Description
What makes this guitar special: A true road warrior, with an unbeatable vintage look and beautiful, well-worn patina. You can’t fake this kind of wear and tear…this beauty has been really been around the block. It’s a war-era guitar that looks like it went to war. The woods have aged beautifully, giving it a rich and full tonal balance, with huge projection for its size and a warm, pleasing sound. Despite the battle scars, this piece has a lot of life ahead of it.
Because it’s been refinished in black and the sprayover entered the soundhole, we can’t tell for sure it’s exact age, but based on the mahogany back and sides and the banner logo on the headstock, it falls somewhere between 1942 and 1945. As such, we’re calling it a ’45. It comes professionally setup and inspected by our expert in house luthier, ready to play as soon as you get your hands on it.
Cosmetic condition: A true vintage player, with scars galore and stories to tell. Various scratches, nicks, dings, chips, dents, scuffs, and finish wear throughout with visible finish checking and a half dozen or so repaired cracks. The entire guitar was long ago refinished in black, most likely to conceal the two biggest repaired cracks on the back of the guitar. The neck has been refretted and there is some visible first position pitting (nothing that hinders playability, however). The original pickguard has long ago shrunk and come off, and the top of the guitar shows visible bellying. There is a hole drilled in the back of the headstock (typical for this era, most likely used for hanging the guitar on the wall), and the tuners appear to be reproductions. Action is slightly higher than normal, but still fully playable up and down the length of the fretboard. Despite all this, the guitar plays beautifully, with a full and rich sound.
Body: Double bound solid mahogany back and sides with spruce top, refinished in black. Replacement tortoise pickguard, single ring ivoroid rosette, and rosewood bridge with ivoroid buttons. Lower bout width measures 14 1/4" with 4 3/8” depth. Upper bout width measures 11”, with 3 1/2" depth.
Weight: 3 lb, 8.2 oz
Neck: Chunky mahogany neck with white side dots and mother-of-pearl dot inlays. Brazilian rosewood fingerboard is in good shape for its age, with some visible wear, but nothing that hinders playability. Neck has been refretted, and while replacements show wear, there is still a good amount of life left in them. Gold Gibson logo and gold banner with reproduction strip tuners and ivoroid buttons. 1 3/4" nut width, 24 3/4" scale length. Neck is straight and truss rod is functioning.
Case: Unoriginal, newer chipboard case.
