northcntryblues

There are lots of L00's without V necks. I have a 2011 Blues King L00. It doesn't have a V neck. I would call it a modern C and it's absolutely fantastic. I don't think L00 Standards of recent years have V necks either.

As a one acoustic guitar L00 owner who also plays a lot of blues, I can understand why he's not considering a J45. I like their tone but it was not at all a guitar I even considered for my first and only Gibson. I have yet to pick up a guitar in 12 years that I would rather own than my guitar. I do second the advice of buying something you can look at in person before buying. For me, the neck is critical. I'm looking at Fender telecasters these days to add an electric to the mix. I thought I wanted something with vintage specs until I held 50's reissue tele and the neck was like a baseball bat and very narrow. I realized very quickly that I get along much more with Telecasters with modern neck specs in terms of neck shape, nut width, and board radius. You gotta hold it in your hands.

The dry and woody tone of mahogany is what I like best. Plus it smells fantastic. The inside of my L00 is one of my favorite simple sensory expreriences on earth.

I had one when I was using thumbpicks. It was ok for fingerpicking, but it didn't matter what thumbpick I used (and I tried a lot of them!), I never could get comfortable flatpicking with the thumbpick. You can't adjust the angle of the pick at all, and I found it difficult to control and create dynamics. During the pandemic I forced myself to learn how to hybrid pick - flatpick, middle, ring fingers. It took a lot of practice but it was worth it.

I'm doing a perfectly good job of aging my own guitar - accumulating scratches, nicks, dings, and nitro fading where my arm sits over the body. I figure wth - I can't take it with me! It helps that I'm perfectly happy with just my L-00 and stopped looking at other acoustics years ago.

That's a cool-*** guitar right there. Mojo and history. 👍

https://youtu.be/NjoU1Qkeizs RIP to the chronicler of some of the history of our country.

Me too. Then I play again most evenings. Constantly working on new things.

That was fun!

Wild guess...T Bone Burnett?

Very good for fingerpicking for sure. But don't underestimate the smaller guitars with a thumbpick or a flatpick either. For full out strumming a la Pinball Wizard or something like that, maybe not, but these little guitars sound great with a pick too when approached with a nuanced attack.

That was a nice track. Thanks for the link - I'm going to give her a listen!👍

How's the guitar??

I keep mine a half step down. It's easier to hit the high notes, and bending strings is also far easier on the fingers. I just like the 'looser' feel of the guitar half down.

I've had my 2011 BK L00 since 2015. It's my only guitar, and I don't see myself ever playing another acoustic. I decided that I'm not taking it with me so I play it everywhere and not worried about accumulating the 'mojo' that goes with it. I feel pretty lucky to own a guitar I have such a strong bond with. I do, however, find myself thinking about an electric counterpart, most likely a strat or possibly a tele. The thought usually passes because in my heart of hearts, I'm an acoustic guitar guy.

I use Elixer custom lights (11's) on my 2011 L00 not because of bellying, but preference. They sound great on these guitars.

I'm the same as your wife, except it's only been one decade so far for me and my L00. I'm a one guitar guy, happily. I made a decision after I put the first ding on it that I'm not taking this guitar with me when I go, and I really love playing it, so why not play it and not worry about it getting dinged around a campfire, etc? It's worked out well and it feels like *my* guitar. Now, I will admit to jonseing a little bit for a companion Strat or Tele....😁

It's been discussed here before but I continue to be amazed at how significant a role the choice of pick can have in a guitar's tone. After many years of primarily fingerpicking, the flatpicks I'd been using were Dunlop standard nylon .73, which I found very comfortable, but I didn't dig the tone from the soft nylon. Kind of muted, muffled almost. There is a tone I associate with Gibson flattops that I don't really know how to describe other than its what I hear from the strummed chords at the beginning of The Beatles 'A Day in the Life' - just a certain chiming quality that is like no other. It's on a bunch of early Dylan too. I picked up some thicker gauge , harder Herco 'Holy Grail' nylon picks after reading some reviews...and...there it was, from my L-00 - that unmistakable Gibson chime. Needless to say I'm thrilled to hear it from my guitar 10 years after purchasing it!

In his family and financial situation, imo there is absolutely no way he should be considering buying a 7k guitar.

I think he did play an old 000-28 on some of the other Unplugged tunes. I have a notation book for that lp that lists the instruments for each track.

Great to see you southerners know Bob and Doug!

I have played slide fairly successfully using a pinky slide , leaves three fretting fingers. I was thinking this might be even more comfortable/versatile. . I don't often slide more than two or three strings at a time. Maybe Ill give it a shot. Thanks!

Sal, do you have any comments/feedback on the black mountain slide? I'm interested, but they are a little pricey to buy on a whim. Easy to use? Can you fret with all fingers as normal with it on?

I'm nearish to Toronto. The one shop I know you must be talking about is The Twelfth Fret. It's fantastic. Curious - what's the other one? I'm the same as you - I pick up guitars in shops and play them occasionally, but I never find anything better than my L-00 - my only guitar. I do think about eventually picking up a well used Telecaster. I had one years ago that I miss. Also, imo, that sidehole is absolutely awful!

I’m firmly in the “just take it to a guitar tech” camp on this one. 👍