Trying to Find Nick Lucas Elite for Sale

[angeloumusic 1]

I am in the market for a Nick Lucas Elite.  However, I am having trouble locating one.  Anybody have any leads?

[62burst 130]

15 hours ago, angeloumusic said:

I am in the market for a Nick Lucas Elite.  However, I am having trouble locating one.  Anybody have any leads?

Sorry, Angelou- there just don't seem to be a lot of them out there. I've been getting curious about which guitar might be more comfy and toneful- an L-00 shape with a deep body, like the Nick Lucas, or the (slightly smaller than the J-185)  CJ-165, which came in maple, rosewood, and (Dave?) koa. 

It is a concern that some day this pandemic thing will be past us, and many of the bigger guitars that get played out, are gone/moved on. But until then, the intimacy of the small couch guitar rules the roost.

[Dave F 216]

My CJ165RW is gone. Very comfortable but lacking on sound unplugged.

I have a NL Mystic RW 12 fret. Comfortable size and big guitar sound. I think I like that combo best of all. If I run across a hog or maple version I'll grab it.

I also like my '32 L00 RI. I think the long scale helps its sound,

 

 

Edited September 5 by Dave F

[62burst 130]

1 hour ago, Dave F said:

My CJ165RW is gone. Very comfortable but lacking on sound unplugged.

I have a NL Mystic RW 12 fret. Comfortable size and big guitar sound. I think I like that combo best of all. If I run across a hog or maple version I'll grab it.

I also like my '32 L00 RI. I think the long scale helps its sound,

 

Angelou- we can both consider that as an endorsement. 'Suppose I can stand down on the CJ165 GAS unless I trip over one. 

A mahogany version of a NL would be a very interesting thing to try. 

put your search into eBay and Reverb's saved searches and be patient- you never know what will appear.

[generaldreedle 12]

I have Nick Lucas Maple L 100, fantastic guitar

[zombywoof 225]

Weren't the Elite models 14 fretters?   What I would like to someday see is a 13 fret model made with heavy dark mahogany sinker wood.   If it is as resonant as Paul Reed Smith has claimed it is that would truly be something. 

[Dave F 216]

I'm no expert, but I seem to like the sound of a 12 fret guitar with the sound hole shifted toward the lower bout.  I imagine the 13 fret would also have a shift.

[62burst 130]

3 hours ago, zombywoof said:

Weren't the Elite models 14 fretters?   What I would like to someday see is a 13 fret model made with heavy dark mahogany sinker wood.   If it is as resonant as Paul Reed Smith has claimed it is that would truly be something. 

Looks like the NL Elite models were 14 fret guitars? Throughout the years of their production, they could be found with maple, rosewood, koa, and  there are some Bozeman Nicks with mahogany, but not sure if they made their way onto an Elite. And. . .  could the 'Woof be getting a little more open to the influence of back & side wood on the overall tone of guitar? 😀.

3 hours ago, Dave F said:

I'm no expert, but I seem to like the sound of a 12 fret guitar with the sound hole shifted toward the lower bout.  I imagine the 13 fret would also have a shift.

Were the 12 fret NL's the round bottomed (like the Robert Johnson guitar) ones? Never mind, just saw the L-00 style Nick in Dave's photo.

Apparently Gibson has been making the Nick Lucas Elite for several years, even before this thread on the forum: 

 

Edited September 5 by 62burst

[zombywoof 225]

8 hours ago, Dave F said:

I'm no expert, but I seem to like the sound of a 12 fret guitar with the sound hole shifted toward the lower bout.  I imagine the 13 fret would also have a shift.

 

Martin shortened the upper bout of their guitars while leaving the bridge in its same position when they went to 14 frets.   Gibson did not alter the body but changed the bridge position and bracing footprint.  The key to the 12 fretters is the placement of the bridge in the sweet spot in the center of the lower bout.  Think of it like the difference between hitting a snare drum in the center as opposed  to off to the side nearer the rim.   

Edited September 5 by zombywoof

[bobouz 211]

On 9/4/2020 at 5:36 PM, Dave F said:

My CJ165RW is gone. Very comfortable but lacking on sound unplugged.

Fwiw - I have a maple CJ-165ce made in 2007, one of only two years where they made this model with a soundhole-mounted pickup control system (as opposed to the side cut-out mount).  Tonally, I find it to be quite satisfying & very similar to my J-185 in it's well-balanced response, but with a little less depth to the overall sound (to be expected with the smaller body).  Super nice couch guitar, imho.

Aside from that, Dave I'm curious about the archtop on your wall, next to the Nick Lucas.  I can see that the back is braced.  I used to own a 1948 L-48 with a solid flat braced back & solid sides (all mahogany).  The instrument's top was solid pressed mahogany.  Anyway, I've never run across another similarly braced back on an archtop, so I'm very curious about what model you have there!   

[Dave F 216]

7 hours ago, bobouz said:

Fwiw - I have a maple CJ-165ce made in 2007, one of only two years where they made this model with a soundhole-mounted pickup control system (as opposed to the side cut-out mount).  Tonally, I find it to be quite satisfying & very similar to my J-185 in it's well-balanced response, but with a little less depth to the overall sound (to be expected with the smaller body).  Super nice couch guitar, imho.

Aside from that, Dave I'm curious about the archtop on your wall, next to the Nick Lucas.  I can see that the back is braced.  I used to own a 1948 L-48 with a solid flat braced back & solid sides (all mahogany).  The instrument's top was solid pressed mahogany.  Anyway, I've never run across another similarly braced back on an archtop, so I'm very curious about what model you have there!   

L1 F-hole flat top

[bobouz 211]

2 hours ago, Dave F said:

L1 F-hole flat top

Interesting - A different beast altogether.

Thanks for the info.