Speck/Demeter/JHardy/GR/ADesign/API

[pohaku]

. . . .1966 Gibson B-25 . . .
I'm pretty psyched just thinking about these changes!!!

Love that guitar! Is it a burst? I have a 66 B-25 that is a cherry burst.

 

[JTC111]

Love that guitar! Is it a burst? I have a 66 B-25 that is a cherry burst.

No, mine is a natural top. It's a great guitar for what's it's good for... nice chunky rhythms and I like it for blues. Do you have any idea of the value of that guitar? I picked mine up about 15 years ago and I think I paid $250 for it. I had to put new tuners on it because the posts on the top two were bent, but Gibson still sells the same design. I still have the old ones in case I decide to see the guitar and someone wants them.

 

[JTC111]

...and if you want to see some really nice custom built guitars, check out this guy...

Scott MacDonald

...he's my guitar tech. I wouldn't bring my guitars to anyone else.

 

[pohaku]

No, mine is a natural top. It's a great guitar for what's it's good for... nice chunky rhythms and I like it for blues. Do you have any idea of the value of that guitar? I picked mine up about 15 years ago and I think I paid $250 for it. I had to put new tuners on it because the posts on the top two were bent, but Gibson still sells the same design. I still have the old ones in case I decide to see the guitar and someone wants them.

The price has gone up a bit since you got yours They seem to be going for around $1200-1400 or so if in decent condition. I've seem them go for more too. My local shop has one for sale for $2400 at the moment (based on their website) but I'll check and see if that is a misprint -- seems way too high. J-45's from that era go for that amount.

Does yours have the plastic bridge or has it been replaced? I paid $900 for mine 4 or 5 years ago. Mine already had a new wooden bridge put in with a fixed saddle. I had a new bone saddle installed and had it refretted. I have a Sunrise pickup installed in it with an endpin jack. It is my primary playing out guitar. It records real well - better than my D-28 IMHO. Not as boomy as a larger body guitar.

 

[JTC111]

The price has gone up a bit since you got yours They seem to be going for around $1200-1400 or so if in decent condition. I've seem them go for more too. My local shop has one for sale for $2400 at the moment (based on their website) but I'll check and see if that is a misprint -- seems way too high. J-45's from that era go for that amount.

Does yours have the plastic bridge or has it been replaced? I paid $900 for mine 4 or 5 years ago. Mine already had a new wooden bridge put in with a fixed saddle. I had a new bone saddle installed and had it refretted. I have a Sunrise pickup installed in it with an endpin jack. It is my primary playing out guitar. It records real well - better than my D-28 IMHO. Not as boomy as a larger body guitar.

With the exception of the tuners, mine is still all original including that ridiculous bridge. What the hell were they thinking? I saw an article on the web once about how to replace that bridge but it looked like a complicated and expensive procedure. But if that guitar has gone up in value that much, maybe I should look into having it spruced up a bit one of these days. Mine isn't in pristine condition, not horrible, but not where it should be.

 

[pohaku]

Because they were marketed as a student guitar, you rarely find one in pristine condition. Usually they are kinda beat. Finish checking, scratches and assorted nicks are quite common. By decent condition I mean no cracks or major scratches or dings. As long as the bridge hasn't shrunk, warped or lifted, which is common with the plastic bridge, I'd leave it alone. If you sell it, let the next owner make the decision and bear the cost of bridge and saddle replacement. It is a guitar that is well worth cleaning up.

 

[JTC111]

Because they were marketed as a student guitar, you rarely find one in pristine condition. Usually they are kinda beat. Finish checking, scratches and assorted nicks are quite common. By decent condition I mean no cracks or major scratches or dings. As long as the bridge hasn't shrunk, warped or lifted, which is common with the plastic bridge, I'd leave it alone. If you sell it, let the next owner make the decision and bear the cost of bridge and saddle replacement. It is a guitar that is well worth cleaning up.

I didn't know it was a student guitar. I was at a concert about 15 years ago and saw David Massengill (folk musician/mountain dulcimer player extraordinaire) playing one. I'm going to have to bring mine in one of these days and get it's health assessed. It may need bypass surgery.