Old Neil Posted January 4, 2023 Share Posted January 4, 2023 I am sure many here have had this experience at some point. Went down to my local guitar shop on a snowy cold day to strum a few guitars and see what the new harvest for the year might be (haven't visited in quite a while). Firstly, what happened to new guitar prices? Yikes! 🙂 Secondly, played some nice guitars like the new Martin Modern Deluxe 000-28 (great neck); An old Guild mahogany Jumbo (warm, balanced strummer); even a Rainsong with graphite B&S and spruce wood top (another solid feeling neck). Soundwise they were all good but..."meh. I've had better" was the smug feeling after a session with my own guitar back home. That guitar is a Custom Shop (whatever that really means in Gibson World...) 12 fret (Adi top, hide glue joins etc). The only change was to put on butterbean Waverlys just because I prefer them on all my acoustics over the years. The original Grover butterbeans were OK, just not as tightly accurate. Anyway, just wanted to show a little love for a rarely featured guitar (14 or 12 fret varieties) in these parts. With the overall shorter feel /sound hole brought up slightly and of course, shorter neck to the body, it feels like a rounder Triple Oh. Such a lovely combination of sound qualities I appreciate. Focused, deep, but not 'flabby' bass; thick, musical trebles and (maybe it's a 12 fret thing) the feel and comfort of a short scale even though it is technically long scale like its 14 fret brethren. Just my favorite combination of features, feel, and sound. Just sayin'... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted January 4, 2023 Share Posted January 4, 2023 When it's right, it's just right. I know the feeling. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egoidealmusic Posted January 4, 2023 Share Posted January 4, 2023 That's a beaut! I've got a 12 fret parlor guitar (all solid Recording King) that I just love. Would love to have a 12 fret J-45 or something like this! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted January 4, 2023 Share Posted January 4, 2023 Reminds me of the Smecks I had. 12 fret, jumbo deep body. Hog, RW, Walnut. All sounded great but when I downsized, I decided I'd rather not keep the 1.812" nut widths. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Neil Posted January 4, 2023 Author Share Posted January 4, 2023 (edited) Lovely guitars. I see this has turned into a 12 fret love fest 🙂 Nothing wrong with that, mind. I got to play a Roy Smeck 12 fret AJ a while back. Very similar sound (unsurprisingly). Right now I have being watching a movie with my wife (who bought my AJ as a surprise present by the way) and softly picking a new song idea with “Nick Drake tuning” and capo at the. Second fret. Like a cross between a harp and a piano. Edited January 5, 2023 by Old Neil Spelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted January 4, 2023 Share Posted January 4, 2023 Aging has convinced me to downsize in numbers and body size. I still like the 12 fretters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Neil Posted January 4, 2023 Author Share Posted January 4, 2023 (edited) Tasty. A 12 fret L00 it looks like and the other one…? An H13? Edited January 4, 2023 by Old Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 Nick Lucas L00 and a Custom M2M L00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 49 minutes ago, Dave F said: Nick Lucas L00 and a Custom M2M L00 Thanks Dave. I was wondering as well. The Nick is deep-bodied, yes? Both rosewood? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 (edited) 30 minutes ago, 62burst said: Thanks Dave. I was wondering as well. The Nick is deep-bodied, yes? Both rosewood? yes, yes The deep body gives the NL a big guitar sound. The Aged top of the M2M gives it a special vintage sound. The rosewood obsession can be blamed on my love of the Martin sound. Edited January 5, 2023 by Dave F Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpbiii Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 IMO, the best 12-fret RW slope I have ever found is my Gibson 1935 converted RSRG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Neil Posted January 5, 2023 Author Share Posted January 5, 2023 (edited) Yep, the Roy Smeck model I played at a store 18 months ago was that in sunburst. It was expensive but someone snapped it up fairly quickly anyway. Those specs are like a magic ratio for a guitar sound that works for me at least. Great for arpeggios mixed with strumming. When the strings start to dull it can be great for that Nick Drake Pink Moon sound as well. Add easier playability than a dreadnought both in the perceived scale and actual physical distance the arms need to travel and it’s a winner. Never heard of the M2M model but deep-body small guitars are special. Edited January 5, 2023 by Old Neil Spelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 M2M is a program where you can order a special guitar through your Gibson dealer. The Nick Lucas was a special run they did. The L00 custom was a M2M. At the time, Bozeman had put away tooling for certain models in preparations for the expansion so I was limited in what I could order. Basically I chose the body of a recent run of L00 12 fret with the added feature of an aged top and a sunburst finish then swapped out the V neck with the slim taper neck from a recent run of J45 12 fret. My original plan was to have a NL maple aged top 12 fret with a slim taper neck. I’m very pleased with the outcome. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 (edited) I am now well into my third year of being able to walk through any music shop and it not ending with me jumping up and down, clapping my hands, and going "ooh, ooh ooh, I want it." But that does not mean I do not appreciate what draws somebody to a particular guitar and should I have a change of heart another 12 or 13 fretter would be high up on my list. Before I bought the last guitar I ever would, I already owned a 1930s Oscar Schmidt Stella with a nice dose of decalcomana and the 1932 Gibson L1. At the time, the price tag on the Gibson was the most I had ever paid for a guitar but that hand rubbed burst alone just grabbed me and shook me around to the point I guess I just took leave of my senses. Anyway, that last guitar to come live with me was also a 12 fretter being a Fairbanks Roy Smeck. A Gibson RS was a guitar I had aways coveted but remained elusive as one never showed up locally which is how I ended up with every Gibson I ever owned. But by the time I figured out I needed to change my lazy ways and get off my butt and actually look for one the price tags had skyrocketed to a point I was not willing to go, So, even though the Fairbanks was in a way a stand-in it was a pretty darn good one and I could not be happier. Edited January 5, 2023 by zombywoof 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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