BluesKing777
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Posts posted by BluesKing777
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34 minutes ago, j45nick said:
Looking at that top again, it looks more and more like mahogany. The areas where the finish is worn off around the soundhole would normally be near-white if it were spruce, and the worn areas on this top appear to be darker. The grain, including the striping, looks very much like mahogany.
Looking at the Banner registry, several J-45s are listed as having mahogany tops in virtually every banner year, so this could very well be a left-over top, particularly if the guitar is late1945 or early 1946.
The replacement bridge is much later--drop-in saddle rather than slot-through--and this belly-down style of bridge would totally cover the footprint of the original rectangular bridge, which would be roughly1" (25.4mm) by 6" (152mm).
Do not let anyone touch this guitar except someone with a lot of experience with vintage Gibsons. They could easily do more harm than good, both technically and in terms of value.
Yes, like Nick said, don’t let anybody touch it that is not a fully renowned card carrying vintage Gibson acoustic guitar expert.
Get some recommendations here for someone in your area.
Phew.
Is it ok to play? If it is playable, it is worth a lot. Painted blue, nothing.
I was watching a re-run of a show called Wheeler Dealers and one partner bought an original VW Kombi splitscreen and showed the other partner repair guy and thought the car might get this and that done to it. But the expert said the car was too valuable as it was to do anything but repairs with original parts. And he mentioned the old Mark Twain quote: ‘Buy land - they don’t make it anymore!’
The old J45 is just like that!
There are plenty of self proclaimed experts too, so get 3 recommendations and 7 quotes and think it over.
BluesKing777.
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It could mean there is a poor little Bird running around with the...wrong neck? 😁
A "Dotneck Bird"?
BluesKing777.
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Good news then....it would explain why it rattles when you play at certain angles.
Paul Simon could have written a few more verses to his tune "Everything Puts together Falls Apart" if he started to mention guitars.
And Geldoff's "Don't Like Monday"
Put both tunes together and it is a warning not to touch your best guitars on a Monday!😁😁😁. I mean, I just finished raving madly for the 10th time about how much I like my Maton and its pickup system and I plug her in on Monday lunchtime and....and...and ...there's a buzz/rattle. And it sounded like it came from the...jackplug area. Nope, all tight, and of course it never buzzes unless you are playing the guitar...which does make fault finding a bit tricky. But by mistake really, I touched the preamp control panel somehow with my elbow or some part of my right arm while playing a chord or two...and the buzz stopped! AHA!!!!! Out with the Phillips Head screwdriver and a gentle tighten of the control panel screws...Buzz gone!!!! Phew. (Well, for now).
Control panel and offending screws:
BluesKing777.
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Update:
I bought and had installed a K&K Trinty Pro pickup system for the Waterloo above.
Sounds superb for fingerpicking using in-ear monitors and the mic AND pickup on FULL /11!
Obviously it would scream like a chicken in an amp without various boxes and gadgets and anti feedback treatment.
The preamp is miniaturized to a little black box belt clip type arrangement, tricky to set first without 'knowing how' but there is a bit of info on the old internet. And I admit these old computer staring eyes had to resort to the magnifying glass PLUS my reading glasses to see the gain, EQ settings with the lid off the box! Small and hard to read but saves having a giant preamp box in the way (which I may buy next!)😁:
Anyway, it is all part of my mission to get a guitar with neck etc I want - and to sound great like a Maton plugged with their superb inbuilt pickup system. It is nice, very close to the mission accomplished status but too many bits and pieces to lug around - the Maton has it all inbuilt and you just plug her in! Close though! Great sounds. I ran it to a Baggs Align EQ - so we have not much in the guitar but a preamp that needs a stereo lead and then the patch lead to the EQ then lead to mixer etc.
https://kksound.com/products/trinitypro.php
P.S. I also bought 3 of the K&K microphones that need to be soldered to 3 K&K Mini pickups I already have installed in other guitars - the stereo cable above is then used to run it to the Trinity preamp. I am deciding on soldering it to the jackplug myself or getting my luthier to do it for me - he has a lovely little gadget that melts some rubber over a solder join to give it a bit of protection ...I would have to use Gaffa tape!
