How much top sinkage is too much?

[Steve VandeWater]

I'm considering this late teens Gibson for a good price. The top shows some sinkage as shown in the photos. Would this scare you away from a good deal? Would the sinkage need to be addressed or is it playable as is? (sinkage-wise I mean, assuming all else is in good condition). The bridge needs adjusting for sure, but otherwise it's in pretty decent shape.

[jaycat]

My 1915 A has about that much sinkage. Replacing the bridge with an adjustable one proved helpful. The hope is that the sinkage is now stable but only time will tell.

Hard to tell if the one you are looking at is playable as-is. Only way to tell is to give it a try. I have learned to live with a bit of fret buzz, especially at this time of year.

How much are they asking?

[Steve VandeWater]

This was a 1917 A-1. It was bought on consignment from Elderly for $1400 a few years ago. I decided not to buy it because of the sinkage. They were asking $500 and sold it shortly after I passed. What would you have done?

[lenf12]

For $500, I would have offered $400 and if accepted, I would have tried to rehab it with humidification and replaced with an adjustable bridge. Anything to make it playable without buzzing...

Len B.
Clearwater, FL

[John Soper]

And check out whether the single transverse brace is loose or cracked... could be a cause of top sinkage on a Gibby oval hole.

[Nevin]

I am with John Soper on this. The first thing I would consider is do you have a bad brace.

[acousticphd]

This was a 1917 A-1. It was bought on consignment from Elderly for $1400 a few years ago. I decided not to buy it because of the sinkage. They were asking $500 and sold it shortly after I passed. What would you have done?

It's not quite clear who "they" are/were (I assume the subsequent owners, not Elderly Instruments). I would have said $500 was probably a steal. How many old Gibson A's out there have this much top sinkage or flattening from age and time? Mine do.

My concerns would have been more with the frets and neck/fingerboard bowing and relief that nearly all of these have. Without seeing it closely, I would have assumed going in that it would want a FB replane and refret, and hopefully an adjustable bridge would have completed a renovation to good playability.

[spufman]

That looks similar to mine, which still plays and sounds great. I paid more than $500 and don't feel bad about it.