197* J-50 Deluxe

My brother bought this guitar new at retail in Raleigh back in the eraly 70's. It has the square-shoulders and the big pickguard and regular belly-bridge.

The neck has never been right on this guitar. It is the 3-piece maple(plus ears).It had a noticeable twist that drops the treble side down and raises the bass side up at the nut.

The celluloid tortoise binding crumbled. The top cracked at the fingerboard extension and right on past the edge of the pickjuard.

I called Gibson several years ago and asked them to repair this beast. The warranty sticker says" Gibson Guarantees This Instrument Against Faulty Workmanship and Materials."

I sent a couple of dozen emails to Gibson and was essentially told that they would not fix it. They finally told me to send it in for "evaluation," but not to count on any repairs. I got pissed off and decided to fix it myself.

I've had it apart for several years and am just now getting back to repairing it.(My brother keeps asking, "Whatever happened to my J-50?") Once I get all the top cracks and braces re-glued and new binding and pickguard, I am going to have to re-set the neck as the action was too high.

But as I look at this piece-of-crap neck, I'm wondering if I wouldn't be better off just making a good mahogany neck for it? I think it would play, sound and look better. It's not like it has any collectible value and it has never sounded good. The neck has been warped since new and it was impossible to keep in tune.

SO before I get to the neck re-set, what say you, ladies and gentlemen of the jury? Has anybody done this type of transplant on a J-50? Or is it not worth the effort?

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