to take that up with Gibson - it was a direct quote from their website.

[zombywoof]

Originally Posted by Mark Stone

Well, you'll have to take that up with Gibson - it was a direct quote from their website.

I am half-surprised Gibson did not say LG stood for "Ladies Guitar."