westhemann Posted January 31, 2004 Report Share Posted January 31, 2004 well someone brought me a challenge...anyone familiar with this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snork Posted January 31, 2004 Report Share Posted January 31, 2004 Looks to me like a harmony or a teisco. I'm not sure but that may have had either a trapese bridge or a bigsby. http://www.geocities.com/ratedrs/archtops.html this place has a lot of archtops. you should be able to find it there. Peace love and good luck for whatever its worth, Sam Fisher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsl602000 Posted January 31, 2004 Report Share Posted January 31, 2004 not sure if that's a POS or a repairable instrument... what's on the headstock? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted January 31, 2004 Report Share Posted January 31, 2004 Could be a Harmony or a Kay. Looks like a nice project. A friend had a similar guitar that he saved from a fire, it was a Harmony - Monterey. He figures he spent about $3000 refurbishing, ie. new finish and pickup w/ equalizer. I guess he really loved that guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted February 1, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2004 it has a serial no. y5077? it is hard to read there is nothing on the headstock as it has been mangled by a wannabe refinisher...bare wood looks like a mahogany neck with a rosewood fretboard and what looks like an ebony pickup cover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted February 1, 2004 Report Share Posted February 1, 2004 Too bad you're not a blues guy Wes, that there is a blues slide machine just waiting to happen. 'Woke up 'dis mornin', blues all 'round mah head, dah dee dee dee dummm...' Or a good excuse to break out those spool clamps. Can't ya hear it callin' to ya Wes? "Spoolman, come together with your plan....save me" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsl602000 Posted February 1, 2004 Report Share Posted February 1, 2004 Too bad you're not a blues guy Wes, that there is a blues slide machine just waiting to happen. He knows where to send it to, when it's finished... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted February 1, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2004 well that is what it will be...it is going back to the owner when it is finished....but i will use it to study how to make my own out of better woods and with better electronics some guy completely murdered it....but it has been played alot! i am going to have to replace the fretboard because it has divots more than halfway through it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted February 1, 2004 Report Share Posted February 1, 2004 I believe what you have there is a Gibson ES 125, a grand old gal from Gibson. And, I think yours is one of the VERY OLD ONES judging by the look of the P-90 pkp cover. The old ones had a weird 'very old' look to them, not like the newer ones did. I'd guess early '50's? Look at the bottom 2 pics compared to the top 2. See how the pkp cover looks 'older'? It's slightly different, it's not just that is IS older (which it is) but is slightly different in design. Especially look at the last pic, doesn't yours have the exact same 'rounded corner, old looking' pkp cover as that one? That pickup alone might be worth a few hundred dollars US currency, not to mention the cover too. I had a 1957 ES 225TDC which was pretty similar to it, but with single-cutaway (florentine) and factory Bigsby. Rockabilly heaven baby. On a more techniclar note, see those 2 braces running parallel down the top? That's called 'parallel' bracing the top, as opposed to any form of 'X-bracing'. Can't X-brace a top that has pickup holes routed into it, so most archtops with pkps have exactly that...parallel bracing. Hopefully, the braces will run right under the feet of the bridge also, helps transmit string vibrations from the strings to the bridge to the top helping it vibrate and produce (mo' betteh') sound. The top of an acoustic instrument acts exactly like a speaker diaphragm. Before you go hog wild on it, take pictures of any and all numbers or writing inside the top or bottom, no matter how faint they might be. Pickup too. Take good close-up pics of the pickup, wire too, and another with the cover off and any markings on the pkp too. All this stuff will help you ID it before you just rip it apart. Even a faint marking on the tailblock wood...any marks you see at all. The Guitar Gods have shined their light on you today young man, you must have earned some heavy-positive Mojo lately. These things don't happen by accident y'know... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renablistic Posted February 1, 2004 Report Share Posted February 1, 2004 it's gotta be that gibby. If it is. SEXY MOMMA!!! See, good things come to those that do good for the best website ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted February 1, 2004 Report Share Posted February 1, 2004 PS, now that we know it is the 'real thing', the Guitar Gods From On High will cast your soul into Hades itself (you probably would like that, eh? ) if you do anything except restore it to it's original condition as close as you can. She has been abused and mightily mistreated and is juz' lookin' for some sweet papa lovin'. This is written into the guitar-building by-laws (read the fine print) If you desecrate or mod it it any way unbefitting the grand old gal that she is, you will be labelled a 'hack-butcher' (you'd like that too I bet! ) for the rest of your guitar-building years. 4th paragraph, 5th sentence under the 'entitlements' section. Don't believe me? Ask the staff. Oh...you 'are' the staff... Well, ask some of the other staff then! The Guitar Gods have certainly entrusted you with one of their beloved daughters, show her some respect, eh?, she's walked a loooong road That guitar was born very near the very beginnings of the movement we know as 'rock-n-roll'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbkim Posted February 1, 2004 Report Share Posted February 1, 2004 Aw, come on! It's screaming for a set of EMG's and a floyd . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renablistic Posted February 1, 2004 Report Share Posted February 1, 2004 Aw, come on! It's screaming for a set of EMG's and a floyd . true dat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted February 1, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2004 that's what it is drak...the pickup is exactly like what is in the last pic that's the one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted February 1, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2004 and to think...i have been looking around and if the guy had not butchered it with his hack work it would be worth around $1000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted February 1, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2004 http://www.dipintoguitars.com/vintage/holl...y/54-es-125.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted February 1, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2004 any ideas on where to finds parts?specifically tuners and bridge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted February 1, 2004 Report Share Posted February 1, 2004 I thought about Gibson then said ..."naaaahhhh, couldn't be!", but it must be so. More pics here and a little background info and specs. http://www.provide.net/~cfh/gibson3.html The "y" in the Factory Order Number (FON) designates it a 1953 model archtop. http://www.provide.net/~cfh/gibson.html#serial Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted February 1, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2004 thank you very much southpa the guy's mother bought this at a yard sale for him about 10 years ago for $10,and he has kept it in his closet since then in this condition. it is unbelievable how much fret and fretboard wear this thing has Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted February 1, 2004 Report Share Posted February 1, 2004 That's an inflated dealer price, not too realistic. The only ones that get near $1000.00 are usually the single-cutaway models with original case in near-mint condition. You can find decent ones like yours for $500-600. on the 'bay. Oddly enough, I was looking for something like that a few months ago (that's why I was able to ID it so quick and had pics of it ready-to-go)and found a few beaters for more near $350. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted February 1, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2004 no matter anyway....it won't even be the same when i am done interestingly enough i found a replacement ebony bridge at stewmac(the guy says that is what was on it) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted February 1, 2004 Report Share Posted February 1, 2004 If I remember right, I think AllParts.com has the widest variety of bridges, tailpieces, and whatnots that I've found. It might have been Ebony, but usually they matched the bridge to the fretboard...rosewood fretboard, rosewood bridge...that was a student model, they normally would not have supplied an Ebony bridge on such a model, it would have been saved for the upper line models. But if you are doing an Ebony fretboard, then I would use an Ebony bridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted February 1, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2004 here are some more pics of what i am dealing with Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted February 1, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2004 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renablistic Posted February 1, 2004 Report Share Posted February 1, 2004 I would see something like that as "Whew hew! I got something to do for a month! Fun Fun!" Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.