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At Long Last - The Latest Sweetie To Come Into My Life

zombywoof

By zombywoof
in Gibson Acoustic

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zombywoof

zombywoof

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Finally have a photo to post of my 1957 Gibson CF-100E. How much do I love this guitar - let me count the ways. To start, I know there is a universal law that whatever guitar you own is going to be the best of the breed. It is always the other guy who gets a dog. But this guitar was good enough to get me to part with my 1946 LG-2. Over the past year or so I have had a number of 1940s LG-2s come for a visit. I admit that emotionally I will always be drawn to the script logo guitars but this '57 was just too good to let emotion get the better of me. It is a bit brighter sounding than the LG-2s I have played with strong and punchy mids. I am not sure how much the placement of the soundhole closer to the bridge to make room for the pickup has on the sound but I reckon it has to figure in. It is also sexy looking as all get out. Cool pre-War J-35 style pickguard. And with the P-90 it is ready to rock. Interestingly it retains the fabric side supports that you see in pre-1951 Gibsons. Anyway here it be - better late than never.

 

L1010951.jpg

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bayoubengal1954

bayoubengal1954

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Finally have a photo to post of my 1957 Gibson CF-100E. How much do I love this guitar - let me count the ways. To start, I know there is a universal law that whatever guitar you own is going to be the best of the breed. It is always the other guy who gets a dog. But this guitar was good enough to get me to part with my 1946 LG-2. Over the past year or so I have had a number of 1940s LG-2s come for a visit. I admit that emotionally I will always be drawn to the script logo guitars but this '57 was just too good to let emotion get the better of me. It is a bit brighter sounding than the LG-2s I have played with a strong and punchy low end. I am not sure how much the placement of the soundhole closer to the bridge to make room for the pickup has on the sound but I reckon it has to figure in. It is also sexy looking as all get out. Cool pre-War J-35 style pickguard. And with the P-90 it is ready to rock. Interestingly it retains the fabric side supports that you see in pre-1951 Gibsons. Anyway here it be - better late than never.

 

L1010951.jpg

 

Yeah Yuh!

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zombywoof

zombywoof

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Very nice, ZW!

 

The sound wouldn't be far away from my 59 LG3, would it? Mine had an old DeArmond with a broken wing on it when I got it, put that in another guitar

 

How would the bracing compare?

 

Anyway, the LG3 will be getting played now!

 

 

 

BluesKing777.

 

 

Dearmonds were the great equalizer. All guitars sound the same with the only variable being the amp. I own two Dearmonds plus a Kent knockoff. I also have a Dearmond Monkey on a Stick pickup for my mandolin.

 

That Fabulous Flattops book describes the CF-100 top bracing as an octagon missing its bottom three sides. I would imagine the carve is the same on all Gibsons made between 1955 and 1968 but do not know for sure.

 

If there is one major difference it would be, as I noted, the soundhole is shifted back on the electric version. The center of the X is no more than 1 inch from the soundhole. But I cannot say for sure there is any difference between the CF-100 and LG-3 when it comes to the relationship between the center of the X and the bridge which is what would come into play as it would impact the stiffness of the top in the bridge area.

 

As I have not had a ton of time under my belt with post-1955 LG2/3s I can only compare the CF-100 acoustically to those I do know which were built in the 1940s. The CF-100E has a brighter upper end and bit more defined and pronounced lower mids. Overall though, it also puts out less volume.

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zombywoof

zombywoof

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Very cool. The CF is one in the line that I have never seen "in the wild". Enjoy!

 

Gibson did not make a ton of these guitars. The CF-100 was only in production from 1950 to 1959. The largest production was in the first few years and then it dropped like a stone. I gather they were a commercial flop. More than likely the "purists" did not take to the Florentine cutaway. At the time, it was a pretty radical design for a flattop.

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BluesKing777

BluesKing777

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What strings do you have on it? Ha Ha, Black Diamonds to match the DeArmond?

 

 

I intend to try the Martin Retro monels on my LG3, of course there was an empty rack at the shop to delay my experimenting! They sound great on my CEO7 which, like the LG3, can be very touchy about strings and pins.......

