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1966 es-345... Refin?

guitarmory

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Jan 8, 2008
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Hey all, I'm potentially going to buy a 1966 ES-345 from a seller on ebay. The guitar looks great, nice and worn in. The only detail that's throwing me off is the presence of a bit of red paint inside one of the f-holes... Do any of the experts have an opinion on this? Could it be a sign of a refin? Thanks!

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ZZ Not

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Jul 15, 2001
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Cool looking 345.

Not to hijack the thread, but what are the signs of a refin?
 

Wally

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Why is the binding white around the back of the body while it is nicely yellowed everywhere else??? I could expect some white areas where the binding was contacted during playing....but it is white all the way around the body. Odd looking to my eye.
Not much money for it, though.
 

ZZ Not

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Hmm... Let me rephrase that. What are the signs of a less than obvious refin, such as a professionally done refinish?
 

Wally

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Re: those 'red spots'..... Imho, that is not indicative of a refin. I would hazard a guess that someone has had the electronics out of the guitar and did some touch up where the red was blemished in the f-holes....and a few drops of the touch up paint ended up inside the body???? That guess could be wrong....but what I see of the cherry red looks good to me...much like my '66...just not as clean.
 

DEVILBAT

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That finish is original. Look at the way it's sunk into the wood and the vertical spider line checking on the back of the body.
 
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Wally

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DEVILBAT, what do you think of that white binding?? IF that just the result of the photo process...direction of shot vis-a-vis the flash???
 

DEVILBAT

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I have plenty of older Gibson guitars with whiter binding up and down the fretboard that doesn't turn yellow until it gets into the higher registers.
 

Wally

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I have plenty of older Gibson guitars with whiter binding up and down the fretboard that doesn't turn yellow until it gets into the higher registers.

And that is a function of wearing by contact of the clear lacquer, which is what yellows. I am accustomed to wear points showing whiter than the areas that do not get the contact. IF I were interested in that guitar, I would have to have a shot of the back from another angle....and the binding might show to be as yellow as the rest of the binding that we see. IF it is white all the way around the back in a uniform manner, that is odd..
 

LPunbound

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Jul 19, 2002
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I don't know but with those knobs, bigsby and S/N is that not a candidate for a 62?
 

Wally

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LPunbound, that is a 6 digit number there. IT is good for '66, '69, and a few years in the '70's. My '66 is the same way. IF the seller had given the nut width; the knobs and the orange label place it as a '66 with no other details needed, IIRC.
 

Unbound Dot Neck

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Other pics in the ebay auction , show the binding to be a uniform yellow, I think the flash washed out the true color on some shots.

:jim
 

Frutiger

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Oct 17, 2007
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That looks fine. Don't forget that the cherry red is stained on these, then clear coated. It just looks like a tiny bit of stain ended up inside the guitar.

The guy doing the guitar that day probably slipped. Nothing to worry about.
 

OKGuitar

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Jan 20, 2011
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Finish looks right but I'd ask for a photo of the neck pickup rout so you can inspect the neck tenon. That heel looks mighty big.
 

Wally

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Finish looks right but I'd ask for a photo of the neck pickup rout so you can inspect the neck tenon. That heel looks mighty big.

OKGuitar, when I first saw that heel, something looked a bit strange. I just pullled my '66 ES-345 out....#8083xx. This picture in this thread makes things look big. the pic blows things way up, but the proportions of that peg vis-a-vis the measurements of that heel from the joint to the edge of the carve match mine...roughly 1.5 times the width of the peg. NOtice also that the picture stretches things top to bottom. That peg looks oval shaped instead of round. Considering this, I don't think there is a problem there.
 

LPunbound

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Wally your right. 62 is five digits not six, my mistake. Sorry for the diversion everyone.
 

guitarmory

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Jan 8, 2008
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Okguitar, I've asked for a snap of the pu route... I'm waiting to hear back. The heel looks similar to others I've seen on the net, but I'm no expert.

So, if the neck checks out I guess the consensus is that the rest looks good!

Thanks for your comments
 
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