BluesKing777

In the video it looks very brown but sounds green! It is going to have to be played very hard to break it in and my bare fingered picking probably won’t do it.....I had a bit of a mahogany top frenzy last year and bought a Martin OMC-15ME and a Maton EBG808 (all blackwood). I ran my Tonerite on the Martin but smoke came out of the buzzer and it is the end. Did something a bit. I have played both hard with fingerpicks, works some, played and played, but they are now.....lighter shade of green. My 1944 Martin 0-17 all mahogany is the measuring stick tonewise, but it has 1 11/16” nut while one of the reasons for buying both Martin and Maton is the wider nuts. So to get my dollar, the LG2 mahogany top in the video needs.......1. Torrefaction 2. Aging 3. Toneriting 4. Hammered by someone like John Hammond Junior or Leo Kottke! BluesKing777.

Thanks JZ. Mundane matters like lawn mowing must affect lots of people since Covid.......we had a guy did the mowing (he bought the mowing round from the glorious and clever Pete, always early and trimmed and weeded but now in ‘facilities management’, whatever that is....) but anyhow the new guy announced he only did mowing, no weeds! And then he didn’t turn up at all! So.....it is me the last few months and let me say what a fine job is being done at last....and...nobody using a blowervac and putting grass and dust on my cars! 😐 BluesKing777.

The guy that sold me the 52 LG1 all those years ago saw my photos in the post above, contacted me and said he wanted back and to name a price......I said I am thinking $5K....(not true, I made it up!). The guitar sounds great, ladder bracing being a fave of mine, and slide is nice in Open G So curious, I put it into standard tuning for the first time in 10 years and played it......horrible! Absolutely awful! Sharp frets, dud frets, low frets, buzzing notes, wolf notes, dud notes. Phew. So refret, neck set, repairs.....unlikely! Good news - the tuners work great! Could be a donor guitar! Back in Open G.....after I mow the back lawn, I will try to get my old iMac working to make a quick recording. Maybe. UPDATE: I did get down a quick and dirty slide track - here (to listen, click the line ‘Listen In Browser’ or it takes you to their website: BluesKing777.

Like I said earlier somewhere, my LG1 cost me $800 by the time it arrived (almost 10 years ago!) and some said I was out of my mind then! And until I played slide on it a few weeks later, I thought they were right...done....my....dough! 😶 BluesKing777.

It is good to be taught the right way, then you know what you are doing when you do it the wrong way!😄 My teacher always said ‘arch your fingers’ (slap!) but I think he also meant - you won’t be able to play FMaj7b9#9 if your thumb is hanging over the top - the fingers will be coming in for a landing way too low to get the extra notes clean on your skinny neck Gibson....’Arch those fingers!(slap...wack!) .....Ouch..😑 BluesKing777.

No idea what you would get for the J50 but depending on condition and if you sell it at Retrofret, you will easily get......😐😐🙄 Is that the 12 fretter you want in the link? Do you still have the 15 series 12 fretter, gave you a taste, did it? Probably fine, but 2017 could be prime ‘binding falling off’ territory.....maybe look for a 12 fret before say...2005? (slightly bitter and twisted, just got the loose binding repaired on my 2016 CEO7, no warranty outside US...$280! Grumble, grumble...have 2 others loose as well!) BluesKing777.

You mean the more petite player?😆 I wonder how many new LG2 Historic Banners they have sold? They could sell at least one more if they made the nut 1 3/4” and even 2 1/4” space at the bridge - err....me! Waterloo don’t make an LG type - their 2 3/8” space is fingerpicking dreamy! The Iris OG is a LG type but their standard nut in their catalogue is 1 11/16” but if you want to wait for them to build one, they will do custom orders......but the guitars have got very popular and has a waiting list. They also have various finishes to order and I saw a black one with firestripe guard like the old L-00s at AMS. They don’t do an L-00. But Waterloo do.... BluesKing777.

It is a real shame the current brand new Gibson LG2 Banner Historic reissues with torrefied tops (crying for relic jobs!) doesn't have wider spacing and nut like some of the original Banner LG2s.......no idea what the bridge space was on the real LG2 Banners but I have seen them advertised with 1 3/4" nut..... BluesKing777.

Got mine from eBay probably nearly 10 years ago and it arrived in a badly fitting gig bag....it was about $800 Australian by the time it got through Fedex and Customs. I went to a music shop to get a case and got a real nasty cheapo classical case that fit, and I remember the salesguy said when he asked what guitar......I said Gibson LG1 and he only heard ‘Gibson’ and said it must be worth a mint? Ha ha! But the moral of the story for those that buy LG1s to get a cheap Gibson acoustic is that they are.......ummmm......an acquired taste. BluesKing777.

A quick scan for LG1s on Reverb.com shows that ship has well and truly sailed, Murph! BluesKing777.

How are the tops on your LG1s, Tom? Mine has the ladder braced wavy gravy, very common I am told, but hard for consistency if it moves with the different weather...behind the bridge.It doesn’t matter if the strings go higher and lower for slide playing, much, but useless for ragtime chording. I still would love to play one in good condition to compare a few err......items! BluesKing777.

Yeah, once you have fingerpicked guitars with more generous spacings, it is hard to pickup the LGs....but I do rotate around and when it is LG time, first thing to do is to trim left hand fingernails and 'arch those fingers' as the teacher use to say. And I usually put a capo on at least 3 for more space across the strings on the LG3 but that is a bit useless for slide on the LG1 (makes strings too low)..... So all in all, I still own them because.........the TONE! Old woods...all that, the smell.... BluesKing777.

Wonder how many brand new ‘aged’, relic etc they would sell if it had a big slash across the bout like my poor guitar? Split the new one around the side for authenticity? At first, years back, I was concerned the guitar would fall to pieces, but it is still here! P.S. the bridge is Gabon ebony, replaced the split original, great sustain improvement even if there is not much saddle.... BluesKing777.

