Guitar companies are making models for the masses while the instruments artists play are typically modified to get special tones in the instrument rather from amps or software (see the 'Schematics' page). All companies have custom shop brands or options where you can get this done for $5 - $10 thousand +. Since 2008 a lot of info has been available on the internet revealing schematics and modifications to get the artist tones. This opens the window to have special instrument tones in your guitar or have a mod guitar that has the features of a $$ custom shop model. This blog will pick a few projects to get classic tones and increased flexibility on board. Not for everyone but it is a matter of style, understanding what goes into a custom shop $10 thousand guitar and why great players use a hand full of onboard modifications to trademark their sound.

Second Hand -"It's probably a well-known story . . . I went into a shop in Nashville called Sho Bud which was owned by Buddy Emmons – the famous pedal steel player – and they had things like Rickenbackers in the front of the shop going for quite high prices. In the back they had this second-hand department, and there was a row of Stratocasters, and I bought them all. Blackie was made out of three of these guitars – the body of one, the neck of another and the pickups of another." Eric Clapton



Cracks


Crack Repair

Most common cracks are caused by improper climate control or impact.   A closed crack will essentially close after proper humidification.   An open crack has a gap after proper humidification. 

Glue selection

Titebond has longer open time but releases so easily with heat that I think every instrument owner should take a few joints apart just to see how easy it is. Perhaps then fewer instruments would be left in hot cars to disassemble themselves. Unlike hide glue, dry heat will simply melt Titebond and the joint will come apart. Hide glue is extremely difficult to release with dry heat, but succumbs to steam readily. Steam also releases Titebond just as easily as hide glue if not easier.
Approach to Fixing a Crack

The most important aspect after a crack is noticed is to loosen the strings to relieve all tension and start humidifying the instrument.  Continued use will cause the cracks to grow making repair more difficult.

Do not touch the crack since dirt and oil will darken the wood.

Humidify the instrument by placing a wet sponge in a plastic dish and placing the guitar in a plastic bag.  Check daily and see if it will close all the way.  If not it is considered an open crack 


How do You Repair Closed Cracks?

Although there are multiple methods of repairing closed cracks I prefer to glue cracks with hot hide glue.  Preferred repair is without cleats.  After the crack closes repair with hot hide glue and clamping:

 Place your hand in the guitar and press the wood out/up applying glue.  Clean, clamp and let set.

You can reinforce the crack from the inside of the instrument with small diamond pieces of wood in order to prevent the crack from reopening in the future but this should only be done if necessary and more common for open cracks.  Touching up the finish is usually necessary if the repair is to be invisible.
Open Cracks


Open cracks typically form from the improper seasoning of wood or improper climate control during an instrument’s construction or repair. After lumber is harvested it is seasoned. Seasoning essentially brings the moisture content of the wood down to a level that is sustainable at 50% relative humidity throughout the life of a fretted stringed instrument. When many of today’s vintage instruments were constructed, today’s exacting methods of seasoning lumber and climate control wasn’t possible to consistently achieve. Therefore many vintage guitars have dried out over the years and developed open cracks (cracks with a visible gap at 50% relative humidity).

 How do You Repair Open Cracks?
Although there are many methods of repairing open cracks the preferred method is to inlay a splint into the open crack after the wood is hydrated. Instead of attempting to glue closed a crack that will only reopen it is more desirable to fill the crack with a thin piece of wood or “splint”.  Splints should always be touched up in order to hide the repair.

Using a splint may also eliminate or reduce the need for a cleat since the end-to-end gluing will help stabilize the wood.

Color matching the splint is best done with stain that does not seal- avoid minwax for example.  Use IPA based dilute stains that can be layered to match the wood.  Topcoat after the color is matched.

Example of a difficult crack repair- Modern Martin 'made in Mexico' plywood sides.

Internal damage as the impact split two braces in the area of the cracks then the back splits doubled over so the wood was no longer flush edge-to-edge.  The sides were stiff and moved in keeping the back overlapping.

Repair steps:
1. Tried razor cutting the splits so the wood can align- not successful
2. Tried angle brace to spread the sides and loosen the wood- not successful

Easy fix not possible so needed to remove a portion of the back/ side seam connection.

3. Cut the top away from the sides using razor blade for thin cut.
4. After enough of the back was cut (6-8 inches) then level the splits and added cleats to hold with             magnet clamps. Let them set.
5. Filled the splits with hot hide glue.
6. After the top was stable glued the top back onto the braces (tight bond) using brace clamps.
7. Used pressure clamps to pull the sides even with the edge of the back- long process since sides                 were so stiff and moved in 2-3 mm in spots.  Had to be done in 2-3 inch sections and would only          move about 1 mm each 24 hours.  Holes were drilled in the side to accommodate the pressure                 clamp wire. Glue used was tightbond same as Martin factory for the side to back connection.
8. Replaced damaged kerf pieces from using the pressure clamps- hide glue.
9. Cosmetic repair- filled with mahogany sawdust/glue mix and mahogany grain filler. Multiple                 applications.
10. Stained where necessary to match- mahogany and IPA waterbased mix.
11. Flat polyurethane topcoat (same as Martin) then matched sheen with light buffing 3600 finishing             paper.




