Description
What makes this guitar special: This is an exceptionally rare, early Gibson dreadnought - these models were designed to compete with Martin and produced only for a short period of time, between 1939 & 1943. This particular one is from the most desirable period due to its unique features, namely the "stairstep" headstock design. This feature was discontinued by 1941. The guitar has been professionally refurbished & is in excellent playing condition with a massive sound - loud & resonant! A real joy to play & very difficult to put down.
Cosmetic Condition: Overall the guitar is in great shape, but has had some work done to it to. There are several repaired cracks in the body - about five in the top, mostly behind the bridge; quite a few in the sides (mostly on the treble side); and a few back cracks. You can see inside the soundhole where some of these cracks have been cleated. As previously stated, all have been repaired & are stable with no movement. A large hole was patched on the treble side, lower bout of the body, just above some of the cracks. Again this was professionally done & there is no movement when pressure is applied. There are no cracks in the neck, although there is a rather large chip in the back of the neck behind the 8th fret. The neck was also reset at some time. It is straight & the angle is perfect. The guitar has been completely refinished & a couple of screw holes were filled in near the neck heel. There are various minor nicks, dents & dings throughout the instrument along with surface scratches & light play wear. Overall the guitar has a fabulous look to it with a cool vintage vibe. It's lightweight with amazing tone & volume.
Neck: Chunky, one-piece mahogany neck with nicely aged cream binding & tortoise side-dots. Beautiful, dark coffeewood fingerboard with mother of pearl dot inlays. Professionally refretted with larger, modern frets that are in good condition with hardly any wear. There are some spots in the first few frets of the fingerboard where the wood has been filled in due to pitting from years of play. This was professionally done & looks good - very smooth. Unique "stairstep" headstock shape with mother of pearl Gibson script logo. The original tuners were replaced with later period nickel Gibsons. However, no extra holes were drilled into the headstock for the changed tuners. The current tuners are marked Original Gibson & are in perfect working condition. Unoriginal truss rod cover; 1 3/4" unoriginal bone nut; 25 1/2" scale length. The neck is straight & the action is low, so it plays like a brand new guitar! The action at the 12th fret is about 1/8" - exactly what many modern players prefer.
Body: Double-bound, round-shoulder dreadnought body with solid Adirondak spruce top in sunburst finish. Coffewood "mustache" bridge with unoriginal end pins & bone saddle. We are not 100% sure on the originality of the bridge, but it's the correct style for the period & in great shape with no lifting. Original tortoise "stairstep" pickguard shows signs of some wear, but is not peeling. Simple 3-ply rosette rounds out the package. Gorgeous solid Honduran mahogany back & sides with a stunning one-piece back! The back shows off some rather pretty grain patterns & nice variegation in the wood. 16" lower bout width; 11 1/2" upper bout width; 4 3/4" depth. Despite the repaired cracks, the top is in great shape with no sinking or bellying. Guitar weighs 4 lbs 7.1 oz.
Case: Unoriginal, later-period (late 60's / early 70's) Gibson hardshell case included. The original handle broke off & was replaced with a strip of canvas.
