The most important musical thing from 1946 I can think of is the benefit concert for Isaac Woodard in NYC. Woodard was a black US G.I. who immediately upon being discharged from fighting in the Pacific got into a nonviolent argument with a bus driver in South Carolina . He was brutally attacked by police and blinded. Billie Holiday, Woodie Guthrie and Joe Lewis played at the benefit. Of course this didn't make the charts but ~36,000 people showed up and it was a big early spark of postwar civil rights activism. Woody Guthrie's song "The Blinding of Isaac Woodard", written with the help of Woodard himself is likely the most notable historical song of the year. You can find a great PBS documentary about Woodard online to watch for free. Guthrie said this about his song: "this one I made up so's you wouldn't be forgetting what happened to this famous Negro soldier less than three hours after he got his Honorable Discharge down in Atlanta.... I sung this Isaac Woodard song in the Lewisohn Stadium one night for more than 36,000 people, and I got the loudest applause I've ever got in my whole life. This song is a long song, but most of the action is told in Isaac's own words. I made this ballad up because we'll need lots of songs like this one before we win our fight for racial equality in our big free United States." Thanks as always for a great video Ted, on the slim chance of your reading this haha. Lyrics to Guthrie's song and his comments on it: web.archive.org/web/20050114003432/members.fortunecity.com/folkfred/blind.html Documentary: www.pbs.org/video/the-blinding-of-isaac-woodard-knf0hq/ A long and very detailed account of what happened to Woodard: lithub.com/an-account-of-the-blinding-of-sgt-isaac-woodard-by-the-police-officer-lynwood-shull/?single=true
As I've said before, this series has been a true masterclass of workmanship. It should be posted as a playlist for people to binge watch and learn. Thank you for this.
Outstanding! As a kid when leaving the electric scene to folk traded fender mustang for j-45 cherry burst in 1967-68? If memory serves well. Later was told it was a factory 2nd due to the number 2 placed just under the serial number stamped into back of head stock. Oh well got nicked trading with a notorious dealing rock shop. After getting into the Peter Paul & Mary scene not having money for a slot head Martin. Decided to remove the finish off the guitar. Dad said he used broken pieces of window glass when refinishing gun stocks. Obtained the shards and the finish came off in micro thin curls. Used some conventional finish remover on neck and headstock. Never put that clunky pick guard back on. The idea back then was everything natural. Treated the wood with lemon oil. Where ever I played always was complemented on the tonal qualities of the guitar. Sadly 25 yrs laterI gave it away as I was playing bags pipes it was never used.
Holy cow, both of those guitars turned out gorgeous; really cool, too. You basically did the opposite of relicing, by massively improving their appearance, playability, structural stability, etc, while still leaving enough of the mojo that comes with a nearly 70 year old well played instrument. As always Ted, your master level craftsmanship simply blows me away. Great job!!!
At the music store where I used to work someone brought in a 1940’s banner head Gibson in pieces, in a bag. It took months but the luthier resurrected it!
These guitars remind me of my grandpa's band, the North Country Ramblers. They were well known in the upstate NY area (headquartered in Watertown), and they were Grandpa Jones' backup band on tour. That Southern Jumbo sounds very modern. (I swear I hear Hotel California coming outta that thing.) The J-45 sounds like it has more projection for a time when the guitar had to compete with brass. Thanks so much for the series Ted!
@@dooleyfussle8634 I don't know, but I hope so! I have never heard them, and it's my dearest wish to find a recording of them! They were Elliot Sweet (my grandfather), his brother "Major", and any other brothers who were available, plus the hired hands. I know from family that they had a radio show every weekday from 4:30 - 5:00 PM in the Watertown area, but that radio station has changed ownership numerous times, and the original recordings were presumed lost. If you have heard them anywhere, please let me know. (A reply comment is fine.) The Minnesota branch of the family would be super-grateful! I'm gonna look up NCPR and String Fever right now! 🙂 Edit: I just looked up NCPR and sent them an inquiry by email. Wouldn't it be awesome if they could connect me with Grandpa's music? Thanks for the lead!
