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i have a old gibson ES-350 that has been modified a bit over the years (buckers, changed tuners; not sure about bridge and TP). i seem to remember a '55 FON and '56 serial. i stumbled across a JG thread (dutch bopper?) on these guitars; i wasn't aware that they were kinda limited in production overall. i've always thought it had a solid top, apparently an uncommon thing per the thread. i am fairly well versed on vintage acoustic archtops but i'm not very experienced on electrics, hollow or solid. i've never even taken a pickup out. doh!
on my acoustics, you typically can see the grain lines somewhere along the Fhole edges if not bound or painted. seems strange but its not as clear on this one. so i looked on the underside of the top plate at the bass Fhole. at the wing (point) of the lower eye, there are grain lines with medium spacing on the top of the plate. on the underside of that wing, the grain lines appear to be the same as on the top. at the wing of the upper eye, the top shows a tighter grain than at the more lateral lower eye. the grain under the upper wing is a similarly tighter grain as on the surface. the match up suggests solid top to me. the top plate, at least at the Fholes, seems thinner than on my acoustic archies (primarily 30's n 40's). the not obvious grain on Fhole edges and the thinner top plate make me think lam plate but the apparently similar grain lines on both sides of the top plate make me think solid. note that i'm away and not near that guitar currently.
so my question for those of you with mid-50's ES175's etc with a lam top plate: what is the inside layer of the lam top? does it show matching/any grain lines or is it a more featureless layer, kind of lauan underlayment like in appearance?
thanks for your assistance. b
BTW, the guitar has a huge voice (not PAFs, not sure what). a long time ago, i was kind playing it as a bass (he hadn't shown yet) through an old fender super 6 on site. however, i don't think its good for a loud stage situation due to its responsiveness. i got stuck near the drummer once and it would jump a bit w/ each kick drum beat. so did my head...Last edited by brewster; 10-05-2021 at 09:20 PM. Reason: clarification
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10-02-2021 09:58 PM
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If it is a maple top, it is most likely laminated. On one occasion, I saw a solid spruce top on a late 1940’s ES-350 Premier (the first version, with a single p-90) but I am not aware of a solid maple top ever being used. As far as ES-175’s go, I have never seen one that didn’t have a laminated top. You could run into a modified L7C or L4C that had pickups added and those guitars would look like ES-350’s and ES-175’s with solid spruce tops. Let’s hear from a few other experienced posters.
Keith
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Post pictures.
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ok, i left some info out of my original question.
1) i'm away, not around the guitar so can't post any pix for a bit.
2) the grain i mention on both sides of the top plate plainly looks like spruce. clearly not maple. top of the guitar looks like spruce, inside of the top plate looks like spruce. is it a solid spruce top is my question.
thats' why i'm wondering what the inside layer of of a mid-50's lam top looks like. i'm hoping someone else with a mid 50's 350 or a 175 can stick a mirror in and report on the underside view.
thanks for the assistance, b
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As I mentioned in my previous post, I have seen at least one ES-350 with a solid spruce top, so that is a possibility. Some other members here may know of other examples of 350’s with solid spruce tops. Was there a label inside the guitar, indicating that it is an ES-350? The reason I ask, is because modified L7C (with added pickups) would look nearly identical and would have a solid spruce top.
Originally Posted by brewster
Keith
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Are you able to compare some outside and inside grain areas to see if they match? Any small knots, or places where there is exceptionally large or narrow or wavy grain, to see if they match?
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Has Gibson ever made a laminate spruce archtop? I have an old L-75 with a pressed spruce top. I have only seen pressed or carved spruce tops by Gibson.
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The early Barney Kessel was spruce laminate, later was maple laminate. Originally Posted by Tal_175
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My L-75 has f-holes. The top seems too thin to be carved, this was also opinion of a good luthier. But no one has done a very thorough investigation on the guitar to find out if was carved or pressed. What makes you think that your L-75's were carved? Originally Posted by Sam Sherry
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Fair question. Originally Posted by Tal_175
All the pressed solid-spruce tops I've ever seen were characterized by a 'soft' curve. On my L-75 the carving, particularly at the waist, was much deeper and more detailed then that.
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Is the guitar in question, by any chance an ES350TDN? I ask, because I've seen more of those with carved spruce tops than I have the spec'd maple laminate.
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