1943 Gibson SJ Southern Jumbo Sunburst, Good, Hard, $5,750.00

Most of my guitars have spirit names so they come when I call them. This one is called Voodoo Chile. It is from Alabama and appears to have had a long and fruitful career there. I bought it four years ago and had it restored by Michael Lennon, the finest Gibson repair guy I know. (He works on other things as well but actually likes working on Gibbys). There is no FON which generally means 1943. The guitar has the face and skin of a kind old soul with enthusiastic pick wear on the top, buckle wear on the back, and some scaling of the finish throughout. Mike performed the usual maintenance – neck reset, fret job, setup – and reglued most of the braces. There is a long crack in the side running almost the full length of the guitar on the bass side and another crack in the lower bout on the treble. There are numerous cracks on the back and remarkably none on the top. All have been expertly glued and cleated. The bridge looks fresh so it’s probably Mike’s – an accurate repro of the belly down bridge Gibson used on SJs at the time. The neck is the 1 ¾” nut with that D-shape that stays roughly the same depth all the way to the 12th fret. Tuners are original. It is set up with a strap button. The finish is original throughout – we didn’t do any touchups. The tone is as you’d expect – big and round with the fingers, masculine and crunchy with a pick. Includes an older serviceable hardshell case. $5,750.