Kevinms Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 I have a martin dreadnaught, love the sound but lately want to have a gibson as my second guitar. I don't have a J45 but played couple times in stores and love it - actually I tried several Gibson guitars and just enjoy all the Gibson sound and the difference to my martin (like J-45 vintage the most.. way too expensive to me). I also want a small body guitar for travel, so I'm thinking it'd be great if one can satisfy these two purpose, Gibson and travel. I didn't get a chance to play neither L-00 nor LG-2. Has anyone played them? Any idea? I did some research and it seems these two small guitar are designed more for fingerstyle, not strumming, is it true? I strum a lot.. Thanks!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig_no Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 The L-00 is a great-sounding guitar, but it will not have the great bass of the J-45. Plenty of people use it for strumming, though...Rodney Crowell, Chance McCoy from Old Crow Medicine Show, to name a couple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedzep Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 Dead heat...right guys? Both have classic woody, not 'chimey' qualities. Maybe the LG more so as it is built to be a little more rugged, a plus for lugging it around. I feel that gives it a slightly more subdued bass string, maybe a touch quieter overall. Also, if it matters, string spacing on the L00 is a little wider and more comfy. I'm a flatpicker/strummer type player and never wail on my guitars, but concentrate on 'presentation' and 'voicing' with different picks and strumming technique. For vigorous strummmers this size guitar can be disappointing. Did I just say comfy? Ugh! I'm not a good judge if you are buying new, since I have only vintage experience owning and playing them, but I'd say you're in a good position to compare and decide, with both models offered for sale new these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroAussie Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 I would say the LG-2 is closer to a J-45, it really does share a lot of qualities, and once its well played in it develops a lot of volume. Although it also depends on what youre style is - if you like strumming and flatpicking the LG-2 is a better option, L-00 excels at fingerpicking. Here is a demo I made when I bought my banner LG-2, to my ears it shares a lot similarities with the J-45, and it also has by now a very strong, dry bass frequency. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYVXNVWk3uY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 I would say the LG-2 is closer to a J-45, it really does share a lot of qualities, and once its well played in it develops a lot of volume. Although it also depends on what youre style is - if you like strumming and flatpicking the LG-2 is a better option, L-00 excels at fingerpicking. Good analysis. I have both an L-OO and J-45 (and an SJ, which is essentially a blinged-out J-45). The slope-J and L-OO are as different as chalk and cheese. The LG-2 is somewhere in the middle, but really isn't like either one. Frankly, it's hard to compare any small-body Gibson with the slope-J guitars. You won't get the volume or tonal coloration of a slope-J in a smaller guitar. You can also drive a larger guitar like the J-45 a lot harder than the smaller guitars without losing its essential balanced character and mid-range focus. Depends a lot on your playing style. If you finger-pick, the L-OO is pretty unbeatable. If you strum or flat-pick, the LG-2 will be closer to the J-45 in character. The picture below gives an idea of the shape/size/volume differences between the slope-J and L-OO bodies. For guitars that share the same tonewoods and scale length, those differences will help define the character of the guitar. Think of the LG-2 as a cross between these two styles, although it's a very imperfect analogy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpbiii Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 LG-2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willie King Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 I have an SJ and two L-00. One is also called a Blues King and it came with an LR Baggs pickup. I use it for dance gigs and such and when plugged in it has a great tone. The bass is quite nice but it never booms like my SJ. The LG-2 is a little larger and larger seems to equal more bass. There is enough punchy bass in the L-00 for me in backing fiddlers. But for the big full sound flatpicked the SJ has got it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 Neither. That couple inches at the lower bout in itself is a lot of territory to give up. They will sound like an L-00 or an LG-2. You want a J-45 buy that or a J-50 or an SJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ponty Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 I played both the LG2 AE and the L-00 in NYC recently. Both were great, and were suitable for fingerstyle and light strumming. At the end of of my 'test' I thought that the LG2AE sounded better than many at twice the price - Looks wise, the L-00 does it for me. Price wise the LG2 is great. I wish that Gibson has stayed with the white button tuners on the LG2.Either way, they are both awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAMELEYE Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 