Getting behind my '64 J-45 is just the same. It is modified. But only to increase vibrational transmission. Lots of play wear, little damage and it she rings until you'd think she can actually sing. Dad did me a real solid when he bought it for my 9th birthday. Wonderfully balanced decisions in you work keeps me coming back for content. Yes, I still play my Gibson in public, but mostly in the parlor nowadays. Thanks Ted!
To scrape the rosettes, if you make a tool that can plug into the sound hole with a double adjustable rotating arm with a scraper on the end, it would make quick work of it. You just need to be able to adjust the pivot location, the length of the arm, and the depth of the scraper. An inflatable tapered plug would probably be the easiest to use for the main body of the tool.
As someone who does very small repair jobs for a friends and fellow musicians from time to time. Your level of skill and craftsmanship is unworldly! Thanks for sharing!
I just binge watched the entire series - oh my, life can never be the same! I played a J45 in a shop in London's Denmark St. in about 1989 and I still say its 'the one' by which I judge all other guitars, and I hate Gibsons, but these J45s are THE players acoustic with a sound you've heard your whole life. Thanks for restoring them and spreading the knowledge to us amateur luthiers! Oh and Steamed Hams: ua-cam.com/video/Jsof0cwFPY0/v-deo.html
Accordions were popular all the way into the 60’s. My first guitar teacher was an accordion player first, guitar player second. The Beetles changed things. The EJ1 Fujigen Gakki that I found in the dumpster recently had an Imperial label on it. From the Imperial Accordion Company of Chicago, IL! Looks like it was made in 1963, right at the start of the British Invasion. 😊 Nice job on those two Gibsons. That old thing sounds wonderful. Nothing wrong with new guitars. The good ones get sorted out, and in fifty years they’ll be classics too.
Hello Ted. Long time watcher, First time commenter… I’m a retired Finish carpenter/acoustic guitarist/ bassist…30 miles S. of Detroit. LOVE all your techniques/videos. you’ve made me a more patient, precise, carpenter… “Take your time, it’s not a Race”… Looking forward to each new episode. Carry on.
I am always in awe of your abilities, I realize it is not magic from my years of field service and having others think I am some magical being that can repair anything. It is time in grade, the "oh I have seen that before" and the just sometimes "wonder if this will actually work?" thought process. The awe isn't a worship thing it is the hey this guy is an encyclopedic informational storage system that has done his chops and deserves all the recognition that I can muster. Thanks Bro for the vids, I realize that the time it takes to make these sometimes hampers that repair process but I am glad for the ride along.
Incredible workmanship, awesome guitars,and amazing sound.A beautifully done repair,I have really enjoyed this series showcasing these guitars and your skills.Thank you Ted.
That was a very interesting and entertaining mini-series! Or, at times for you, a "minisery". And I am impressed with the sound a 70-80 year old Gibson can produce- with a proper set-up.
Plenty of now-renowned vintage guitar/musical-instrument amplifiers had specific accordion inputs right up into the early 1960s; Magnatone, Ampeg, Sano, some Gibson amps IIRC, and rarer ones like Flot-A-Tone. Many guitarists have found that the accordion input often had more gain than the guitar input and so you can guess which input they prefer! What nobody seems to know anymore is exactly how they would pick up the accordion signal and put it into an amp. Some kind of internal multi- microphone system? A magnetic pickup would be unlikely to do anything whatsoever on an accordion....
Your work is impeccable. They sound better than the new ones IMO. I also find that after a craftsman such as yourself works on them, they sound much better. No big deal, but I was hoping that where the knobs were would have come out better. They came out great compared to what mine would have looked like. I was just hoping you had a trick up your sleeve for it, so I could do it in the future. Thanks for the video.
