I am re running this brief post as I have just recieved  another 50 emails this week on this top . please book mark this I will not be posting this again.

This is a brief outline of the various pots and caps and wiring used by Gibson. This is not a complete summary but is a good start for the beginner. The basic companies Gibson used were IRC ,CTS , Central Lab. IRC used (615) code to begin the sequence of numbers on the pot case . Central Lab used ( 134 )and CTS used (137) codes.  The way to ready a pot code is as follows . There are several scenarios.

IRC always began with 615 xxxxx  354 . The x’s stood for stock numbers the last three numbers were the year and the week. here is example : 615 34657 334  this is a  IRC pots 1953 and the week is 34th week .

CTS  always started with 137 xxx or 137 xxxx  . The first x or first two were the year the last two x’s were the weeks.  Here is an example 137828     8 represents the year 1958 and week 28th week.  In second example :  1376828  68 represents 1968 and 28 the 28th week .

Central Lab always begins with 134 xxx or 134 xxxx. first example 134521 this dates the pot to 1955 and the 21st week . the second example 1346232 show a 1962 pot from the 32 week.

Remember this that pots can  pre-date a instrument year but never post date it . It was common to have pots 6 month earlier than an instrument but an exact cut off time is impossible to nail down. Usually the earlier the instrument the closer the pot dates are to the instrument manufacturing date. As the companies grew they bought more inventory and pots sometimes were mixed or lying around for a period of time before they were used. In the extreme instance of Fender Guitars in 1966 to cut costs Fender purchased enough pots to last the company for 5 years and so they are found in guitars from 1966-1971

Switches were made by the Switchcraft company and still are to this date . The early switches do not bear the company’s name. but by 1961 all switchcraft switches bear the company name stamped into the switch. Most were three way switches but they also had 5 way switches.

The caps are a very important part of the harness but i would need several full pages to dive into them and their variations . I Will list a few common ones but it is by no means a complete list. The earliest Gibson caps were made by Cornell Dublier or (cd). they were know as grey tigers ( the name found on many ) and were used in hollow bodies and solid body guitars. They were .022 @ 400v . by 1956 they has switched to the Sprague Company. The values were the same but the waxed paper grey tiger caps were now replaced by the Sprauge bumble bee it was black plastic shell with multi colored stripes and is probably the most recognized cap in the world for guitars. There were again a few exception but not many. In 1961 the Sprague caps changed again to the black case with two red stripes one  on each end and they were used up until around 1970.

 This is a brief outline if you have any further questions please e mail me at THE PARTS DRAWER

QUESTION

How come we do not see you guys at guitar shows anymore. In years past your were a staple at all the shows. What happened

REPLY

Thank for the e mail. Well it is a good question and a sad one at that. I used to live for guitar shows. To me the best part of the  business was traveling setting up at shows and have a great time and meeting customers. To me it was an event and the shows back than always had great deals great guitar and loads of surprises. I cannot tell you how many times a week i still think about the old days . They truly were the best .

What happened was first of all Ebay. Thanks to eBay everyone thought they were a guitar dealer and thought they were experts. Ebay slowly eroded away the traffic at shows due to the fact that people could sell there guitars online and not have to bring them to the shows. Also it lowered store traffic customers no longer consigned as many guitars with dealers  because they could sell them on ebay without a commission.

It was apparent to me about 9 years ago it was over . I mean I have had many good shows but it seems that by 2000 the game was over. shows were boring 90% of the deals were among dealers only and the fun was gone. Also the supply of vintage guitar had begun to dry up by 1996 as far as i was concerned and the days of the cool finds at guitar shows were over.

we ran the new york guitar show for many years an that too seemed to have died by 2000 and 2002 was the last years for that show. The people were no longer excited about shows and were now complacent and lazy with ebay. There was and Will always be the hard core guys who we love that show up at shows but even ask them they will tell you it has been over for years .

At this stage in our live maybe we go to one show a year just to say hello to friends and customers. I go never expecting anything so i am not disappointed but i will tell you everyone gets worse. I only wish the new generation could have been there in the old days when there was a real frenzy and excitement and it was an adventure. I guess like most great things in life it does not last .

I never say never maybe ebay will collapse and the shows will revive but i do not see that anytime soon. So for now it is just a fond memory of what is was and what a great thing we had even if it were for a short time. The memories are still and will always be great

Jim Pasch

The Parts Drawer

QUESTIONS

I am in shock. 3 years ago I paid $23,000.00 for a mint 10/10 Gibson  Les Paul SG STD  with tags. I needed some cash so I called around to at least 10 of the biggest vintage guitar dealers and the most  dealer will pay is $12,000.00 because they say it is worth $14,000 – $15,000 max and it is a slow sale . Is that possible what happened ?

REPLY

First  that is a great guitar you have and in that condition it will always sell.  The financial market  and several banks a year and a half ago went belly up. This is the worse crisis in the united states since the great depression and all sectors of life have been affected.

I cannot tell you how many stories i have heard like yourself and much worse. But the news is not as bad when you look at a few things in perspective. If you had a 401k it is worth 30% – 80% less after this crisis if your 401 k were based in many blue chip comes like GM , GE, etc. We have several customers who 401k{s were over a million dollars and are now worth $200k-240k.  If you had a home that was worth $800,000.00 it is worth $400,000-$500,’000 and the examples can go on forever.

Guitars have taken less of a hit that many other sectors in the world. Remember guitar are a luxury item and the market is driven by disposable income. When people are trying to pay bills , loosing job, loosing life savings they are not thinking about guitars.Our business was one of the first to be hit by the crisis due to the fact that disposable income is market mover.

So the good news in you are still better off having the guitar  than if you has $25,000 of stock or a down payment on a house thatis now worth $35% less than you paid for it . So it is all relative but do not panic. there is more good news

The good news is that out market appears to have bottomed out and business is actually increasing. I have spoken to many dealers and true business is off and down from future years but it is better than it was 6 months ago and better tan 3 months ago so to me that is a great sign.

I am not saying yes we are recovering rapidly but i feel we are moving ahead and the fact that customers are spending money againmeans that they feel more secure and that things are getting better. I would hold off selling for another year and i feel unless of another wall street disaster you guitar will go up another 15% which is stil better than 2% in the bank.

Just remember you and me did nothing wrong teh greedy scum on wall street and politicians bankrupted thsi country and has made al our lives difficult. If you have anyt other guestions please feel free to e mail me at

The Parts Drawer

Thank you

Jim pasch