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LG-1 Sound versus LG-2


mking

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I have been looking to buy an LG-2. I see a few but I see a lot of LG-1 guitars also. I know the LG-2 has the X bracing and the LG-1 has the ladder bracing. Anyone have a good assessment of how these two guitars sound in comparison to each other?

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Obviously this comparison is subjective. I own a late 50s LG-1 but haven't played an LG-2. The tone of the LG-1 seems to be a little harsher, laser beam type of tone compared to other X braced guitars. It doesn't have a nice warm type of tone. However, it really works for blues and I actually like it for jazz sounds as well. Its a very old time Delta blues type of tone.

 

This video is the best recording I have found that describes the LG-1 tone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJtz7kiRzxw

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I've been on the lookout myself, but most of those guitars I've found, have such a narrow neck (1 5/8") that I just can't really play them. I don't know if the older ones had wider nuts, but I would love to have one of those ladder braced Gibbys.......hmmmm......especially if I could play it like that....lol

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I've got a first year LG-1 that is quite different from its post-war siblings. The LG-1s shipped in 1943 and 1844 were X-braced (and very few were made). Gibson then ceased building the LG-1 until after the war, when the guitar reappeared as a ladder braced instrument. Here's my LG-1 (with my 2 other Banner Gibsons):

 

2781650670033810361S600x600Q85.jpg

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I've been on the lookout myself, but most of those guitars I've found, have such a narrow neck (1 5/8") that I just can't really play them. I don't know if the older ones had wider nuts, but I would love to have one of those ladder braced Gibbys.......hmmmm......especially if I could play it like that....lol

 

The 50s LG-1s have better necks. My 1957 is wide and thick. It actually feels very much like a modern Gibson neck just much more worn in. People say some of your 60s neck are fine too.

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Kinda paraphrasing the above post but I will always believe the key to playing the blues ain't the guitar but your right hand and particularly your thumb - what part you use to strike the strings and learning how to, as Rev. Davis described it, roll the bass - rushing the root of a chord 1/8 note before the next downbeat and such.

 

To my ears the ladder braced LG-1s have a muddier sound and the strings do not blend as well as they do on the LG-2.

What I do like about LG-1s though is they have a real thumping low end.

 

It really just comes down to what sound you have in your head (and cash in your wallet)and which guitar can take you there. Gonna be different for most folks but then again, it might get a bit boring out there if it didn't.

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OK, as a caveat, I'll start this off by saying I have never played an LG-1 or an LG-2. I do, however, own a ladder braced guitar and several with X-bracing. I think the X-braced guitars have a much better sound for strumming chords, but my ladder braced guitar is great for fingerstyle.

 

My opinion is: If you're wanting a guitar that can do it all, stick with X-bracing. If you want something just for fingerpicking, you may want to try out one of the ladder braced LG's. The bracing delivers a very unique, "old-fashioned" sound.

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To me it is all about the "Ring" or "Sustain" differences. LG1 (ladder braced) is not a guitar that will ring out and hold the note. It decays quickly and has a more muted tone. The LG2 with the X brace should have more sustain and fullness in the tone. Normally that is a good thing and the reason LG2 and LG3 guitars sell for more than LG0 and LG1 guitars. When I went looking for my LG1, I didn't want ring or sustain.... I get all that and more from both my Taylor 612C and my Gibson AJ.... No, I wanted that raw, ballsy muted tone for fingerstyle blues and my 1964 LG1 has that in spades. (OWF.... the necks got significantly skinnier starting around 1965 so look for one prior to that and you should have a beefier neck.)

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To me it is all about the "Ring" or "Sustain" differences. LG1 (ladder braced) is not a guitar that will ring out and hold the note. It decays quickly and has a more muted tone. The LG2 with the X brace should have more sustain and fullness in the tone. Normally that is a good thing and the reason LG2 and LG3 guitars sell for more than LG0 and LG1 guitars. When I went looking for my LG1, I didn't want ring or sustain.... I get all that and more from both my Taylor 612C and my Gibson AJ.... No, I wanted that raw, ballsy muted tone for fingerstyle blues and my 1964 LG1 has that in spades. (OWF.... the necks got significantly skinnier starting around 1965 so look for one prior to that and you should have a beefier neck.)

 

 

Very well put and, I think, accurate. My SJ200 is at the other end of the spectrum from my LG1. The LG1 is unique, a very personal sort of introspective sound - ideal for The Blues, and similar types of music. IMHO.

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  • 2 years later...

If you want an LG-2 don't settle for an LG-1. The LG-2 is a wonderful X braced guitar, extremely versatile for many styles of music. You can strum it, play blues, rock, fingerstyle, pretty much anything except bluegrass and you will get pretty close to where you want to be. Add in the reasonable price and medium body size and you have a winner for a vintage guitar. The LG-1 looks the same on the outside but musically is completely different.

 

Ladder braced guitars have their place in your arsenal, but the LG-1 would not be a first choice option. A ladder braced guitar is the perfect choice for country blues, old time, fingerstyle type music (like the LG-1 demo above). When you play that stuff you want quick note decay, you want a raspier sound, you want the rawness of ladder bracing. If you're going to play that kind of music (Robert Johnson, Skip James, John Hurt) then a Kalamazoo KG-14, KG-12, KG-11 would work well. Or you could go with a small body Gibson L-0 or L-1 made before X bracing became standard on those. I would chose those guitars before I would choose an LG-1.

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