What Gibson guitar got butchered here?

[Manolete]

Saw this on a local Gumtree listing.

For those outside the UK, Gumtree is probably bigger than Craigslist here. Sometimes some weird things turn up on it.

This guitar is made from a chopped Gibson. Never seen a Gibson with "The Gibson guitar company USA" written around the headstock logo like this.

[octatonic]

I suspect that no Gibson's were harmed in the making of that er... thing. :-)

[imsilly]

What ever you do don't show it to Henry E. Juszkiewicz or it might end up as the replacement to the Firebird X!

[Manolete]

Originally Posted by octatonic

I suspect that no Gibson's were harmed in the making of that er... thing. :-)

That headstock is freaking me out. I guess it could be fake. Perhaps it comes from that dark period of 70s-80s Gibsons that often get overlooked.

[c.winn]

That headstock is from one of the few produced bolt-on neck Gibsons: the Sonex.

I have a Sonex Deluxe, and it is a Mahogany neck/Rosewood fingerboard bolt-on (four bolt) to a body made of something called "Resonwood", which I figure is glue, sawdust and paint chips. Incredibly heavy. A pair of Dirty Fingers humbuckers, SG-style CPA, everything mounted to the pickguard.



Not my pic, but looks just like my guitar. Fuzzy, but you can make out the logo. Yes, the logo is for real:



Mine was built in 1982. They were made from '80-'84. I've actually talked to a few guys that still work at Gibson who remember making these.

I'd guess someone took the neck & put it on a homemade body. A badly homemade body.

I bought mine off Craigslist last fall for $125. A steal. They go for around $300 - $400.....but of course the Sam Ash here in Nashville has one for $899!

For what it's worth, the neck is great. I like Gibson necks, and this one has enough heft and taper to feel really good. Plus, mine is very worn - the finish is rubbed off at points. If the price is low enough, you may be able to score a decent bolt-on genuine Gibson neck - with that nice rosewood fingerboard.

[c.winn]

I just reread the link. Notice that the pickups have two height adjustment screws on the bass side, one on the treble - those are stock Sonex pickups. Dirty Fingers. The control layout looks to match the typical SG/Sonex CPA, as well.

I had to swap out the pots on mine. With the tone wide open, if I rolled the volume below 7 the tone went to mud. You may (hopefully) have a better experience. Not difficult, though.

I checked the price, looks like about $265 US Dollars? Not bad for a Gibson neck & a set of PUPS. Maybe get a new body......

[Manolete]

I've not got the dough at the moment, just curious!

[paratus]

If my dog had a face like that I would shave his behind and make him walk backwards!

[SamClemons]

I would second that it does look all Gibson but the body. Not really a bad deal. Be a good project for someone that wanted to build a better looking body to match. I could see it being a bolt on SG or Les Paul or Jr. or double cut or explorer or whatever. If you really wanted to get wild, you could build a Telecaster shaped body to go with all the Gibson stuff. Drive some folks nuts. It is possible if you watched ebay for a while, you could get a sonex body.