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37 Gibson L-0 bitza


BluesKing777

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I was playing the L-0 before and it sounds sensational, but hard to play and it was diagnosed as needing a neck reset - hmmm - a bit obvious, but the saddle is nearly non-existent. The guitar tech is a very busy chap and has 9 resets to do.......

 

 

It has come to the time to consider some options - after playing it for a few months, the tone of the old girl makes it worth considering playing improvements, I think.

 

 

Any opinions?

 

So:

 

1. Leave it as is and put up with the high action/low saddle.

 

2. Neck reset.

 

3. Neck reset and new fretboard.

 

4. New neck.

 

5. Old neck off a broken Gibson?

 

6. Hang on wall as ornament.

 

7. Trash.

 

 

L-0ampL-00_zps953902d8.jpg

 

 

L-0saddle_zps979d9b41.jpg

 

 

Wreck01e_zps3f2608ca.jpg

 

 

Wreck01f_zpsa4f37a18.jpg

 

 

 

 

BluesKing777.

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Neck re-set. Beyond that, check whether or not bridge has been shaved down, and condition of bridgeplate and guts of gui9tar. If those have issues, think long and hard about the desirability of addressing them. A guitar that doesn't play easily eventually doesn't get played at all.

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Another vote for neck reset. It would be a shame to relegate the guitar to a slider because of high action.

 

Here is a good one for you. I own a guitar I love on which the top has sunken quite a bit. Thing is as because the neck is out of whack it now actuallyplays perfectly. If I get the top flattened I will also need to have the neck reset. So what is a poor boy to do. Just leave it be.

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I was playing the L-0 before and it sounds sensational, but hard to play and it was diagnosed as needing a neck reset - hmmm - a bit obvious, but the saddle is nearly non-existent. The guitar tech is a very busy chap and has 9 resets to do.......

 

 

It has come to the time to consider some options - after playing it for a few months, the tone of the old girl makes it worth considering

 

A wise mans answer is usually in the question. Neck reset. I have never had an unfavorable result by resetting the neck .. the belly a different situation.

G'luck either!

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There's a fretboard issue too?

 

You have that beautiful, but too shiny L00 to break in and foul, so keep the L0 at home, but get it on the waiting list for the reset while you wank on the newbie. You don't have to hand it in 'til the luthier's ready, right? That's easy for me to say, as the estimate on my L0 reset is $400. I don't know what it costs in your far off corner. Mine's still marginally comfortable, but much better capoed. I have the unique situation of having one that some would-be carpenter cut out parts of the Xbrace to install cove mould apparently to stop a slumping top. Amazingly, it still has great tone. I'm also lucky to have Steve Kovacik nearby to restore when I can get the $ up. The back will have to come off. Here's the only pic I've managed to shrink to fit. I have a fuzzy pic of the orig owner playing it in a 40's era band called The Virginia Vagabonds that the former owner sent. I think these are special small bod models that should be cherished.

 

 

At any rate, when you bring it in, see if your guy will throw in a bridge reglue with dots so you can get those nasty screws to go away.

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Thanks for the replies!

 

 

Paint it black as well?

 

 

Hmmmmm?

 

 

Everything here is 3 times the price of your price. We are a large country with a small working population supporting many, many politicians.

 

 

The quote I got for a neck reset was $AUS 800+ which is probably $US900.

 

Same for re-finish....won't be any refinish/ painting!

 

 

The poor ole geetar has been everyone's pet project since about 1940 when the original owner decided the black finish was the work of the devil. He then stripped and decorated. The fretboard is ebony, and I don't think they came with that, so who knows the goings on.

 

 

Then some joker sanded and, yes, filed the fretboard down instead of getting the neck reset, and the bridge.

 

 

L-0Neck1a_zpse8e5ad84.jpg

 

 

 

 

The back of the neck is very good, so that is why I was thinking of a new fretboard.

 

L-0Neck02a_zps18e13624.jpg

 

 

L-0Neck03a_zps17ccb889.jpg

 

 

L-0Neck04a_zps795a3c8b.jpg

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Nothing to do with anything, but while I am loading photos, the Nikon with the 35mm prime lens is sensational and I went on a expedition to the city to try out the lens at night (no lights near my place!)....these are 'hand held shots' - usually you would need a tripod:

 

 

L-0Neck10a_zpsde5d8a84.jpg

 

 

L-0Neck11a_zps8eb4c832.jpg

 

 

L-0Neck12a_zps013264a1.jpg

 

 

L-0Neck02b_zps9dc47994.jpg

 

 

L-0Neck02c_zps7b81e926.jpg

 

 

BluesKing777.

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Paint it black as well? Hmmmmm? The quote I got for a neck reset was $AUS 800+ which is probably $US900.

Same for re-finish....won't be any refinish/ painting!

On the principle that less can be more, could finance by departing from some of the less valuable members of the herd. But then, then, Im not selling any more than I am paying. Cheers
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The quote I got for a neck reset was $AUS 800+ which is probably $US900

.

 

Move to Bristol Tennessee.

