pocaloc Posted April 1, 2013 Posted April 1, 2013 Hello, I've been a member here for a while, but rarely post. I've been thinking of changing acoustic guitars due to a torn right rotator cuff that gets irritated when I play a dreadnought. I currently have a Hummingbird artist, and used to have a J45-Western ( that I loved). Anyway, I've been looking at LG sized guitars and ran across a 1961 LG2 at my local guitar center. It's sort of dinged up, but only in a "character" adding way as far as I'm concerned. There are some issues however. The bridge is obviously lifting and the action is uncomfortable higher at the 12th fret, but not unplayable. I assume from looking at the cobwebs and dust bunnies inside the guitar that the strings aren't fresh. They are asking $1899 right now. They said they would fix the bridge if I bought it, which I assumed they would do anyway. I guess my question is, should I pursue this or would it be a good idea for less headaches to concentrate on the new LG2 American Eagle that came out? Should I ask Guitar center to put on new strings so I can really get a good idea about the vintage one? Does the addition of a bone nut and saddle greatly improve the sound on one of those Adj bridge guitars? Thanks for any information you can give me.
j45nick Posted April 1, 2013 Posted April 1, 2013 That price is too high, given the amount of work the guitar needs. Consider looking at a used late-model L-OO TV--there are several on ebay now--as they offer most of the advantages of a vintage L-OO for a really good price. Either LG-2, LG-3 or L-OO are great smaller guitars. My L-OO Legend is now my go-to guitar, and I have a great J-45 and a great SJ. I personally prefer the L-OO body shape and tone, but LG's are good guitars as well.
jedzep Posted April 2, 2013 Posted April 2, 2013 Nick's right, of course. I'm thinking a neck job is pending too. I loved my LG2, but went back to the 00 size Gibson for my small player. My r-cuff doesn't like the big bod guitars either. Recently played a couple 00's...Santa Cruz and Martin. The former was new, the latter, almost 60 yrs old. Both comfortable but the Martin blew away the competition. There's something about the angle your shoulder hangs at that causes us irritation. Too many long throws to first from deep in the hole, in my case. Dummmass jock. I have to add that the LG2 is somewhat one dimensional, albeit beautifully so. If you are a big bold strummmer and need to have the chimey fullness, you may find the LG's don't have enough of that dynamic to satisfy. A lot rides on the type/style of songs you play.
mking Posted April 2, 2013 Posted April 2, 2013 When you have guitars of that age, and I do, (a 1960 LG-2 and a 1948 LG-2) you have to be careful with bridges pulling up. Sometimes it is bringing the top up with it. If the action at the 12th fret is high I imagine it is due to the bridge issue, plus, how much saddle is there that you could lower if you needed to. One more thing, I don't remember ever seeing an LG-2 with an adjustable bridge, if that is what you meant in your post above. A bone saddle and nut usually would make a difference but I would not get to spun up about it one way or the other. Lastly, yes $1899.00 is way too much for that guitar in the condition it is in. And when ever you are seriosly looking to buy a guitar, always, I mean always make the store put on new strings. I would pass on this guitar myself. Personnaly I stay away from Guitar Centers. My personal feeling anyway.
j45nick Posted April 2, 2013 Posted April 2, 2013 There's something about the angle your shoulder hangs at that causes us irritation. Too many long throws to first from deep in the hole, in my case. Dummmass jock. Too many pickoff throws to second from behind the plate in my case, but the effect is the same......
j45nick Posted April 2, 2013 Posted April 2, 2013 OUCH! Howz yer knees? Doesn't bear thinking about, particularly when you add 30 years of long-distance running on top of it.(Had to stop that about 10 years ago: now just three miles of daily fast-walking with my wife, who I can't keep up with.) Still holding onto my "original" knees, however. The trick is to keep moving, and stop when it hurts..... But that applies to just about everything.
