Just got this from a family friend. It is supposed to be a 1955 that my Grandpa bought new. Story goes that he changed the BowTie neck at some point after.
He then sold it to the family friend after buying the prewar he had when he passed.
I am hoping to identify it, clean it up, and keep it to play and pass down.
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!
Edited by - N2GUN on 09/25/2023 18:10:00
URL to his home page where there are pictures. Go here: banjohangout.org/my/N2GUN
Suggestion: in the future, put the pictures on your text. Once you have pictures on your home page, you can type text and scroll to the bottom of the page and where it says "attachments", your pictures should be there. Just click on the picture(s) you want to post on your text, preview to be sure they are all there and where you want them, and then click on post reply.
Thanks kindly!
Well, a 1955 RB 250 would not have a flat head tone ring. Of course nor would an RB 100 or 150. So the pot has been converted too.
There should be a serial # stamped inside the wood rim. If you can't find one, it's not a 1955.
Would be nice to see the back of the resonator. Hopefully it's original Gibson, which has certain telltales that will help establish some of the value.
Without a serial # it's hard to "prove" that it's even a Gibson. So, it's very hard to say what it is and what it's worth. The quality, fit and finish of the conversion neck is a huge factor, once a rim serial # establishes it's a real 1950s Gibson. Quality of the pot conversion to a flat head is also important.
please take of the resonator, remove the thumb screws on top and take off the bottom, the screws go back in easily , it was made to do that so dont worry about getting it back together. post pictures of the inside.
The tailpiece is certainly changed out as well.
Bobby
Family stories are almost always inaccurate, so like others have posted, take off the resonator (back) and get some good photos of the rim and inside the rim, including the coordinator rods (should be obvious), including the stamped serial (FON) number.
