1951 Gibson CF-100E Sunburst, Very Good, Hard, $2,995.00

This is the real deal, an early Gibson CF-100E from 1951, probably one of the first ones ever. It’s still got its original P-90 pickup (none of that frou-frou modern Piezo stuff here) for that original big, clear, Gibson P-90 sound and tone. 100% solid throughout, totally gone over by us in our own world-famous workshop for complete dependability. No “surprises”; we’re very thorough. Action, playability, same crew that’s been responsible for it here for over fifty years. We set it up for a standard .012 string set and it feels great. Got the big, full Gibson acoustic sound too; has a solid spruce top, unlike those later J-160Es with their plywood tops. There has been a little bit of work done that affects nothing other than the price, which is terrific, along with everything else. The bridge has been replaced with a slightly later Gibson one, also rosewood but thankfully without those silly bolts they useta put in; and the back seam has been reglued, a teeny bit out of alignment though you have to look really hard to find that, and it's totally tight all around. This was done years ago by parties unknown and all is extremely solid; we elected to leave it alone. Only other thing, and it was done by us, is a very small bit of maple added to the underside of the bridge plate, will keep the string balls where they belong for our lifetimes and beyond. I’ve had a number of CF-100s and CF-100Es come through over the years and few, if any, have shouted “I’m a keeper!” as much as this one, including the one Lou Reed bought from me years ago. One more thing: no cracks, anywhere. Literally a steal at $2995 w/hsc