1964 Gibson J-50 Slope Dreadnought Guitar

This guy was just in for repairs and I snagged a few shots just before it left the building. It's a heavily-played but well-kept guitar and had some well-meaning work done to it in the past, though it did need a bit of sprucing-up to get it playing its best. It's mostly-original, though the pickguard was removed a long time ago, the bridge pins are swapped, someone added a strap button at the heel area, and the adjustable saddle slot was filled and a drop-in saddle put in its place.

Unfortunately, the measurements for the location on the saddle went awry so I had to yank it, recut the slot, and fit a new bone saddle with better height and proper compensation. After that it was just a quick level/dress of the frets and a setup and it was ready to roll.

How's it sound? Like an early-'60s J-45/J-50, of course! It's big, wide-sounding, woody, warm, and chunky with a bit of an airy "plonk" to its upper-mids. It's the perfect singer-songwriter strumming guitar.






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