Need advice on a '67 Gibbo LG0!

[addisj]

Hi there, I am torn with an LG0 I tried out and I need your help helping me decide whether to buy it or not.

The good;
The tone and the feel of the neck is lovely. Warm bass with a superb natural reverb and sweet highs.
No cracks on the body or in the laquer - neck is smooth

The bad;
Belly bloating is quite evident
Bridge has been replaced once and is buzzing like crazy when strumming or picking hard so it prob needs reglueing again. It looks quite uneven due to the belly bloating.
this is the wierd part - the headstock face has been painted matt black, the 'gibson' has been re written in gold pen and there seems to be dips. ridges and bumps under and around the 'gibson' decal.

I checked the etched headstock serial on the guitar project site and its coming up as made in 1967.

I have played a good 10 LG's in different shops in and around london and none of them play feel or sound like this one.

The guy wants £400 for it. A very cheap case included.

What do I do?

[WordMan]

Walk on by.

Unless you can get the bridge thoroughly checked out by a tech who knows old Gibsons (no just any guitar set up person), forget it.

Gibsons, especially older ones with wide-grained tops, often belly. But since that can lead to bridge instability, it means you need to be that much more sure that this particular guitar doesn't have issues. And given the fact that the bridge has been reglued, is ****-eyed, and still buzzes are a huge red flag.

I had a '46 LG-2 with a big belly and bridge issues that couldn't really be stabilized - too much top wood had been pulled up under the bridge and it had to be reinforced. Not a recipe for excellent tone. I currently have other old Gibsons with great stability and bridges...

[addisj]

Originally Posted by WordMan

Gibsons, especially older ones with wide-grained tops, often belly.

Funnily enough this one has a wide-grained top.. sounds like you you know your gibsons.

Thanks for the advice, I will leave this one.

J

[Glennwillow]

Hi Addisj,

I am late to this thread, but I did want to say, "Welcome to the forum..."

My wife has a Gibson LG-0 from 1965 so I know this model very well. Recently I bought a rosewood bridge and asked my local technician to put it on the guitar. I had been told that the change from the plastic bridge to a real rosewood bridge really enhances the tone. Unfortunately, my technician started the process and then stopped. He determined that there was way too much belly in the top of the guitar and that the glue joint for the bridge would not be reliable. So my wife's guitar still has the plastic bridge.

Based on this experience and your assessment of the reliability of the bridge on the guitar you are considering, I would walk away as well.

Regards, Glenn

[addisj]

Thanks for adding your 2 cents.. and for the welcome
I have since taken it to a vintage gibson dealer and upon his inspection;

The bridge is already rosewood and is secure.

The rattle is coming from a brace under the belly.

At one time it had a wrap over bridge, the holes in the base/bottom have been filled professionally.

The body has been re lacquered.

While I was there I plaed the 3 LG1's he had.. I ended up buying a 1967 LG1.

It's all original, no repairs, plastic brige (it had a better tone than the '64 with rosewood bridge that he had). original pretty battered snakeskin case included.

I was there for over an hour, played all sorts! Some vintage J45's were really nice.
My favorite was a 1952 Martin 0017 but it didnt have the midrange honk of the LG1.
I didnt think much of the X braced LG2's and 3's. I guess I'm just a sucker for the honky bluesy tone of the ladder braced LG0's and 1's.

I havent been able to put it down since I got it.. and when Im not playing, it sits next to the TV. Driving the missus crazy.