BluesKing777.
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I have a different outlook on things to everyone else. After warranty problems like above in my youth with cars, electrical equip, houses, blah, blah, blah...there is not one thing on this planet that would get me to personally ship and return anything anymore!
I have been lucky to search and find the best luthier, mechanic and guitar shop possible for my circumstances. Any problem with guitar or electronics and the shop has taken things back immediately. Guitar goes to my luthier for a setup and check usually as soon as I buy one...circumstances permitting...the Covid is making it tricky with lockdowns. Car goes to the mechanic - last car I bought, he found a number of warranty items but I just got him to fix it, paid.
Now, the luthier also is told to fix it, paid! Don't care - I want it fixed and no hassles. And I have been very, very, very, very pleased....mostly....he is human after after all.😁
But I was there waiting recently for a repair or something, while another poor chap had brought his new guitar in for a problem to be looked at and the diagnosis was 'BAD'. The luthier is the Authorised Repairer for most guitar companies and lessened the blow to the sad chappie by offering to contact everyone involved and box it up to return it. And that carries way more weight to a manufacturer than Bill or Bob or Jan or Jane emailing them with a problem! (which to me is like emailing them saying they owe you money - good luck hearing from them ........ever.....).
BluesKing777.
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A rattle?
Lookout for a rattlesnake!😃
Anyhow, it could be anything and you will need 4 sets of hands to find the buzz. So get a friend/partner to pluck the same string over and over while you gently touch the problem areas mentioned above - tuners, pickup parts and controls, nut, bridge. Put a biz card under the strings at the nut and then the bridge......
Good luck.
BluesKing777.
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And to confuse the party goers, my Waterloos both have ebony bridges and nuts with rosewood boards!
And....when my luthier was getting my old 37 L-0 playable a few years back, he said he had...quote....a very dense piece of Ebony in his rack. So the old girl got a fat ebony bridge, board, faceplate. And this gave the guitar a lot more..........don’t know! 😃
BluesKing777.
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Well done, Jinder!
You know George Lowden has a real ‘thing’ about having ebony fretboards with rosewood bridges....weight of the bridge....most if not all Lowdens have this. Maybe you need to go for a new rosewood bridge?
The (rosewood) bridge on my 2005 pawnshop Dove is a big chunk of wood! See photo in Billroy’s thread. I can’t see shaving it down as it has those dove inlays on either side. It would have to be removed and shaved underneath, I guess. Or just get a neck reset and new saddle..... it will need it soon. First I will try a bone saddle to replace the horrid plinky plastic that came standard with pickup’d Gibbies.
The Dove bridge (mine) is a weird configuration for a 100% fingerpicker - I like to damp the strings with the edge of my right hand and brace my pinky on the guitar top....usually on a pickguard. But the Dove bridge is big and awkwardly shaped and my usual pinky position has the sharp and fat corner of the pickguard. But we battle on, ho ho. First world problem etc.
BluesKing777.
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47 minutes ago, Jinder said:
Oddly enough, with my Dove on the bench for its bridge surgery yesterday, I discovered that mine has a nut width of 1 11/16"!
Clearly all is not equal in the aviary...
Mine may have been a custom order for Japan in 2005....the cherry burst was a bit rare.
Of course, you know to measure with a vernier and not your ears? 😐
So again Billroy and others - take your measuring stick and play the thing.
BluesKing777.
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Back to the original post and his wish for a ‘custom order’....
Correct me if I am wrong, but I don’t believe there has been a ‘Custom Shop’ where you can actually order a ‘customised to your specs’ type of custom acoustic since about 2010. (and I think that Custom Shop was really Ren’s house?) The current ‘Custom Shop’ has the ‘new range’ acoustics to a set format - see the website. To me that is more of a higher end ‘Specialty Shop’.....
BluesKing777.
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56 minutes ago, Dave F said:
Is your Dove long scale?
All Doves are long scale, aren't they?
Main diff between a Dove and Bird build is the maple back and sides and the long scale...and in the 60s when Gibson ran out of Birds, they sold the Doves painted like a Bird - the famous "Hummingdove"!!!.
