Jason Donnell Posted February 1, 2006 Share Posted February 1, 2006 --Story of the Day-- (which has never happened to me before so I thought I'd share) Yesterday at work a guy learned that I play guitar and told me he has a couple. I asked him what they were and he said he has " A 1908-1930's Gibson Tenor and a 1974 Martin D-18" As you can imagine he had my full attention. He didn't know much about the Gibson other than, the way the name is written on the headstock.. none of the letters drop below any of the other.. and on the inside at the base of the neck the number 246 . Today he brought them to work and showed them to me. Then Gibson is a 4 string, 12 fret guitar that was in pretty bad shape. The Martin is in very sound shape with the only problems I could see were that the pick gaurd is pealing off around the edges and curling up, --like it had gotten hot???--- and there were hairline cracks in the laquer finish -again looking like it was caused by heat -- Come to find out they had been in his Attic for awhile ??!!?? For a split second I contiplated giving him a throat punch and shattering his nose (old Marine coming out I guess) Which I wouldn't have done but, well, you guys can sure appreciate my instinct on this one. ---** And now for the best part**--- he handed them to me and said "Here, take 'em home with ya" I didn't know what to say, I just stood there for about 10 seconds dumbfounded. I wasn't about to take the old Gibson as it was in bad shape but I did take the Martin. I've spent the last 2 hours cleaning and polishing it, putting olive oil on the fretboard so it will swell and make sure the frets are tight. Everything looked dried out on it. Now its just beautiful with its cherry sunburst, and the hairline cracks in the laquer sure give it character. I won't mess with the pickgaurd but I will suggest he has it done by a professional if it can be done while keeping the same gaurd. Now I'm off to string it up And no, there is no way I can get it off him because it belonged to an Uncle that has passed away. I'm just happy to be able to polish it up and restring it for him. Tomorrow I'll play for him some and hopefully he'll follow through with his statement of "I sure would like to learn, can you help get me started?" That would be great for him to learn and start using this wonderful instrument. And if he ever puts it in the Attic again, I think I might just give him that throat punch and crushed nose o.0 Jason C. Donnell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Geoff Posted February 1, 2006 Share Posted February 1, 2006 You want to start work on that tenor. Geoff "When the power of love overcomes the love of power the World will know Peace": Jimi Hendrix http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=738517&content=music The Geoff - blame Caevan!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Donnell Posted February 1, 2006 Author Share Posted February 1, 2006 I'm not touching the Gibson. The top is badly carcked in atleast 3 places. One of the cracks had a 1/16th in gap in it. I will recomend he take it to a luthier for inspection. I have no clue what year it is or what it might be worth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPCustom Posted February 1, 2006 Share Posted February 1, 2006 The hairline cracks in the lacquer finish is a normal sign of the finish aging. It's called "crazing". You don't want to "fix" that. I would definitely tell him to take it to a luthier to get the wood damage repaired if you're not a crackerjack wood worker (and maybe even if you are if you aren't comfortable doing it). If the Gibson can be fixed and then it's in good shape without too much work it's probably worth a great deal. He/you can check with George Gruhn and he can tell you about what it's worth. Even if he can't value it he can probably tell you its age and what that model is called. Born on the Bayou Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar55 Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 You can contact Martin for a recommendation for a local luthier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardtail Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 I guess it's a good thing you didn't give the guy a throat punch now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 Man, I'd love to have the chance to get that Gibson tenor repaired and- if it'll stand it- put in playable condition again and correctly strung and tuned as originally intended (similarly to a tenor banjo, I believe); what a cool guitar! Izzatt Gibson tenor a longer scale-length than a "normal" guitar? Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Donnell Posted February 2, 2006 Author Share Posted February 2, 2006 I shoulda took pics of the Gibson.. I'll try to get him to bring it back and I'll snap some. Thank you all for the input. **The crazing is on the Martin D-18 and I wouldn't dream of repairing it, its so nice** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gifthorse Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 sounds cool dude, good story. http://flagshipmile.dmusic.com/ http://www.myspace.com/gifthorse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gifthorse Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 sounds cool dude, good story. http://flagshipmile.dmusic.com/ http://www.myspace.com/gifthorse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Geoff Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 Originally posted by Caevan_O'Shite: Man, I'd love to have the chance to get that Gibson tenor repaired and- if it'll stand it- put in playable condition again and correctly strung and tuned as originally intended (similarly to a tenor banjo, I believe); what a cool guitar! Izzatt Gibson tenor a longer scale-length than a "normal" guitar? Yes, I think you are right about the tuning. My understanding of the 'tenor' guitar was to allow banjo players to migrate straight to a guitar 'sound', hence the banjo tuning. Correct me if I've misunderstood. It sounds like an interesting piece to renovate. Geoff "When the power of love overcomes the love of power the World will know Peace": Jimi Hendrix http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=738517&content=music The Geoff - blame Caevan!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Donnell Posted February 9, 2006 Author Share Posted February 9, 2006 here are some pics of it http://jasondonnell.zoto.com/user/lightbox/CAT.0/date-desc/0-30 its the first 12 pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar Geezer Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 Jason, next time you come into Dallas, swing by Charlies Guitar shop on Royal and Harry Hines and let them look at it! You'll probably make their day! Lynn G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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