bram99 Posted April 2, 2013 Posted April 2, 2013 I got a brand new 2012 custom shop LG-2 from a Gibson dealer for $1999....I think they might be hard to find in a shop, but I called a five star dealer and they ordered it and gave me the right to turn it down if I did not like it....the dealer took it out of the box when I was there so it was untouched (that's pretty new!). It was love at first site.... It was also about comfort for me, and for a while I felt like I was sacrificing tone for comfort, but after few months on the LG-2 the top has really opened up and it has replaced my J45TV as my favorite guitar (something I thought was impossible). ....I am hooked. I can't put it down...really. I think this gets you as close to a J45 as a small body can.... but i agree with jedzep, if you are a moderately heavy strummer the LG2 is going to sound boxy and muffled compared to the J45. You can really overdrive the top. You just can't get the same clear articulation across all strings that the J45 delivers when strumming chords. Most of my playing these days is on the couch, and I have adapted to the guitar with a lighter touch...and with lighter strumming and finger style, it has similar sound to the J45...it is also surprisingly loud, so the lighter touch has been a non-issue for volume for me. Having bought many guitars that were almost what I wanted, I would pass on the '61....my previous inability to fight that urge to buy even when I had doubts contributed to a G.A.S. problem that I now recovering from. here is a thread in this forum, where I and a few others are very happy new LG-2 players..... http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/92204-ndg-lg-2-reissue/
zombywoof Posted April 2, 2013 Posted April 2, 2013 I have me a 1946 LG-2. I am a fairly aggressive player and from my experience the LG-2 handles a heavy hand better than say a Martin 000-18. But it is what it is and there is just so much you can pull out of a guitar with a 14 1/4" lower bout. Not a bad little guitar by any means and I would never advise anybody not to buy one but I still find myself favoring the large meaty lo-fi mids and volume of a large body ladder braced guitar. But there are those times when you just need to wrap your hands around a smaller guitar and when you do for me the LG-2 is about as good as it is going to get. Only advice I would give is that unless you really like a thinner neck stick with Gibsons made before 1960.
pocaloc Posted April 2, 2013 Author Posted April 2, 2013 Thanks for the tips. I think I will avoid that '61 LG2. I've made MANY mistakes with cars by going with the "classic" with character. Luckily they re-create the classics with guitars, so I think I'll go with a new LG2 American Eagle (which I guess is actually an LG3). The possibility of further damage being indicated by that lifting bridge is too much. As far as my torn rotator cuff, I let people think it's a baseball injury, but pathetically I tore my rotator cuff by painting my house. In my defense it had a ton of trim where I was painting in awkward positions and I painted it all on my own in a month.
j45nick Posted April 2, 2013 Posted April 2, 2013 As far as my torn rotator cuff, I let people think it's a baseball injury, but pathetically I tore my rotator cuff by painting my house. In my defense it had a ton of trim where I was painting in awkward positions and I painted it all on my own in a month. Don't feel all alone. We all live in some sort of delusion about our past successes........
BluesKing777 Posted April 3, 2013 Posted April 3, 2013 Thanks for the tips. I think I will avoid that '61 LG2. I've made MANY mistakes with cars by going with the "classic" with character. Luckily they re-create the classics with guitars, so I think I'll go with a new LG2 American Eagle (which I guess is actually an LG3). The possibility of further damage being indicated by that lifting bridge is too much. As far as my torn rotator cuff, I let people think it's a baseball injury, but pathetically I tore my rotator cuff by painting my house. In my defense it had a ton of trim where I was painting in awkward positions and I painted it all on my own in a month. I don't have an LG2, but I think I have all the other Ls! I love my LG3 and after lugging my National in its case to the luthier, at home I picked up the LG3 case and it crossed my mind that the case could be empty! I would rather take an L-anything on the long distance walk. I think a new LG2 Eagle is a good (first) move in to smaller bodied Gibsons. If you like it, you can always pick up an older one later, and the buying won't be so desperate if you have your 'Eagle'. With the injury, if you still have trouble, what about having a go at lap style slide playing? You can get extension bits for ordinary guitars from Stewmac. Learn another style while your injury recovers a bit and turn bad into good? BluesKing777.
pocaloc Posted April 3, 2013 Author Posted April 3, 2013 That's a good way of thinking about things in a positive way. Maybe I'll look into that. Thanks for the info.
mking Posted April 5, 2013 Posted April 5, 2013 This 1958 LG-1 was just auctioned on Ebay and no one bought it. In case you are interested in an LG-1 here is the link. http://www.ebay.com/itm/1958-Gibson-lg1-Acoustic-guitar-/171014010341?pt=Guitar&hash=item27d13ab5e5 Like I said, no one bought it so maybe it will get relisted or you can contact the buyer.
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