• Projects

    1942(?) Gibson L-50 archtop project

    The player who brought this guitar into the shop tells me, “I bought it from a guy who said he bought it second hand back in the 1940’s.  I’m told a lady sat on it at some time in the past.” And from there, the mystery unfolds.  Measuring the box tells us it’s most likely the model L-50 made after 1934, models before that time had an oval sound hole, where ours features f-holes. Gibson wasn’t using serial numbers consistently at this time, but they did use a system called Factory Order Numbers, which were stamped on the back plate visible through the treble-side f-hole.  Our FON is likely 2138.…

  • Dailies

    Martin “The Backpacker”

    On the bench today is Martin’s travel acoustic guitar, “The Backpacker.”  It’s here for a Southeast Setup, which includes a general look under the hood where we give the player a 19-point checklist of our findings. Oh, can’t they all be as easy as this one.  This guitar, as simply built as it is, sounds and feels great!  We dialed in the string action, making it a bit more comfortable, then gave it a clean bill of health! Safe travels, my friend!

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