Vintage Gibson Nick Lucas Special

[colinsthename]

Hey, just thought I'd post some pictures of a nice old guitar I got to play a bit today. It's my girlfriend's grandfather's guitar (now in the possession of her brother). It's a black Nick Lucas special, not sure of the year, as I was having trouble dating it based on the info I could find online. It's been played well through the years, and certainly shows it, but feels and sounds great. Figured you guys would like a look. Sorry about the crappy pictures, I only had my cell phone on me at the time.

[zombywoof]

That one is a puzzler. I have never seen a Nick Lucas Special with the plain dot inlays on the board. It has the early body style and logo but a finish that was not used till later and and then on the 14 fret models.

Got me - but glad you got to enjoy it for a bit.

[colinsthename]

Originally Posted by zombywoof

That one is a puzzler. I have never seen a Nick Lucas Special with the plain dot inlays on the board. It has the early body style and logo but a finish that was not used till later and and then on the 14 fret models.

Got me - but glad you got to enjoy it for a bit.

Yeah, it was the inlays that threw me. I'm really unsure of its history, so any sort of refinish could have happened, but it's not everyday that one goes in for new fretboard inlays.

[johnnykf]

My guess is that it was a run of guitars custom made or Friedmans Music store, seeing that stamp on the back. I doubt the store itself would be able to stamp the back of the headstock. Martin still does that. Wonder if that store is still around?

[zombywoof]

From the back of the neck looks like Grandpa really liked those cowboy chords.

That guitar really does look like the love child of a Nick Lucas and an L-3 don't it. But the previous poster has a good point - coud have been a special run of "budget" Lucas guitars lacking the fancy inlays, burst finish, and logo. Cutting a few bucks off a guitar's price would have been a wise move during the Depression.

But then again, I have run across quite a few Gibsons that never showed up in their catalogs. They were always messing around with them.

[johnnykf]

Here is the store it came from! This postcard is for sale on Ebay. Can't find a trace of them now. If anyone is handy with image software, would be cool if we could see an enlarged version to see what those gents are working on and what is on display. Maybe we'll see this guitar there brand new!

[colinsthename]

Good find there, johnny! I figured I'd check that out on eBay, and found another seller with an even bigger picture. Couldn't see much from it, cool enough, though. Like zombywoof was saying, it definitely is like a mix up of a Nick Lucas and an L-00 or similar. I sent an e-mail to Gibson, occasionally they'll help out, so if I get a reply I'll let you guys know.

[johnnykf]

The guitar in the top left photo looks like it is a similar shape as the one in question hmmmm... I did a google map search for 73 Springfield in Newark,
looks like a big sort of church like bldg on one side and some older commercial buidling on the other. There is no reverse address search hit. No am I wondering about the history of that shop. Any New Jersey folks know anything about it or what exit it's near?(lol)
It reminds me of when Martin made guitars for the Ditson store and put Ditsons name on it. Was around that era or earlier. BTW, Martin makes a remake of the old Ditson, played one, absolutely incredible.

[Wally]

The binding isn't correct for a Nick Lucas, either, is it?
What we need are....measurements across the lower bout, measurement of the thickness, a good picture of that label, close ups of the bindings, any numbers stamped on the neck block(this number should be roughly between 85,400 and 95,000...probably not anywhere near the 95,000 as indicated by the 'TheGibson' logo which was phased out in the mid-'30's).
IN the book, 'Gibson's FAbulous Flattop Guitars' by Eldon Shamblin, Dan Erlewine and David Vinalpal; they note that the N.L guitar was treated as a "custom-built Gibson
allowing many special features and personalized touches that did not conform to catalogue text or illustrations."
Early models...13 1/2" wide, 4 5/8" deep at the endpin. In '29, the body width went to 14 3/4" across the lower bout.
Also of interest...what are the top and body woods? Has there ever been a pickguard...elevated...on the guitar?
INteresting guitar.

[colinsthename]

Originally Posted by Wally

The binding isn't correct for a Nick Lucas, either, is it?
What we need are....measurements across the lower bout, measurement of the thickness, a good picture of that label, close ups of the bindings, any numbers stamped on the neck block(this number should be roughly between 85,400 and 95,000...probably not anywhere near the 95,000 as indicated by the 'TheGibson' logo which was phased out in the mid-'30's).
IN the book, 'Gibson's FAbulous Flattop Guitars' by Eldon Shamblin, Dan Erlewine and David Vinalpal; they note that the N.L guitar was treated as a "custom-built Gibson
allowing many special features and personalized touches that did not conform to catalogue text or illustrations."
Early models...13 1/2" wide, 4 5/8" deep at the endpin. In '29, the body width went to 14 3/4" across the lower bout.
Also of interest...what are the top and body woods? Has there ever been a pickguard...elevated...on the guitar?
INteresting guitar.

Next time I'm over there, I'll take better pictures and some measurements. Possibly this weekend, if I can. I'll try to bring a decent camera, as I only had my cell phone on hand at the time.
Originally I knew very little about this guitar, besides the big Nick Lucas Special sticker inside, but this thread is getting to be more and more interesting.

[Al Watsky]

This is a guitar made to capitalize on the Lucas name. He was, as we all know a famous stage star at the time. This is a scaled down model. An endorsed model, but not the same as the actual N. Lucas , its legit, just not the artist model. Typical Gibson/Retailer hook up.
Interesting guitar.
Its from New Jersey it must be great !

[Stubee]

Gibson made some interesting guitars. I played a '30s ('37, if I remember right) J-35 that was reputed to be original cherry burst and sure looked it, and owned a c. '53 SJ that was the same finish and original. Oddities, but Gibson did some different stuff.

+1 on the book "Gibson's Fabulous Flattops"; my copy is dog-eared. That CSB J-35 I played is in it. It was not mine and when I played it guitar 'collecting' was pretty much in it's infancy so it was just another nice old Gibson & I gave no thought to even trying to buy it. It was sure pretty & sounded good.

The Lucas models were never quite my thing but many are nice, indeed. Nice story on that old one.

[colinsthename]

Originally Posted by Wally

The binding isn't correct for a Nick Lucas, either, is it?
What we need are....measurements across the lower bout, measurement of the thickness, a good picture of that label, close ups of the bindings, any numbers stamped on the neck block(this number should be roughly between 85,400 and 95,000...probably not anywhere near the 95,000 as indicated by the 'TheGibson' logo which was phased out in the mid-'30's).
IN the book, 'Gibson's FAbulous Flattop Guitars' by Eldon Shamblin, Dan Erlewine and David Vinalpal; they note that the N.L guitar was treated as a "custom-built Gibson
allowing many special features and personalized touches that did not conform to catalogue text or illustrations."
Early models...13 1/2" wide, 4 5/8" deep at the endpin. In '29, the body width went to 14 3/4" across the lower bout.
Also of interest...what are the top and body woods? Has there ever been a pickguard...elevated...on the guitar?
INteresting guitar.

I stopped by the other day, of course forgetting to bring a camera, but took a few measurements. The body was right at 4" deep by the neck, and 4 1/2" (4 5/8"?) at the endpin. The upper bout was 10" wide and the lower bout 13 3/4" wide. I'm going back on friday, and will do my best to get some better pictures by then.

[Wally]

I think Al has it nailed above. Your measurements put it as an early ....1928....version.