Well you did it again, wonderful work and I appreciate the lesson regarding the cost to bring these back to playability. If you just have to have a vintage model guitar in poor shape, realize the time, effort and cost to bring it all the way back. Thank you taking the time to do more than just the repair, love the narratives
You mentioned Louis Jordan having a good year in 1946. That was the year he released his excellent version of "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie". One of my favorite tracks by Jordan.
They sound phenomenal. As I expect an old Gibson to do. I visited a store in Greensboro NC years ago. And seeing "Authorized Martin repair" in the window is always a confidence builder to walking into such a place. I played a 65 (birth year) J45 that sounded so god I nearly panted. It sounded that good. It was a little pricey but I came close to buying it.
With the old high pressure spray guns half the paint just bounces off of your work piece. Occasionally I will use an old HVHP gun. Devillbiss makes my old gun, and my little airbrushes are Pasche VL double action & single action H models and an Iwata gravity feed. I like 3/16 inch dowels wrapped in plumber's teflon tape to hold my bridges on and I even cut small plugs of 3/16 dowel wrapped in Teflon to align the bridge and keep glue out of the holes. It's really cheap because bent dowel rod is usually deeply discounted and Harbor Fright Teflon tape is always cheap.
I trained as a cabinet maker many years ago. I do my own repairs, intonation, etc., and I am considering buying a broken guitar so that I can do a neck reset for fun. I make my own shims, and fix electrics (with removable necks regularly), but that's beyond what I've tried. I'm not often impressed, but of all the luthiers I've seen, heard of, or watched, I wouldn't let anyone but you touch a guitar that I couldn't repair.
Having recently obtained a few year old Taylor, and trying to find a Luthier to help do a setup the Taylor way, I have a new respect for your goal focus on customer satisfaction.
Ted, I hope you see this. I just want to say that you are very intelligent whether guitar related or not. You are very intelligent and it is very refreshing. Thanks for just being, you. Much love from Oklahoma! ❤️™️
I always appreciate the research done, in this case the guitar-centric appraisal of 1946 in music. Lots of pop drek at the upper echelons of the charts, but the 40's in general saw the birth of jump blues which would morph into rock and roll, bebop, bluegrass, the early stages of the folk movement, western swing getting more and more electric and at times more raw or complex, etc. Y'all can have the 60's... I'll take the 40's. One more thing for the guitar-obsessed historian: I'm of the opinion that a huge swath of middle America was introduced to electric guitar via the Fibber McGee and Molly radio show, which had the great Perry Botkin (Sr.), playing blazing fast runs as early as 1940, though generally on novelty material ("Three Blind Mice", "Hilda", "Jingle Bells", etc.). He got some interesting tones too, as well as handling any other stringed instruments with aplomb. FM&G was a top rated program, with tens of millions listening each week. You would have noticed the guitar. Frankly it's surprising that Botkin is so obscure. He really was a monster player, making big bucks at the time (hopefully) playing mostly ridiculous music for millions.
Excellent workmanship, these fellas sound in great voice, I agree no old guitar should look brand new as no new guitar should look old. This has been the pup's nuts set of videos thanks. 👍👍👍👍🥃Respect to you mate.
Thanks, Ted. This has been a really fascinating series! Wow, there's so much more work involved that we don't see! I love that you didn't try to make them look brand new (which, despite your modesty, we all know you are one of those people who could!) They sound phenomenal, I only wish I could 1) afford one and 2) play well enough to justify it even if I COULD afford one!! Thanks again... It's great for this old man to be part of a gang again!!😄🇬🇧
Thanks for sharing. So interesting to see the work that is needed to bring them back to life. I brought a few old Gibson and Martin guitars back to life with the help of a local luthier here in Ottawa, and I’m always amazed about how unique their voices are.
Thanks. re-mounted a few bridges and am converting a (broken) dowel jointed neck to a bolt-on. Nothing fancy or actually worth a professional repair, but they're all instruments that would otherwise be in landfill. I can make some noise for fun thanks to your instructions.