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Hmm...1 3/4" (1.75) nut on a modern Gibson square?
After pouring through internet figures and specs, you may arrive at the conclusion that you have more chance of finding a gold brick in your garden, but then you measure the nut on your "pawn shop 2005 Gibson Dove that sold cheap 'cos someone wrote all over it" and guess what? My vernier says 1 3/4" nut!!! I will check that again later for you, Billroy Festerus - I may have been hallucinating. The catch is the neck is quite slim and the bridge spacing narrow and tight to fingerpick. At the same time, my other pawn shop find 2002 J50 has a chunky neck with standard Gibson 1.725 nut but wider comfortable fingerpickinglickinggood bridge space. So the moral of the story is..ha......
1. the old chestnut....play it first before buying - take your vernier or tape measure if you must..
2. Gibson acoustics MAY have bigger necks and nuts around 2000 - 2005?
3. The listed specs are nice but maybe something 'to aim for' or plain old 'get what we make' while working on wood, bone and metals!
![[biggrin]](//content.invisioncic.com/p286412/emoticons/default_msp_biggrin.gif "[biggrin]")
4. Collings have some round shoulder Gibson style guitars with 1 3/4" nut. Santa Cruz, etc... Waterloo have old style large V Necks and 1 3/4" nut, 2 3/8" bridge spacing! Gulp, Taylor, Martin etc all currently have 1 3/4" nuts... ( a Bird is a D18 short scale really....)
BluesKing777.
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The Waterloo WL-S Deluxe is the Stella style with hand rubbed varnish - it is still listed on their website but who knows if Collings are still building anything. There are 7 or 8 for sale on Reverb....
I can tell you that one (1) landed in this country that I know of from scanning the local ware. Chances are Matt Damon or Hilary Swank could order one from Mars and be playing it long before I ever see one!
BluesKing777.
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Well, while I have not seen a Hauver or Fraulini in the flesh, I did use to see them talked about in very small blues picker circles and they were pitching against Collings type prices.
The genius of Bill Collings’ Waterloos are based on the ‘cut back in finishes and costs’ but still keeping quality workmanship......not much finish, bound on front and not the back, glues drips left etc. And a sensational setup and playability straight from the shop!
BluesKing777.
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I just played the ladder braced Waterloo burst to do my regular Saturday morning ‘Blues in C’ practice......every Saturday morning for many, many moons, I rein in my ‘all over the placeness’ 🥶 and play country blues in C with a capo on 3 in a Hurt/Stokes style, starting with a couple of the easier numbers and coming home hard!
I love this neck! And it passes my ‘Cannonball Rag’ test. (Skinny neck - please don’t even apply for that job.)
Up next, pickup fever.....I have a Trinity dual source with internal mic in the mail for this guitar plus 3 mics to turn some current pickup’d guitars with V necks to dual source. Yep, we mean bizness. The delivery man has stopped over at Honolulu for a surf but should be here next week...... I already had a dual source pickup installed in my Cargill custom 00 and that is the sound I have been looking for........(a Maton with a fat neck?)
BluesKing777.
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7 hours ago, zombywoof said:
Very nice. I would love to hear you playing that though on something like my Oscar Schmidt-made Galiano jumbo.
And I still say you need a Harmony Sovereign H1260. Then again I think everybody does.
Thanks ZW!
I would love to hear me playing those items too! 😄
But for ‘old sounds in a new box’, Waterloos are hard to beat. They also have the old time geometry I like with 1 3/4” nut, 2 3/8” bridge spacing and the wonderful chunky V neck.
BluesKing777.
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10 hours ago, kelly campbell said:
Best wishes BBK this is a strange and terrible time.
Thanks KC!
We’ll all just keep playing!
BluesKing777.
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Thanks QM and KC!
We are in full virus lockdown with 9pm curfew to boot in Victoria, Australia and it is a good distraction to have a houseful of acoustics!
Even had to fix the lawn mower and do the lawn myself!
BluesKing777.
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Thanks QM!
