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1942 LG and 52 J 185 RI (20 frets or 19)


JuanCarlosVejar

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Folks,

 

It seems Gibson has failed to notice that these models has 19 frets (the 185 changed to 20 on some of the later ones but as far as I could tell the LG 2 remained consistent at 19)

 

The LG 2 is  advertised with 20 frets :

https://www.gibson.com/Guitar/ACCMH3461/1942-Banner-LG-2/Vintage-Sunburst
 

Someone noticed and made one with 19 frets but added an extra dot to the fingerboard:

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/CSSBLGB42VS--gibson-acoustic-1942-banner-lg-2-vintage-sunburst
 

It seems Gibson has continued it’s quirks even after can attempt at “complete accuracy “
 

 

 

JC

 

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They probably know its wrong. But the cost of retooling  for 1 fret less is more than its worth.   
 

most of the guitars even from the late 80s early 90s were not accurate.  I think all that tooling is used still today. 
 

Good Eye .  

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14 hours ago, slimt said:

They probably know its wrong. But the cost of retooling  for 1 fret less is more than its worth.   
 

most of the guitars even from the late 80s early 90s were not accurate.  I think all that tooling is used still today. 
 

Good Eye .  

If there’s at least one with 19 frets and the gap in between the board and rosette  Gibson may have corrected this mistake after a few of them coming off the line with 20 .Only after we see a few more in the shops will we know.


 

JC

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2 hours ago, JuanCarlosVejar said:

Nick,

Here’s a photo from one of the Gibson tv videos ... Can you confirm or deny the existence of a taper ???

 

HyoK9if.jpg

 

it’s the LG 2 .

 

 

JC

No taper that I can see, but you need to see it directly from the side to sure.

I just measured it on four guitars, three of which have tapered headstocks. Two 1950 J-45s are 5/8"+ near the nut, 1/2" at the top of the headstock. L-OO Legend is 5/8" near the nut, 1/2" at the top.

Untapered headstock on 1943 SJ re-issue is a constant 9/16+.

Details, details....

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 3/29/2020 at 6:54 AM, j45nick said:

No taper that I can see, but you need to see it directly from the side to sure.

I just measured it on four guitars, three of which have tapered headstocks. Two 1950 J-45s are 5/8"+ near the nut, 1/2" at the top of the headstock. L-OO Legend is 5/8" near the nut, 1/2" at the top.

Untapered headstock on 1943 SJ re-issue is a constant 9/16+.

Details, details....

 

Nick,

Here’s Another shot:

 

xjEhOXn.jpg

 

Not sure if you can tell from this one.

 

 

JC

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1 hour ago, JuanCarlosVejar said:

 

Nick,

Here’s Another shot:

 

xjEhOXn.jpg

 

Not sure if you can tell from this one.

 

 

JC

It certainly doesn't look tapered. Realistically, it's probably pretty far down on the list of important historic details, since it isn't something you stare at like a bridge, a pickguard, or the number of frets

I have a 1943 SJ re-issue from a few years ago that is reasonably accurate--19 frets, belly-down bridge, slot-through saddle--but it has an un-tapered headstock, and a bound fretboard.

Unless you are selling something as an absolute historic re-creation, I suppose you can fudge some details. You want historically accurate, buy (or order) a Legend. Or buy a vintage guitar.

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Gibson drives me nuts.  They have the ability to make 100% dead accurate reissues but they never do.  There is always something they mess up.  Pure laziness IMHO.

I just noticed the timers on this one today:

https://www.12fret.com/instruments/gibson-1942-banner-j-45-vintage-sunburst-limited-edition/

Edited by michaelsegui
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15 minutes ago, michaelsegui said:

Gibson drives me nuts.  They have the ability to make 100% dead accurate reissues but they never do.  There is always something they mess up.  Pure laziness IMHO.

I just noticed the timers on this one today:

https://www.12fret.com/instruments/gibson-1942-banner-j-45-vintage-sunburst-limited-edition/

A better choice would be three-on-a-plate open-back tuners, such as the Golden Age ones the Stewmac sells.

Gibson has made what might reasonably described as "100% dead accurate reissues", even if a few of the periods details have yielded to modern reality, such as the material used for pickguards.

In recent years, those would be the Legend series guitars, which are about as close to the original design and construction details as you can find.

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