1965 Gibson Dove
Purchased here in Waterloo in 1966, this 1965 Gibson Dove remained largely unused and had been stored away in its case for years before finding its way to Folkway recently with the family of the original owner. It remained in remarkable condition but suffered from the decomposition and off-gassing of its pickguard. Were it not for our replacement pickguard and the related top repairs necessitated by the shrinkage of the original, this Dove would be the most perfect example we’ve ever encountered. You’ll find the original bill of sale and Gibson hangtags in the case pocket, along with a cool ‘60s strap. The receipt is from Daymond Musical, which was located in downtown Waterloo, just 4 blocks away from Folkway.
Gibson launched the Dove in 1962 and the Natural finished version arrived in 1963. The model featured the new Hummingbird’s popular square shoulder Dreadnought shape and bracing, but was built with figured maple back and sides, a long-scale neck, and distinctly unique pickguard and bridge. The Tune-o-Matic saddle and heavy bridge and bridgeplate design impart a sonic signature that is unlike any other Gibson model. The Dove was designed for vocal accompaniment, and has a warm, smooth, and mellow tone that compliments, rather than overpowers, a singer. It’s a lovely sounding guitar and does what it’s designed to do really well.
X braced Sitka spruce top, figured maple back and sides, multi-layer purflings, pearl-inlaid celluloid pickguard, pearl-inlaid rosewood bridge with Tune-O-Matic saddle, mahogany neck with bound rosewood fretboard, Kluson Waffleback tuners, white and black truss rod cover. 25.5” scale neck, 1-9/16” nut width; .81” neck depth at the 1st fret.
The pickguard is an exact reproduction of the original, and the original pearl dove was reused. The guard was made by Manolis Vardakis in Crete (mv-customguitars.com), with celluloid we supplied along with the original pearl and a careful tracing of the top’s pickguard footprint. We final-fit the guard, lacquered it, and glued it to the guitar. It’s lightly aged to match and would be indistinguishable to anyone were it not for the discolouration of the top caused by the off-gassing original.
A handful of top cracks under and around the pickguard were repaired in the process, and a few brace ends were glued. All repairs are tidy and to our standards. There is no finish repair on the guitar (apart from the pickguard), and there are no repairs anywhere else on the instrument. Set up with 12-54 strings and standard action, the guitar plays easily and cleanly on original frets that show wear only on the first 3 frets.
With original chipboard case, bill of sale, Gibson hang tags, and 60’s strap.
Gibson launched the Dove in 1962 and the Natural finished version arrived in 1963. The model featured the new Hummingbird’s popular square shoulder Dreadnought shape and bracing, but was built with figured maple back and sides, a long-scale neck, and distinctly unique pickguard and bridge. The Tune-o-Matic saddle and heavy bridge and bridgeplate design impart a sonic signature that is unlike any other Gibson model. The Dove was designed for vocal accompaniment, and has a warm, smooth, and mellow tone that compliments, rather than overpowers, a singer. It’s a lovely sounding guitar and does what it’s designed to do really well.
X braced Sitka spruce top, figured maple back and sides, multi-layer purflings, pearl-inlaid celluloid pickguard, pearl-inlaid rosewood bridge with Tune-O-Matic saddle, mahogany neck with bound rosewood fretboard, Kluson Waffleback tuners, white and black truss rod cover. 25.5” scale neck, 1-9/16” nut width; .81” neck depth at the 1st fret.
The pickguard is an exact reproduction of the original, and the original pearl dove was reused. The guard was made by Manolis Vardakis in Crete (mv-customguitars.com), with celluloid we supplied along with the original pearl and a careful tracing of the top’s pickguard footprint. We final-fit the guard, lacquered it, and glued it to the guitar. It’s lightly aged to match and would be indistinguishable to anyone were it not for the discolouration of the top caused by the off-gassing original.
A handful of top cracks under and around the pickguard were repaired in the process, and a few brace ends were glued. All repairs are tidy and to our standards. There is no finish repair on the guitar (apart from the pickguard), and there are no repairs anywhere else on the instrument. Set up with 12-54 strings and standard action, the guitar plays easily and cleanly on original frets that show wear only on the first 3 frets.
With original chipboard case, bill of sale, Gibson hang tags, and 60’s strap.
