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1953 Auction Find

dwagar

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Apr 18, 2005
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4,451
A fellow posted about this auction on the Guitars Canada site. The guitar looked real interesting to me, so I tossed in an absentee bid. Turns out I won it. It's way the hell in Ontario (I'm in Alberta), so I won't have it in hand for a week or so.

It was listed as a '52 or '53, but it does have a very faint serial number showing, so a '53. I'm pretty sure it'll be discernible - from the pic they sent it appears to be 3-1239.
The red paint that had turned pink (!) had been stripped, so it's on at least it's second finish.
It's got (something that I've thought was a good idea, but can't recall if I've eve seen done), what appears to be a bridge off of an early Dove on it, the trap is cut back. The pic they sent me of the action looks pretty low, so it should be playable.
The Les Paul script is pretty well all gone, there aren't any headstock breaks or repairs.
It's got Grovers on it.
The bridge pickup needs repair, may need to be rewound. The cover also looks whiter, maybe a later cover.
The switch ring appears, I think, to be a '68ish font.
It comes in a beat to shit with requisite duct tape black LP Custom case.

My all in landed cost including tax and freight and auction fees is about $7200 US. I think I did okay. Oddly, there were 2 absentee bids, mine and another, both for exactly the same amount. Rules are, first bid wins. The woman said she'd never seen that happen before.

Many options ahead of me. I could refin it to a GT, I could put an early trap on it and restore it, I prob could red top it ala Lucy with the multi layer top.

But, to me, this guitar as it sits screams 60's. And heck, I was born in '52, I am a child of the 60's. I might just fix the pickup and leave it as it is.

IMG_8369_800x600_.jpg
 

viking LP

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Jan 10, 2009
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271
Congrats :salude!
Nice color.Looks like a 4 pieces top ?
Based on my '53'sn° ,which has a trapeze route in the cavity but a wrap around bridge, yours seems plausible.
It would be nice to see some more pics (headstock front & back etc.) :)!
 

blauserk

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Mar 12, 2002
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I am always inclined to leave an old refinish in place unless there's some compelling reason to put the guitar through another refinish. I think it looks cool now.

I'd consider getting an old trapeze and getting one of the new low-profile crossbars. I love my Glaser, which works great, but if I had to do it again I'd get one of he adjustable ones made by a LPForum member--the name escapes me but I'm sure someone will chime in.

Congrats on a great score!

Also, I had a P90 on a junior crap out on me and I was warned it might have to be rewound, and it turned out to be something easily fixed without a rewind. Phew. Hope the same is true for you.
 

dwagar

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Apr 18, 2005
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I am always inclined to leave an old refinish in place unless there's some compelling reason to put the guitar through another refinish. I think it looks cool now.

I'd consider getting an old trapeze and getting one of the new low-profile crossbars. I love my Glaser, which works great, but if I had to do it again I'd get one of he adjustable ones made by a LPForum member--the name escapes me but I'm sure someone will chime in.

Congrats on a great score!

Also, I had a P90 on a junior crap out on me and I was warned it might have to be rewound, and it turned out to be something easily fixed without a rewind. Phew. Hope the same is true for you.

I think it looks cool now too. At least for now, I am planning on leaving the finish as is.

I had thought about getting an original trap and using the Mojoaxe bridge - I have one of his wraptails on my '57 Special, works great. One concern I have with the Dove bridge is collapsing, but if it works, I think it's a cool solution. Reminds me of the shaved ABR-1 on Kim's '52.

I hope the P-90 can be fixed without being rewound.
 

MapleFlame

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Jul 3, 2005
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I think it looks cool now too. At least for now, I am planning on leaving the finish as is.

I had thought about getting an original trap and using the Mojoaxe bridge - I have one of his wraptails on my '57 Special, works great. One concern I have with the Dove bridge is collapsing, but if it works, I think it's a cool solution. Reminds me of the shaved ABR-1 on Kim's '52.

I hope the P-90 can be fixed without being rewound.



