I typed a long story, but I suspect you guys really just want the pictures...so... I've been watching these on ebay (actually, I posted about this in the pub a while ago) for 9 months or so, and finally the timing and price was right...for what ever reason their value seems to be falling...this one appears to be a very clean 1964 F-25 'Folksinger'. It's 2 inches at the nut, parlour sized...I've had a serious hankering for one for a while, and while it was a little more than the last 3 I've seen, it's a bit older too... The other guitar is a 1969 J-50 in great shape, though I've had a new bone saddle cut and inlaid in rosewood to replace the original adjustable saddle without having to replace the bridge.
I haven't actually had the opportunity to play one, they don't come up too often... I've played a number of parlour guitars with mahogany backs and sides though, and I'm usually quite impressed...I got to play a 1954 Gretsch yesterday that was really great...I bought it the way a lot of people here seem to buy things, knowing if you get it at a reasonable price you can always get your money back...that said, Jeff Tweedy is known to play one, but I don't know of any recordings of him that are definitely with it...that said, I'm not a Tweedy historian...
"My second vintage Gibson of the past 6 months...and I'm poor." Your not poor...your an investor with a portfolio.
Actually that's not far off...a lot of what I have now is because I bought a 1969 Fender Mustang in college...in retrospect had I just stretched a little further for a tele (strats were already getting up there) I would be even better off...
I know what you mean. In addition to all of the guitar I've had that could have paid off my mortgage and a couple of other houses I also had all with low miles in great condition all bought in the 70's; '65 Mustang- $275. '67 Mustang Fastback- $550. '68 Mustang- $225. Total- $1050. Guitars weren't the only good investment.
I picked up this '69 J-45 last winter; found it in a little hole-in-the-wall shop in the backwoods of eastern PA. I believe '69 was a transition year for J-45s and 50s; is yours round-shoulder or square? I've heard the square-shoulder models aren't supposed to be as good, but this one is an incredible guitar. /rick
Mine has square shoulders, I'm not knowledgeable enough to know if there is something in the design (perhaps the bracing?) that people think less of, but I do know that it does effect their value in the eyes of collectors... I suspect part of the stigma surrounding square shoulders has to do with the fact that they appeared at about the same time that Norlin purchased Gibson... At any rate, mine is a fine fine fine guitar...I did just discover that there are Tusq (imitation ivory) saddles made to fit in place of the adjustable saddle that your guitar has...I paid a lot more to have a bone one inlaid in rosewood...you may want to consider the Tusq saddle, the switch made quite a difference in my guitar.
