OldCowboy

If you want to knock baby boomers, you're going to get better responses elsewhere. This is the only post I've encountered on this site that intentionally disparages people of ANY generation in an effort to defend someone's personal hobbyhorse.

I have to agree. This is not the kind of forum that entertains nasty comments. Matter of fact, it's the kind of forum where guitar fans of SEVERAL generations congregate to avoid that kind of thing.

Always true - and will continue as such.

👍👍

Yep!

That's exactly correct.

Mediums are a good idea. Play a set 'til they need changed, then try a set of lights. Sometimes all you're really going to hear with x-tra lights is the strings, not the guitar, especially if the guitar in question needs to loosen up, as most will as you play them over time.

Thumbs are good! Norman Blake observed that one never sees a left thumb in classical guitar, but in hillbilly guitar, you don't see much else. We always called an F chord with a thumbed low E string a 'fingerpicker's F chord'. Then there's Richie Havens....

Wild boar, green beans☺

3 of my 1960's Gibsons - Hummingbird, J-50, Dove - have the adj bridge, and they make me happy. I'm a believer that if they work (for you) and haven't malfunctioned, they should be left alone. Experimenting with different saddles can be fun, and offers a variety of sounds.

Owned one in the early 1990's. Fine sounding guitar w/more lively response than many L-00's of the same vintage. Extremely light in weight/fine neck if, like me, you feel more comfortable with a ball bat than with a broom handle. Sure wish I still had it!

If y'all can tolerate a visit from an old guy - most of you are, by my standards, pretty young - and a confirmed acoustic player since day #1.... My first was a little Regal with a wonderful baseball bat sized neck that played like butter. That guitar is probably why I stayed with it at the attention span challenged age of 11. A couple years later, I got one of the first Gibson Epiphones, a Cortez from their 1st run - and a fine guitar. Both came used, so that might be part of why I still prefer vintage instruments. Still own both of 'em, as well, although many others have come and gone (and a few have stayed) over the past 60 years.

Dunno, but my Canadian brother-in-law tells me it's about things we can't discuss on this forum😒

Exactly!

Had a cedar top Lowden once....

If you're an acoustic player, many specimens from the 1970's leave a great deal to be desired. Having said that, however, if you run across a good one, it's still a good one - just don't count on any degree of consistency.

Agreed in the strongest possible terms.

Abomination.

Is that a basset tucked lovingly under your guitar? 👍😊👍

Absolutely try a ceramic saddle (if you can find one). The difference is astounding, and it'll give you a good insight as to which you prefer. I'm a fan of ceramic.

No joke! I had a pair of originals at one time - burst and natural - that I let go because of the nut width; also a J-45 that I loved that's gone for the same reason.

The 'magic' happens when the right guitar and the right person find each other😊

Impressive!

My '55 J-45 likes Martin 80/20 lights - the cheap ones, no less. They sound good initially and last a good while, except in extreme humidity. The '62 J-50 works best with Martin PB lights - again, the cheap ones. 80/20s go dead pretty rapidly on that one. The '42 J-45 has become progressively happier with lighter strings over the years (20 or so) that I've owned it. Started with mediums, then lights, then custom lights - all Martin PB el-cheapos. I'm not too cheap to buy more expensive strings (honest!), but all I've used have gone dead in an incredibly short time, while the lesser variety just keeps on keepin' on. Can't use coated strings, either.

I've advocated changing one string at a time for nearly as long as I've owned a guitar (58 years - that's how old I'd prefer to be again😨), but my consideration has less to do with necks than with the potential for top braces to flex overmuch with all tension suddenly removed. Doubt it makes much difference with new or lam top guitars, but I've usually played older instruments, first because I couldn't afford new and now because I just tend to like 'em better. Not an expert luthier-substantiated scientifically proven fact, by any means. Just 5 cents worth from an obscure guitar guy😃