Excellent series of videos, I've enjoyed every step of the way watching these wonderful old ladies being skilfully restored great playing and sounding condition. They both sound fantastic but if I had to chose it would have to be the SJ.
Your beautiful and sympathetic work on these guitars is amazing. I agree that restoration is more important than renovation, e.g. keep as much as you have and not aiming to have a showroom condition outcome.
POLISHING, POLISHING, POLISHING! the series was great my man!!! i hope your health has been improving and getting better and better. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for just doing what you do. it’s like my soul gets a break, when i’m watching your videos. Anyway, i love ya and hope you get to experience the best guitars in the world. Why? BC if you break em, you can fix em.
Bravo! It was quite the journey watching the process. They look great. I bet they have that old world sound. I don’t work on guitars but I do piano work and I’ve heard that old world sound and it’s remarkable. Thanks for sharing this with us.
Second one sounded fantastic. Great work. Really wish you were stayed side. My area has one luthier that did fret work for me and it wasn't right. I don't want to take it back and end up having to do a regret if it doesn't get right again. Live in the big city of nowhere usa...
I hope the owner sat through this series and saw the time and skill that went into making these playable again.
Outstanding work.
Another excellent series of videos displaying your talent as a luthier, historian, and woodworker.. thanks.
The most important musical thing from 1946 I can think of is the benefit concert for Isaac Woodard in NYC. Woodard was a black US G.I. who immediately upon being discharged from fighting in the Pacific got into a nonviolent argument with a bus driver in South Carolina . He was brutally attacked by police and blinded.
Billie Holiday, Woodie Guthrie and Joe Lewis played at the benefit. Of course this didn't make the charts but ~36,000 people showed up and it was a big early spark of postwar civil rights activism. Woody Guthrie's song "The Blinding of Isaac Woodard", written with the help of Woodard himself is likely the most notable historical song of the year. You can find a great PBS documentary about Woodard online to watch for free.
Guthrie said this about his song: "this one I made up so's you wouldn't be forgetting what happened to this famous Negro soldier less than three hours after he got his Honorable Discharge down in Atlanta.... I sung this Isaac Woodard song in the Lewisohn Stadium one night for more than 36,000 people, and I got the loudest applause I've ever got in my whole life. This song is a long song, but most of the action is told in Isaac's own words. I made this ballad up because we'll need lots of songs like this one before we win our fight for racial equality in our big free United States."
Thanks as always for a great video Ted, on the slim chance of your reading this haha.
Lyrics to Guthrie's song and his comments on it:
web.archive.org/web/20050114003432/members.fortunecity.com/folkfred/blind.html
Documentary:
www.pbs.org/video/the-blinding-of-isaac-woodard-knf0hq/
A long and very detailed account of what happened to Woodard:
lithub.com/an-account-of-the-blinding-of-sgt-isaac-woodard-by-the-police-officer-lynwood-shull/?single=true
As an American history buff, this is a new story I have learned! Thanks for sharing. I will check out these links !! 😊
Hank Williams came along in 1947 and changed those dreary charts forever.
Arthur Smith recorded "Guitar Boogie" in 1945! And his guitar really boogies! 😁
Gotta say, these sing right through the camera mic. Great work, great series!
As I've said before, this series has been a true masterclass of workmanship. It should be posted as a playlist for people to binge watch and learn. Thank you for this.
Man you have good timing, I almost had to go do something productive...yay procrastination!
"Frankly- most of you would just gag when you heard the estimate"
Classic Twoodfrd
Both are great but the SJ really has it all!!! Beautiful work!!!
