62burst

ok. you're a nut. And you had too much fun doing this. Especially enjoyable was the short scaled (?) Gibson square lead stuff. With the capo, it tightened things up nicely. EDIT: nice shirt.

Jeez, that was nice. One thing about a black guitar- with time, it will grow a nice patina. You and Little Elvis sounding good together.

That's quite an asking price, but that's also quite the Hummingbird recording. Prediction: you're gonna miss that one when it's gone.

Best use of a credit card. well . . . maybe second best.

. . . which could be your own cautionary tale, Rog – if I only knew about how it takes a while for a guitar to open up, I probably would’ve kept the first J-45 I ever had- it was dry, percussive, but sounded tight to me. Two out of three ain’t bad, and the other might’ve happened with time. It was a beautiful tricolor 50’s reissue. I wonder what it sounds like now. And to all the a/b’s & a/b/c’s where we’ve been so quick to proclaim a winner when so many other factors can come into play on how a guitar sounds. Happy “waitin’ for a truck day”, just the same.

Yes, having the worn in look but having recent build- bracing, fresh frets and fretboard, neck set, and plek'ed with some sort of warranty would be a plus. Ironic that I feel more comfortable playing the more aged, but also more valuable vintage guitars than the modern ones that haven't got a mark on them. Also- the crazing on the Hummingbird looks great, and if it weren't for the mottled orange peel finish that had been put on it, it would be hard to tell from a 'Bird from a decade or two+ back. EDIT: but no, I wouldn't pay to have someone do wear to the guitar as seen on the J-45 above. Genuine play wear or not, it just looks like sloppy playing. I can do sloppy playing, and still not inflict that level of wear.

Nice photo there, Dave- it's not easy to line everything up, and still show a hint of the deeper body on the Smeck. But as to Gumbino's wondering about the rosewood. . . of course, he was asking about the LG, but maybe you could share some thoughts re: Rose in the L-00 body.

. . . and of course, the North American-sourced maple (should that necessarily cost more on a Montana built guitar?), as well as the inlaid Harbor Seals on the Yosemite Sam bridge. (the bridge inlays on the Doves In Flight are a nicer complement to the guitar) demo guy Quentin is by his own definition a Martin guy, but he concurs with Paul that the Dove is a "monster". If that's what you're going for, then there you go. The Doves in the demo almost sound as if they are either set up low, or have lighter tension strings. But the maple keeps the long-scaled squares out of the mud.

Upload to a photo hosting site such as imgur.com and you can direct link here in the forum as many photos as you like. As far as strings, why not just use the strings you are most familiar with first, so that you can see how they work on the Hummingbird? Do share some updates when you get the Hummingbird settled in.

umm. . . that almost looks like Brazilian rosewood on the back. There were some early Luthier's Choice AJ's with Braz. This could be that, or Madagascar rosewood, at the least.

Finding a Hummingbird TV from the early years of the True Vintage line in a condition such as that would a very good thing. Not saying “True Vintage” on the label wouldn’t concern me- my ‘07 J-45 TV didn’t have that on it’s orange label. And having the brown TV case was a plus. A fine looking Hummingbird TV you have there… hopefully it sounds as good as it looks.

Aw, c'mon. . . in light of all that's going on, the levity was appreciated, and prompted my first post in over a month. And we knew the scholars would soon check in. Also- good call noting the Maltese crosses on the bridge- as 1951 was the first year for the J-185, which sported those inlays, the OP's guitar might've been built with a J-185 bridge, making it a very rare and unique old Southern Jumbo.

One track mind. 😄

Yes. Fills things out nicely. Well done. 👍.

Decent imagery there, Lars. If you did add some other instrumentation, in the way that strings like violin, cello, synth, etc can do, it would "hold up" the sound for you, and maybe allow you to back off of the reverb on the vocals a bit. But you are getting your voice dialed in a bit more, even if you're just coming off of a bad cold.

Great looking guitar, Dave. The herringbone binding is a nice touch, and might just be one of a kind, especially so, as a 12 fret. Is that torrefied top Adirondack spruce? Two Gibson 00’s with rosewood, the Nick with the deep body & the M2M with standard body depth (?)… should be an interesting pair to sit down with. Congrats

All around solid imagery. As a total non-songwriter, I can't imagine doing what songwriters do, but when the vibe is strong enough, how well you pulled it off technically can become less of a thing. ? . So you sing a song in a shaky voice, and yes, reverb can be your fast friend, ...but ultimately, we all pretty much sound like ourselves. I don't want to blow smoke, but yeah, it's sounding like some real improvement, there, Lars. There must be a songwriters forums if you really want to get into the nuts and bolts. Just don't let it turn into songwriting by committee. 👍

Google "heartwood vs sapwood guitar images". Rest assured

Yes, scale length is part of the formula. Those who are looking for any sonic benefits of the slot head will want to say that the greater break angle that the string makes as it runs north of the nut and goes down into the slotted headstock might yield some increased dynamics.

Fair enough. And yes, there is a little something to it. There's a little truth in every joke.

Steady there, big fella- did we wake up on the wrong side of the volière? It's not like they're playing Doves, or . . .heavens forbid- Donovan. Yes, these days, it is a bit of an odd look- just like some might think a 12 fret J-45 looks strange with less of the soundhole located in the upper bout, as it, and the bridge, are sunken down more into the lower bout. The slot head guitars were seen in many groups of the folk revival scene. Intellectual? Well, certainly nurtured on college campuses. Extra credit if you had a goatee. How well you did with the ladies also had to do with where you applied that serenade.

Most likely. Pic found on the web, but the slot heads I have, or have had, have made me appreciate a simple paddle headstock. Isn't he still all I-want-one/GAS'ed up over SBPark's Epi USA Frontier (like the rest of us) ?

Yes, the rumor is that the greater string break angle of the string from the nut to the tuner post is a plus. Agree. And Sgt Pepper, yes, there is some of that "harkening back to the old days" if you want to go that far back. Unique for the sake of unique. The wound strings can also whip around and scratch if you don't pre-cut on installation. And if you don't pre-cut, try not to mess things up when trying to get cutters into the slot.

Mr Colosi's specialty seems to be bone pins, and if you give him a couple of measurements of your current bridge pins, the ones he'll send you will most likely sit into place on your bridge with just the right amount of snugness. Question is: the pins that you've found on your guitar that are bent are probably plastic, which many people are fine with, so- what will bone pins do for the sound of a ladder-braced LG-1? Bob's site : http://www.guitarsaddles.com

Yes, bad circular definition, there. It's just that the words used to describe a guitar's sound can be very subjective, it was just meant to mean "the one that sounded like the sound that I was looking for".