Due to my right shoulder going south I too have been faced with this problem. I really, I mean really, love my J-45 but playing it for any length of time just plain hurts. I wanted to find a smaller Gibson guitar that sounded like my 45 but none did. The closest I have come is the Gibson LG-2 American Eagle. Don't particularly care for it visually, but with its slightly larger (that the regular LG-2) lower bout it does produce more bass. Not a J-45 bass, just the best I can come up with to date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 I'm a fan of both the L-00 and LG-2 (and their variants). Among modern versions, my favorite is the 2013 all-mahogany LG-2 (the original, WWII era model was called an LG-1, though it had fancy trim and X-bracing) that is a copy of my own 1943 Lg-1. I think that the LG body style works remarkably in all mahogany. The copy on the left (one of 50 that Gibson produced) and the original on the right: A comparison video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPN5lVbirzY (I'll be posting the 2013 for sale shortly in the Trading Post. I don't need the original and copy.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Nice photos showing up, thanks! So now it is becoming obvious that no other guitar will sound like the J45.......oh, oh, now you not only need to buy all 3 new ones..J45, L-00, LG2....but the vintage versions as well. [biggrin] And oh no, oh no - they come in other looks - video linked to a 2012 video (took four years to download on my lousy broadband!) of my 1959 Gibson LG3 straight braced - recently I took the bone pins out and put back the original plastiques and it has really taken that bright edge out. Video Added: BluesKing777. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scriv58 Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 for those who are choosing to give up jumbo size due to shoulder issues, try holding the guitar between the legs rather than perched on the right leg. Shoulders are now in line, spine is straight, guitar is heard better...works for me (shrug) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldCowboy Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 for those who are choosing to give up jumbo size due to shoulder issues, try holding the guitar between the legs rather than perched on the right leg. Shoulders are now in line, spine is straight, guitar is heard better...works for me (shrug) This is really great advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAMELEYE Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Thanks, scriv! Tried it. Feels awkward but I'm going to stay with it. I really don't want to give up the ol' J-45. Much obliged, Ce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldCowboy Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Neither. Sounds like an echo from an earlier post, but I'm going somewhere with it, hopefully. A good luthier can help you if you're willing to invest the time and $. My 1961 LG-1 sounds like a more quiet version of my J-45. Flatpicked or fingerpicked doesn't matter. I had the top rebraced to achieve that exact goal. Original LG-2 bracing won't do it. Original LG-1 bracing CERTAINLY won't. It needs to be more along the line of the A-frame X that Martin sometimes uses. I wouldn't modify an LG-2 or LG-3, but there are plenty of LG-1's out there needing rejuvenation. Within reasonable limits, the worse off it happens to be, the better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldCowboy Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Neither. Sounds like an echo from an earlier post, but I'm going somewhere with it, hopefully. A good luthier can help you if you're willing to invest the time and $. My 1961 LG-1 sounds like a more quiet version of my J-45. Flatpicked or fingerpicked doesn't matter. I had the top rebraced to achieve that exact goal. Original LG-2 bracing won't do it. Original LG-1 bracing CERTAINLY won't. It needs to be more along the line of the A-frame X that Martin sometimes uses. I wouldn't modify an LG-2 or LG-3, but there are plenty of LG-1's out there needing rejuvenation. Within reasonable limits, the worse off it happens to be, the better. Hey! Just read your last post. Glad the issue's resolved without all that carryin' on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedzep Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 Hey OC, it sounds like you have the seed of a great idea there. I'm in. We could buy out out all the LG-1's and upgrade the bracing. We'll be rich off the resale. As a former owner of both LG models (and current owner of an 'A' braced Martin), I've often wondered why Gibson came up with the idea of ladder bracing all those tops that were laying out on the factory workbenches, when for the same money and effort they could have added to the number of their better, higher priced model. The mustache bridge might be the only comparable dumb idea, but that is only an aesthetic preference issue. A late 50's LG-1 in good shape will sell for just under a thousand bucks. A comparable year LG-2 will get $2500+. I'll get an estimate for the mass re-bracing project from my luthier.and let you know. Get ready to retire. I know, I know...I'm an X-brace snob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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