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Topic: Just picked up a rare Gibson - pics and a few questions |
Noah Miller
From:
Rocky Hill, CT
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Posted 5 May 2012 5:02 pm |
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(Larger versions of all the pics can be seen here.)
It's not every day I drive halfway across New England to buy a guitar, but this one was worth it - a 1937 EH-150 double-neck, complete with the original stand:
I'm hardly a Gibson steel expert, but I've never seen one of these stands outside of old catalogs:
 
The upside is that the stand is still perfectly functional and collapses for easy transport. The downside is that over half the wear on the guitar can be attributed to rubbing against it. I don't have the original case, but the guitar came with a home-built substitute which is surprisingly solid.
At first, I thought that the hand rests were later additions. Even if they are, they're likely to be genuine Gibson parts:
 
There are a few things that surprise me about this instrument. Of the few pictures of double-necked EH-150s I can find, none of them have two full sets of controls. Could this be a special order? Also, I noticed that the pole pieces are different between the two pickups; is this normal variation between 7 and 8 string pickups of the time?
The only structural problem is a crack in the top extending from a screw holding down a bridge. On a Spanish-style guitar, I'd have this cleated; is this worth worrying about on a Hawaiian?
Otherwise, there's moderate wear and tear but everything looks to be original down to the wiring. I love those huge magnets!
 
