1959 Gibson Country Western

[Dave Richard]

Recently, I was able to buy one of my dream guitars, this old CW.  I was only able to buy it, because it needed a few repairs... It was beat, holes drilled in the top, back cracks, loose braces, caved pickguard, loose/cracked bridge and loose bridgeplate: but no bad repairs, and has the original case!  The only thing holding on the bridge and plate were the two screws. I've done all the repairs, and it sounds superb, and with a nice full neck profile, plays great.

While the braces are lightweight, the sides are laminated and thick(.120), the top is thick(.130), and the old bridge plate was thick(.130).   Kind of challenges my understanding of what makes for good sound in guitar construction.

There was no extra charge for the artwork.

[RETROROD]

Congrats on getting a great old Gibson and bringing it back to life! Those can be outstanding guitars. I am a vintage Gibson fan and it seems that most that I have 'afforded' to acquire were 'needy' in some way also.

Is that the previous owners artwork? It is well done.

[Dave Richard]

Not the previous owners, someone(unknown) before him.

[Steve Bettesworth]

Fantastic job. I've got a 100 year old L1 that had seen better days, now plays like a dream. Are you going to stain those plugs?

[Dave Richard]

The one in the upper bout, yes, at some point. Color matching is tricky, and I was eager to play the guitar! The two in the lower out, I'm not sure. I'm not sure if I will try to remove the folk art(which covers an additional, smaller hole), or just leave it, and paint those two. I'm going to play it for now, and think about additional touch-up.

[RETROROD]

Funny, I did not see the 2nd pic with the plugged holes on first view. I was going to ask Dave if he was going to plug them and changed my mind. I think some stain or paint would look good/better.

[Paul Verticchio]

The cool factor on this guitar is off the scale.

re: plugging the 'artwork' holes.....

Yes, plug them and paint a bunny (or snake; wolverine; raccoon; Big Mac box; a baby Sasquatch...etc) on the 'ground' plug and an owl (or a vulture; a kite; a monkey; a tennis shoe...etc) on the 'tree' plug.  There's a real opportunity here to introduce some serious whimsy to the cool folk art that's already there.

Plus, our friend RETROROD loves his vintage Gibsons & I bet you have him drooling ;)  I'm right there with him...cool guitars like this one seem to have that effect on most of us :)

Enjoy you beauty of a cool guitar, Dave :)

[RETROROD]

I totally agree with Paul.....and yes, I do need to put a bib on when looking at the pics.. ;-)

[Dave Richard]

Thanks all, it is a great sounding and playing guitar, I'm very happy with it.
As I noted in my initial post, the construction seems surprisingly heavy(excepting the braces), yet the sound is great. Also, the sides are laminated(as are the sides on my 1953 LG1)- and this was the second highest priced flattop, in 1960. It has no side reinforcements. Can I assume that Gibson was using laminated sides for many(most?all?) of their acoustics in the 50's and 60's? I've also seen an example of a 1960 J-200(online) with laminated sides.

[Paul Verticchio]

http://www.amazon.com/Gibsons-Fabulous-Flat-Top-Guitars-Illustrated...

Highly recommended for repair folks & those who love & appreciate Gibby Acoustics. :)

From what I've personally observed and from what I've read on this forum, there is little 'consistency' in Gibson's manufacturing/building specs. Dan's book (above) is likely the most comprehensive review of these instruments available today.

IMO, laminated sides make only a miniscule difference (if any...because you can't do a controlled comparative experiment).  Many legendary Master Grade classical guitars from the greatest builders in history have laminated sides (and/or/backs). Also, instrument grade laminated panels (plywood) is vastly different from "construction" plywood. With instrument grade plywood..all the layers' grains are in the same orientation. They don't 'cross' each other.  It's not 'bad stuff" if used properly.

Oh, and for the 'heavy' construction: the final and only test is the sound of the instrument. It sounds like you're VERY happy with it so..whatever it took to get it there: it works :)  btw: if you want to see some seriously overbuilt but really good sounding guitars, check out vintage Guild acoustics. They're some of my faves!

Hope this is helpful :-)

[Dave Richard]

Thanks, Paul, I have had that book for a long time and have dog-eared it...as good as it is(and it's very good!), it can't cover everything. I learn new details about these great guitars with each one I examine or repair. Hopefully some nice Guilds will come my way soon.
I have a friend with a '64 Epi Texan, which he bought new, played constantly, and it sounds great. It's in excellent condition...and needs a neck reset. The lacquer, while checked, is otherwise unblemished. I'm a little nervous about steaming off the neck...

[Robbie Collins]

Sweetest acoustic I ever had was an early 60's Epi Frontier with the cacti and lariat motif. It would look great next to my 6120 Horton Heat. The things that have passed through my hands...sigh.