1964 Epiphone/Gibson FT-30 "Caballero"

I apologize in advance for telling you folks what some of you already know and others of you don’t want to know, but it’s stuff which anybody who is considering bidding on this guitar ought to know, so here goes:

Gibson introduced the LG-1 in April of 1943 as a kind of junior partner to the famous J-45, with the same solid spruce top and solid mahogany back, sides, and neck. It had full body binding, a simple one-stripe rosette, a rosewood bridge, a rosewood fingerboard with dot inlay, a blackface headstock with a screened or decal logo and three-on-a-plate nickel tuners, and a tortoise pickguard. Its smaller dimensions (14 1/8” lower bout, with a 24 ¾” scale) allowed Gibson to use straight-across ladder bracing on the top as well as the back, and to use a single piece mahogany back with no center seam. In 1958 Gibson introduced the LG-0, with similar specs but with a solid mahogany top and certain economies (such as the infamous plastic bridge used on both models from 1962 to 1966).

However, in 1958 Gibson also acquired the Epiphone trademark and equipment, lock, stock, and barrel, and as the Blue Book of Acoustic Guitars says, “It was decided that Epiphone would be re-established as a first-rate guitar manufacturer, so that Gibson’s parent company, CMI, could offer a product comparable in every way to Gibson....Gibson was (in effect) competing with itself,” selling virtually identical models of guitar. All were built at the Gibson plant in Kalamazoo to the same high standards, in many cases by the same designers and craftsmen, but with different labels and model numbers. While this situation only lasted until 1969, when most Epiphone production was shifted abroad, the Epiphone guitars produced during this period look and perform almost exactly like their Gibson counterparts, and are therefore highly prized by players and collectors alike.

The Kalamazoo era is when this particular guitar was made: the label designates it as an Epiphone FT30 Caballero, but it is the spitting image of the Gibson LG-0 described above, with a mahogany top like the LG-0. The serial number (239405) suggests that in the Gibson “system” it was produced in 1964, but given the notorious inconsistency in the Gibson serial numbering and the fact that this particular one has some parts replaced, it’s kinda hard to tell for sure. Either way, you can tell at a glance—as well as with a chord or two—that the DNA of this guitar is 98% Gibson; it looks like an LG-0, plays and sounds like an LG-0, and is a battered but cool little instrument.

Cosmetically, it looks like it has been “rode hard and put away wet” as my horsey friends would say. While it was not put away wet, as an estate find it looks like it has been in a dry but not temperature-controlled for a significant part of its 57 years. While the original tortoise binding is bright and shiny, the finish has been thoroughly “crazed” all over by temp fluctuations so it looks kinda like a road map. In addition, there are dings, chips, and scratches, several ancient repaired cracks, and the headstock has lotsa wear. Since—like the Gibson LG-0—it has no back binding, the back edges are also thoroughly worn.

Structurally, it is actually in good condition: the neck is straight and never cracked, the original Kluson Deluxe tuners work fine, the fret board appears to be Brazilian Rosewood, and while the frets have some slight wear they are very playable. The original sound-deadening adjustable bridge has been replaced with a solid rosewood bridge, and I assume that the saddle and bridge pins are also replacements.

I hope that you’re still with me—perhaps thinking that if it’s really like a 1964 Gibson, this thing’s worth serious consideration, and you’re right. The aged and seasoned woods are thoroughly opened up, and it sounds great. The action has been set up at a very comfortable hair over 3/32” at the 12th fret low E, it plays very well—and of course it has as much mojo packed into its dark mahogany finish as Willie Nelson’s “Trigger.” It will be carefully packed and shipped in a light-weight black gig bag.

Buyer pays a flat rate of $55 for insurance and shipping to the lower 48 states; shipping costs elsewhere will be negotiated as necessary. Payment by Paypal is preferred; cashiers and personal checks are acceptable, but checks must clear before the guitar will be shipped.

I have tried to be perfectly clear and accurate in describing this vintage guitar, so its return will not be accepted unless it can be shown that it was egregiously misrepresented in this listing. Please ask any questions you might have before offering to purchase it.

Thank you for your interest in this cool musical veteran.