by Mario Proulx » Sat Sep 22, 2018 11:58 pm
Let's be realistic. None of the that era's Gibsons are, or will be highly valued "collector" treasures. Making it playable and enjoyable for its owner, and future owners, actually raises its value and likelihood that it won't get hacked, left under the bed to be inherited by someone who will sell it for crack money, or simply tossed into a dumpster.
That said, I encourage you to try a few things with the bracing before giving-in and pulling it for a complete re-brace. You can do this before the re-bind, so nothing is lost if you do decide to re-brace it.
I've had decent success pulling that massive bridge patch(as large as it is, I refuse to call it a bridge plate..!) and replacing it with a nice, small maple plate.
Then cap the main x-brace with a Martin-style cheese cloth and glue reinforcement to stiffen that area. I would usually tell you to cap it with wood, but the braces are rounded.
Next, reach-in and snap off the lower leg of one of the second x brace's legs, the shorter one. It's a reach, so use slip joint pliers or something. They always snap-off cleanly...
Don't bother scalloping the main x braces but instead, taper them from their intersection to a feather at the rear-most points(if you can reach...)
Now string it up, and let the owner(or you, or the radio) play it a few weeks. Betcha dollars to donuts you'll all be surprised...!
If you don't like it, -then- re-brace.