Welcome to Fox Guitars
Any guitar is any condition can be restored to playable condition
Repair & Restoration Services
For pricing information or a FREE quote, please contact us at: info@fox-guitars.com
Fox Guitars provides complete repair and restoration services, specializing in vintage Gibson and Epiphone electic and acoustic guitars. Whether you need a simple set up or a complete restoration, no job is too big or too small.
Recently in the Shop
1959 Gibson ES-330T
Gibson first introduced the ES-330T in 1959 and this fine example is one of the first. Although the ES-330T did not appear in Gibson’s 1959 catalog, the “S” code FON (factory order number) ink-stamped inside the guitar (under the treble-side f-hole) dates it to 1959. Gibson also ink-stamped the model number under the bass-side f-hole. It sure makes identifying this one a lot easier then many other Gibson guitars. Gibson also offered the ES-330TN (same guitar with natural finish); the ES-330TD & ES33-TDN (T=thinline - D=double pickup N=natural finish).
Top Left: 1959 ES-330T Courtesy of Tom Hibino. Top right: Gibson's 1960 catalog page showing the ES-330T for the original retail price of $210.00.
This one is 100% original and in near mint condition. It had been sitting for a while and not getting a lot of playing time. However, for a 51-year-old guitar, it only needed a little TLC to get it back in tip-top playing condition, including:
¨ Re-leveled & dressed all the frets (lot of wear on frets 1-5)
¨ Cleaned & re-oiled the fingerboard
¨ Cleaned & lubed original Kluson “waffle-back” tuners (they were pretty stiff)
¨ Pulled the electronics & repaired a loose ground wire, plus the electronics needed a lot of cleaning due to inactivity. Tone & volume pots, and the jack were dirty and had lots of oxidation, preventing everything from working properly.
¨ Cleaned up metal parts - mainly an old weld on the tailpiece (a known weak spot of these 50’s trapeze tailpieces), and oxidation on the Gibson ABR-1 style bridge.
¨ New endpin
¨ Complete setup with new Ernie Ball Super Slinky 10s
¨ Cleaned & polished the entire guitar.
¨ Touched up some paint chips around the peghead
What amazed me about this guitar was the neck. It was dead flat and level and I didn’t touch the truss rod at all. A true testament to the quality of these “Golden Age” guitars.
It looks & sounds amazing and a real pleasure to play. Nice easy action on the classic narrow Gibson electric neck (1 5/8” nut width). The original P-90 has plenty of punch for a single pickup – middle position Gibson ES-style guitar.
For pricing information or a FREE quote, please contact us at: info@fox-guitars.com
Here are a few more examples:
1926 Gibson L-1 flat-top guitar - FON (factory order number) 8233
Very early 1926 Gibson L-1 (first year Gibson introduced this model) that was left in a closet for 40 years. Bad repairs and neglect caused the fingerboard to crush the top above the sound hole, as well as many top cracks and a lose bridge. It was completely restored to playable condition and is a fantastic sounding guitar. Red spruce top, mahogany back & sides, ebony bridge & fingerboard. "The Gibson" silver silk-screened logo, original Waverly 3-on-a-plate tuners. Early H-braced top and ladder-braced back..
1940 Gibson Kalamazoo KGN-12 “Oriole” (no FON)
This guitar was completely rebuilt, including re-braced top with 30’s Gibson-style X-brace pattern and re-glued original ladder-bracing on back. All cracks repaired & reinforced from the inside. Neck was reset, frets re-leveled, filed & polished. Original bridge re-glued in correct position with new bone saddle. Finish is original and has a nice vintage amber patina. There's a lot of debate about whether to change "ladder braced" guitars as this Kalmazoo originall was built. Typically, all flat-tops of this era had ladder-braced backs, and some of the smaller flat-tops also had ladder-braced tops. Many prefer the tone of the LB-top just as it is, but this Kal's top braces were not well-made, loose, and the top got all NEW X-bracing, and it sounds really good. Beautiful flamed maple back & sides; Adirondack red spruce top; rosewood fingerboard, replacement "firestripe" pickguard. Vintage 3-on-a-plate tuners with white buttons.
This guitar started as a 1950-51 Epiphone Zephyr Regent 'carcass’ with most of tyhe original body, neck, tuners, and truss rod. Everything else was 100% custom-made in our shop. Fingerboard: Solid rosewood with ‘V’ block mother of pearl & abalone inlays. Neck: Original 3 piece mahogany & walnut. 100% custom-made MOP inlay ‘flower design’. Pickguard: Triple bound faux tortoise-shell with ‘Epsilon’ E emblem. Chrome bracket. Pickups: Two chrome mini-humbuckers, height adjustable, with black mounting rings. Electronics: 2-volume, & 2-tone pots, 3-position selector switch & chrome knobs. Bridge: 100% solid rosewood with height adjustment thumbscrews. Tailpiece: Period correct ‘frequensator’ style. Binding: Top 5-ply W-B-W-B-W celluloid binding. 3-ply W-B-W back, FB & PH; single bound f-holes. Tuners: 100% original heavy-duty Epi tuners with Epsilon E logo.
Take a look at the before and after pictures:
1956 Gibson ES-125 Serial # V-5323-21
This guitar had been completely spray painted gold when it arrived at the shop. Fortunately, with a lot of "elbow grease" the original factory sunburst and logo were 90% intact underneath. Gibson re-introduced the ES-125 after WWII with the larger 16” body size and remained pne of the few models in continuous production until 1970. Solid mahogany neck ‘C’ profile, and wide heel. Solid mahogany sides. Arched top & back. Original MOP (mother of pearl) fingerboard inlays and side dots. Fingerboard is original and a beautiful piece of dark Brazilian rosewood, which is truly rare. Original ivoroid binding top & back. Replacement Kluson tuners, chrome tailpiece, tortoise pickguard, Gibson P-90 pickup, custom-made adjustable height bridge. Here some before and after photos:
1935 Gibson L-50 Archtop FON 181A-7
A real ‘basket case” Gibson archtop that sustained a lot of water/moisture damage with large missing chunks around the f-holes that looked like they were chewed through by mice. Needless to say the guitar needed a lot of work. The back was removed completely, and warpage, damaged braces and mildew stains were fixed. With the back off, all cracks on top were repaired from the inside and pieces added to fix the f-holes. Fortunately, the neck was in decent shape, but fingerboard was re-leveled and new frets installed. Complete re-finishing done on back, sides & neck and 80% of the original sunburst top was saved. The entire restoration process took about 2 months. Here are some before - during - after photos:
