1950 Gibson BR9 Lapsteel and Amp Set NICE

[John Kally]

Here's another set that came from the original owner's daughter, and this also had been put away for decades. I think this one dates from around 1950 due to the pickup type and speaker type; that is probably a fair guess. But, when I got it the pickup was dead, so I sent it to Lindy Fralin who personally rewound it to stock. Also, the amp, while working, needed service so I took it in and had ancient capacitors replaced. Sounds good now. Original Rola field coil speaker. Amp cabinet has some minor stains on the covering but is intact, handle intact, original power cord is still on it. Also, the tuner buttons had crumbled away so on this one I robbed buttons from another couple of partial sets and transferred them over to the original Kluson plates(decent job but you can see a couple of places where there is some melted plastic where the button joins the shaft). This is an early example of the BR9 with a variation on the P90 with fixed polepieces and rounded corners on the pickup body. Since you have to unscrew from the bottom to get the head out of the amp, I don't have any inside pictures of the circuitry but if that's critical for a potential buyer I can open it up. I'm asking $850 including shipping (two boxes) in the continental US, and whatever shipping would be elsewhere; I know there are sets out there that can be found cheaper (probably not with shipping included) but be aware that you might wind up putting more into them if they haven't had servicing done already. Email me at jkally3@cox.net. This and the Supro in the other listing are the only sets that I have.



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[Chris Boyd]

Nice set!! The P90 in these BR9's is great...

[John Kally]

Thanks! Yes, it's a good one.

[Jim Bates]

I sent you e-mail. Very interested.

Thanx,
Jim

[Gary Schlotterbeck]

In 1946, my uncle Hubert bought one of these sets. His had the Bakelite fretboard as well as the upgrade knobs, the Gibson clear knobs with numbers and a gold background. The amp was the same as this. Hubert died in 1948 from complications of injuries received on D-Day. I was born in 1949, and when I turned six, my grandmother gave it to me, that is the guitar I learned to play on. My cousin now has that guitar; his father, my uncle Hubert, and my mother were brothers and sister.

[John Kally]

Hi,
Thanks for the story. Lucky that the guitar has stayed in the family. For many people, if instruments get passed down they may not continue to get played, or there may be no one to pass them down to. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten a call from someone that has an old guitar that belonged to a parent or grandparent, passed down to them and then the next generation has no interest.

[John Kally]

On Hold for a list member, pending payment. Donation will be coming as soon as funds arrive here. Thanks!