ARCHIVED • SOLD

1948 Gibson J-50

For your viewing pleasure is this incredibly clean and original 1948 Gibson J-50. This guitar was accidentally in the background of an Instagram post a few weeks ago and the phone started ringing off the hook soon after it went live. It sold almost immediately. We managed to snap some photos of it prior to shipping so we could add it to our website’s archive of sold guitars, so here it is!

The J-50 was always made in lower numbers than the sunburst J-45. Thanks to the natural finish, Gibson was required - in theory - to use nicer tonewoods in its build, which justified its $90 price tag, ten dollars more expensive than the J-45. In the late 1940s the J-45 out-sold the J-50 by a factor of 2.6 to 1.

Things to notice about this 1948 J-50, beyond how perfect and original it is, are its original rectangle bridge, modern trim, logo, and specs, and unique-to-1948 Kluson G-220 tuners with tooled plates.

The guitar has just had a reset and refret in our shop, a number of brace-ends glued, set-up, and one small top crack along the bass-side of the bridge glued. The neck has a deep and round carve with a 1-11/16” nut and .921” depth at the 1st fret.

Wish we had more than one!
1948 Gibson J-50

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Folkway Music in Guelph, Ontario Canada

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Three decades of industry experience

We've spent thirty years building relationships with musicians, collectors, and fellow dealers across Canada and the US. Every guitar we sell has been inspected, played, and approved by hands that know the difference.

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