Basement find show and tell

[HughesDadX2]

Originally Posted by Shepsdad

Very cool! Can’t wait to see more pics!
I’ve never found a cool guitar in the basement, but back in about 1985-86, I happened to drive past a yard sale and noticed a guitar and amp sitting in the driveway, so I had to check it out. It was a 1965 Fender mustang, and a 68 or 69 Princeton reverb amp! I asked the guy on the porch what he wanted for em’ and he says $125 for both. He had bought both at a pawn shop in the mid 70s and just didn’t like either one, he especially hated the amp. Needless to say, I took em’ home with me.

I still have and play the guitar, but was offered a ridiculous amount for the amp a few years ago. The guy I sold it to still gigs with that amp occasionally. Weird thing was, I hated that amp, too, just never bonded with it.

Awesome story man, and sweet guitar as well!

[Mycroft]

Originally Posted by HughesDadX2

I think you’re right. I’d been leery of it just because it’s not something I’d trust with just anybody. I’ve found a good local guy and may see what he thinks. The only other luthier local to me that I trusted passed away a few years back. I had a Takamine refretted at another shop after he’d passed and the neck of the guitar looks like a beaver chewed the frets off. Made me nervous to take any of my nicer guitars anywhere! I don’t know a whole lot about the Gibson line, this is the only one I own. Value seems like it’s probably somewhere in the $3-4K range in good shape.

Very very cool find.

You are right to be careful with who you entrust it to. You need someone who knows and has experience working on vintage guitars, and not your average Guitar Center hack. For example, I would want to know if there was a reason that the tailpiece was added that might be due to structural integrity.

If you let us know where you are geographically, someone might be able to suggest someone within a few hours.

Enjoy.

[HughesDadX2]

Originally Posted by Mycroft

Very very cool find.

You are right to be careful with who you entrust it to. You need someone who knows and has experience working on vintage guitars, and not your average Guitar Center hack. For example, I would want to know if there was a reason that the tailpiece was added that might be due to structural integrity.

If you let us know where you are geographically, someone might be able to suggest someone within a few hours.

Enjoy.

I live in NE Kentucky in the tri-state area directly connected to Ohio and WV. The guy I take my normal stuff to has a shop called Fix This in Chesapeake Ohio, his work is always great and I know he’s done some refurbs on vintage Martin guitars here recently. But my ears are always open to a referral to a seasoned pro with real vintage experience.

[pjmacd]

The drive would be a bit further, but Dan Erlewine at Stewart-MacDonald (aka StewMac) in Athens, OH is a world-class repair guy with tons of vintage guitar experience.

[HughesDadX2]

The only marking I can make out anywhere on the entire guitar is in the first picture. Top number says 23, hand written in red ink under it the number 28 is written. Can’t find any other numbers off it anywhere. The back bracing inside is straight also, and the top appears to be X bracing, I need a scope to see it better for sure.

[HughesDadX2]

I’d say according to this chart it’s possibly a ‘36-‘37 model year L-00.

[Mycroft]

The guy at Stew-mac mentioned above I've heard of. And there is always Nashville. The guitar is probably worth a road trip or two.

That side crack really needs to be addressed before it gets worth. I have no idea what has been done with at bridge...

[HughesDadX2]

Originally Posted by pjmacd

The drive would be a bit further, but Dan Erlewine at Stewart-MacDonald (aka StewMac) in Athens, OH is a world-class repair guy with tons of vintage guitar experience.

Pretty area up that way! I just bought a vehicle from a guy in the Athens area last year. I’ve heard of StewMac before, but never been there.

[HughesDadX2]

Originally Posted by Mycroft

The guy at Stew-mac mentioned above I've heard of. And there is always Nashville. The guitar is probably worth a road trip or two.

That side crack really needs to be addressed before it gets worth. I have no idea what has been done with at bridge...

Yes, the bridge is tough to look at! I’m not sure what went on there either. Our area isn’t know. For much of anything musically aside from the Judds and Billy Ray Cyrus [emoji849], so I’d say there probably wasn’t many options on people working on your guitar back in those days.

[archerscreek]

Originally Posted by pjmacd

The drive would be a bit further, but Dan Erlewine at Stewart-MacDonald (aka StewMac) in Athens, OH is a world-class repair guy with tons of vintage guitar experience.

That’s who popped into my head as well. I don’t know who you could get for an old Gibson that’s more legit than him.

[McCawber]

What a great find! The only things we found when cleaning out my grandmother's basement were canned peas, beans and other veggies that were older than I was at the time.

That guitar is well worth restoring to original - and I'll bet it would make a great thumper as blues guitar. Congrats!

[Pinetreebob]

Originally Posted by HughesDadX2

In 2000 when my great grandmother passed away we were cleaning out her house to get it ready to sell. She was a hoarder of sorts. Thousands of old magazines, probably a hundred different sets of bed sheets, crazy amounts of sewing materials. Then low and behold I see a guitar case. I figured it was either empty or was full of old junk after seeing the other piles. I opened the case and much to my surprise was this cool little Gibson acoustic with a metal tail piece. I had to ask around to all my older relatives to find out who the original owner was. Reportedly it was my great aunts sons guitar, and they were pretty sure he bought it right before he joined America’s WW2 efforts. Not exactly sure on the year or model and there’s not much of anything stamped on it anywhere. Some cosmetic damage and a few cracks in the sides. The craziest thing to me was the fact that when I took it out of the case, after who knows how long it had been in that basement, I fretted an E chord, and it was in tune, just low across the board. Pretty cool find I thought!

Pretty cool? Extremely cool! Congratulations, you are lucky!

[PhilFish]

Been following this thread, to see if any of formites that are vintage Gibson guys would chime in on the guitar.
Thats a great piece of celluloid and the truss rod cover white, wounder if thats original.
You say the top is X braced, I believe LG's are the X
hope you let us know if you have it repaired or restored I like it.

[HughesDadX2]

Originally Posted by PhilFish

Been following this thread, to see if any of formites that are vintage Gibson guys would chime in on the guitar.
Thats a great piece of celluloid and the truss rod cover white, wounder if thats original.
You say the top is X braced, I believe LG's are the X
hope you let us know if you have it repaired or restored I like it.

I have an email in to a guy that’s a collector with a few pictures and just asked him to tell me which model he thinks it is etc. Top is definitely X braces but I’m his site it states that some of the L-00 models are X braced as well. Too many variables for me to determine on something I really know very little about. As far as originality, I’m not sure about the white truss rod cover, and I’m pretty sure the metal tail piece was added as well.

[Mycroft]

Originally Posted by PhilFish

Been following this thread, to see if any of formites that are vintage Gibson guys would chime in on the guitar.
Thats a great piece of celluloid and the truss rod cover white, wounder if thats original.
You say the top is X braced, I believe LG's are the X
hope you let us know if you have it repaired or restored I like it.

LG-1s were ladder-braced. LG-2s and 3s were x braced. The body here looks more like a L-00, which predates the LGs. Looking over my shoulder at my 43 LG-2, the upper bout is narrower relative to the lower bout than on the LG.