 

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Gibson L-1 1930 Restoration


Gibson L-1 1930 Restoration


The L-1 was the first Gibson flat top guitar played by Robert Johnson and picked up much later by Tom Waits, Eddie Vedder and Jack White.   1930/31 was the first year the lower bout changed from a rounded bottom to a 'modern Martin-like' shape and was increased to 14.5 inches for a fuller sound.

Stevie Ray
Project Guitar purchased from  Seattle Goodwill








Background Gibson L-1  (Wikipedia - flat top years 1926-1937)
1902 L-1 introduction specs (acoustic archtop): single bound round soundhole with 2 rope pattern wood rings, single bound top, ebony fingerboard, dot fingerboard inlays, orange top finish, dark mahogany back and sides, 2 sizes.
robert johnson playing the l-1 guitar
Robert Johnson
1908 L-1 specs: 13.5" wide, narrower waist, trapeze tailpiece with pins anchored in tortoise celluloid plate, elevated pickguard, 13 frets clear of the body, bound fingerboard, slated "The Gibson" logo.

 1912 L-1 specs: No pickguard.

 1914 L-1 specs: Pickguard added again.

 1918 L-1 specs: Sheraton brown finish.

 1920 L-1 specs: Double 5 ply soundhole rings.

 1925 Discontinued.

 1926 Re-introduced as a flat top. This model cost $50 ($751.82 2018 equivalent). The L-1 featured a tighter grained two piece spruce top and Honduran mahogany back and sides. In some cases the back was single piece and in others it was two. Top and back were bound in ivoroid. 

 1930 Gibson squared off the bottom to a more traditional shape as apposed to the previously "egg shaped" bottom commonly known as the Robert Johnson style.  

 specs:  14.75" wide, body more squared at bottom, 12 frets clear of body, spruce top with stained shaded finish, mahogany back and sides, bound top and back, 3-on-strip tuners, longer modern type rectangle bridge, unbound fingerboard with dots at 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th, 15th frets.

 1932- Main changes include neck attachment went to 14th fret and pickguard included.

 specs: 14.75" wide, 14 frets clear of the body, 24.75" scale length, small sprayed sunburst finish, mahogany back and sides, bound top and back, fire striped tortoise pickguard, rectangle bridge, unbound fingerboard with dots at 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th, 15th frets. Individual tuners, "Gibson" peghead logo (no "the"), reduced $37.50 list retail price.


 1937 L-1 discontinued as the L-00 is similar to the 1936 L-1 specs.

 Gibson L series flat top guitars are just a shade larger than parlor guitars providing more voice while retaining a comfortable couch guitar feel. A Martin sized equivalent would be a OO. Standard x-bracing on all models. Over the production years and various models Gibson would switch between the neck joint at the 12th or 14th fret. These instruments were considered to be Gibsons' "budget" guitar. That being said these were produced during the depression era when the unemployment rate was 25% and the average household weekly income was between $7 and $17.

Project Guitar


Damage includes large side cracks, missing braces


Dating the L-1

Facebook help request

Trying to pin down date of an old L-1 but I don't have a copy of Spann's with me. Looks like FON can be 367 or 867. Possible faded 1 as last digit so maybe 3671 or 8671. Appreciate any help. Around 1930 is best guess so far.
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  • Steve Cowles http://www.guitarhq.com/gibson.html#serial It could be three digits, which might make it a 1934.
    Vintage Guitars Info - Gibson collecting vintage gibson guitars
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    Vintage Guitars Info - Gibson collecting vintage gibson guitars
    Vintage Guitars Info - Gibson collecting vintage gibson guitars
  • John Wnek Script logo seems to make it 1932 or older. Other model specs for L-1 indicate they went to 14 fret neck attachment with a pickguard in 1932 The 1929 L-1 had the round bottom and this flat bottom bout was introduced late 29-30. This is x-braced spruce top 12-fret attachment with a 14.75" lower bout. Body style and headstock seem to put it in late 29 -30-31 window.
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  • Mark Stutman Is that a 7 in a faded larger font at the bottom of the block, center? The smaller FON stamped off-center can be a second FON applied to a guitar that lingered in the factory for a while before getting finished. A FON of 7 would make it a 1931, which…See More
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  • Charles Rising However it’s clearly not an L-37, so we can rule out the 1935 entry. A 367 entry could also be 1933 according to Spann. So initial build of 1931 (assuming there’s a ‘7’ there) finished in 1933 sounds more plausible.
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  • Lenny Edward DiNardo Not 367 or 867
  • Charles Rising When reading Spann’s tables of FONs it’s important to bear in mind his admonition that they are ‘not meant to be all-inclusive’. So 367 or 867, while they may not occur in a table for a particular year, do occur within FON ranges and could well be from…See More
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  • Charles Rising However, if there is a ‘7’ there, then it seems likely that it started production in 1931 and was completed in 1933. This seems the most likely estimate, and concurs with the information supplied by John Wnek. It clearly isn’t an L-37 archtop.
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  • Terry Mitchell 12 fret L1 probably had a 4-Digit fon. Dates around 1929/30
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From Joe Spann-

