1937 Gibson ES-150 Tribute Guitar

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I started with a L50 in poor shape. I looked for quite some time to find a real beater that had all the original hardware and original bridge. I needed a guitar from the correct time period to have reasonably been fitted with a CC pickup when these pickups were available new.
I found this 1937 L50. The top is in 5 pieces. The back is in two but has 5 cracks that I counted.

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Correct hardware and bridge.

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Original frets, nut, screws and trussrod cover all in great condition

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The rear binding came off intact but the kerfed lining took a beating during back removal and will need to be replaced.

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The wood on the back was in such poor condition, from prior repairs, I would have been smarter to just replace it and make new braces. In fact this guitar was actually MISSING brace #2. No evidence of any glue, the back had never been removed and it could not have been removed through the f hole as it would have been too big.

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I had a luthier supply company make some custom kerfing to match the size of the original.

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Back reconstructed with new #2 brace. This L50, like the original ES-150/CC, has a hybrid construction. The top is carved, but the back on both is a flat piece of wood bent over slightly curved braces. The later Non-CC ES-150s have carved front and back pieces.

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Picture of an original ES-150 bracing that I used as a guide for my guitar.

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The CC pickup reproduction was special order and took 3 weeks to arrive. In the mean time, I cleaned up the rest of the guitar and made the bound ES-150 style pickguard.
Attachment 27395

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Since this will be a 'player' instrument, the neck angle had to be 'playable.' It was just marginal with the original bridge. I wanted to keep the original bridge. I improved the neck angle when I re-fitted the back. I got an extra degree or two. This was actually a big deal and a little stressful... not knowing if the guitar would be playable until the back was glued on.

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Test fitting the pickup and controls.

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Making the cutout for the pickup.

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Sanding the kerfed lining to the correct angle to accept the arched back.

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Hardware ready for installation:

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Final picture before the back goes on.

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ES-150 style jack:

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Re-installing the back:

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Refurbishing the fingerboard and dressing the frets:

[rabbit]

I approve! I'm confident she will sound good. Congratulations on your progress so far.

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Re-installing the binding:

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Using a laser to mark where the hole in the pickguard needs to be to match the existing hole in the guitar body:
Attachment 27410

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Attachment 27411
Attachment 27412

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Finished:

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[rpguitar]

That's freaking awesome, man! Great job and a real labour of love. You made something useful and desirable out of a forgotten guitar. And I approve of the groove in your video.