Description
Exc (+) condition / SN: 970008
1-9/16″ width at nut / 2-1/16″ pin spacing
25-1/2″ scale length
This 1968 Gibson Dove is a fine example, without any appreciable wear and no sign of any significant player wear. The sunburst has beautiful sienna color tones and is a fairly rare color for Gibson. Appears to have all original parts except maybe the nut and strap button installed on bottom of heel. The original frets are in great shape and appear to have been milled previously. Appears to be a new bone nut. All original lacquer, no repairs or touchups anywhere. The finish does show finish checking with some lines showing on the top, on the neck, and the back and sides. These lines of finish checking appear almost like hairs laying in the finish here and there. At some angles, these lines are invisible.
Mahogany neck, Maple back and sides, and a heavily figured Spruce top. The top is visually striking for layers of figure and chatoyance. We believe the top to be Englemann Spruce.
The blackened peghead veneer shows Gibson logo inlaid at top in pearl, and pearl crown inlay in center, and a tuxedo-like original Dove truss rod cover near nut. The cover even has original screws. The peghead shows the snaky lines of hair-like finish checking, and has finish chipping slightly at edges and at the high E and B string tuner washers. The tuners are nickel Grover rotomatic pat. pend. These appear to be the original tuners and show no signs of other tuners. Brazilian Rosewood fingerboard with pearl parallelogram inlays. The original full frets. Back of the neck is in great shape with no wear through the finish and not a ding, dent, or scratch anywhere. The fingerboard is bound with single cream binding.
This cream binding is repeating around the top and back edge of the body, with six plies of purfling seen from top and four lines of purfling seen from back.
Original dove pick guard with famous mother of pearl large dove inlaid into the pick guard. Sound hole rosette is two concentric rings of cream/black/cream. Original Brazilian Rosewood bridge with dove facsimiles inlaid at bass and treble sides respectively along with two pearl dots inlaid. Original adjustable saddle with metal tune-a-matic insert with intonatable individual nylon saddle pieces. The back and sides have wonderful Maple figure beneath the medium dark root beer tones of the finish.
This guitar is in wonderful condition and sounds very good. It needs nothing. And… It comes with its original hard case.