Outstanding! As a kid when leaving the electric scene to folk traded fender mustang for j-45 cherry burst in 1967-68? If memory serves well. Later was told it was a factory 2nd due to the number 2 placed just under the serial number stamped into back of head stock. Oh well got nicked trading with a notorious dealing rock shop. After getting into the Peter Paul & Mary scene not having money for a slot head Martin. Decided to remove the finish off the guitar. Dad said he used broken pieces of window glass when refinishing gun stocks. Obtained the shards and the finish came off in micro thin curls. Used some conventional finish remover on neck and headstock. Never put that clunky pick guard back on. The idea back then was everything natural. Treated the wood with lemon oil. Where ever I played always was complemented on the tonal qualities of the guitar. Sadly 25 yrs laterI gave it away as I was playing bags pipes it was never used.
Those are some ridiculously good sounding instruments. Wow!
Holy cow, both of those guitars turned out gorgeous; really cool, too. You basically did the opposite of relicing, by massively improving their appearance, playability, structural stability, etc, while still leaving enough of the mojo that comes with a nearly 70 year old well played instrument. As always Ted, your master level craftsmanship simply blows me away. Great job!!!
The sound from both those Gibsons is amazing! Another great revival. Thanks Ted.
At the music store where I used to work someone brought in a 1940’s banner head Gibson in pieces, in a bag. It took months but the luthier resurrected it!
I never get the really old ones like that to work on. This series rocked. Great work.
These guitars remind me of my grandpa's band, the North Country Ramblers. They were well known in the upstate NY area (headquartered in Watertown), and they were Grandpa Jones' backup band on tour. That Southern Jumbo sounds very modern. (I swear I hear Hotel California coming outta that thing.) The J-45 sounds like it has more projection for a time when the guitar had to compete with brass.
Thanks so much for the series Ted!
Have I heard them on String Fever on NCPR?
@@dooleyfussle8634 I don't know, but I hope so! I have never heard them, and it's my dearest wish to find a recording of them! They were Elliot Sweet (my grandfather), his brother "Major", and any other brothers who were available, plus the hired hands. I know from family that they had a radio show every weekday from 4:30 - 5:00 PM in the Watertown area, but that radio station has changed ownership numerous times, and the original recordings were presumed lost.
If you have heard them anywhere, please let me know. (A reply comment is fine.) The Minnesota branch of the family would be super-grateful! I'm gonna look up NCPR and String Fever right now! 🙂
Edit:
I just looked up NCPR and sent them an inquiry by email. Wouldn't it be awesome if they could connect me with Grandpa's music? Thanks for the lead!
how to: start off a new week, enjoy a twoodfrd Monday matinée.
Greetings from the sunny climes of Basle, Switzerland
Operation Magic Carpet was underway at that time. So many troops packed into whatever ship they could get to carry them home.
Ted, you are a master luthier. This whole series has been a real treat.
That J45 sounds incredible.
The southern jumbo sure had the presence of a Martin Dreadnought
Coffee and a brandy and twdfrd...perfect Sunday evening...wish I had something to polish.
1946 was the year of a couple great jazz standards.. anthropology, ornithology, Stella by Starlight, Tenderly..
Highlights..
Getting behind my '64 J-45 is just the same. It is modified. But only to increase vibrational transmission. Lots of play wear, little damage and it she rings until you'd think she can actually sing. Dad did me a real solid when he bought it for my 9th birthday. Wonderfully balanced decisions in you work keeps me coming back for content. Yes, I still play my Gibson in public, but mostly in the parlor nowadays. Thanks Ted!
They sound incredible, intonation is unbelievable for 80 year old guitars. Brilliant job!!
14.02 Love "Yep" as shorthand for "polishing polishing..." wonderful, hypnotic work as always.
A very satisfying conclusion to this video series.
To scrape the rosettes, if you make a tool that can plug into the sound hole with a double adjustable rotating arm with a scraper on the end, it would make quick work of it. You just need to be able to adjust the pivot location, the length of the arm, and the depth of the scraper. An inflatable tapered plug would probably be the easiest to use for the main body of the tool.