This guitar is also great for plunking along on something like Bob tunes...plunk, plunk, plunk, plunk...behind vocals. It leaves plenty of space to hear the singing.
It is also built by Collings so the intonation is great. Chords in tune on a ladder brace!
But yes, the main reason for purchasing one of these is...blues...fingerpicking and slide. Game, set and match. There are a row of guitars I wouldn't have bought if they had invented these Waterloos first. 😁 The story is that Bill Collings (RIP) came running out of his office yelling: "Listen tho this, listen to this!" when he first made some prototypes......
Yeah, there are probably 40 million Hummingbirds and J45s sold for every one of these sold. Marginal!
I have both the X braced (in black) and the ladder braced!:
BluesKing777.
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Thanks JZ!
It is still in the factory setup too! They do a great job of making these things.
P..S. The new guitar racks here are empty, even the Matons have been skun...plenty of Taylors.
P.S.S. - No applause here, JZ - all well and truly sick of me!
BluesKing777.
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Here is a short blues instrumental I recorded yesterday playing my Waterloo WL-14L ladder braced guitar, a Collings version of an old Kalamazoo KG14 (Robert Johnson guitar???).
Kalamazoo sound with Collings build and setup! I got this guitar in a trade for a guitar I was selling on consign a few years ago and just wouldn't sell. I was going to buy it anyway! Ha! And I got a Hiscox case to fit! I have a pickup system on order for it but virus is delaying it.
Here is the beast:
BluesKing777.
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11 minutes ago, jedzep said:
I kept waiting for you to break into 'You Gotta' Move'. Longest intro ever.
It is based on a very close relative of ‘Move’......
Willie McTell - ‘Lord, have mercy if you please’.
BluesKing777.
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4 minutes ago, jedzep said:
Beautifully earthy, BK! Made me want a smoke and and a drink, but it's 6 in the morning here.
Thanks JZ - I was still editing my post.....
A smoke and a drink at 6am is a rock and roll way to start the weekend!
BluesKing777.
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Here is a short recording I just did this afternoon to highlight the sensational pickup system on the Maton with some slide playing, plugged direct to my Boss VE8 for some reverb/delay and run to my old iMac. The Maton SRS808 is the first Maton I bought and is a 'budget' model but it has the AP5-Pro pickup system (dual source undersaddle/mic).
There is no better pickup that I have played. It would be ideal in my old LG3 or my BK, but it needs major surgery on the top and sides of the guitar to install. So you have to buy a Maton to get it Or destroy a guitar...
I have 3 “808” size Matons (LG size?)....the budget one in this recording, a music shop custom mid price satin black finish EBG808, and a top of the line factory Maton Messiah 808. Like most things lately, sadly the Maton factory has been closed because of the virus - let’s hope it all gets going again soon.
BluesKing777.
![[biggrin]](http://content.invisioncic.com/p286412/emoticons/default_msp_biggrin.gif "[biggrin]")
A Blues on my Waterloo ladder braced - Warning: Waterloo Content
in Gibson Acoustic
Posted
Update for those interested in acoustic guitar pickups:
I grabbed the Waterloo ladder again to play plugged with intention of fine tuning the miniature controls on the preamp. I don't know if it is the guitar itself or the pickup or the preamp, but I started to get a buzz when I played B on the 5th string. There were some WTF moments when I realized that I can't go running to the luthier to fix it - we are in lockdown. He was doing 'client pickups and returns' for a few weeks there, but he and his assistant may have worn themselves out.
So I tried the preamp with the gain right down on both channels, but still got the buzz on B. Annoyed, I mentally consigned the guitar to the long grass near the back shed near the roller blades. Back in its case and wait to see what happens here with the Virus lockdown easing a bit so I can get to the luthier. He is working but everything has to go to him by courier. I just don't have the courage at the moment to do that......
I have the other 3 K&K mics to get installed and soldered to the endpins of my guitars that have K&K Minis. I think I might get one installed and see (hear) if the (to be shared) preamp is ok - process of elimination, but I do think the actual piezo part is loose or faulty. Bummer!
Lucky I have a spare guitar or two.
BluesKing777.