BluesKing777 Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 Phew...looks like it came from a different guitar carer than my 1952 LG1, that is for sure! Mine has approx 450 cracks and may have been joined back together. But at these prices, I could take it to my luthier, fix the problems, neck reset and...paint it black! (and then probably keep it because I love black guitars... But there can be no painting the 51 at Retrofret.: https://www.retrofret.com/product.asp?ProductID=10902&name=Gibson-LG1-Flat-Top-Acoustic-Guitar-1951 BluesKing777. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedzep Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 Vulgar. I'd say something bad about Steve, but he bought my L0. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted July 27, 2022 Author Share Posted July 27, 2022 Well, dragged multiple guitars out of the way to get to my 52 LG1 way up the back in the unreachable zone of the basement...... Still almost in tune - Open G! Tightened some strings with the electronic tuner, awful to play until it gets a neck reset and lots of work. Hmmm. Big crack on front makes it pretty un-sellable. Big crack all the way around the sides where it was maybe rejoined after a smash looks awful and makes it pretty err....un-sellable. Frets terrible. Grabbed my Blue Diamond bottleneck from Diamond Bottlenecks and ...Voila!!!!!! The ladder braced LG1 sound speaks the TRUTH! Played slide for 45 minutes and it can stay exactly as is.........fantastic.. Maybe I will get a big sticker and put it over the crack! It would be interesting to play the 51 LG1 in retrofret next to mine, just to know. Don't want it - the neck is a bit narrow for my normal play. Took a few iPhone photos to show you, but let me tell you, these make it look way better than in real life... BluesKing777. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedzep Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 In your hands, I'm sure it speaks the truth. Guess I'd just slap an extension nut on that beast and play it open tunings over my lap with a tonebar for when my hands are tired. Bet it would be just fine for that. The description of it being brighter and barkier is a stretch, but it's the price that makes it a goof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted July 27, 2022 Author Share Posted July 27, 2022 The bow in the neck on mine says it doesn’t need a nut extender for slide! 😅 Finished the ladder brace day with my Waterloo ladder in standard tuning....it WAS going to be an upgrade for the old LG1 but the setup is wonderfully low for rags, so... BluesKing777. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 6 hours ago, BluesKing777 said: Maybe I will get a big sticker and put it over the crack! No. Don't do it. Wear those scars with pride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted July 27, 2022 Author Share Posted July 27, 2022 Wonder how many brand new ‘aged’, relic etc they would sell if it had a big slash across the bout like my poor guitar? Split the new one around the side for authenticity? At first, years back, I was concerned the guitar would fall to pieces, but it is still here! P.S. the bridge is Gabon ebony, replaced the split original, great sustain improvement even if there is not much saddle.... BluesKing777. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 Compression fretting works like a dream with a badly cupped neck. I do have a sentimental thing for LG1s because it was my first Gibson. I bought it back in the day when it was impossible to figure out the build date other than it came into being between 1955 and 1959, At the time the burst and (having reached that point where I could tell a good guitar from a can of tuna) the Gibson name just reached out and grabbed me and shook me around. It was also dirt cheap so it was well within the limits of what I could lay out on a guitar. After a while though I ended giving it to my then girlfriend who was an amazing blues and ragtime fingerpicker. While I have played a ton of LG1s since then I never did buy another one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted July 27, 2022 Author Share Posted July 27, 2022 Yeah, once you have fingerpicked guitars with more generous spacings, it is hard to pickup the LGs....but I do rotate around and when it is LG time, first thing to do is to trim left hand fingernails and 'arch those fingers' as the teacher use to say. And I usually put a capo on at least 3 for more space across the strings on the LG3 but that is a bit useless for slide on the LG1 (makes strings too low)..... So all in all, I still own them because.........the TONE! Old woods...all that, the smell.... BluesKing777. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpbiii Posted July 28, 2022 Share Posted July 28, 2022 (edited) Quote I do have a sentimental thing for LG1s because it was my first Gibson. I bought it back in the day when it was impossible to figure out the build date other than it came into being between 1955 and 1959, At the time the burst and (having reached that point where I could tell a good guitar from a can of tuna) the Gibson name just reached out and grabbed me and shook me around. It was also dirt cheap so it was well within the limits of what I could lay out on a guitar. After a while though I ended giving it to my then girlfriend who was an amazing blues and ragtime fingerpicker. While I have played a ton of LG1s since then I never did buy another one. Hmm. That story is amazingly similar -- should I say disturbingly -- similar to mine. I got mine -- first Gibson -- in 1962 and played it for more than a dozen years until it was stolen from my office. It was the guitar of my folk revival years, and that simple approachable music is still dear to my heart. I have a couple of LG-1s -- a 1957 rescue and a near mint 1955 which I bought last Christmas, Paid $300 for the first maybe 10 years ago and well less than half the asking price for the Retro six months ago. c 1962 1957 rescue 1955 (Final picture not taken yet) Probably because of my history with this model, I generally prefer them to my LG-2 (1946), although until the recent pandemic I seldom played them -- in or out. But when your only musical social outlets are ZOOM circles and Jamulus (all using mics), these guys were a better fit than things like my 36 AJ and 35 D-28, which overpowered the environment. Let's pick, -Tom Edited July 28, 2022 by tpbiii Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted July 28, 2022 Author Share Posted July 28, 2022 (edited) How are the tops on your LG1s, Tom? Mine has the ladder braced wavy gravy, very common I am told, but hard for consistency if it moves with the different weather...behind the bridge.It doesn’t matter if the strings go higher and lower for slide playing, much, but useless for ragtime chording. I still would love to play one in good condition to compare a few err......items! BluesKing777. Edited July 28, 2022 by BluesKing777 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted July 28, 2022 Share Posted July 28, 2022 Man, I'd like to find a $300, 1957 LG1. But Tom, if that was 10 years ago, that $300 is now $600, heck maybe more. Great pics you guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted July 28, 2022 Author Share Posted July 28, 2022 29 minutes ago, Murph said: Man, I'd like to find a $300, 1957 LG1. But Tom, if that was 10 years ago, that $300 is now $600, heck maybe more. Great pics you guys. A quick scan for LG1s on Reverb.com shows that ship has well and truly sailed, Murph! BluesKing777. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted July 28, 2022 Share Posted July 28, 2022 1 hour ago, Murph said: Man, I'd like to find a $300, 1957 LG1. But Tom, if that was 10 years ago, that $300 is now $600, heck maybe more. Great pics you guys. $300 ... you need to add a 0 ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpbiii Posted July 28, 2022 Share Posted July 28, 2022 Quote How are the tops on your LG1s, Tom? Mine has the ladder braced wavy gravy, very common I am told, but hard for consistency if it moves with the different weather...behind the bridge.It doesn’t matter if the strings go higher and lower for slide playing, much, but useless for ragtime chording. I still would love to play one in good condition to compare a few err......items! These have no problems, but they seem to have had a very different history. The 1955 has almost no ware and no sign of top distortion at all. It must have lived in a climate controlled closet.🙃 The 1957 is entirely different deal. I bought it from a vintage guitar store in Berkley -- it had that huge then open crack you can see, and the top had sunk a bit. The owner had decided he did not want to fool with it, so he found a price where I would bite. I did not know what I had, but many old unfixed guitars in found condition have such issues because of loose braces. It is bad if someone tries to fix it, but I could see no sign of work on this one, so I took a chance. My luthier is the legendary Rand Wood, so I knew he would know what could be done and he would tell me if it was not worth it. He knows I am into sound and stability. As it turns out, the repairs were minor and cheap -- I don't remember the number right now, but I was very pleasantly surprised. Basically it only needed its braces glued and the crack addressed. Nothing has moved since. Note: both of these guitars don't go out to iffy places, and live in climate controlled guitar heaven. It is not that me and my guitars don't go to such places playing bluegrass, but these are not