Even with quite some work done over its many years, this Gibson AJ is an absolutely fantastic player with the tone to match! The D suffix in this guitar's FON would indicate 1938 production, one of approximately 85 shipped that year according to Gibson's shipment totals. The guitar's original top was badly damaged beyond reasonable repair, so it was expertly re-topped by luthier Bill Tippin using a very nice cut of Adirondack spruce. The new Adirondack top bracing was carved and voiced to match the original configuration, and the new bridge plate was made to vintage spec as well. The back and sides had been poorly refinished when wood was spliced into the guitar's lower back and the treble side. After completion of the re-top, the top, back, & sides were refinished, the neck was reset, and the guitar received a full refret using vintage spec wire. The original pickguard was retained, as was the original nut, which was shimmed up slightly for the ideal set up. Mr. Tippin's invoice mentions several back cracks that were repaired, only three are apparent to us upon inspection. The craftsmanship that went into the re-top and refinish is quite obvious, and the result is a very strong guitar that hangs with the best AJ's we've played.