Another old Gibson pulled from the closet

StreetLegal

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Hmmm, coolkayaker1 seems to have his finger on the vintage Martin pulse.
 
From the photo, it looks to be in pretty good shape. Can you share some more photographs?

Congratulations on finding it. I love instruments with stories and history.
 
Looks to be a Style 2 from the bound body. Can't say I've seen that script logo nor a pin bridge on Gibson ukes before..........
 
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I'm guessing - let me emphasize guessing , because I am not as familiar with Gibson as other brands - it was built in the mid- to late 1930's. I think in the very early '30's the headstock script changed from saying "The Gibson" to just plain "Gibson". The script was a little more elegant on the earlier ones as well. Actually, looking at the stencilling of the script, it could even be WWII-era.

Hopefully someone more knowledgeable about old Gibsons can jump in here and either confirm or deny!!

What I am sure of is that you've got a nice old uke with some great family history attached. Make sure it is properly humidified! It's survived this long, but your dry New Mexico air and drier air conditioning will kill it.

It sounds like you are wanting to keep it - if you are wanting to restore it, Jake Wildwood of Antebellum Instruments is extremely knowledgeable about old ukes and is a respected member of the UU community.
 
Hi StreetLegal,

Gibson started out producing ukuleles in 1925 with a tenor size - rather unusual. They weren't mentioned in their 1926 catalog, though. All Gibson tenor ukes had pin bridges, the early ones even had five pins in them (the fifth being a kind of spare wheel, without any string attached).

Yours is a bit later. The black headplate and curly script on your instrument suggest it's built late 1930s.

The stamped number on the inside isn't a serial number, but a 'FON', a Factory Order Number. It was used to trace all parts and material costs during production, was attributed to an instrument rather at random. The number was therefore sometimes reused, on different or very similar instruments. One thing is quite sure: DG stands for a Gibson made in 1938. Or rather, 'started' in 1938, so It could have been finished in early 1939 as well.

Gibson experimented with its tenors more than with any other model: spruce instead of mahogany tops, X-bracing, electrical pickup systems, cutaways, ... The unusual thing about yours is the 'open book' headstock instead of the usual 'pointed' one.

Simple binding on the top of the body and white bone nut and saddle suggest a style 2, but Gibson never was very precise and originally stamped all these 'TU', for Tenor Ukulele.. In fact, the diversification only came about in the 1940s with a simplified TU-1 and in 1950 with a fancier TU-3 - only from then on did the standard TU change into a TU-2. TU-1 production halted in 1955, TU-3 in 1965, the TU-2 probably in 1967 when the last sopranos and baritones were made as well in the Kalamazoo factory.

Gibson ukuleles and especially Gibson tenor ukuleles are really underrated.
 
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What I am sure of is that you've got a nice old uke with some great family history attached. Make sure it is properly humidified! It's survived this long, but your dry New Mexico air and drier air conditioning will kill it.

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Hi StreetLegal,

Gibson started out producing ukuleles in 1925 with a tenor size - rather unusual. They weren't mentioned in their 1926 catalog, though. All Gibson tenor ukes had pin bridges, the early ones even had five pins in them (the fifth being a kind of spare wheel, without any string attached).

Yours is a bit later. The black headplate and curly script on your instrument suggest it's built late 1930s.

The stamped number on the inside isn't a serial number, but a 'FON', a Factory Order Number. It was used to trace all parts and material costs during production, was attributed to an instrument rather at random. The number was therefore sometimes reused, on different or very similar instruments. One thing is quite sure: DG stands for a Gibson made in 1938. Or rather, 'started' in 1938, so It could have been finished in early 1939 as well.

Gibson experimented with its tenors more than with any other model: spruce instead of mahogany tops, X-bracing, electrical pickup systems, cutaways, ... The unusual thing about yours is the 'open book' headstock instead of the usual 'pointed' one.

Simple binding on the top of the body and white bone nut and saddle suggest a style 2, but Gibson never was very precise and originally stamped all these 'TU', for Tenor Ukulele.. In fact, the diversification only came about in the 1940s with a simplified TU-1 and in 1950 with a fancier TU-3 - only from then on did the standard TU change into a TU-2. TU-1 production halted in 1955, TU-3 in 1965, the TU-2 probably in 1967 when the last sopranos and baritones were made as well in the Kalamazoo factory.

Gibson ukuleles and especially Gibson tenor ukuleles are really underrated.
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I 've not seen any pricing on ukes that would entice me to want to sell it.
If you're planning to keep the uke, you owe it to yourself and your grandfather to at least try to learn to play it. :)

If you decide it's not for you, then perhaps there's someone else in the family who might appreciate it more? If nothing else, sell it to someone who will enjoy and play it.
 
If you're planning to keep the uke, you owe it to yourself and your grandfather to at least try to learn to play it. :)

If you decide it's not for you, then perhaps there's someone else in the family who might appreciate it more? If nothing else, sell it to someone who will enjoy and play it.

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Wow, what a find! Congrats, I hope you have a ball learning to play it! This thread has been most educational...
 
I agree 100% - I need to learn to play it. In fact, I agree with everything you said.

I had a 1941 Gibson J55 that belonged to my father. It was rare and valuable. I sold that due to 1) deterioration from lack of use, 2) I needed the money, and 3) my father and I didn't have a good relationship for the last 9 years of his life. Someone bought it who will take care of it and appreciate it and that's good.
First step, if you want to try going it alone, is to put on a new set of strings.

If you want to keep it, I'd suggest taking it to a luthier, see what they recommend after a close inspection.

There's a lot of crazing in the finish. If there are no cracks, the crazing won't matter so much aside from being a cosmetic issue.
 
Always love this kind of threads. Ukes once loved and lived stories behind, being found and wake again after a long sleep. This is the beautiful thing.

This one looks like in good condition, your grandfather must have loved it very much. Quickly get it to body check:) Then you could play it with joy.
 
I believe it is a War-time gold script (1943-1945) Style 2 Tenor. I'm fairly certain on the model TU-2, very certain it's a Gibson Tenor, and the date is probably pretty close. This is a wonderful instrument that needs to be brought back to life. Good luck to you!

I didn't spend a bunch of time on this, but this is the best place for finding your answer.

http://home.provide.net/~cfh/gibson.html
 
I believe it is a War-time gold script (1943-1945) Style 2 Tenor.

I don't think it was made that late, given the FON. Is the headstock logo silver or gold? The shape (curly letters, no 'the') was certainly in use since 1935, I think the gold lettering on came about in 1943. Gibson assembled instruments in a rather chaotic style, and sometimes partially refinished instruments that came back from unsold stock or for repair.
 
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