jedzep

It's wonderful, actually. I've had medium 13-56 strings on all my guitars tuned down a FULL step D-D for a long time now. It affords 2 extra vocal keys, especially good for my now shaky high lonesome sound songs, with no notable difference in top response. Lighter strings tuned down don't have the torque at this tension to drive the guitar, however. I looked at string tension charts finding that medium strings run 30 pounds of pull lighter in this key than 12's at concert pitch, so my fret hand benefits, which I need at this point. Another benefit is that with full step down tuning, transposing most songs, if you like to play in the same key with a recorded song, keeps you in the cowboy chord zone for the most part. Of course a capo at 2 gets you back in concert pitch. If you drop only a half step, you'll be harder pressed to find an easy way to navigate without using excessive barre shapes. I'm used to it now and keep all my guitars set up like this. I've discovered Curt Mangan strings. Another great joy!

Awesome! '36 is close enough! Do you play it or sell it? Dave

Good luck. That's why I mentioned getting it set up properly, if you feel the steel strings are tough on your fingertips. It's a different feel from the nylon, for sure. If your hands need an even easier feel, buy a decent capo. You'll find that a capo a couple frets up makes for easier fingering. I'm an old guy now, so I need easier fretting for a different reason altogether. If you're already playing piano, you know that the more you play, even if it's discouraging sometimes, the better you get. My younger brother has just picked up guitar, so I'm coaxing him along. Told him to just start with the zillions of YT lessons available, and start with easy chord progressions of songs he likes. Have fun!

Happy to help. If you ever get it to a shop, often a proper setup to get it playing optimally gives you a fresh start, especially if you find the string action a little high. Enjoy. Dave

Nice looking guitar. If you are concerned about, or see the back further separating from the sides around the damaged area, simply slip a bit of 'Tite-Bond' dark or clear wood glue in the seam on a thin putty knife blade, and clamp the surfaces together with wood or padded protection on the clamps, until a tech can get to the repair. Just wipe the excess off immediately with a damp rag after clamping. For all intents and purposes, you really don't need the cosmetic fix. Just prevent the seam from traveling further.

You're probably correct about it being an earlier build. Full front pic would be cool.

Playability won't be affected at all, but a good music shop luthier, or even a vintage antique furniture restorer could patch in a piece that would be nearly invisible.

Yeah, I begged them to make me a .88, but their minimum is 1, so I sanded, shaped and buffed 'em out to my liking. I like the .88 Dunlop Primetones, Ultex .73 and .90's too. I'm no vegan.

Many picks will give you that tone. Much of it's in your attack and style. We all accept that this is a bottomless topic, and we dive in gladly. Just like strings, dif picks for dif guitars, for dif songs... I'm still experimenting.

I now need the D-D lower tuning for my hands, no matter what strings I'm using, so the mediums fall sufficiently over the minimum pull needed to keep the 'doinkiness' out of my tone. If I played at full tension, I'd be interested to try your combo, Z.

I use mediums (13s) tuned down a step D-D on mine, as with all my acoustics, and it's a super lightweight 1935. You may want to try lower tension mediums first like D'Addario Flat Tops, Kurt Mangan round core, or Santa Cruz low tension. I don't think I'd keep mediums on it at concert pitch, unless I was particularly attentive to any top or bridge reaction to the extra pull. Tuned down 13s to D-D reduces the tension by 30 some pounds less than 12s tuned E-E. Capo on 2 gets you back to concert. I think the tone and volume of an L00 is dialed in and won't change with string gauge. Be sure to correctly seat the string ball ends to the bridge plate before cranking up the tension.

Good point. It looks 1/4 inch thick, surely to shrink and start the classic batwing top crack.

So where's the signature and custom label?

Hey, Dan. 2nd chance. Are you an idiot, old and addle-brained, both, or none of the above? I got two sets of TI Spectrums in a row from Gimme, that the B snapped when putting them on. Jason, who owns that biz replaced them as per TI policy.

These times require thick skin.

I might not be buying more T-I's. I think the L00 is liking Kurt Mangan 80/20s.

We're all restraining ourselves, Sgt. Trying to be better people. The hypothetical, is it better to self proclaim idiocy or to fumble into the status?

It wasn't in question form. You're wishful thinking.

Good info. TY

Dave, was it very L00 sounding?

I use them on one guitar only, my 30's L00. Tried 'em both and eventually abandoned the Plectrums as too soft sounding. Still using Spectrums. Hope that gives you a clue. I get them from Gimme Some Strings @ 22.99 A buck cheaper at Strings and Beyond, plus 10% off.

I haven't heard 'good', er, anything I like, come out of any of my music idols once their prime had passed. Not McCartney, not Clapton, not Elvis, not Simon, not Jagger, etc.

Very cool! Thanks, Murph! I agree with ZW, and some of the greatest songs were buried in those early frantic EC and the Attraction days. Years ago, Elvis did a solid hour with Terry Gross on NPR, when he played a handful of songs quietly on an acoustic, describing how he wrote them sitting on the edge of his bed. It was inspiring to me as a player, and drove me to learn many of my favs. This morning, I started messing with this rough skeletal lesson...

You guitar hounds probably know already, but there are a few up on Reverb.

You get a pass. Too old for crypto. I have a couple walls of inspirational 'art' that varies in age from a '36 L00 to a 2020 Martin 0, which all give me great joy to play and enjoy as guitar 'ambiance'. Very little cracking and shifting, so I guess the relative stability of my environment and quality build of my various guitars is operating cooperatively. As far as my age, I'm batting in the top of the ninth, so for many years I've let things ride, with not that many to go. So maybe the guitars will run through another 2 or 3 (or more) passed down lifetimes, with an occasional dollar thrown to luthiers for tuneups and repairs, but I don't ever bank on permanence of any kind. The enjoyment is a good generous sensuous dose, here for what's serving me now. I don't know about laziness. Some of us buff out every blemish before we put the cover on our Corvette, and others just like to drive, but I appreciate both approaches.