1968 Gibson Everly Brothers Small Jumbo Guitar (Very Modified)

July 08, 2023

1968 Gibson Everly Brothers Small Jumbo Guitar (Very Modified)

I worked on this guitar back in 2016 but then it went back into the owner's stash and didn't come back until it was traded to me, in a much-dilapidated state, by my friend Paul. Back in 2016, neither Paul or I knew quite what to make of it. It has a 1973 repair stamp inside and that is the best clue.

Having worked on a ton more '60s Gibsons since 2016, I have made my own conclusions about this beast. I think it actually did start-out as a 1968 Gibson Everly Brothers model. The original pickguards that were on the top were definitely the real deal -- as was the truss rod cover. The neck is also definitely a proper Gibson neck -- though it's also definitely thinned-down and modified.

I think what's happened here is that this guitar took a tragic stage dive in the early '70s and was then retopped and a broken neck was repaired and reduced in several places. The back, sides, and plastic binding all look correct. The back bracing has been altered, however. The top is not correct, though, as it has herringbone purfling around the top edge and a 3-ring rosette. The bridge is wrong and the top bracing (though nicely-done and very light) is not correct for a Gibson top as well.

The end result is a guitar that sounds gorgeous but is too lightly-built to take anything much past 46w-10 or so. That's fine for folk-strumming and light fingerpicking.

Since getting it back here, I removed the (falling-off) pickguards -- the bass-side one is in good order but the treble side one is disintegrating quickly. My old repairs were all holding-up fine but there were a number of new top and back cracks to address and a bunch of loose bracing as well. Poor storage was the culprit, we think. I also replaced a (now-missing) Everly truss rod cover and (now-missing) non-original Grover tuners with some random "Gibson" Grover-style tuners from my parts-bins. Eventually I'll want to replace them with Kluson-a-likes, though.

The biggest change after getting the insides all pat was fun for me -- I painted a semi-psychedelic, "things I like about Vermont," pair of scenes en lieu of proper pickguards. I know it's goofy and potentially blasphemous to Gibson collector-folks, but this guitar has been totaled so many times I don't think it would be a safe one to sell and I actually like the weirdo, thinned-down neck anyhow. The benefit of no big pickguards is that the top vibrates a lot better and so the whole guitar sounds much more "open" after their removal.

Repairs included: so much -- then and now.

Weight: 3 lbs 13 oz

Scale length: 24 3/4"

Nut width: 1 17/32"

Neck shape: slim C

Board radius: 12"

Body width: 16"

Body depth: 4 1/4"

Top wood: solid spruce

Back & sides wood: solid mahogany

Bracing type: scalloped x

Bridge: ebony