 
One final note - along with a couple of slides and picks, I found three identical business cards in the case. I'm guessing from the font and the telephone number that they're from the '50s at the latest:
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Joseph Meditz
From:
Sierra Vista, AZ
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Posted 5 May 2012 6:12 pm
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Nice guitar! Looks as though it is made of solid wood rather than plywood.
I think that crack can be repaired simply by forcing some wood glue, or perhaps epoxy like red Brownels into it. But I'm not the expert on this. JMHO.
I would guess those pickups with those magnets are going to be satisfying.
Lastly, when I looked at the business card it struck me as being Art Deco. That would place it in the late thirties. It's possible that John Fernandes is the original owner. Is Fernandes with an "s" Portuguese? As you probably know MA and RI have quite a few Portuguese.
Overall I think you scored a fine guitar with a great vibe and possibly known provenance. Cool! |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Posted 5 May 2012 6:48 pm
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A very nice Gibson! I suggest keeping all of the case candy (the card, picks, bar, etc) together with the guitar as it adds to the value and the vibe.
As far as the crack... the best thing you can to is leave it alone. I had an EH-185, same vintage as your Gibson, with a similar crack in the body. A very experienced guitar repairman told me that it should be left as is. He said it would be nearly impossible to match the sunburst finish on the guitar. This guy is Martin certified, and very good with wood repairs, 30 years experience. Any tinkering, gluing, repainting will devalue the guitar more than that crack will. Besides, the crack is not really noticeable.
How does it sound? My EH-185 had a slight low end hum that annoyed me. Other than that it was a beautiful guitar. Very well-crafted, made of excellent materials.
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Noah Miller
From:
Rocky Hill, CT
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Posted 6 May 2012 4:04 am
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| Joseph Meditz wrote: |
Nice guitar! Looks as though it is made of solid wood rather than plywood.
Lastly, when I looked at the business card it struck me as being Art Deco. That would place it in the late thirties. It's possible that John Fernandes is the original owner. Is Fernandes with an "s" Portuguese? As you probably know MA and RI have quite a few Portuguese. |
It is indeed all solid wood - I was impressed by the figuring visible inside the control cavity. I know that name is spelled that way in Spanish, but it could be Portuguese too; I actually hauled all the way to New Hampshire to buy the guitar, and I can't say where it was originally purchased.
| Doug Beaumier wrote: |
A very nice Gibson! I suggest keeping all of the case candy (the card, picks, bar, etc) together with the guitar as it adds to the value and the vibe.
As far as the crack... the best thing you can to is leave it alone. I had an EH-185, same vintage as your Gibson, with a similar crack in the body. A very experienced guitar repairman told me that it should be left as is. He said it would be nearly impossible to match the sunburst finish on the guitar. This guy is Martin certified, and very good with wood repairs, 30 years experience. Any tinkering, gluing, repainting will devalue the guitar more than that crack will. Besides, the crack is not really noticeable.
How does it sound? My EH-185 had a slight low end hum that annoyed me. Other than that it was a beautiful guitar. Very well-crafted, made of excellent materials. |
Yup, all of the accessories will be residing with the guitar.
I actually meant cleating it from the inside, with no finish touchup required. Regardless, I'm leaning towards leaving it alone since it's not really a structural problem and - as you said - it's not really noticeable.
It sounds just like the other Charlie Christian pickups I've played - clear and cutting, but not harsh, with nice firm bass on the low strings. The guitar came strung with a mis-mash of electric and acoustic strings, and unfortunately I'm out of spare string sets, so I'm sure I'm not hearing its full majesty yet. The 8-string neck is noticeably lower in output than the 7-string neck; this may be due to the way it's wired, aging magnets, or a few other reasons. Both pickups are noisy (I can limit the noise by turning down whichever neck I'm not playing), but such is the price of great tone; I'm used to playing single-coil pickups, so I barely even notice it. |
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Noah Miller
From:
Rocky Hill, CT
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Posted 6 May 2012 7:11 am
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I was able to find another with two sets of controls. This pic is from the 1939 Gibson catalog:
It's hard to see, but I think it might have the same hand rests too. |
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John Rosett
From:
Missoula, MT
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Posted 6 May 2012 8:22 am
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That guitar is just beautiful. I would have driven ti New Hampshire to get it, and I live in Montana!
_________________
"it's not in bad taste, if it's funny." - john waters |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 6 May 2012 3:08 pm
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Lovely guitar!
"I'm guessing from the font and the telephone number that they're from the '50s at the latest: "
I agree, Fifties. Our number in the Fifties was LA-4-6903. LaFayette 4. Before that, it was just 6903. |
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Tom Pettingill
From:
California, USA (deceased)
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Matthew Carlin
From:
Lake County, IL.
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Posted 6 May 2012 6:21 pm
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Nice guitar sir!
Just Google-ing that phone number came up with the text from a class of '63 Boston College yearbook
FERNANDES, JOHN P. 62 Plymouth St. Cambridge, Mass. Un 8-8345. German Acad emy 1, 2; Economics Academy 2; YAF 3, 4 Chairman Executive Board 2; Nazareth Field Day 3; Chairman Finance Committee for Mil itary Ball 4; Intramural Basketball 1;
_________________
"Just tryin to make some music in the money business" |
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CrowBear Schmitt
From:
Ariege, - PairO'knees, - France
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Posted 6 May 2012 11:16 pm
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Great Score Noah !
what does it weigh ?
many moons of happiness to both of youze  |
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Andy Sandoval
From:
Bakersfield, California, USA
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Posted 7 May 2012 8:24 am
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I'd love to own an EH 150. Your's is a beauty Noah.  |
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Noah Miller
From:
Rocky Hill, CT
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Posted 7 May 2012 12:06 pm
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| CrowBear Schmitt wrote: |
| what does it weigh ? |
My scale puts it at 13.6 pounds. |
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CrowBear Schmitt
From:
Ariege, - PairO'knees, - France
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Posted 7 May 2012 2:55 pm
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Thanks Noah
quite reasonable considering it's size
a bit of drift - thanx to Gibson gas & the fo'bros, i got this Ltd series EH150 last week off ebay :
sounds quite good
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Bill Creller
From:
Saginaw, Michigan, USA (deceased)
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Posted 7 May 2012 7:53 pm
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I can believe what it weighs, those magnets alone are heavy. That guitar is in great condition alright.
I had a stand like that in the 40s & 50s. but accidently left it someplace.(?) I bought one like it that needed some work from LT Zinn a few years ago. Too bad someone doesn't produce some identical new ones like that. |
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Roger Shackelton
From:
MINNESOTA (deceased)
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Posted 7 May 2012 11:49 pm
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Hello CrowBear,
I'm not a Gibson expert, but I believe your Gibson
S-7 is a model EH-185.  |
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CrowBear Schmitt
From:
Ariege, - PairO'knees, - France
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George Rout
From:
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
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Posted 8 May 2012 2:14 pm
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Hi Crowbear. Nice guitar. Do you know what the year of mfg is?
Have a good day.
Geo
_________________
http://georgerout.com
"I play in the A Major tuning. It's fun to learn and so easy to play. It's as old as the hills....like me" |
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James Hartman
From:
Pennsylvania, USA
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Posted 9 May 2012 6:48 am
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| Wow! I'm envious. |
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