jedzep

When I was a kid I had a favorite uncle who played a chromatic harmonica...very entertaining. Later, somehow, I ended up with it, and might actually still have it in a box somewhere. The moment when I really got interested in playing the harp, though, was when I saw this performance. I must have been in my twenties, and ran right out to buy a set of blues harps. Hope I have the right vid. There are other versions of this out there.

Here ya' go, buddy. Knock yourself out... https://www.google.com/search?q=harmonica+key+charts&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjRi9GX7qHMAhWF0iYKHW0WDC8QsAQIHA

The harmonica is a pretty limited accessory to a song given it's small array of notes, so it's a minimalist's friend. I like to play in a little lower register so my modest ability isn't shrill. You have to be good to wail the high notes. Dylan is the best example of awful harp playing in the high octaves...or any octave for that matter. I own low octave harps that give you a softer, more growl-ey tone. They are pricey but worth it.

There are many angles of approach to this basic set-up procedure. A good luthier will balance them all and is well worth the investment. Anytime you whip out the sandpaper and f with the saddle you're upsetting the balance. Take it to a pro.

Good going, Em. I have been timidly trying to lower my L0's action at the nut since it came back from a neck set, which left it a little high on strings 2,3,and 4. However, I never got around to buying a proper set of tools for the job, so I can get that exact break angle and contact point correct and polished. Now, inspired by your tale, I think I'll get down with StewMac and get the correct pkg. I'd like to play a little with the spacing on my Martin. I'm in agreement...nuts matter, but you need balls to mess with them.

Not much fingerstyle playing anymore, flatpicking and strumming these days, Em. My plucking hand doesn't last long in that quasi-claw position and I've never really found a comfortable style or rhythm. I think you'd need a really fine sound system or a live experience to hear an actual difference just for bridgepin comparisons. I tried a little A-B with my old L's and a Martin 000 when I first got it. They have all been refitted with bone nuts and saddles, but the Martin has the orig dot pins on. Are they tusq? For a weekend, I was loosening the strings enough to slip the camel bone pins on and off a '35 L00 and the 000, not noticing anything much in the way of change. I keep the bone pins now on my restored mahog L0, a guitar I'm very happy with anyway. Not much of a test, I guess. I'm constantly on the prowl for affordably priced deals on Thomastik-Enfeld strings, 12's for the 00 and 000, 11's for the 0, and have been able to find enough to keep them on the latter two. I'm good with the Dunlop 80/20's on the L00. I especially hear the Martin loving those strings. I would think the guys that sell the sectioned nuts and saddles have thrown up sound samples if there is any discernible difference. If the changes were undetectable they probably wouldn't waste the time.

Hands down, Gibs, Austrian made Thomastik-Infeld Spectrums. They don't start out bright so there's no break-in tone changes, and they last a helluva long time. You get what you pay for @ 20 something dollars a set. I couldn't afford to string all my acoustics with them but always kept them on my '57 J45.

I'm pretty darned sure bridge pin material is virtually inconsequential to tone. At that end of the string it's more the bridgeplate that's interacting. I bought a set of camel bone pins to outfit my '30's L-0 12 fretter, though not to improve the sound. It was just that the black tusq pins that were on didn't match the orig shrunken but functional white buttons on the old Klusons. I saw the pre-faded bone ones at a good price and just thought I'd try. I've swapped them around a few guitars that all have bone nut and saddle with no discernible difference. So that's that for my ears on that subject. One good thing about tusq and bone...it won't curl up like plastic. Next in line is the significance of the nut material. OK, less important than the saddle but more important than the pins. You can actually hear your guitar without the nut being involved by strapping on a capo. Then the nut becomes whatever material is pressed against the strings, probably rubber. You know the hardness of the nut is key because every capo robs a little tone over an open nut to saddle connection. This guy has a theory about tone mechanics. Down the road I might try. http://www.ebay.com/...K%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Unless it's a coat of plain 'ol latex house paint, you'll have a tough time removing one without damaging the original. I would seriously consider taking it to a well referred furniture refinisher, but many luthiers have the cosmetic skills to handle that. I was asking my guy how he removes paint or lacquer overspray and was surprised to hear the answer...a little water and 0000 steel wool. If you're lucky the bond to the orig sheen won't be very good. You may be able to gently slip a razor under the paint and skim much of it off.

Well if you are stripping it bare, Mike, it's smart to at least seal it with high quality clear shellac flakes blended in denatured alcohol to impede drying out and cracking. Art supply stores will have it. One coat won't make it shiny but will make it more durable and rigid. What particular guitar are you experimenting with?

If the Hanson and Crawford shop is pushing period authenticity in the restoration, I would opine to let them handle it. It'll come back to you in all it's best playable magnificence, which should not only dazzle you, but will be hard to resist for a vintage picker at fair market value. Half the sell is in picking it up, playing in comfort and hearing it's best voice. Finding yourself haggling with a guy whose trying to convince you that repair costs and devaluation by renovation is tiring and I think, not a step in the process you'll enjoy or benefit from. Of course, if that $700-1,000 is your food and gas money, you have something else at play.