 

 

 

BluesKing777.

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E-minor7

E-minor7

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One very cool little box - in what seems to be immaculate shape.

Not a small-body person, but these guitars rock to a degree where they almost demand black/brown leather pants or jacket.

At least the right leather strap if the wild ways'n'days are over. .

 

Let's hear the funky gal sing

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OldCowboy

OldCowboy

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That appears to be a good'n, as the local folk of my youth would have said. I've always had a fascination for the model, but have never owned one or spent much over an hour at a time with any I've had the opportunity to play. Enjoy!

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zombywoof

zombywoof

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What strings do you have on it? Ha Ha, Black Diamonds to match the DeArmond?

 

 

BluesKing777.

 

 

Bwahaha. I betcha you are as attracted to that Ligthnin' Hopkins/Elmore James vibe as much as I am. You ain't gonna get there with some under the saddle gizmo. Actually I do have a Black Diamond string display rack filled with boxes with the strings still in them. Just clean the rust off of them and I would be good to go.

 

As with any guitar fired by a magnetic pickup, I strung this one up with Newtone Nickel.

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zombywoof

zombywoof

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ZW, what a nice find! I'm glad you found a great CF guitar.

 

I assume that it is dated as a 1957 on the basis of the FON only? I don't see a label with serial number. Does it have a "U" FON?

 

Fred

 

As you know 1950s Gibsons are a breeze to date - this one as the "U" in the FON.

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zombywoof

zombywoof

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Congratulations on the CF, looks great. My 59' LG3 has the same x-brace location, one inch from the soundhole. As you go along you might want to try a set of CFM Monel LJs, they are the best I've had on my old friend. great find

 

I have not tried the Martin Monel LJ Signature strings so may give them a shot next time I put in a string order. I do not have much string loyalty but have stuck with the Newtones because they seem to give old Gibsons a "chime" (for lack of a better description) I have not heard with other strings.

 

Based on the placement of the X in your LG-3, that would seem to say that due to the rear shifted soundhole on the CF-100E the X would be closer to the bridge. In theory, this means a stiffer top in the bridge area which should shift the tones to the trebles and mids. Interesting that. Problem is guitars do not necessarily abide by the laws of physics.

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Tarrr

Tarrr

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Hard to tell from pics, my guess would be that your soundhole might have been moved down a tad to allow for the P90, the 20th fret seems to be in the same loc. Your soundhole looks to be closer to the bridge? New to imgur, still trying to resize pic smaller. lol

 

tDDQGnt.jpg

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zombywoof

zombywoof

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Hard to tell from pics, my guess would be that your soundhole might have been moved down a tad to allow for the P90, the 20th fret seems to be in the same loc. Your soundhole looks to be closer to the bridge? New to imgur, still trying to resize pic smaller. lol

 

 

 

Exactly. Assuming the relationship of center of the X to the soundhole is the same on all the versions of the 1950s LGS, that would place the X closer to the bridge on the CF-100E. Whatever it is though, I liked the sound of this guitar better than that put out by my '46 LG-2 (although I certainly preferred the nut width on the '46) as well as a 1947 LG-2 and 1951 CF-100 I also managed to get my hands on for a good test drive. Over the past year or so I have not dug up any post-1955 LGs, other than one of those 3/4 size versions, so could not make any comparisons. Ever since I owned a 1956 SJ many years ago though I have been a big fan of the top bracing Gibson went to at mid-decade.

 

By the way, I am using that Postimage.org site for photos. They provide default sizes depending on where you are intending to post which greatly simplifies things.

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Tarrr

Tarrr

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My 59' LG3 nut width is 1 23/32, when I cut it I tweaked it a tad for my liking. Hope you can adjust, there's always a tradeoff or two with acoustics.

 

Thanks for the link to your pic site, I think I'll stick with imgur for now. This is the bracing for my mahogany top and the diagram that matches.

 

Really happy for you finding such a prize. best

 

https://imgur.com/ajeLN4d

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