bluegrass guitars. BTW, I spotted (and fixed) a typo in my previous post. I said the 1955 cost less than the one from Reverb, but it was suppose to say less than HALF .. a whole different point. Quote Man, I'd like to find a $300, 1957 LG1. But Tom, if that was 10 years ago, that $300 is now $600, heck maybe more. Great pics you guys. See story above. All the best guys, -Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted July 28, 2022 Author Share Posted July 28, 2022 Got mine from eBay probably nearly 10 years ago and it arrived in a badly fitting gig bag....it was about $800 Australian by the time it got through Fedex and Customs. I went to a music shop to get a case and got a real nasty cheapo classical case that fit, and I remember the salesguy said when he asked what guitar......I said Gibson LG1 and he only heard ‘Gibson’ and said it must be worth a mint? Ha ha! But the moral of the story for those that buy LG1s to get a cheap Gibson acoustic is that they are.......ummmm......an acquired taste. BluesKing777. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted July 28, 2022 Share Posted July 28, 2022 13 hours ago, BluesKing777 said: Yeah, once you have fingerpicked guitars with more generous spacings, it is hard to pickup the LGs....but I do rotate around and when it is LG time, first thing to do is to trim left hand fingernails and 'arch those fingers' as the teacher use to say. And I usually put a capo on at least 3 for more space across the strings on the LG3 but that is a bit useless for slide on the LG1 (makes strings too low)..... So all in all, I still own them because.........the TONE! Old woods...all that, the smell.... BluesKing777. If there is a thing I do not like about Gibsons it is the skimpy string spacing at the bridge. My 1920 L3 has a 2 5/16" spacing and my 1932 L1 a 2 3/8" spacing. I do not, however, have a clue if this is what the spec sheets called for or if it was just happenstance and a quirk of the build. Tom is in a much better position than I am to make the call about what would have been typical, But the more generous string spacing was one of the reasons I chose these particular instruments. Once you hit the 1940s though and get into the Banners the string spacing gets whittled down to as narrow as 2 1/8". It looks like they eventually settled on 2 3/16". I can play them but moving back and forth it takes a bit for muscle memory in my right hand to kick in. Admittedly with me when it comes to LG1s the reason I never bought another one is simply there were other ladder braced guitars I liked the sound and feel of better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpbiii Posted July 28, 2022 Share Posted July 28, 2022 Quote I can play them but moving back and forth it takes a bit for muscle memory in my right hand to kick in. Yea, that is my life. If is such a pervasive effect that I don't even know the nut width and string spacing on my guitars. I just know I always fumble around until -- as you say -- the muscle memory kicks in. Doesn't take long, but I do need some warm up to stop the flood of bad notes. Quote Admittedly with me when it comes to LG1s the reason I never bought another one is simply there were other ladder braced guitars I liked the sound and feel of better. Well when I met my late wife, she has a Mward dread sized huge neck monster that could take "steel or nylon" -- probably a Kay. For the first decade of our relationship she gloried in the observation that her guitar sounded better than mine -- a point on which I agree. Best, -Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted July 29, 2022 Author Share Posted July 29, 2022 (edited) 19 hours ago, zombywoof said: If there is a thing I do not like about Gibsons it is the skimpy string spacing at the bridge. My 1920 L3 has a 2 5/16" spacing and my 1932 L1 a 2 3/8" spacing. I do not, however, have a clue if this is what the spec sheets called for or if it was just happenstance and a quirk of the build. Tom is in a much better position than I am to make the call about what would have been typical, But the more generous string spacing was one of the reasons I chose these particular instruments. Once you hit the 1940s though and get into the Banners the string spacing gets whittled down to as narrow as 2 1/8". It looks like they eventually settled on 2 3/16". I can play them but moving back and forth it takes a bit for muscle memory in my right hand to kick in. Admittedly with me when it comes to LG1s the reason I never bought another one is simply there were other ladder braced guitars I liked the sound and feel of better. It is a real shame the current brand new Gibson LG2 Banner Historic reissues with torrefied tops (crying for relic jobs!) doesn't have wider spacing and nut like some of the original Banner LG2s.......no idea what the bridge space was on the real LG2 Banners but I have seen them advertised with 1 3/4" nut..... BluesKing777. Edited July 29, 2022 by BluesKing777 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted July 29, 2022 Share Posted July 29, 2022 5 hours ago, BluesKing777 said: It is a real shame the current brand new Gibson LG2 Banner Historic reissues with torrefied tops (crying for relic jobs!) doesn't have wider spacing and nut like some of the original Banner LG2s.......no idea what the bridge space was on the real LG2 Banners but I have seen them advertised with 1 3/4" nut..... Why is that? Are people's hands getting smaller? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted July 29, 2022 Share Posted July 29, 2022 5 hours ago, BluesKing777 said: It is a real shame the current brand new Gibson LG2 Banner Historic reissues with torrefied tops (crying for relic jobs!) doesn't have wider spacing and nut like some of the original Banner LG2s.......no idea what the bridge space was on the real LG2 Banners but I have seen them advertised with 1 3/4" nut..... BluesKing777. While my experience is far more limited than others here and making any kind of a blanket statement about Banners can get you in trouble, I want to say they were the first Gibsons to have the narrower string spacing. I have run into a couple which were as skimpy as 2 1/8". I am not sure just how typical that was though. As a fingerpicker though I do appreciate the extra room when I can get it. As far as I know though, Bozeman has yet to go there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted July 29, 2022 Share Posted July 29, 2022 14 minutes ago, Murph said: Why is that? Are people's hands getting smaller? Maybe Bozeman figures the typical modern audience is made up of former electric guitar players with girly fingers. No wait. That would be Taylor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted July 29, 2022 Author Share Posted July 29, 2022 48 minutes ago, zombywoof said: Maybe Bozeman figures the typical modern audience is made up of former electric guitar players with girly fingers. No wait. That would be Taylor. You mean the more petite player?😆 I wonder how many new LG2 Historic Banners they have sold? They could sell at least one more if they made the nut 1 3/4” and even 2 1/4” space at the bridge - err....me! Waterloo don’t make an LG type - their 2 3/8” space is fingerpicking dreamy! The Iris OG is a LG type but their standard nut in their catalogue is 1 11/16” but if you want to wait for them to build one, they will do custom orders......but the guitars have got very popular and has a waiting list. They also have various finishes to order and I saw a black one with firestripe guard like the old L-00s at AMS. They don’t do an L-00. But Waterloo do.... BluesKing777. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted July 29, 2022 Share Posted July 29, 2022 47 minutes ago, BluesKing777 said: Waterloo do.... Sounds like some cajun hoodo voodo... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted July 29, 2022 Share Posted July 29, 2022 57 minutes ago, BluesKing777 said: You mean the more petite player?😆 I wonder how many new LG2 Historic Banners they have sold? They could sell at least one more if they made the nut 1 3/4” and even 2 1/4” space at the bridge - err....me! Waterloo don’t make an LG type - their 2 3/8” space is fingerpicking dreamy! The Iris OG is a LG type but their standard nut in their catalogue is 1 11/16” but if you want to wait for them to build one, they will do custom orders......but the guitars have got very popular and has a waiting list. They also have various finishes to order and I saw a black one with firestripe guard like the old L-00s at AMS. They don’t do an L-00. But Waterloo do.... BluesKing777. How about "Genteel"? My 2013 Fairbanks Roy Smeck has a 1 3/4" nut and 2 3/8" string spacing at the bridge. My take on it though is the Historic Line guitars are more "tribute" instruments than designed to be spot on copies of guitars from a past catalog. Of course, when it comes to at least the Banners trying to get a handle on specs is like trying to nail jello to a wall. In terms of finishes, Collings has gone with I believe it is a hand applied shellac spirit varnish finish on at least one of their Waterloo models albeit it was a natural top guitar so no burst. Then again Collings has offered that finish as an option. I believe Kevin Kopp goes with a hand rubbed lacquer finish on some of his models which would be period correct for Gibsons built from 1925 to around 1934 after which Kalamazoo went with the less labor intensive (meaning less costly to apply) fully sprayed finishes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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