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Gibson LG-1


NCtom

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Hello and Happy New year. I haven't been around in a pretty good while but have a few questions for you learned folk. I have been looking for a small bodied Gibson and ran across a 1964 LG-1 that is supposably in good condition but I haven't been able to play it or get answers to several questions.

 

The info about the LG-1 is all over the place so:

What is the nut width?

Is the bridge plastic or wood?

Is the bracing ladder/X?

Is the top spruce or mahogany?

 

As you know and can see, the early '60s was a time of many changes for Gibson and I would like to know as much as I can before I go to look at it. Thanks a lot for your help.

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Hi Tom. The only problem I have with the LG1 is the dull sound (some like it) of ladder bracing. That's a deal breaker for me. Otherwise, spruce top and if it happens to have the plastic bridge it's an inexpensive thing to put a real one on.

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I have one; had the plastic bridge swapped to rosewood a long while ago. Mine sounds quiet (as one expects from a ladder-braced situation), but I would not call it dull. Quiet but sweet.

I'm not where I can measure, but I can report that this nut is wider than that of a particular '69 j-50 that I have access to. Of course, I wouldn't want to assume too much, but there's a chance that the '64 LG-1s still have the wider nut.

Mine still smells great, too!

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Thanks for the answers. I did some more research since posting and with that and your responses got a little better feel for it. Quiet I can handle, not so sure about the other things. I hope to see it this coming weekend, I will keep my fingers crossed.

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Plastic bridge is black. Only you will know. As noted, easy to replace. There is one at GC in Asheville I believe in very good shape. Prices on these have been climbing steadily in the past 5 years or so. Now seem to be going for $1500 if a good one. 1964 was still a very good year for Kalamazoo. Try it, you’ll like it.

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I have owned a 1963 LG-2 and I now own a 1947 LG-2. I had the chance to play an LG-1 in a shop in Colorado and it sounded great. There is nothing wrong or dull or sub-standard in the sounds or tone of an LG-1. They just sound different than their LG-2/LG-3 counterparts because of the bracing. If you like the sound of the LG-1 then go for it. The only thing I would consider is changing the plastic bridge to a wooden bridge.

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I have one; had the plastic bridge swapped to rosewood a long while ago. Mine sounds quiet (as one expects from a ladder-braced situation), but I would not call it dull. Quiet but sweet.

I'm not where I can measure, but I can report that this nut is wider than that of a particular '69 j-50 that I have access to. Of course, I wouldn't want to assume too much, but there's a chance that the '64 LG-1s still have the wider nut.

Mine still smells great, too!

 

'Quiet but sweet' works.

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I owned a 1959 LG-1 for a bit. I never really cared for it. Not saying it sucked by any stretch of the imagination. It sounded a whole lot better than my ladder braced 12 fret concerts. It is just that there are ladder braced 00 guitars out there I like better. My favorite 00 size 14 fret ladder braced guitar for many years now has been a mid-1930s Kay K6. Built with the same woods as the LG-1 but with a bit fancier appointments having a bound top and neck. I am convinced though what comes into play is the Kay has a longer scale. These things can rattle the fillings out of your teeth.

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I finally got to see and play the LG-1, but didn't buy it. It had been damaged by the cold, a particularly nasty open crack from the neck block to the soundhole partly covered by the pickguard. The crack was said to be brand new.

 

The "good, original" finish was in fact a fairly heavy overspray, the plastic bridge needed immediate replacement, and it looked like the cool pickguard wouldn't survive the work needed to the top.

 

Surprisingly, the little guitar played and sounded great. The neck was straight and in good condition. I just couldn't convince myself (and in particular my wife) that the large amounts of money required would be well spent.

 

I do think I'll keep looking for another one, though.

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Definitely an acquired taste guitar, good ones can be supremely authentic sounding blues boxes and can get surprisingly close to the early Dylan sound (despite him using a J50, albeit with very dead strings which accounts for the short sustain).

 

I nearly bought a ‘40s LG1 ten years back, it sounded great but was in slightly too rough a state for me to roll the dice on. Was close to needing a neck reset and has several cleated top and side cracks, so passed on it and bought a Guild F20 instead, which I eventually sold to a wonderful local singer/songwriter called James Taylor. Not THAT one!

