Official Luthiers Forum!

Owned and operated by Lance Kragenbrink
It is currently Thu Oct 31, 2024 6:12 pm


All times are UTC - 5 hours





Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 9 posts ] 
Author Message
 Post subject: Plaque on Guitar
PostPosted: Fri Dec 03, 2021 7:06 pm 
Offline
Walnut
Walnut

Joined: Wed May 27, 2020 8:01 am
Posts: 9
I've been looking at the Gibson Marcus King 1962 ES-345 today and I noticed the 'Custom Made' plaque below the Tune-O-Matic bridge. It looks like it's affixed with some kind of nails.

Does anyone know more about this practice? Are, or were, plaques a common addition to the body of a guitar? If you've installed one, how did you affix it to the guitar?


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Plaque on Guitar
PostPosted: Sat Dec 04, 2021 4:06 am 
Offline
Old Growth Brazilian Rosewood
Old Growth Brazilian Rosewood
User avatar

Joined: Fri Nov 02, 2007 9:49 am
Posts: 13370
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
First name: Hesh
Last Name: Breakstone
City: Ann Arbor
State: Michigan
Country: United States
Status: Professional
Plaques are not commonly installed on guitars and as a professional Luthier in a busy shop I've never seen one on a guitar in 15 years of doing this.

Nails would not be a good idea depending on the instrument and it's construction. Nor is affixing to the belly region IMO either as g*bson does it, that's a tone sweet spot on a guitar and not to be messed with or encumbered by swag and such.

What is it that you are trying to achieve?


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Plaque on Guitar
PostPosted: Sat Dec 04, 2021 4:56 am 
Offline
Cocobolo
Cocobolo
User avatar

Joined: Sat Nov 19, 2005 10:54 am
Posts: 378
Location: Between Bordeaux and the Atlantic. S.W.France
Apparently the ES345, like the 335, is a semi-hollow body. It has a solid section in the middle, so you could nail a plaque there if you absolutely wanted to, as Gibson does on the Marcus King model, although why you'd want to . . . As for affecting the tone, there's not much tone comes out of a semi-hollow body.


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Plaque on Guitar
PostPosted: Sat Dec 04, 2021 11:26 am 
Offline
Walnut
Walnut

Joined: Wed May 27, 2020 8:01 am
Posts: 9
Hesh wrote:
Plaques are not commonly installed on guitars and as a professional Luthier in a busy shop I've never seen one on a guitar in 15 years of doing this.

Nails would not be a good idea depending on the instrument and it's construction. Nor is affixing to the belly region IMO either as g*bson does it, that's a tone sweet spot on a guitar and not to be messed with or encumbered by swag and such.

What is it that you are trying to achieve?


That's really helpful information; thank you! I'll avoid any modification that negatively affects tone.

I was curious about the practice because I'd never seen it before, and was thinking of different ways I could personalize my guitars.



These users thanked the author jwworth for the post: Hesh (Sun Dec 05, 2021 5:17 am)
Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Plaque on Guitar
PostPosted: Sat Dec 04, 2021 11:29 am 
Offline
Walnut
Walnut

Joined: Wed May 27, 2020 8:01 am
Posts: 9
Dave Higham wrote:
Apparently the ES345, like the 335, is a semi-hollow body. It has a solid section in the middle, so you could nail a plaque there if you absolutely wanted to, as Gibson does on the Marcus King model, although why you'd want to . . . As for affecting the tone, there's not much tone comes out of a semi-hollow body.


That's helpful, thank you! If I was to make such a modification, it would be to a 335. I was generally curious how common this was in guitar-making.


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Plaque on Guitar
PostPosted: Sat Dec 04, 2021 3:29 pm 
Offline
Contributing Member
Contributing Member
User avatar

Joined: Wed Oct 08, 2008 11:36 am
Posts: 7371
Location: Southeast US
City: Lenoir City
State: TN
Zip/Postal Code: 37772
Country: US
Focus: Repair
Only seen it once. A J45 with the original finish sanded off (who knows??) came into the shop. Someone had attached an old brass Gibson case tag to the headstock with some small nails presumably to replace the decal that was sanded off. I wouldn’t recommend that one LOL.

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Plaque on Guitar
PostPosted: Sun Dec 05, 2021 5:20 am 
Offline
Old Growth Brazilian Rosewood
Old Growth Brazilian Rosewood
User avatar

Joined: Fri Nov 02, 2007 9:49 am
Posts: 13370
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
First name: Hesh
Last Name: Breakstone
City: Ann Arbor
State: Michigan
Country: United States
Status: Professional
jwworth wrote:
Hesh wrote:
Plaques are not commonly installed on guitars and as a professional Luthier in a busy shop I've never seen one on a guitar in 15 years of doing this.

Nails would not be a good idea depending on the instrument and it's construction. Nor is affixing to the belly region IMO either as g*bson does it, that's a tone sweet spot on a guitar and not to be messed with or encumbered by swag and such.

What is it that you are trying to achieve?


That's really helpful information; thank you! I'll avoid any modification that negatively affects tone.

I was curious about the practice because I'd never seen it before, and was thinking of different ways I could personalize my guitars.


One area of personalization that I see is the truss rod cover. On a g*bson Lucile there is a brass cover with engraving and if you like a hardware store of metal objects on a guitar it fits the bill.

Anyway good question and welcome to the form too!


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Plaque on Guitar
PostPosted: Sun Dec 05, 2021 9:26 am 
Offline
Walnut
Walnut

Joined: Wed May 27, 2020 8:01 am
Posts: 9
SteveSmith wrote:
Only seen it once. A J45 with the original finish sanded off (who knows??) came into the shop. Someone had attached an old brass Gibson case tag to the headstock with some small nails presumably to replace the decal that was sanded off. I wouldn’t recommend that one LOL.


Sounds pretty gnarly. Thanks for the info!


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Plaque on Guitar
PostPosted: Sun Dec 05, 2021 9:29 am 
Offline
Walnut
Walnut

Joined: Wed May 27, 2020 8:01 am
Posts: 9
Hesh wrote:
One area of personalization that I see is the truss rod cover. On a g*bson Lucile there is a brass cover with engraving and if you like a hardware store of metal objects on a guitar it fits the bill.

Anyway good question and welcome to the form too!


"If you like a hardware store of metal objects on a guitar"... I love this description. I'm not trying to overcomplicate anything, or add weight, just like to put a personal touch on guitars I think of as 'keepers'. Thanks very much!


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 9 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 5 hours


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Jump to:  
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group
phpBB customization services by 2by2host.com