In this thread I will provide my "new chronology" and the SOURCES and the REASONS why I think it is so. This covers the period 1925-1931.

In 1932 Gibson "rolled-over" from batch #9999 and started all over again, re-using earlier numbers. What is not so widely known is that the new FON were not issued in sequential order. The numbers are so far out-of-sequence that it seems the pile of pre-printed forms used in the weekly production meetings must have fallen off a shelf, been picked up and straightened, but not returned to sequential order. In the end, it wouldn't matter anyway. As long as a unique number was assigned to each batch of instruments the purpose of the FON was fulfilled and the accountant upstairs would be happy.

In 1935 Gibson re-started their FON's again. This time adding a letter between the batch number and the bin number. This happened each year afterwards, changing the letter each time. So, for example there was a batch 314-A, batch 314-B, batch 314-C, etc., etc. These FON's also appear to have been used in a random order.

Here is my "new chronology" for Gibson FON between 1925 - 1931.

8012 – Feb 1925 – Lowest known FON for a proven batch of Mastertone banjos with tube & plate flange and full resonator. Gibson banjos of this type were in production by February 1925 according to Music Trade Review magazine, issue of 14 Feb 1925.

8233 – Jan 1926 – Lowest known FON for an L-1 guitar. They were introduced in February 1926.

8552 - Feb 1927 – Lowest known FON for a proven batch of Florentine or Bella Voce banjo. Florentine & Bella Voce banjos were available for purchase by March 1927 according to Music Trade Review magazine, issue of 12 Mar 1927.

8958 – Jan 1928 – Lowest known FON for a certain permutation of the L-0 guitar. This particular change in construction is known to have taken place in 1928.

8989 – Jan 1928 – Lowest known FON for a Nick Lucas guitar. The Nick Lucas guitar was introduced in the spring of 1928.

9106 - Sep 1928 – Lowest known FON for a proven batch of Style 6 banjo. Style 6 banjos were available for purchase by August 1928 according to Mastertone Magazine. Also confirmed in Music Trade Review magazine, issue of 24 Nov 1928.

9242 - Dec 1928 – Lowest known FON for a proven batch of Royal PT banjo. The Royal PT banjos were available for purchase by January 1929 according to Music Trade Review magazine, issue of 12 Jan 1929.

9400 - Apr 1929 – Lowest known FON for a proven batch of Gibson banjos with a one-piece flange. The first production change on the one-piece flange blueprint is dated 27 Apr 1929, thus showing that flanges were in production by that point. Style 2 banjos of this type were available for purchase by September 1929 according to Mastertone Magazine. The new style 3 (and Granada) banjos with a one-piece flange and double cut “scroll” peghead were available for purchase by October 1929 according to Mastertone Magazine. Also confirmed in Music Trade Review magazine, issue of Dec 1929.

9478 – Oct 1929 – A banjo from this batch was purchased in November 1929. Interview with original owner.

9515 – Nov 1929 – Lowest known FON for a proven batch of Kel Kroydon instruments of any kind. The Kel Kroydon banjos (models KK-10 & KK-11) were available for purchase in 1930 according to a Jenkins Music Company catalog of that date.

9587 - Apr 1930 – Lowest known FON for a proven batch of All-American banjo. Harry Reser had received the first All-American banjo by April 1930 according to Mastertone Magazine.

9652 - Feb 1931 – Lowest known FON for a proven batch of Style 11 banjo. The style 11 banjos were available for purchase by March 1931 according to Mastertone Magazine.

9688 – 1931 – Lowest known FON for a certain permutation of the Nick Lucas guitar. This particular change in construction is known to have taken place in 1931.

9942 – Late 1931 – Last known FON for a proven batch of Kel Kroydon instruments of any kind. Kel Kroydon production ceased in 1931 and was replaced by the Kalamazoo brand in 1932 according to Julius Bellson’s history of Gibson.

Rollover of FON’s occurs on or about January 1932. After this point FON’s are re-used, but NOT in sequential order.

Edited by - Joe Spann on 02/27/2010 06:51:30
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