John's perspective is from knowledge, concern and experience, but I would at the very least carefully restring it one string at a time, with a lighter gauge like 11's or 12's and keep it tuned below standard. Be sure that the ball end of the strings are snug against the plate before you push in the pins. My old L00's stay at DGCFAD, two steps down anyway to coddle the structure and give me more singing keys. I'm more trusting of the craftsmen that do fine luthiery to properly assess, reproduce and replace a bridge like that. It'll take some research, cross referencing, and time...but who doesn't have time? The internet is your search genie. I think Folkways is saying this J55 from '40 has a replaced bridge in the search. I typed in Gibson mustasche bridge replicas and it sent me to Folkways. Seeing the outline of a proper bridge underneath an incorrect one is something I would almost be obsessed to rectify. http://www.folkwaymusic.com/oldmuseum/gibsongallery2.html

Under rated? Every early 60's and older Xbraced Goya/Levin I've ever owned. Not being in a position to accumulate guitars though, I've had to 'Sophie's Choice' 'em all out to have my favorite old Gibson and Martin models. Over-rated based on price? Gibson's Jackson Browne line.

Thanks for the centerfold, Tom! SHEEEZUS!

Across the range of types of guitar buyers/users, there's plenty of room for everyone. The guy that wants to pay $400 for the fixed up $200 guitar isn't looking for the same attributes as the stripped and refinished Banner J45 whose value would be reduced by that process. As a luthier, one just has to categorize the instrument that comes to their bench, from porch strummer to museum piece.

Yep...it's all about the proper player when it comes to 'student' guitar tone.

Ahhh...so great that you took out the useless ladderbrace configuration. I've always wondered what the improvement would sound like. Now I wish I'd kept my first LG0 and popped the back off. Very nice job, Rus, and a fun story.

Look at you! You're building an LG2.

Looks like you have things under control Rod. I think I would have opted for a new bridge and fixed saddle if the bridge on mine had ever come unglued, including removal of the threaded sleeves from the top. I ended up rigging the bridge with my own concoction. Since you already have cracks in the bridge, why don't you consider the makeover right off the bat?

My son's teacher got hold of him and reminded him that he was willing to be paid for discussing the blues and Jimmy Page, but until he mastered his scales and increased his chord repertoire he'd just be noodling around forever. It got through to him and made him a solid player.

Ha! True words. Interesting that you say that. One thing I have noticed now that I've reduced the clutter of acoustic guitars down from 13 to 2, not counting the lap slide Oahu type thingy. My playing time and concentration has increased, and it seems my skills and learning curve got a little spike as a result of just having only the choice of a small bod Gibson and bigger d'nought to pull down from the wall. My DVD lessons came out of the closet and back into circulation. I think I'd love to have a teacher though. Ana Vidovic maybe. Free room and board if she's willing.

Pin replacement is a funny thing though. I was skeptical about all the tales of change/improvement in tone due to this seemingly small alteration. Also equipped three of my finest acoustics with tusq and was not disappointed but just a little underwhelmed with the change. Recently though, I had the depressing experience of selling my old J45. Got a very good price however and told the buyer I would put the original plastic bridgepins back on. Well, you can probably guess, the thing sounded significantly better with the old pins on. That tells me something regarding physics, and I guess we're all probably tired of this subject, that the way the ball end of the string nestles in against the bridge plate is the most significant, maybe the only element involved in tone down in there. If strings and plates were designed such that strings were fed up through the bridge from inside the top and couldn't pass through the small plate and bridge hole, eliminating the need for pins, this debate wouldn't exist. I'm becoming less of a believer in bridge pin impact.

I've swapped these out and in a few times, but especially on my old '67 B25 which came with the rosewood saddle, I ended up making a rosewood insert that fit into the bigger space the wood saddle occupied that had the thin slot. Then I put a piece of bone in the slot and changed 'em out when I felt like a softer/sharper playing experience. I bought two small ebony shims from Colosi and placed them over the bolt holes so the new setup perched on the two 'feet' rather than flat across the top. It really brightened up the DR Sunbeam 12's. Now I've moved over to Dunlop 80/20 Bronze 12's and like them more. http://i1066.photobucket.com/albums/u406/Jedzep/000_0015.jpg Crazy, I know, but it worked. You have to be careful not to make the insert so that it's too tight in the bridge slot. I cut mine out of a rosewood replacement bridge I got on Ebay, then shaped and sanded forever to get it to go gently snug into the opening. I think I improved the tone noticeably, but I'm easily convinced where my own 'expertise' is involved.

So far...YIKES. Imagine a nice lady buying this for her hubby back in the 50's. Where would you even find a knock-off 60+ years ago? Aren't those tuner buttons wak?

Lots of knowledgeable model ID'ers here. I'm stumped. Square shoulder J45 maybe. That saddle setup is unique too. I dunno and can't wait for everybody to check in. I think you have a gem in any case. What a beautiful spruce grain pattern!