Beautiful old Gibsons after you were finished with them, Ted. I was almost in tears with the sound of them... just beautiful.
lol 14:01. "yup". i was waiting to hear the "polishing.... polishing... polishing..." haha
As someone who does very small repair jobs for a friends and fellow musicians from time to time. Your level of skill and craftsmanship is unworldly! Thanks for sharing!
I just binge watched the entire series - oh my, life can never be the same!
I played a J45 in a shop in London's Denmark St. in about 1989 and I still say its 'the one' by which I judge all other guitars, and I hate Gibsons, but these J45s are THE players acoustic with a sound you've heard your whole life. Thanks for restoring them and spreading the knowledge to us amateur luthiers!
Oh and Steamed Hams:
ua-cam.com/video/Jsof0cwFPY0/v-deo.html
Absolutely amazing. The minor chords on that southern jumbo sounded almost creepy good
“Munched” is such a great word - I feel like I heard it often a time ago and it feels regional. Thanks for bringing it back 😂
A visual account of craftsman like prowess is incomplete without the requisite " polishing, polishing, polishing"...
That “yep”, elicited quite a guffaw from me.
Bugs caught in clear coat?
"Welcome to Jurassic Box!"
Accordions were popular all the way into the 60’s. My first guitar teacher was an accordion player first, guitar player second. The Beetles changed things. The EJ1 Fujigen Gakki that I found in the dumpster recently had an Imperial label on it. From the Imperial Accordion Company of Chicago, IL! Looks like it was made in 1963, right at the start of the British Invasion. 😊 Nice job on those two Gibsons. That old thing sounds wonderful. Nothing wrong with new guitars. The good ones get sorted out, and in fifty years they’ll be classics too.
Hello Ted.
Long time watcher,
First time commenter…
I’m a retired Finish carpenter/acoustic guitarist/
bassist…30 miles S. of Detroit.
LOVE all your techniques/videos. you’ve made me a more patient, precise, carpenter…
“Take your time, it’s not a Race”…
Looking forward to each new episode. Carry on.
I am always in awe of your abilities, I realize it is not magic from my years of field service and having others think I am some magical being that can repair anything. It is time in grade, the "oh I have seen that before" and the just sometimes "wonder if this will actually work?" thought process. The awe isn't a worship thing it is the hey this guy is an encyclopedic informational storage system that has done his chops and deserves all the recognition that I can muster.
Thanks Bro for the vids, I realize that the time it takes to make these sometimes hampers that repair process but I am glad for the ride along.
Incredible workmanship, awesome guitars,and amazing sound.A beautifully done repair,I have really enjoyed this series showcasing these guitars and your skills.Thank you Ted.
That was a very interesting and entertaining mini-series! Or, at times for you, a "minisery". And I am impressed with the sound a 70-80 year old Gibson can produce- with a proper set-up.
They both have a voice that can now be heard, without your gift as a master luthier they would remain silent, fantastic series. I wish you well.
The J45 sounds just as clear as the Jumbo but the Jumbo definitely has more bottom end as I would expect.
Finales! Finally! Sad to see it end. But "How can I miss you if you won't go away!"
I watched these videos with special interest, as an owner of two vintage Gibsons. You worked near-miracles on these guitars. Exceptional work!
I must say that I've enjoyed the journey these old girls have had. So educational and inspiring.
Watching this man work keeps me sane and centered. Very calming and I look up to master craftsmen.
I knew it 😊 It‘s getting close to midnight here in Germany but waited for the video. Nice to end the week and start the new one 🥳
Plenty of now-renowned vintage guitar/musical-instrument amplifiers had specific accordion inputs right up into the early 1960s; Magnatone, Ampeg, Sano, some Gibson amps IIRC, and rarer ones like Flot-A-Tone. Many guitarists have found that the accordion input often had more gain than the guitar input and so you can guess which input they prefer! What nobody seems to know anymore is exactly how they would pick up the accordion signal and put it into an amp. Some kind of internal multi- microphone system? A magnetic pickup would be unlikely to do anything whatsoever on an accordion....
