Ever just had an amazing vintage guitar fall into your lap?

[archtopmaker]

I'll have been playing guitar for a year on the 28th (ignore the silly name, any way I can change that?), and when I started to take interest in guitar, my granddad just happened to say "I can play", and began teaching me. Well he passed away in August, and I was just absolutely devastated, and I'm still coming to grips with it. Well I enjoyed Gibsons, play a crappy Les Paul guitar, and when I looked at the Gibson website, I really liked the looks of the L-5, and I looked them up on Google, and I REALLY liked the old acoustic, non-cutaway models, I mentioned it to my dad when we were down preparing everything for the wake and the funeral, and he just smiled and said "Come with me." And he pulled out this old, worn, brown case, and opened it...

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He'd had a 1947 Gibson L-5 since 1951 when his first guitar just wasn't cutting it. He got it for $275.

Beautiful guitar, my most prized possession, and I will NEVER sell it.

Me playing the guitar:
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Think of this as like my new introduction, now you guys can get to know me!

BTW: Not a Les Paul, but very vintage, pre-dating the first Les Pauls, so suck on that 52 owners! Haha!

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Might you put those pics here? I'm Facebook-averse.

 

[Bruiser74]

Thats a great story. However you don't have your
pics/videos made public,therefore we can't see them!
Cheers

 

[archtopmaker]

Is there a way to put them up straight from facebook? I'd rather not have to make a photobucket account just to put up a couple of pictures.

 

[archtopmaker]

Hm... Attachments gonna work?

 

[Skynyrdpicker]

Beautiful guitar... Great story, sorry he passed.

 

[archtopmaker]

Thank you to all! Now I just need to figure out how to do it justice... Haha.

 

[diceman]

Very cool guitar. Be sure to keep it in the family!

 

[Bruiser74]

Beauty! Thanks

 

[Nevin1985]

Awesome. Still have my grandpas old guitar. Its not that caliber, but its the reason why I am playing.

 

[msfenderarg]

Sorry about your grandad's passing.

That is a beautiful guitar.

 

[lpcustom69]

Cool story, and nice guitar!

 

[cherrick]

Great find. I also have my grandfather's L5 (1946, no-cutaway). Please keep working on the pics and posting them, I know I look forward to more and better pics.

 

[lewddude]

Sorry to hear of your loss! How cool is it that you have something like that L-5 to help you hold on to him? Enjoy, and no matter how hard times get, don't ever ever ever ever sell it!

 

[Mr Insane]

beautiful guitar

 

[archtopmaker]

Great find. I also have my grandfather's L5 (1946, no-cutaway). Please keep working on the pics and posting them, I know I look forward to more and better pics.

They didn't make L-5's in 1946, 47 was the first year after WWII, what are the specs? Ebony FB for 47, Rosewood for 48-49, not sure for after, and it may be pre-war.

 

[dudu]

It also happened to me once. And then I woke up.

 

[chasenblues]

 

[Crusader Rabbit]

Condolences on your loss.

It is, however a great story, and a great guitar.

 

[PapaSquash]

Yep, for a number of years, I had an old superstrat in the closet and kept telling myself I was going to get back into playing someday.

One day, my wife tells me out of the blue: "My dad is going to get rid of his old guitar and he was wondering if we want to buy it. I'd like to get it, because it's always been in the family"

So of course I say "OK, great. I don't really play anymore, but I've been meaning to."

So she drives down to his house and comes home with this:

I married well.
Early '61 Junior. I started getting serious about playing right away and gigged it this winter.