retopped J-35

[toneseeker]

Just wondering if any forum members might recognize this guitar. It appears to be a Gibson J-35 body, maybe from 1939-41. Back, sides, head stock etc seem legit but the guitar has obviously been re-topped at some point in the past--maybe the 70s? You can see gouge marks where the original top was removed and the binding around the top is ivoroid with visible layers as opposed to the back binding which is a solid color.

Strangely, the luthier who did the re-top made the sound hole very small--similar to older Gibson Jumbos and then put a binding ring around the inside to make it even smaller. Then the moved the sound hole about an inch closer to the head stock. They kept the original J-35 pick guard. Martin style bridge.

It has a very focused sound--great for the studio. Unlike any top I've seen previously. The only thing that comes close to looks is a Yamaha FG75!

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[The Kid!]

I don’t see any pics.

[Kerbie]

Pics didn't show, so I tried to post the URLs. Can't do it because they required a log-in to view.

Toneseeker... you can post directly from your computer using "Manage Attachments." You can also use a third-party host that doesn't require a log-in or the AGF app.

[toneseeker]

Thanks for the help with posting images.

[Kerbie]

Originally Posted by toneseeker

Thanks for the help with posting images.

Excellent... glad it worked!

[The Kid!]

Yeah, that looks odd. How does it sound?

[toneseeker]

It's much different from a J45--not the bass thump I'm used to hearing. Every note is clear--doesn't favor bass or treble or mid-tones. Very balanced. Like I said it's great in the studio. Very few overtones and you get what you play.

For a while I thought of redoing the top in a more traditional J35 style but I've decided that I like it as is.

It's become one of my favorite guitars.

[zombywoof]

The key to a J35 is the bracing and whether whomever did the work reused or replicated it. Until at least 1941, the J35 was built with a tall un-scalloped X brace and either two or three tone bars, scalloped or not, depending on the year. By 1942 all Gibson acoustics were built with scalloped bracing and two scalloped tone bars. If the FON is not visible on the neck block, the presence or lack of back and neck binding, the shape of the neck, and tuners (assuming the originals are still there) would help narrow a build date down. The thing which really characterizes a J35 though is they were incredibly midrangey sounding guitars.

[toneseeker]

Thanks! I would guess that if the top was unusable, the braces might be too but looking inside the guitar, it seems the braces are a bit crudely carved. Looks like 2 scalloped braces and thick x-brace with some sort of wood patch glued over the "X".

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[toneseeker]

Given that the wood used for the top has some bear claw figure in it and seems to be made from orphaned top pieces, maybe this re-top was just an experiment to see what it sounded like. Possibly the crudely carved braces were indicative of that?

[toneseeker]

Heel is French type, thick baseball bat neck, but thin width on the fingerboard at the nut. Here are some further images. Back is one piece mahogany
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[toneseeker]

Here's picture of the heel.
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[Wade Hampton]

That looks as though someone reached inside the body cavity and whittled on the braces with a pocket knife....

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Toneseeker wrote:

Originally Posted by toneseeker

Given that the wood used for the top has some bear claw figure in it and seems to be made from orphaned top pieces, maybe this re-top was just an experiment to see what it sounded like. Possibly the crudely carved braces were indicative of that?

Maybe. What struck me when I looked at the photo of the top was how much the rosette looks like what you'd see on an old Harmony guitar: I had one with an identical rosette.

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Which leads me to the possibility (but by no means certainty) that somebody put a Harmony guitar top on an orphaned Gibson guitar, most likely after its original top was destroyed.

When Harmony went out of business in the early 1970's they sold off all their remaining parts and partially finished instruments. A guitar repairman I knew in Kansas City in 1974 had a small storage room filled with crap he'd acquired from that going-out-of-business sale (needless to say, he had hoarder tendencies, given that most of what he bought there really WAS crap...) It's a stretch, but it's not outside the realm of possibility that some guitar repairman or repairman wannabe got a top from Harmony in that house clearing sale and put it on this guitar.

Who knows? It's a curiosity, that's for certain.


Wade Hampton Miller

[toneseeker]

Interestingly, I've also seen the binding around the Sound hole on Kalamazoo instruments. Maybe a connection there?
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[toneseeker]

The space around the sound hole bothers me. Been thinking if either adding a binding circle around to match up with the pickguard or just painting a circle on. If it is indeed a re-top, I don't guess it would subtract any more from it's value as a vintage instrument....