Westbrook Guitar but with Gibson Dove design.

I was the one guy that decided to buy this for $40. I thought it was cool looking. I got home and noticed that it was a Gibson Dove style. I did some research and found out that the Gibson Dove guitar was being duplicated in Japan by Ibanez in Japan. This guitar I have is not an Ibanez. It does have a model number 690, just like the Ibanez style. The name on mine is Westbrook Guitars. I thought I had ran across where a Westbrook name that dealt in guitars are guitar making, was in Japan around the late 70s to early 80s. Im

 

I asked google if westbrook guitars are made in Japan - and got these results which I thought may be helpful -

https://www.google.com/#q=are+westbrook+guitars+made+in+japan

 

Thanks for the info. It does look like a Westbrook was being made in Japan. I do know there's a lot of "Lawsuit" guitars out there. I'll be hanging on to this one, since I like to play every now and then. It's something to pass down to a grandchild.

 

I checked it out a bit. Nothing about that model. But it seems Westbrook may have sold the name to the Japanese at some time - maybe the 1970s (sometime after the 1950s-1960s), before that being made in the US (?). It seems the key info to know is if it is plywood and what kind of finish it has. Maybe you can tell if it plywood by examining the sound hole? I don't know how to differentitate the finishes, but polyurethane finish is not good.

Searching google for pertinent info is difficult because of the Westbrook Guitar Museum and the man James Westbrook causing lots of conflicts.

 

I'll check when I get off work today. Hold on, I think I have a closer pic. I don't think it's made out of plywood, but I'll check later.

 

I am now thinking you may have a nice guitar, from before they were made in Japan. No expert, just an opinion. Looks like high quality wood (?) used for fingerboard.

 

It looks like solid wood in the photos, but Westbrook would not be considered a major maker of quality guitars, whether in the US or Japan, in my opinion.

 

I think it could be argued that $40 for one makes it a nice, not great, one.

 

Sure, a nice guitar for that money.
It isn't strung up in the pics; might be worth putting some strings on, see if it plays ok.

 

What kind of wood are the back and sides made of? Photo?

 

yeah. The best guitar I even found I only paid $35 for.
It was an early 1900s Martin parlour guitar. Original case.

 

Not exactly a common find Messi. An o̶l̶d̶ long ago boyfriend had a Gibson Dove and I loved the sound of it, he "traded up" to a Martin but the Dove sure sounded nice.

Anyhoo, looking at closed auctions for Westbrook guitars doesn't look too good

 

Not a lot to go on it looks like. I see no model No. 690s to make a comparison. I suspect and would suggest that comparing ones made in Japan to those made in the US may be comparing apples to oranges.