You can put a magnetic pickup on metal reeds. No idea if thats what they did.
Your work is impeccable. They sound better than the new ones IMO. I also find that after a craftsman such as yourself works on them, they sound much better. No big deal, but I was hoping that where the knobs were would have come out better. They came out great compared to what mine would have looked like. I was just hoping you had a trick up your sleeve for it, so I could do it in the future. Thanks for the video.
Thankyou for taking the time to lift my depression.
@GVT
I don't need no doctor
ua-cam.com/video/0lxyRjzXvxo/v-deo.html
The Southern Jumbo has amazing balance, and, what a low E! Nice work, as always, Ted.
Well you did it again, wonderful work and I appreciate the lesson regarding the cost to bring these back to playability. If you just have to have a vintage model guitar in poor shape, realize the time, effort and cost to bring it all the way back. Thank you taking the time to do more than just the repair, love the narratives
You mentioned Louis Jordan having a good year in 1946. That was the year he released his excellent version of "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie". One of my favorite tracks by Jordan.
The sound from that jumbo! Such a rounded, warm midrange will sound good on any stage! Thanks for saving it from the firewood pile
They sound phenomenal. As I expect an old Gibson to do. I visited a store in Greensboro NC years ago. And seeing "Authorized Martin repair" in the window is always a confidence builder to walking into such a place. I played a 65 (birth year) J45 that sounded so god I nearly panted. It sounded that good. It was a little pricey but I came close to buying it.
Nice work Mr. Woodford your skill level borders on sorcery. Turning straw into gold is your next challenge. 😊
With the old high pressure spray guns half the paint just bounces off of your work piece. Occasionally I will use an old HVHP gun. Devillbiss makes my old gun, and my little airbrushes are Pasche VL double action & single action H models and an Iwata gravity feed. I like 3/16 inch dowels wrapped in plumber's teflon tape to hold my bridges on and I even cut small plugs of 3/16 dowel wrapped in Teflon to align the bridge and keep glue out of the holes. It's really cheap because bent dowel rod is usually deeply discounted and Harbor Fright Teflon tape is always cheap.
That J-45 is an absolute stage cannon. Talk about projection..
The painstaking and exacting nature of your work is astounding. Beautiful results in appearance as well as sound.
The amount of time and skill needed in these two restorations is quite intense. Thanks for showing us just what it takes to accomplish this.
"yep" we all heard polishing polishing in our heads lol
@KooKoo Gearkook
amen
👍🙏✌️
Someone commented about you being a luthier and historian. That seems spot on and one of the reasons I enjoy the videos.
That Jumbo just sounds so old and mellow. Great work.
Nice work bringing these old Gibsons back to life.
The J-45 seems really ringy/chimey in comparison perhaps just more sustain on the top end. Both have that lovely, massive Gibson sound.
I trained as a cabinet maker many years ago. I do my own repairs, intonation, etc., and I am considering buying a broken guitar so that I can do a neck reset for fun. I make my own shims, and fix electrics (with removable necks regularly), but that's beyond what I've tried. I'm not often impressed, but of all the luthiers I've seen, heard of, or watched, I wouldn't let anyone but you touch a guitar that I couldn't repair.
Having recently obtained a few year old Taylor, and trying to find a Luthier to help do a setup the Taylor way, I have a new respect for your goal focus on customer satisfaction.
Ted, I hope you see this. I just want to say that you are very intelligent whether guitar related or not. You are very intelligent and it is very refreshing. Thanks for just being, you. Much love from Oklahoma! ❤️™️
I like that balloon idea. I am going to have to try that. Thanks.
I always appreciate the research done, in this case the guitar-centric appraisal of 1946 in music. Lots of pop drek at the upper echelons of the charts, but the 40's in general saw the birth of jump blues which would morph into rock and roll, bebop, bluegrass, the early stages of the folk movement, western swing getting more and more electric and at times more raw or complex, etc. Y'all can have the 60's... I'll take the 40's.