The bow in the neck on mine says it doesn’t need a nut extender for slide! 😅 Finished the ladder brace day with my Waterloo ladder in standard tuning....it WAS going to be an upgrade for the old LG1 but the setup is wonderfully low for rags, so... BluesKing777.

Well, dragged multiple guitars out of the way to get to my 52 LG1 way up the back in the unreachable zone of the basement...... Still almost in tune - Open G! Tightened some strings with the electronic tuner, awful to play until it gets a neck reset and lots of work. Hmmm. Big crack on front makes it pretty un-sellable. Big crack all the way around the sides where it was maybe rejoined after a smash looks awful and makes it pretty err....un-sellable. Frets terrible. Grabbed my Blue Diamond bottleneck from Diamond Bottlenecks and ...Voila!!!!!! The ladder braced LG1 sound speaks the TRUTH! Played slide for 45 minutes and it can stay exactly as is.........fantastic.. Maybe I will get a big sticker and put it over the crack! It would be interesting to play the 51 LG1 in retrofret next to mine, just to know. Don't want it - the neck is a bit narrow for my normal play. Took a few iPhone photos to show you, but let me tell you, these make it look way better than in real life... BluesKing777.

Phew...looks like it came from a different guitar carer than my 1952 LG1, that is for sure! Mine has approx 450 cracks and may have been joined back together. But at these prices, I could take it to my luthier, fix the problems, neck reset and...paint it black! (and then probably keep it because I love black guitars... But there can be no painting the 51 at Retrofret.: https://www.retrofret.com/product.asp?ProductID=10902&name=Gibson-LG1-Flat-Top-Acoustic-Guitar-1951 BluesKing777.

What about giving the (new) Gibson 60s style J45s a go? Thinner nut, neck.... They have a black one with white pickguard and quote, comfy in any position! 😁: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/OCRS4560EBN--gibson-acoustic-60s-j-45-original-ebony BluesKing777.

Some tough advice - if it hurts, don’t do it. Little Elvis is leaving the building. You could get the neck reshaped and still have problems, then more reshaping? You will just have to find another model with the slim taper neck of your J45. My Blues King L-00 has it, plenty of Gibsons since around 2007/8. Hummingbird or Dove with slim taper would go nicely with your J45.......probably better in the long run that two J45s. BluesKing777.

Yep, there is the accountant's MSRP and the used price etc, but I don't see much about some kind of 'lovability' 'playability' index... you know, you have a 10 -15 year old version of the new models that got the good build on a nice day, it is now broken in beautifully, plays sensationally after a number of setups and alterations including the best pickup you can buy, etc...but this is worth, on paper, half of the new model? These are the ones I keep and eye for, and have bought a couple of neglected beauties over the last few years and had them repaired. Great fodder for the struggling musician. And on a 'lovability/value/playability' index, out of 10...maybe way higher than what a new one could score..... BluesKing777.

I was looking at the Acoustic Letter's video of the new Gibson Elvis Dove - love black guitars myself..... So I looked up Elvis Aloha From Hawaii live concert, Elvis pictured on the brochure with black Dove, and was going to rent it, nothing to watch much last night....and nobody had it for streaming. And Elvis Presley Enterprises is still making $4.99 a pop for streaming all his other movies... Then bingo, I found a restoration of the full concert on Youtube.....linked below if you want to watch. Err, Elvis holds the black Dove for approx 10 seconds, poses with it a bit, plucks something, then it goes to the dark spaces out back.... BluesKing777.

Cool! May your sideburns grow long and your collar high!😁 Photos - I load mine to my laptop, save as a smaller size as I do it, then load that to Imgur photo host site. (then copy the link they give you for each photo to the forum... BluesKing777.

Congrats! Maybe Gibson should call the black one an Elvis to go with their new black Elvis models? The Elvis 45 or the E-45? Or maybe the X - something like the radar proof jets? X-45? BluesKing777.

Wires are getting crossed still.... The Authentic series guitars are very different from the Standard series. They are close copies of vintage 30s Martins, very lightly built in the Custom Shop, while the Standards are modern, more heavily built guitar from the factory. You can do a search on AGF or UMGF about these extensive differences - there is plenty of detail. I bought an OM18 Authentic 1933 VTS around 2015/6. It is a close copy of a Martin OM18 owned by Fred Oster of Vintage Instruments, all hide glue construction, torrefied Adi spruce, very lightly braced. Compared to a Standard OM18, it is a bucking bronco, hard to control ....the twin turbo version of my standard non turbo car..... I am going to rope it now...... BluesKing777.

Cool! I have the guitar version of that rat rod in my back room! I did get to play for a minute a Martin D28 Authentic Aged at a shop.......it sounded fantastic, played fantastic and the aging was very, very subtle. It looked about the age and wear of my 2006 Martin HD28V. There were no big gouges like some Fender Relics. No belt sander used. More my preferred guitar size is the new Martin 000-28 Aged Custom Shop Expert Authentics, haven’t played one....but the aging process is also pretty staid. I would say they are designed for old codgers like me that have bought vintage before and want new instead, but with a few years scraped off the guitar that helps the sound and feel. BluesKing777.

Since Covid, something has happened to people’s attitudes to older cars. People, well guys really, use to give me the finger when driving my 89 BMW coupe but then all of a sudden everyone wants to buy it! I had notes to buy left under the wipers, had people approach me at the shopping centre and a guy pulled up cop style window to window at McDonalds Drive Thru of all places and said he wanted to buy it. And then my mechanic said he was interested in buying it. What is happening? And guitar prices! Some of my average guitars are going to need armed guards..... BluesKing777.