Great score by the way. Is that polyurethane on there. If so I definitely would remove it. I've had several 52 carcasses that had it and once removed, it sustained much better bare and then with nitro. Looking at the neck angle and that bridge, it may be able to host a wraptail on the top. Doesn't look like over sanding too, which is great. Cool guitar with many options. Jon at ThroBak would be my man to take care of that pickups. It may be something simple you could fix.
 

JJ Blair

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Jan 9, 2011
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3,462
Congrats! Reminds me of this one.

jer68.jpg


BTW, if you keep the Dove bridge, you might want to switch to brass saddles.
 

dwagar

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Apr 18, 2005
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4,451
Great score by the way. Is that polyurethane on there. If so I definitely would remove it. I've had several 52 carcasses that had it and once removed, it sustained much better bare and then with nitro. Looking at the neck angle and that bridge, it may be able to host a wraptail on the top. Doesn't look like over sanding too, which is great. Cool guitar with many options. Jon at ThroBak would be my man to take care of that pickups. It may be something simple you could fix.

Thanks Steve. I think I did okay at that price.

I hope it's not poly, if it is I'll definitely have to get it refinished.

Do you think a wraptail would work on it? That'd be my ideal. But, I wouldn't go so far as a neck reset to get there.

Yes, if it isn't a simple wiring problem with the P-90, I was planning on getting in touch with ThroBak on it.
 

RAB

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Mar 17, 2005
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Interesting, never seen a 4 piece top before on an old Goldtop! :jim
 

dwagar

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Apr 18, 2005
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BTW, if you keep the Dove bridge, you might want to switch to brass saddles.

My biggest concern with the Dove bridge is they are pretty tiny, I'm concerned it's probably collapsed. If so, I can straighten it out, I just don't know how long it'll last without collapsing again.
 

Billy Porter

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Mar 16, 2005
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Nice guitar as it is but I think I'd be looking at going back to gold... but then again... shame to lose that naked look. Glad I don't have to make that decision



Just an observation. I appreciate that it was quite common for 4 pieces under the gold but a similar top on a Norlin would solicit much derision......just sayin' :hmm
 

dwagar

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Apr 18, 2005
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Congrats! Reminds me of this one.

jer68.jpg

Very cool pic. I had to zoom in to see the bridge. Not that uncommon a mod in the 60s when guys couldn't find or couldn't afford a burst. My old '55 Special (that I had around '67) had been modded to an ABR-1 with a trap.

I'll have to dig out my DVD 'Festival Express', from the 1970 Canadian Train Tour. I know Jerry had a Goldtop on there, I thought it was a '68 or '69, I better check.
 
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dwagar

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Apr 18, 2005
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Nice guitar as it is but I think I'd be looking at going back to gold... but then again... shame to lose that naked look. Glad I don't have to make that decision

Just an observation. I appreciate that it was quite common for 4 pieces under the gold but a similar top on a Norlin would solicit much derision......just sayin' :hmm

As Steve mentioned above, if it's poly, then I'll have to make a decision on a refinish. It was purchased from and stripped/modded by a vintage guitar shop in Toronto in about '68. I hope it's lacquer. If it is, I'm prone to leave it. If not, I have always coveted an aged GT. :hmm

The Norlin comment is funny. You're right, guys would freak at a multi piece top, this shows they used to build them this way in the 50s.
 

dwagar

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By the way, here's a pic of Kim's '52 from his 'Beat but sweet' thread, with a shaved ABR-1:

i-qZhHbZr.jpg
 

jrgtr42

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Mar 24, 2005
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I think I saw that one this morning on a Facebook post. Was that from here at LPF? Don't recall...
Congrats, is a great looker. Bet it's a great sounding one too - are the electronics original?
 

dwagar

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Apr 18, 2005
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I didn't post it on Facebook, someone might have.

EDIT: Yes, I see it's on the LPF Facebook page. That's how computer inept I am, I didn't know there was an LPF Facebook page.

I don't know about the electronics, I won't have the guitar in hand for about a week. That'll be one of the surprises I guess, good or bad :)
 
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