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The operation appears to have been successful. Behold, the Gibsellone Award:
Last edited by Hammertone; 07-19-2022 at 10:09 AM.
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05-09-2022 08:27 PM
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Originally Posted by Hammertone
excellent ! I have the same waffle back tuners on the Monty, they are my fave>!
Looking forward to putting eyeballs on it in person
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That is one beautiful instrument!
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Big time WOW !
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Yeah, it is magnificent, well worth a gibson serial run. Wishful thinking no doubt
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Brilliant! It has an endpin jack?
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It has one now, which is Mark's preference. Originally Posted by Woody Sound
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very nice repair ! Originally Posted by Hammertone
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A real ostrich skin case would probably be close to $6k. Maybe more. Just a guess. Originally Posted by Hammertone
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Yes. When I had the leather interior of the Bentley re-done in real ostrich skin, it cost thousands and thousands of dollars. To their credit, though, the folks at Connolly were real good about colour-matching it all to my favourite rig. Originally Posted by Woody Sound
I'll dig up a few pix. Here's what we did for exterior paint. I considered something similar for the Gibsellone, but decided instead to show off the funky wood figuring:
Last edited by Hammertone; 10-09-2025 at 04:21 PM.
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Now I understand your pseudo I think - a subtle reference to your Liberace legacy? Originally Posted by Hammertone
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purple stank !!
)
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Mark has added this guitar to his Gallery pages, here:
Gallery | MCampellone.com | Page 7
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The journey is over - I picked up the guitar, and have spent a few hours with it. Mark is quite pleased, as am I. All is as it should be.
Last edited by Hammertone; 08-29-2022 at 03:59 PM.
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Speaking of resurrection, in addition to the NOS Johnny Smith top used on the Gibsellone Award in the above pix, Mark also acquired a couple of other NOS Gibson carved replacement tops, also dating back to the '50s or '60s. One is a 16" L-4/L-4C top that has already been used on a 16" guitar in his current batch of instruments. Pix of that one to come.
The other is a New Old Stock 17" L-7/L-7C/L-5/L-5C top, and it's available as an option for use on one of Mark's upcoming 17" instruments, at some kind of upcharge.
A real, carved Gibson top, in perfect condition, air-dried for the past @60 years? Seems like an attractive option to me, but I already got mine. How many of these are available, worldwide? One. This one. And it's gorgeous.
Last edited by Hammertone; 10-09-2025 at 03:05 PM.
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That's a really nice looking guitar! That fingerboard is magnificent.
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It's a standard Gibson L-5 fretboard. Mark refretted it (he didn't like the factory-installed frets that were on it) and replaced the outermost layer of white binding. Originally Posted by ChazFromCali
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Hey Hammertone, now that you've had it a bit, hit us with some detail in the tone/response report !
Don't sell that one ! ....and dibs !!!
))
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Do you have pics of that top repair? The top looks flawless, how did Mark do that? Beautiful guitar. Would like to hear it being played.
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No top repair occurred. The top was replaced with a New Old Stock Gibson Johnny Smith top. Originally Posted by ColMc52
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Well, you have better ears than I, so, come over, listen to me playing it, play it yourself, and post what will be a far better assessment of its tone/response. I extend the same invitation to all of the members here. Originally Posted by ssdeluxe
Hey Hammertone, now that you've had it a bit, hit us with some detail in the tone/response report ! Don't sell that one ! ....and dibs !!! ))
The guitar is currently strung with a set of Pyramid Hand-Polished Pure Nickel Classics - polished, roundwound, pure nickel, round-core strings, .012 - .016 - .022w - .032 - .044 - .054.Last edited by Hammertone; 09-26-2022 at 09:01 PM.
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Originally Posted by Hammertone
~! Hey Hammer T, I'll be in mid-town soon, I'll buzz ya !!
I'd be honoured to spank that plank !
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I can see the appeal of having a vintage Gibson top, but can't help but wonder how many artisans with the skills of "a Campellone" Gibson ever employed (not to mention whether they felt motivated to deploy all those skills) ...
I have been curious about Pyramid's polishing: Originally Posted by Hammertone
- does it really reduce finger noise?
- does it affect the tone a lot otherwise?
- does it reduce the wrap longevity? (flat-wound G strings don't survive long with me, barely longer than a standard D string on a classical, an issue I never had with round-wounds)
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My guess is that some of the employees at Gibson between the 1920s and the early 1960s acquired and used those skills. I recommend Gil Hembree's book, Gibson Guitars (Hal Leonard, 2007) which provides an interesting perspective on how the company actually worked from the post-war years to @1966, and on many of the little-known people who made the company successful in its heyday, including folks like Wilbur Fuller and Larry Allers. Originally Posted by RJVB
It does reduce finger noise a bit, IMO. It probably has a very subtle effect on tone, but not that I have noticed. I have noticed no difference in wrap longevity. The polishing is pretty subtle IMO. I suggest you try a set and see for yourself. Originally Posted by RJVB
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As noted elsewhere, the idea of one-off Gibson archtops is not new, and no shortage of them has been produced by Gibson themselves. It was only well after receiving the Gibsellone Award that I stumbled across one of Mike Thompson's guitars, which I believe has a label that identifies it as an L-5CT, with a 1961 serial number. This one must have been a custom order, as it has a Johnny Smith top and a 25 1/2" scale. Siblings! I'd love to check it out and play a few tunes on it.
Last edited by Hammertone; 11-18-2022 at 07:47 PM.
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