Emily Remler Gibson Restoration
On what would have been her 59th birthday, this is a request going out to fans of the late, great jazz guitarist, Emily Remler, and to all jazz fans worldwide.
I own Emily’s most used and loved guitar, her red Gibson ES-330. It was her primary recording and performing instrument, and can be seen in many YouTube and instructional videos, photos, and on her album covers. It was given to me by her mother when Emily passed away. We have a letter of authenticity from a vintage guitar dealer that was written around 15 years ago.
Last October we had an extensive house fire, and the guitar was heavily damaged. We sent it to Gibson to see if they could restore it, but the $8500 that they estimated it would cost to do this is much more than our insurance reimbursement.
We hope we can raise $6000 to supplement the $3500 that we received from our insurance company. This would cover the $8500 repair, shipping to and from Nashville twice, and the GoFundMe fees.
If we do not reach our goal, or if Gibson determines they actually cannot restore it, we will return all donations.
While this instrument has great sentimental value to me, as a lifelong friend of Emily’s, I hope that music lovers worldwide will want to see this instrument preserved.
Thank you!
Susan and Guy Kurshenoff


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I own Emily’s most used and loved guitar, her red Gibson ES-330. It was her primary recording and performing instrument, and can be seen in many YouTube and instructional videos, photos, and on her album covers. It was given to me by her mother when Emily passed away. We have a letter of authenticity from a vintage guitar dealer that was written around 15 years ago.
Last October we had an extensive house fire, and the guitar was heavily damaged. We sent it to Gibson to see if they could restore it, but the $8500 that they estimated it would cost to do this is much more than our insurance reimbursement.
We hope we can raise $6000 to supplement the $3500 that we received from our insurance company. This would cover the $8500 repair, shipping to and from Nashville twice, and the GoFundMe fees.
If we do not reach our goal, or if Gibson determines they actually cannot restore it, we will return all donations.
While this instrument has great sentimental value to me, as a lifelong friend of Emily’s, I hope that music lovers worldwide will want to see this instrument preserved.
Thank you!
Susan and Guy Kurshenoff

An update on the restoration of Emily's guitar:
It's been very slow going but there has been some progress. After scraping off all charred finish, some seams showed some splitting. That is being dealt with as seen in the pictures. The fingerboard was saved and new inlays have been installed. Body binding may have survived and will be restored. It also appears that the pickups have survived. That will have to be determined at a later date.
That is all we have to report at this time. We'll see if we can move the restoration along some, but this is not the only project that the tech is working on so this will still take some time. More updates will follow as we have them.
Thanks for your patience and interest and, of course, your contributions.
If you are new to this page, please consider making a contribution as we have not yet met our goal.
Susan & Guy
It's been very slow going but there has been some progress. After scraping off all charred finish, some seams showed some splitting. That is being dealt with as seen in the pictures. The fingerboard was saved and new inlays have been installed. Body binding may have survived and will be restored. It also appears that the pickups have survived. That will have to be determined at a later date.
That is all we have to report at this time. We'll see if we can move the restoration along some, but this is not the only project that the tech is working on so this will still take some time. More updates will follow as we have them.
Thanks for your patience and interest and, of course, your contributions.
If you are new to this page, please consider making a contribution as we have not yet met our goal.
Susan & Guy
Why not to place it symbolic on her stone, well fixed. I 'll bear part of that cost.
Pleased to hear that you're pursuing others to do the restoration.