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Logo Pick Guard


okokokk

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Just purchased this 1969 B25 12. One of the things that attracted me to this particular guitar was the Gibson logo on the pick guard because I remember playing another B25 12 in 1970 and it also had the logo on the pick guard. Is there any significance to the logo?

 

I also just read another thread from an owner of a similar year B45 12, asking about tuning and whether he should tune to E and the comments suggested starting as low as C# or D. This is the first I have heard of this and it sounds like a concern relating to tension. I am not sure if the question was in regards to an "open tuning" or a regular tuning.

 

The condition of this guitar is as good as I have ever seen and I don't want to cause any mishaps. I did have the tuners lubricated and exercised a little so that they would be a little easier to tune. Any other words of advice for maintaining my new instrument would be welcomed.

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I've always tuned my 12 strings down to either D# or D. Whether or not they could take the tension of standard tuning is up for debate. I'd never take the chance. I have a '69 B45-12 and just sold a '67 B45-12 and have owned a buttload of others (other brands and models). I've always tuned them down.

 

I have a Suzuki 12 string (currently a basket case waiting for me to bring it back to life) that I would tune down to C or so. It has a 26" scale so it was like thunder. Very much a Leadbelly sound. The novelty of the low pitch wore off though. D is a good compromise....or a good starting point, depending on your viewpoint.

 

I know there were logo'd pickguards on many J-45s around 1968 and now that you mention it, I've seen it on some smaller bodied Gibsons as well. I don't think it has any real significance, just style. I typically associate it with the red J-45s with the white pickguards, which were cool beans.

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Thank you ksdaddy. So I tuned down to D and now am a little heavy hearted due to the diminished tone and ring. I will tune up to D# and see if that is not so noticeable. I don't want to harm the guitar but I bought it to play it and would like to hear any other thought from members of the community.

 

Thinking out loud, does anyone ever tune down when they are finished playing and then tune up at the beginning of each session? I really do appreciate learning from your experiences. Thank you!

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Well, you could TRY to have it at concert pitch but I'd keep a close eye on it as far as the top sinking in, both at the bridge itself and at the soundhole near the fingerboard extension. Maybe yours can take the tension, who knows?

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Thank you ksdaddy. So I tuned down to D and now am a little heavy hearted due to the diminished tone and ring. I will tune up to D# and see if that is not so noticeable. I don't want to harm the guitar but I bought it to play it and would like to hear any other thought from members of the community.

 

Thinking out loud, does anyone ever tune down when they are finished playing and then tune up at the beginning of each session? I really do appreciate learning from your experiences. Thank you!

 

Give the D# a little time, I think it may grow on you. I also hesitate to tune a 12're to standard. I have a '60s Yamaha (all laminate of course) that I converted to a bolt on neck. Even with so so tuners it is as stable of a 12 as I've ever had, still no A.

Tune down and then back up for each session? You sir, would be my hero.😀

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One more comment on the Logo, about two years ago I was at Dave's Guitar Shop in La Crosse WI. He had a new acoustic guitar with that same sixties logo on the pickguard. So Gibson must have started using it again, at least on one model.....................

 

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  • 3 months later...

I agree! I do so on my old Gibson acoustic L-1 1960 keep It tune in Eb. No stress on the neck :)

I've always tuned my 12 strings down to either D# or D. Whether or not they could take the tension of standard tuning is up for debate. I'd never take the chance. I have a '69 B45-12 and just sold a '67 B45-12 and have owned a buttload of others (other brands and models). I've always tuned them down.

 

I have a Suzuki 12 string (currently a basket case waiting for me to bring it back to life) that I would tune down to C or so. It has a 26" scale so it was like thunder. Very much a Leadbelly sound. The novelty of the low pitch wore off though. D is a good compromise....or a good starting point, depending on your viewpoint.

 

I know there were logo'd pickguards on many J-45s around 1968 and now that you mention it, I've seen it on some smaller bodied Gibsons as well. I don't think it has any real significance, just style. I typically associate it with the red J-45s with the white pickguards, which were cool beans.

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A 12-string capo is a good idea if you tune down and want to play in standard pitch - unless you need access to frets higher up the neck. The best bet is to try to tune down; lots of 12'ers have had their lives shortened from being tuned to pitch. When the white logo-bearing guards began to appear (1968-ish) many folks considered them to be butt ugly. Although I have no documentation for the cause of their rapid disappearance, that might have been a factor. Nostalgia might be factoring into their recent re-introduction.

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