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A customer brought in an old guitar for repairs, and we are wondering if it has any value beyond sentimental. It used to be his Dad's, so he values it in that respect. He thought it was from around 1930. It's an all mahogany guitar, 14-3/4" lower bout, painted black (may not be original finish). It has a Gibson (decal) logo on the peghead, and there is a faint ink stamped number on the heel block (405?). (Doesn't add up as a serial number for that time frame.) There is no label. Maintenance work on it has been disastrous -- caulk style adhesive work everywhere, inside & out. Here's some photos:







MOTS fret markers?


Current issues, aside from the nasty repairs, are cracks in back, top, and sides, cracked bridge, and several fret markers are missing. I'd appreciate any help in identifying this one and/or ball-parking its value. My impression is there is not much that can be done beyond gluing/stabilizing some of the new cracks.

More photos available if necessary.

Thanks,

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Kent

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Hey Kent,

It looks like an old late 30's L-00 that I had in for repairs in 2008, judging by the peghead the script, the ebony nut and the shape of the pickguard; the only issue that seems to be different are the inlays on the fingerboard, the one I had in for repairs had simple dot markers.
Sorry I can't help on what it may be worth,
regards,
jack

Cool!

It looks like a 1930's Gibson to me too and it also looks like the electronics were added after. Can't tell for sure from your pics but it looks like it's in the L-OO family.

Gibsons of this period are difficult to exactly date for a number of reasons but the most common is that Gibson did not always follow strict guidelines in defining and building specific models. Perhaps an easier way to say this is Gibson built with what they had on hand and often in small batches of 6 or so instruments. As such often we see bastardized instruments where everything looks like one model except for one part which looks like another model.

These guitars are not all that uncommon and even though the condition often sucks, like this one, some folks still love them and would go to the trouble to restore or have them restored. There is also a market for parts as well such as the tuners.

Originally these were inexpensive guitars and many were painted black as yours is. The black lacquer can look like one of us did it in our garage with a can of model car paint but that is that the original finishes look like sometimes over time and with little care.

My guess, and I am no expert, is that this one will have value to the owner if it has been in the family. It also would have some value to someone like me who would love to spend a couple hundred hours restoring something like this. Beyond that we are getting into how functional it it right now and it looks like it needs some work.

The ebony nut is telling too and is probably original. The fret board markers are throwing me off but I will be in the Ann Arbor repair shop tomorrow and David has some great books on dating Gibsons - I'll let you now more after we look this one up.

Very cool - thanks for posting the pics!

Looks like an L-00. You did not mention the fret-to-body count but I assume it is a 12-fret which were the oldest makes of this model (about 1930 - 1932 or so as I recall) 1932 had the white pickguard (1933 has no pickguard). I've not seen nor heard of one of these with the fancy inlay that this one has. It looks like a little like the Nick Lucas inlay of this era, or the Southern Jumbo of the 1940's. The 1929 L-00 would likely have "The Gibson" as a logo.

The manhours to bring this one back may not make it worthwhile from an economical point. One that is in decent playable shape goes for $2,000 to $2,500 on eBay, and $3,000 or more in very good original condition. This one may bring about $1,000 as-is. That leaves a thin margin for the cost of work.

Hope this helps.

Ed

As stated above, it looks like an L series (bound back - L-0, Unbound, L-00). The fretboard looks to have been replaced. L style guitars fretboards that I've seen end considerably further from the soundhole, weren't bound, & those markers weren't used on L series, or any acoustics of that era that I'm aware of. The Nick Lucas had a sort of diamond fretboard inlay normally, but I've seen a cats eye style that could have been original. L series typically had dot inlays. Unfortunately, it looks to be beyond practical restoration.

Thanks for the great info. Surprisingly, it's a 14 fret neck. The fretboard has been ramped from about the 8th fret to the end, probably in lieu of a neck reset. Just another sign of how it was treated. My original thought was to take the back off in order to best be able repair the cracks in the top and back, but after looking inside, I'm having second thoughts -- it's so gunked up with some sorts of pinkish red and black adhesive materials that the corners might not come apart without breakage. Same thing under the bridge and several of the upper bout cracks, which were never closed properly. This one has never seen a real repair shop!

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Kent

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Oh, yes -- the back is unbound.

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Kent

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Here's a sample of what it looks like inside. This is a mirror view looking under the pick guard:

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Kent

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What kind of a savage did that!

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Is that..... Bondo?

*gasp

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Jim Hansen

What smell like? Never mind I already did my Cheech and Chong last month....

OK I looked into this guitar today and found out that the Gibson factory WAS known to replace fretboards for various reasons at times with again what they had on hand. This includes the fretboard type shown in the picture. So it is possible that this guitar's fretboard was replaced by Gibson with the board shown. It's also possible that someone did it themselves too. If it was replaced by Gibson I'll bet that there was an interesting story as to why - wish we knew.

BTW that looks like Bondo to me too.

Yay bondo!

Oh well. Shift happens.


Padma

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Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


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Yeah, me too, Jim!

I didn't know Bondo came in those nice colors!
Now my guitar repairs will look a lot better!!




John

+ = Unlimited potential and endless opportunities!

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Jim Hansen

OK, I didn't want to say it...but it reminded me of Bondo, too, although the Bondo I remember from back in my teen years was more of a pink-gray color. Anyone know of other colors this or similar products came in? I don't remember it drying such a shiny smooth surface, but I haven't touched it in 35 years.


Honest.



Then there is the black substance that otherwise looks the same. Another clue that it might be a body filler is a cave-in on the side -- a buckled-in area is visible on the inside, but smooth (more or less) on the outside.

Gaaa! I've heard stories, but...

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Kent

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Hi I came across a very similar Gibson on ebay
http://cgi.ebay.ca/1930s-Gibson-L-00-12-Fret-Black-White-P-G_W0QQitemZ220572790523QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar?hash=item335b29aefb

Fred

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Fred Tellier
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String it up and play it , maybe were on to somthing new with this "bondo " design OHHHHHHHHH my side hurts !!

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Wow, Fred, that one is gorgeous. So that's how they look when cared for!

Anyone into the blues? I'm thinking "The Bondo Blues" -- something that gives the listener a sinking feeling.

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Kent

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