Gibson LG2 Banner (1943) Adirondack Red Spruce-Mahogany - Sunburst, Case

1943 Gibson LG-2 banner, Fon Number #2148-10. The guitar is in exceptional condition after full restoration. We found this guitar with a bridge floating in a bed of wood-filler, imagine approx. 4/5 of the surface surrounding the bridge was wood-filler (only) and only 1/5 was original top-wood(!) then you have an idea how seriously the top of this guitar was damaged. Someone obviously did some home restoring and halfway noticed wood-filler isn't as strong as solid wood. Surprisingly the rest of the guitar wasn't in such a bad condition at all - except for the finish that fell of the moment you touched it- likely from being left alone in a cellar or outdoors. However he body, sides and neck were surprisingly crack-free. I had no other option than sending it to my good friend Roman Zajicek for full restoration. He replaced the top with for a new Adirondack red spruce top, replaced the tuners and bridge, reset the neck, and refinished the guitar in original 1940's sunburst. In the process he carefully cleaned the headstock, leaving the old Banner logo in place. The original bridge, tuners and pins are with the guitar. This is typically a first year LG2. But in virtually new condition. Features include the original Honduras mahogany back and sides, Honduras mahogany neck, Banner Headstock with the 'Only a Gibson is Good Enough' banner and a fire-stripe pickguard. The 5 ply top binding, matching Soundhole inlay, and 3 ply back binding are typical for the early LG2 and give this guitar a deluxe look. The FON number reads 2148-10 (easily mistaken for 2143-10) but since the 2143 is a J-45 batch, it's clearly a '2148' number indicating a mid to late 1943 LG-2 batch. The first ones were made in spring 1942, having a 7xxxH FON. You shouldn't buy this as a collector guitar, too many things are changed, but if you want a truly unique sounding LG2 with a soul and restored by a master who restored it to original condition as far as possible, consider it. It's quite a unique chance. Of course there is always a bit of 'Zajicek Juice'. And that's not a bad thing i can tell you! This guitar is perhaps among the best combination of old and new, a good marriage, and a guitar with great mojo, tone and feel. It features a full size vintage fat C neck with 45.2mm neck width, 628mm scale length, 14 1/8" wide body, "X" bracing, 19 total frets, Brazilian rosewood fingerboard (with original 1980s invoice/making it legal to own) with newer frets, rectangle Rosewood bridge, dot fingerboard inlays, 3 on-a-plate restoration tuners. The guitar sounds great and despite the new top, has a typical strong what I would refer to a powerful with a typical Gibson vintage character, of course the playability is excellent. Comes with a well fitting later Hardcase.