Description
Shown here is a Gibson J-50 steel string guitar, slope shoulder dreadnought dating to 1958, and built at Gibson’s Kalamazoo, Michigan plant.
This Gibson J-50 is in overall good working order. It has had some physical maintenance and repair. There are a number of repaired top and back cracks and braces have been reglued. The original maple bridge plate has been replaced with Indian Rosewood, and the Brazilian Rosewood bridge was at some point shaved to reduce action height, resulting in a lighter colour compared to the fingerboard.
The original Kluson Deluxe strip tuners were long ago replaced with Grover Sta-Tite models. The back has the remains of two rows of tape, very possibly applied to hold a set list.
It plays well and has a full, rich and quite deep sound.
Sold with a recent brown Gibson hard shell case.
Materials and Construction
The general construction of the Gibson J-50 is identical to the J-45, pairing a Spruce top – Adirondack Spruce until 1944 and then Sitka, with Honduran Mahogany for the sides, back, body blocks, linings, and neck. The fingerboard and bridge were Rosewood, which at the time always meant Brazilian Rosewood. Tuners were Kluson Deluxe strip tuners with creme buttons.
The Gibson J-50 first appeared alongside the J-45 in 1952 as a pair of slope or round-shouldered dreadnoughts, the J-50 in Natural and the J-45 Sunburst. These models replaced the J-35, built from 1936 to 1942. The two guitars are structurally very similar, but the natural-finish J-50 received multi-layer top binding and better visual grade Spruce tops as there was no tint to hide imperfections. For this reason, the J-50 carried a higher price.
I’m a fan of the slope-shoulder guitar design, and the Gibson J-50 and J-45 are one of my favourites. They provide a warm, rich tone with excellent representation throughout the range, and enough high end to add a bit of sparkle.
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There are no refunds or returns on used items unless authorized in advance by a Twelfth Fret Sales Associate at time of sale. View Our Full Terms Here |
DETAILS:
- Instrument Model: J-50
- Instrument Manufacturer: Gibson
- Instrument year: 1958
- Instrument Finish: Gloss Natural Nitrocellulose Lacquer
- Instrument Class: Steel String Acoustic Guitars
- Instrument serial number: FON: T329334, 'T' indicating 1958 at Kalamazoo, Michigan
- Country of Origin: USA
- Instrument Condition: Fair to Good
- Right-handed
- CITIES Documentation Required: Yes
- Case included: Yes
- Case original: No
- Case Type: Recent Brown Gibson Hard Shell
- Instrument Weight Imperial: 4.07 lbs
- Instrument Weight Metric: 1.85 kgs
- Scale Length Imperial: 24.6 in
- Scale Length Metric: 625 mm
- Nut Width Imperial: 1.682 in
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Nut Width Metric: 42.73 mm
- Items in Case: N/A
- Consignment: Yes
- Product ID: 190682
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There are no refunds or returns on used items unless authorized in advance by a Twelfth Fret Sales Associate at time of sale. View Our Full Terms Here |