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WHAT IS IT??

Mark

Mark

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Jul 24, 2002
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2,140
Early tokai? looks like the logo has been messed with.
 
Mark

Mark

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2,140
Notice the black touch up paint around the logo... Very suspicious!!
 
Mark

Mark

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Logo is broken in 3 places and the g and the o look fake with black touch up paint surrounding the logo.

 
goldtop0

goldtop0

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Aug 19, 2003
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8,937
Love the wording 'special order Goldtop'.............. that logo is suspect:ganz
 
Mark

Mark

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Also looks like they tried to make it look like a long neck tenon. I'm starting to lean towards a 71 58/54 reissue TOM model
 
Tom Wittrock

Tom Wittrock

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Aug 2, 2001
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42,567
That's a legit c.71 Goldtop. Not a special order, but a very rare version with the t-o-m.
The so-called 58 reissue was normally a wrap tail with P-90s [more of a 54 reissue] but this is the very rare t-o-m version.
Definitely a real Gibson, and very cool! :dude:
 
Big Al

Big Al

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14,545
That logo is fugazi. It could be a 71 58 model w/factory t.o.m., the cutaway binding points that way. No good reason for logo. I'd like to see cavity.
 
Last edited:
Tom Wittrock

Tom Wittrock

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Big Al said:
That logo is fugai.
No good reason for logo. I'd like to see cavity.
Click to expand...

Nope, it's real. Likely touched up, as they were using a block of pearl and painting the area black to create the "Gibson" and these often flaked and needed touch up.
I've seen it many times.

latestarter said:
Wouldnt we all?!
Click to expand...

I should have saved the half dozen or so cavity photos he sent me.
 
jerns

jerns

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Mar 7, 2012
Messages
391
TW59 said:
Nope, it's real. Likely touched up, as they were using a block of pearl and painting the area black to create the "Gibson" and these often flaked and needed touch up.
I've seen it many times.



I should have saved the half dozen or so cavity photos he sent me.
Click to expand...

Did you buy it, Tom?
Showing sold now...
 
Mark

Mark

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Jul 24, 2002
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They didn't use the block logo in the seventies. Another strange fact about this 71 54/58 is they all had almost completely flat top carves but this one is carved like a 50's. It didn't sell, I just talked to him and someone committed but declined. He will not take less than 5K plus shipping.
 
Tom Wittrock

Tom Wittrock

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jerns said:
Did you buy it, Tom?
Showing sold now...
Click to expand...

Not me. Barry contacted me months ago about it.
I tried to talk a local customer into it, but that didn't work out.

If that's not a block logo, then I don't know what's going on there.
Would love to see it in person.
 
Jeff West

Jeff West

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Jul 29, 2002
Messages
878
The maple that's showing looks nice!

I assume it's got the thin spacer between the body and the top, but I can't really tell in the cutaway shot.
 
Big Al

Big Al

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Apr 24, 2002
Messages
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TW59 said:
Nope, it's real. Likely touched up, as they were using a block of pearl and painting the area black to create the "Gibson" and these often flaked and needed touch up.
I've seen it many times.



I should have saved the half dozen or so cavity photos he sent me.
Click to expand...

Tom, I've never seen a logo like that on any Gibson. The break in the pearl and the goofy I dot do not add up to a legit logo. Also I'm pretty sure there wasn't an open B or O on the logo used then. I owned two of the stud tailed Goldtops and a Cherryburst with stop and abr1 and none had a logo that looked like that. I do believe it may have been a 71/58 RI as you stated, but it has been worked on by someone not from the factory! The routing for the pickups and headstock foolishness as well as the cutaway ( should have more maple showing as well as the thin spacer veneer), makes me think it was a bad attempt at a conversion of sorts. Hard to tell from the photos, but the top carve looks like it may have been enhanced and it very well may be a refin. It may also be the lighting making the dish appear more pronounced. I don't know, but the exposed flame makes me think it was stripped and discovered that only that one of the three maple pieces was flamed and it was then refinished as a gold top. The wear seems excessive to me, it is not a common type seen on those old GT's or even sunbursts and the rest of the guitar shows little evidence of extreme wear.

In hand it may all make sense, but judging these photos makes it a hard call. It for sure raises some questions.
 
sunburstfettish

sunburstfettish

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Feb 16, 2015
Messages
15
Man at the flame on that worn spot......what Historic Makeovers could do with that one! It's already routed and touched up....
 
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