One more thing for the guitar-obsessed historian: I'm of the opinion that a huge swath of middle America was introduced to electric guitar via the Fibber McGee and Molly radio show, which had the great Perry Botkin (Sr.), playing blazing fast runs as early as 1940, though generally on novelty material ("Three Blind Mice", "Hilda", "Jingle Bells", etc.). He got some interesting tones too, as well as handling any other stringed instruments with aplomb. FM&G was a top rated program, with tens of millions listening each week. You would have noticed the guitar. Frankly it's surprising that Botkin is so obscure. He really was a monster player, making big bucks at the time (hopefully) playing mostly ridiculous music for millions.
Excellent workmanship, these fellas sound in great voice, I agree no old guitar should look brand new as no new guitar should look old. This has been the pup's nuts set of videos thanks. 👍👍👍👍🥃Respect to you mate.
Thanks, Ted. This has been a really fascinating series! Wow, there's so much more work involved that we don't see! I love that you didn't try to make them look brand new (which, despite your modesty, we all know you are one of those people who could!) They sound phenomenal, I only wish I could 1) afford one and 2) play well enough to justify it even if I COULD afford one!!
Thanks again... It's great for this old man to be part of a gang again!!😄🇬🇧
Thank you for taking us along on these projects.
Thanks for sharing. So interesting to see the work that is needed to bring them back to life.
I brought a few old Gibson and Martin guitars back to life with the help of a local luthier here in Ottawa, and I’m always amazed about how unique their voices are.
The proof is in the playing. Proof indeed that all the work was worthwhile.
Commenting for the algorithm, absolutely stunning work throughout this series. Wonderful to see someome that minds the little things.
Thanks. re-mounted a few bridges and am converting a (broken) dowel jointed neck to a bolt-on. Nothing fancy or actually worth a professional repair, but they're all instruments that would otherwise be in landfill. I can make some noise for fun thanks to your instructions.
You have admirable skills. It’s a pleasure to watch you work.
Excellent series of videos, I've enjoyed every step of the way watching these wonderful old ladies being skilfully restored great playing and sounding condition. They both sound fantastic but if I had to chose it would have to be the SJ.
Very nice sound on the Southern Jumbo.
Excellent series. It's so cool to see those well loved relics restored to viability.
Really enjoyed this series. Thanks for taking the all the time to share it with us, as you always do. I look forward to your videos every week.
Your beautiful and sympathetic work on these guitars is amazing. I agree that restoration is more important than renovation, e.g. keep as much as you have and not aiming to have a showroom condition outcome.
A wonderful repair trip,thankyou,
POLISHING, POLISHING, POLISHING! the series was great my man!!! i hope your health has been improving and getting better and better. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for just doing what you do. it’s like my soul gets a break, when i’m watching your videos. Anyway, i love ya and hope you get to experience the best guitars in the world. Why? BC if you break em, you can fix em.
Bravo! It was quite the journey watching the process. They look great. I bet they have that old world sound. I don’t work on guitars but I do piano work and I’ve heard that old world sound and it’s remarkable. Thanks for sharing this with us.
Second one sounded fantastic. Great work. Really wish you were stayed side. My area has one luthier that did fret work for me and it wasn't right. I don't want to take it back and end up having to do a regret if it doesn't get right again. Live in the big city of nowhere usa...
Good Job Ted!! And I ditto everyone else's positive comments.
Awesome work!
The SJ turned out amazingly well as did the J45 both was great lessons thank you
Man that one with the black burst is a sweet guitar. Early gibsons are the only gibsons i like.. ha
Amazing series. Thank you
Awesome work!❤
Another stellar vid, and I appreciate the closure on this series!!!
I love your work man!
enjoyed this so much
What an awesome series! Thanks so much.