jedzep

All the Gibs and Martins mentioned have a place and a voice, and I love my 80 yr old L00s, but if I was putting out money for the smaller Martin, I'd jump over the 00 and go to 0 (I did this swap), as Martin wisely added a quarter inch of depth to the 0 body, which really fills out the small bod tone. Having one G and one M is the ideal, covering small bod territory nicely. There are modern age L00 players here who can do a good job of reviewing.

Ouch! Hope your family can hang in tough, Paddy. Yes, often saddles are sanded down, some from top if not compensated, often from the bottom, both with caution and attention to precision, but there may be alternative steps to lowering action and dropping to lighter strings. When you catch your breath, send a photo of the saddle from the sound hole side so we can see the height. If you have a good shop, bring it in for a pro look at improving the geometry for you.

Do you mean lowering the saddle? A setup to get more desirable action is a multi-faceted process that needs analysis, in which lowering of your bridge is probably the least rational, last resort.

I'm also one of those who doesn't like the imbalance I sense when I let go of my guitar if the attachment is at the heel. The tuner end drops when I'm hands free, so I figure any effort to support the neck takes away from my fretting mobility. I'd find it aggravating to tie and untie, so I bought a loop for each guitar and leave them on for quick strap attachment. Look over the info on best placement for a heel pin. There's apparently a right spot and a 'less right' spot. https://www.ebay.com/itm/391039173466

I seem to drift toward the 0/00 size and sound too, as I settle in to the guitars I just seem to pick up and play more. My lone dread is the J50, which still has a great reserved dry woody tone, not a 'banjo killer' for sure, but it is my connection to that sound. I still need to keep the gooey warmth of my Martins around for the counterpoint.

Got a lump in my throat. Thought for a moment it was the one I sold. Shouldn't have looked.

Wow! That's a stunner! Good on you, Tman! I've got to find a YT vid that samples what a guitar like that would sound like. Maybe pull that guard, though. Sorry, it's like a plastic purse hanging on a supermodel. Guess I'll just never get used to those firestripes.

He had the wisdom, I guess, to note the Gibson name and not let value slip through his hands. Like a person who doesn't know watches or jewelry stops and thinks twice when they see the brand Rolex or Tiffany.

I owned a couple 50's versions of these, but was trade happy, and sadly don't have one to play. I especially loved the '53 3/4 size thin body.

Beauty! Congratulations. Amazing it's not damaged by moisture.

My '36 and '35 continue to beckon from their wall hangers. I was lucky when I stumbled on to them, before the market went nuts.

https://reverb.com/p/gibson-es-125-1950-1970 There's a price guide here, and a bunch for sale.

Pretty cool. Can we look? Go to Reverb. There are several there. You can get an estimated baseline. Excellent condition? You're probably in the 3K range and up.

It says 'Advanced Jumbo' right on the label.

I thought you went both ways Z, and like you, age and (maybe) frail strained tendons have caused me to adapt to the guitars that don't cause that electric-like shot I get below my three fret hand middle fingers when I have to contort into certain chords and fills. Big difference is I'm all flat pick, and though I try and work in some fingerstyle to keep options open, all the songs I like to play are in that mode. I would be dismayed if my picking hand was the problem, as mostly the fret hand struggles first. Bought a lap slide and tone bar for the bad days. I know the drill with traditional medicine and arthritis, but I have a Tibetan friend who works with acupuncture/pressure and herbal/CBD cremes to amazingly good results. Maybe sign on to something like that to see if it loosens you up. Or this...

I think Emerald City Guitars should re-mike that clip, change to a different/broken-in string, or different player. It's tinny sounding, and not a good representation of that guitar. Thanks for the clip, though. It gave me a renewed appreciation for my J50.

Cool. I can almost smell them.

Well the squared off contour certainly makes it 'clunky' looking. My bridge wings are an inch wide, while the middle widest point is just under and inch and a half. Length is probably the same. Do modern belly ups measure the same? Wish Gibson would put old-school rectangular bridges on. Belly up has irritated me since forever.

I'm looking at a Reverb listing of a J45 bridge vs. my pictured '50 J bridge. Mine appears significantly smaller. What do you think? https://reverb.com/item/52761552-2019-gibson-j-45-standard-sunburst Are adjustable bridges bigger than standard in general?

I think the current belly up Gibson bridges are somewhat oversized. They look gigantic on guitars I've seen. If I could handle the cost of original, I'd bite the bullet to put the best pkg together I could. I imagine your luthier was going to charge at least a couple hundred to make a true copy anyway.

Yeah, but an early 60's SJ might deserve the real deal. I'd throw an offer for a couple hundred less, but the vintage price range these days might not be that far off from his asking price. I guess I'd want to know the bridge thickness so I could calculate in my obtainable string heights.

Yeah. Pricey, but nice. https://reverb.com/item/53282617-original-1965-gibson-j45-j-45-adjustable-rosewood-bridge-saddle-assembly

You should get lucky, as many have removed these. Did you try Reverb and Ebay?

If you aren't all in with the adjustable, a rosewood belly up copy with fixed traditional (Gibson spec) saddle slot will result in a more responsive top. Yank those awful screw hole grommets out while your at it. That's why it's called an UPgrade. Golden opportunity here, and while I know there are adj saddle geeks lurking, I'm not one of 'em. Lord knows I've swapped a few out.

Not a problem...when we see a few photos.