 

If it were mine -- and it was here --I would get it fixed and not have it refinished -- unless you just love black. I would not refinish it or change the fretboard because there is no good reason to put toothpaste back in the tube -- that ship has sailed. How about that for mixed metaphors.

 

In the US, the southeast is blessed with a guitar culture that has resulted in an abundance of really good luthiers who are not oversubscribed and by your standards really reasonable. If this was all needed, I could get the neck reset, the bridge replaced (if it had been shaved -- required for optimal sound), refretted, the fretboard planed and fully setup -- the whole worst case scenario -- for maybe $500. The prices you suggest changes the whole economic picture. In an emergency, I could get it done in a week -- my normal turn round is about a month. Unfortunately, with high repair costs and long wait times, some instruments just make no economic sense. So if you fix it, it is for love and not profit.

 

Good luck,

 

-Tom

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Your pictures of your L-0 have grown on me. If it was my guitar I'd put aside money every time I was gassing for something else and when I had the funds accumulated I'd go whole hog with a neck reset and a new fretboard and anything else to make her at her best playability. I kinda like the funky inlays on the headstock and the neck. Someone loved her enough to want to dress her up a bit, even though our tastes might be different. That kind of personalization just adds to the mojo as far as I'm concerned. The box is probably the real heart of her tone so if you like that there seems to be no sense in looking for another girl. I think you own a real gem and even though I don't personally own any vintage instruments I kinda feel, even with the instruments I do own, that we all have a responsibility to future guitar players to pass these instruments on. I feel this is especially true in light of the scarcity, and possible future extinction, of some of the woods currently used in our instruments. But that's just my feelings about it. Love all your guitar pics. City pics, not so much.

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If it were mine -- and it was here --I would get it fixed and not have it refinished -- unless you just love black. I would not refinish it or change the fretboard because there is no good reason to put toothpaste back in the tube -- that ship has sailed. How about that for mixed metaphors.

 

In the US, the southeast is blessed with a guitar culture that has resulted in an abundance of really good luthiers who are not oversubscribed and by your standards really reasonable. If this was all needed, I could get the neck reset, the bridge replaced (if it had been shaved -- required for optimal sound), refretted, the fretboard planed and fully setup -- the whole worst case scenario -- for maybe $500. The prices you suggest changes the whole economic picture.

 

 

What Tom says here.......

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Thanks for the advice.

 

Some great ideas there.

 

I suppose I don't have to get it all done at once. I could start with 'just' a neck set and re-evaluate. It is probably like my car....once one bit comes off, there are multiple phone calls and problems and solutions.

 

As you can see in the photos above, the back is surprisingly good for the age, so I don't think they played with capos and belt buckles! The top looks worse than it is because I don't think they got all the old black finish off. Braces were checked and all are good - no rattles.

 

I can get along just fine as it is - it is still 100 times easier to play than the beast I learned bongos on, I mean guitar. But a few hear will know the 'smoky' sound that comes out of these Gibsons, and I hope I don't muck it up.

 

No hurry except lack of patience, err and money - no oil well out the back. Just trying to get a mental plan.

 

 

BluesKing777.

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not a shot in hell i'd respray. kinda like trying to delete some of it's past. in fact, if I did get a new board, I would try and keep the fret markers but I don't even know if that's possible or feasible. I'd also not do anything to the bridge until I had the neck squared away and played it for a while.

 

I love the yarns these old boxes spin and this one spins a great one....

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Personally I love the look of it with the stripped top. The fingerboard and headstock, not so much, but I can see the point that it's part of the guitar's personal history, and as such perhaps worth retaining. I'd suggest getting the neck set done and the bridge replaced at the same time - the bridge looks very thin and it would be better to set the neck to the correct bridge height.

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I forget the exact year of your L0, BK, but I'm thinking the ebony looking fretboard could be orig. There were some L0's built this way. At any rate, I agree with whoever suggested you embrace the inlays. The reset, and if you need, a bridge change will bring it back to a great place.

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I forget the exact year of your L0, BK, but I'm thinking the ebony looking fretboard could be orig. There were some L0's built this way. At any rate, I agree with whoever suggested you embrace the inlays. The reset, and if you need, a bridge change will bring it back to a great place.

 

 

 

Could be original, JZ - we know Mr Gibson did whatever he felt like on the day...

 

 

I saw a lovely spec sheet for Martins on UMGF - how comprehensive....by a chap named Barnwell! Tom or a relative?

 

http://martinrep.com/

 

No such luck with old Gibson Ls though - specs all over the shop.

 

 

BluesKing777.

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I forget the exact year of your L0, BK, but I'm thinking the ebony looking fretboard could be orig. There were some L0's built this way. At any rate, I agree with whoever suggested you embrace the inlays. The reset, and if you need, a bridge change will bring it back to a great place.

 

 

 

Could be original, JZ - we know Mr Gibson did whatever he felt like on the day...

 

 

I saw a lovely spec sheet for Martins on UMGF - how comprehensive....by a chap named Barnwell! Tom or a relative?

 

http://martinrep.com/

 

No such luck with old Gibson Ls though - specs all over the shop.

 

 

BluesKing777.

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