The Heritage H-575, built at the historic Parsons Street plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan takes visual cues from the classic Gibson ES-175, but there are major differences in construction and materials. When Gibson introduced the ‘ES’ or ‘Electric Spanish’ designation, archtops were the most commonly used models on bandstands because of their superior volume and projection.
Flame Maple
The Gibson L-7 Archtop Guitar appeared in 1934 as a plainer, “workingman’s” version of the L-5, Gibson’s very popular archtop used by many artists including Maybelle Carter. Its first appearance in catalogs and price lists was during 1934. In 1928, the L-5 sold for around $275, which translates to around $4000 in current prices, so these were serious investments during the Depression years. This motivated Gibson to produce lower priced models like the L-7.
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MORE →Here we have a Gibson J185 Original Jumbo bodied steel string in Antique Natural finish, built during 2005 at the Gibson Acoustic plant in Bozeman, Montana. The J-185 is a very good but likely under-appreciated guitar, being overshadowed by the better known and slightly larger J-200. The Gibson J185 and J200 have many similarities and the key differences are not always seen at first glance. Both feature the Jumbo body shape, Sitka Spruce top with Figured Maple for the sides and back, and Rosewood for the fingerboard and bridge.
This instrument has sold
MORE →Here is a lovely Deering Calico Blonde 5-String banjo, built in Lemon Grove California, just before Deering Moved to Spring Valley. Deering started business as a banjo company in 1974, working from a shop in Lemon Grove, California. By 2001, the business had grown and new premises were opened just a few miles east in Spring Valley.
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MORE →The Deering Tenbrooks Saratoga Star is one of the finest banjos in the Deering production line, combining the Tenbrooks hardware with highly figured Maple neck and resonator. Here we’re looking at a Deering Tenbrooks Saratoga Star, built during 2006 and recently set up with a new nut at The Twelfth Fret Repair Shop.
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MORE →This Jerry Farrell Maple Classical guitar follows a traditional Spanish construction pattern, but with a lovely Curly Maple set for the sides and back in place of Rosewood, and an Engelmann Spruce top. The neck appears to be Cedrilla or Spanish Cedar as used on traditional classicals, and with what looks like Pau Ferro for the fingerboard and bridge.
This instrument has sold
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