BluesKing777 Posted December 28, 2019 Share Posted December 28, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, j45nick said: Great news! I wish I could find deals like that. Not my style usually! A much braver person than I would go in and try the brand new models to compare the necks😧. My memory from almost a year ago tells me the new Bird and new J45 Vintage had identical neck chunk to my previous J45 and same as my 2007 Blues King L-00. The new J45 Vintage was listed at $AU7,600. And I thought something at the time like: “I would buy the ‘56 J50 for that!” on Reverb at the time, but then I thought of the 1 11/16” nut..... BluesKing777. . Edited December 28, 2019 by BluesKing777 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted December 28, 2019 Share Posted December 28, 2019 P.S.....On the online rounds, I see the abovementioned J45 Vintage has sold, also the used J45 Legend at $AU6,500, a H&D Country Boy 00 and may highenders of other makes....but the 68 Bird with a pencil neck remains....... I wonder if we will hear on this forum from the new Vintage owner or the next owner of the Legend? You know: “which strings are best on the J45 Legend?” Etc. I am glad they are gone from sight!😐 BluesKing777. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted December 28, 2019 Share Posted December 28, 2019 10 hours ago, BluesKing777 said: Not my style usually! A much braver person than I would go in and try the brand new models to compare the necks😧. My memory from almost a year ago tells me the new Bird and new J45 Vintage had identical neck chunk to my previous J45 and same as my 2007 Blues King L-00. The new J45 Vintage was listed at $AU7,600. And I thought something at the time like: “I would buy the ‘56 J50 for that!” on Reverb at the time, but then I thought of the 1 11/16” nut..... BluesKing777. . You do realize the 1 11/16" nut is only about .8mm narrower than the modern Gibson 1.725" standard, right? And that the J-45 Vintage has that same 1.725" nut? I know you can feel the difference, but that doesn't make the 1 11/16" nut unplayable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted December 28, 2019 Share Posted December 28, 2019 Yep... and if you consider that 0.8mm narrower nut and divide it by 6 strings ... that's 0.1mm between each string. Even my dog can't hear the difference ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted December 28, 2019 Share Posted December 28, 2019 1 hour ago, j45nick said: You do realize the 1 11/16" nut is only about .8mm narrower than the modern Gibson 1.725" standard, right? And that the J-45 Vintage has that same 1.725" nut? I know you can feel the difference, but that doesn't make the 1 11/16" nut unplayable. Maybe, and maybe not...... I just put down my Waterloo WL-14X, similar space as the L-00 Legend I think. Same v neck as my 35 L50. Also has 2 3/8” bridge spacing to go with the 1 3/4” nut. Fingerpicking good! BluesKing777. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted December 28, 2019 Share Posted December 28, 2019 The L-00 Legend has 1 3/4" nut and 2 3/8" bridge spacing. Those are "true" vintage specs, which seem to be what you like. The only other conventional flat top I have with specs close to that is 000-28 EC, with 1 3/4" nut and 2 1/4" bridge spacing. It also has a V-neck profile, but nowhere near as pronounced as the L-OO. Other Gibsons I have, no matter what the nut width--and I have those from 1 9/16" to 1.78" at the nut--are 2 1/8"-2 3/16" bridge spacing. I can't say I have a specific preference, although the narrowest nut is tight in the first position. That guitar also happens to be the easiest to fret, which may be abetted by those 1960's jumbo frets. Interesting, the L-00 Legend has fairly fat frets, unlike typical skinny vintage frets. Those frets may have been a custom order. Not sure I could ever play a mandolin, but I've never tried. I watch Chris Thile, and all I can think is "how does he do that?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted December 28, 2019 Share Posted December 28, 2019 (edited) Yep, some kind of trigonometricalised minefield.... OK, so I want to fingerpick, for example, the Rev Davis C chord. You play a cowboy C but add the pinky to the 3rd fret, 1st string and then move the 3rd finger to the 3rd fret of the 6th string. To play (fingerpick) this chord cleanly on a skinny is next to impossible (for me). But wait! On a neck with a decent taper, I put a capo on the 3rd plus frets and although the frets are closer than the wide 1st position, the neck is enough wider to play the Davis C fingerpicked ALL day! Hooray. And that’s why I still have my wonderful sounding 59 LG3, although I could almost leave the capo on that 3rd! Although it has a 1 11/16 nut, it has a chunky and comfy 50s neck. But you would be a masochist to fingerpick this guitar if it didn’t sound so nice. Something to do with banjo players complaining, skinny nuts? And then we get the modern Gibson ‘compromise’ nut of 1.725 and the Maton with 1.736, both of which I can fingerpick all day and night but also prefer with a capo on at least 3. I wonder why both companies went with these nut specs instead of adding a whisker more to 1 3/4”? So back to 1 3/4”.... it is not all roses. The modern latest Martins have 1 3/4 nut but hardly any taper - add the thin neck and they have lost me. Then they have the incredible OM18V and OM18A, and others, perfect and weighing in with 1 3/4 and 2 3/8 bridge AND big V! Even after playing the J50 for only 2 weeks, when I grabbed my Waterloo I had to take it easy for a while as my tendons creaked, let me tell you! Got to keep moving, that’s a song......... I have to say that in all these years, not one person has told me the 2002 Gibsons had chunkier necks to make the 1.725 more fingerpickable. You know, like perhaps: “Hey BK777, you should buy or try a 2002 J50 - the necks are fatter than the later models like your Blues King!” BluesKing777. Edited December 28, 2019 by BluesKing777 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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