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I see you passed on it, but I was about to say that the LG1 depends on the year and what you want it for....

 

Now when my '52 arrived on my doorstep quite a few years back, it was clear that the Ebay purchase was not that much of a success, in fact, I was fleeced! Neck set needed among a number of items. But one day, I tuned it to Open D and ran the bottleneck over it. Yes!! Sounds great for slide, weighs 4 feathers and a good size to lug around, the neck is the chunky 50s Gibson version. (The twenty ton National often stays in the case in favour of the LG1.) It had a cracked bridge replaced with an Ebony one...

 

 

A test track I did with the iRig on the '52 a few months back:

 

https://soundcloud.com/bk7-3/knees77

 

 

 

 

 

 

xADX2YZh.jpg

 

 

aw1ffMqh.jpg

 

 

 

 

BluesKing777.

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Well, OK. You can really make that thing sing and growl, but play the same on the LG2 and let's hear. You really get a gutsy soulful texture out of all your guitars BK, but the bass side is a little muddled sounding, typical of the ladder br. Awesome playing!

 

I just broke my rule (again) and bought an underpriced '16 Oxnard, Ca factory M-40, which used to be the F-20. I'll play this side by side with my '69 F-20 and flip the lesser. That or mount another hanger.

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Well, OK. You can really make that thing sing and growl, but play the same on the LG2 and let's hear. You really get a gutsy soulful texture out of all your guitars BK, but the bass side is a little muddled sounding, typical of the ladder br. Awesome playing!

 

I just broke my rule (again) and bought an underpriced '16 Oxnard, Ca factory M-40, which used to be the F-20. I'll play this side by side with my '69 F-20 and flip the lesser. That or mount another hanger.

 

Kind to say but not true at all, JZ - I have just assembled the correct weapons for the job. The ladder braced LG1 is great for slide and if the neck wasn’t bowed, split and cracked and trying to be a crooked tree branch again, the guitar would be sensational for hokey old tunes.

 

I don’t have a LG2 and have never played one.....but I have my 59 LG3, has the totally wrong ‘eq’ for bottleneck - too astringent. Doesn’t work at all for that but is great for intricate things, while also great with the capo on 3 or 4 and playing thumpy bass Freight Train type picking.

 

And the Guild M40 would be ideal for the same things as the LG3 - I only just read an article in Guitarist UK magazine recently - they reviewed the new US made Guild M40 with the 1 3/4” nut etc, and the skinny neck and nut Guild M240E, made in China, and comes with the new DeArmond pickup.....still not enough to temp me with the skinny neck and I believe laminated b/s........why didn’t they put the option of the DeArmond on the the M40?

 

 

BluesKing777.

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Ooops! I meant LG3. Here's the AG review. I'd never touch a China made.

 

http://acousticguitar.com/guild-m-40e-troubadour-review/

 

 

That’s a very nice review of the Guild!

 

Too many vested interests in AG these days, so I would like to hear your comparative review, JZ. (do they ever have a bad word about any of their test subject?)

 

The other problem with the 52 LG1 is the 1 11/16” nut, but it is pretty comfy with the chunky neck... if I am just fingerpicking on a 1 11/16”, I would put a capo on 3 or 4, but slide makes the frets rattle like that.

 

 

 

BluesKing777.

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Yep, can't wait to A-B the Hoboken F20, which I'd describe as bright, maybe 'brash' with certain strings, and the modern M40 version. I'm guessing it will be like the new mahog M20 I had tried and sold, sounding too much like the L0, only 3X more comfortable to fret. Will the spruce top sound different enough for my ear to tell the dif? Guess I'll see. The M40 should be sitting in the chilly local UPS warehouse, so I'll open it up in my equally chilly basement to assess, then bite my lip and close the lid for a day to let it acclimate upstairs.

 

I'll be flipping one of these sucka's at some point having invested just under a thousand bucks each...money I don't have for this luxury. I fear it will be a difficult choice, but I'm bumping into the 'too many guitars' wall yet again.

 

If I can figure out how to somewhat accurately capture the tonal differences with my little Zoom recorder I'll post an email here should someone care to hear.

 

Got the guitar here, with negotiated lower price.

 

 

 

https://reverb.com/i...specs-per-guild

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