PAWN SHOP PRIZE
[ 1963 GIBSON DOVE | Roger Zimish ]
The Dove has landed here at the Pawn Shop volume of the guitar. This bridge idea was short scars. The mahogany neck shows wear on the
Prize, a Gibson 1963 Dove, that is. It doesn’t lived and changed for a more traditional bridge. back around the third fret, so lots of open chords
seem to matter whether it’s a closet kept or a
were played here. The fretboard and frets are in
road worn Gibson acoustic guitar, it is always This particular Dove was far from being closet surprisingly good shape, along with the original
a cool find in a pawn shop. Most of the time kept. You could tell that the previous owner had Nickel Kluson waffle back tuners and the original
the closet kept is more desirable and can bring a lot of time with her making music that left a few white Dove inlay truss rod cove. The cream
more money on the resale market, but there is binding is intact and has aged nicely, though the
something about a road worn guitar that is in guitar has a few spider veins in the natural finish.
need of some TLC to bring it back to life. This But for a guitar that over 50 years old, that’s not
Gibson Dove serial number dates it back to 1963, bad at all. On the down side is that in the early
made in Kalamazoo Michigan, which is only the 60’s the internal bracing of the guitar was kind
second year the Dove was in production. In 1960 of weak, leading to some internal repairs and a
Gibson released the Humming Bird, followed by bridge reset being needed on the guitar. In 1968
the Dove in 1962. Both are Square Shouldered Gibson changed to a heavier internal bracing
dreadnought guitars similar to a Martin D style that made the guitar sturdier, but some say this
dreadnought. The coolest feature on both the affected the tone of the guitar. As wood matures
Dove and the Humming Bird is their engraved with age the tone gets richer. On a guitar of this
pickguards that makes them real works of art. age the real character of the tone will get better,
The Dove has a solid spruce top with solid however that is still in the ears of the player for
maple back and sides. Along with its two dove what is appealing to them.
inlays on the bridge, the double parallelogram
inlays on a rosewood fretboard and the dove A plus for finding a guitar from 1963 is that it has
on the pickguard are mother of pearl, a touch the original case, and this one does. Having the
of class I would say. The bridge is a tune-o- original hardware, pickguard, truss rod cover,
matic bridge, which at the time it seemed like and the original case will add value to any guitar
an improvement but it hurt the overall tone and for the collector. Even if the guitar has had a few
repairs to maintain the guitars integrity, it shows
someone cared.
The Gibson was first produced in 1962 and is still
in production today with a few really nice limited
editions on the market running about $4000. My
last check on vintage pricing for a 1963 Dove
was from $5000 to $7000. Here is the thing:
Your average pawn shop is not going to pay that
much for a guitar like this. A shop that cares will
put the money into the repairs that are needed
to better the guitar and increase the value that
will reflect in the selling price. Don’t be afraid to
negotiate with the salesman, especially if the
guitar is in need of repair and it’s an undertaking
you are willing to take.
Roger Zimish: Roger & his wife Jamie reside just
outside of Music City in Hendersonville, TN with their
2 dogs and lots of guitars.
[email protected]
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Sep Oct 2017
GearTechRec.com