Can You Help Me I.D. This Guitar?

[David R.]

I was given this guitar by a friend who has since passed. He was in his 70's, used to play and paint, smoke and swear. Quite a character.

I have been trying to figure out what it is. It plays like butter, sounds good.

Anyone know what it is?

Thanks.

[radiospace]

The headstock looks to be a near-copy (but not exact) of an Epiphone headstock:

[IMG]******//www.epiphone.com/images/N_Sheraton2.jpg[/IMG]

[radiospace]

Here's a similar headstock on a 1946 Epiphone:

[IMG]******//www.fullswingmusic.com/PageMill_Resources/Guitars%202/46dlxbl_1208_.jpg[/IMG]

[David R.]

Wow, good call. Knowing the previous owner, I am sure he did not buy anything in the last 20 years or so. I might have something more special than I knew.

Did Epiphone ever make guitars with out their name on the headstok?

[kafka]

It looks like a Gibson Howard Roberts. Don't know about the missing logo on the headstock, though. Ibanez made an almost exact duplicate during the lawsuit years. They might have left the logo off on some.

[edit: found it]
OK, here it is. It's an Ibanez. Tokai Forum - a subsidiary of TokaiRegistry.com :: View topic - Has Anyone Here Played a Howard Roberts?

[David R.]

Originally Posted by kafka

It looks like a Gibson Howard Roberts. Don't know about the missing logo on the headstock, though. Ibanez made an almost exact duplicate during the lawsuit years. They might have left the logo off on some.

[edit: found it]
OK, here it is. It's an Ibanez. Tokai Forum - a subsidiary of TokaiRegistry.com :: View topic - Has Anyone Here Played a Howard Roberts?

Great info!

I did a little digging - Definately a Howard Roberts. If it is an Ibanez, it would be pre lawsuit because of the shape of the headstock. Wish I could tell who made it.

[kafka]

I'm thinking Ibanez, because the headstock inlay looks closer to that labeled Ibanez in the picture. Take a look at this original Gibson Howard Roberts, and you'll begin to see the differences.

Lark Street has an Epiphone Howard Roberts. You can see the inlay is simpler, and they would have put the Epiphone "E" on it somewhere.

[David R.]

Originally Posted by kafka

I'm thinking Ibanez, because the headstock inlay looks closer to that labeled Ibanez in the picture. Take a look at this original Gibson Howard Roberts, and you'll begin to see the differences.

Lark Street has an Epiphone Howard Roberts. You can see the inlay is simpler, and they would have put the Epiphone "E" on it somewhere.

Hmmmm. The inlay on the fretboard looks more like Gibson.

[kafka]

Without a Gibson label, either interior or on the headstock, you can pretty much rule out Gibson.

[edwonbass]

The fret board inlays look like the Ibanez. Also the oval sound hole and the tail peice look like the Ibanez. Can't explain why it doesn't say Ibanez on the headstock.

[Joe Silence]

the tighter shape of the end of the headstock screams Epiphone Howard Roberts.

yes, Epiphone made a version too.

the Epiphone headstock shape has varied plenty over the decades, btw.

i think these details puts it sometime in the mid-70s.

educated guess about that date, but it's definitely an Epiphone Howard Roberts.

[David R.]

Mid-70's sounds about right, time wise.

So far we have nailed down that it is a Howard Roberts!

Looking at the back of the headstock, the tuners have stars just like this:


Does that help with the id? (this picture is NOT of my guitar)

Thanks all for taking a look, I am learning tons from this!

[kafka]

Originally Posted by David R.

Mid-70's sounds about right, time wise.

So far we have nailed down that it is a Howard Roberts!

Looking at the back of the headstock, the tuners have stars just like this:
Attachment 114277

Does that help with the id? (this picture is NOT of my guitar)

Thanks all for taking a look, I am learning tons from this!

Ibanez. Definitely. The Ibanez star tuners nail it. Take a look at this: Ibanez Model 2672

[David R.]

And now the question - Are these tuning pegs found only on Ibanez guitars? If so, we nailed it down.