Any experiences with the Legend series?

[Old Neil]

And do they still make them?

 

[Dave F]

The first go around of the legends around 2007-2010 (I'm not sure on the exact years) were closer clones to an original example they used.  I believe they used Eldon Whitford's  '42 J45 and LeeRoy Parnell's '37 L00. After that they started using the Legend moniker loosely with various versions.

I had a 2010 J45 version. Very nice.

Nick has the L00 version

 

[Red 333]

I have a 1942 J-45 Legend. Do you have a specific question I could answer?

I don't think they are still made. The current Custom Shop 1942 Banner J45 is the closest incarnation being made today.

It differs from the Legend in that "only" the neck and top braces are joined with hide glue; the Legend is all hide glue construction. Only God knows if that makes any sonic difference, but I like the idea. That, and the other traditional build details and techniques produced the closest you can get to finding a closet queen or new old stock pre-war guitar.

Gibson also used Madagascar Rosewood for the bridge and fingerboard. I don't believe the CS 1942 Banner does.  I'm sure it's a great guitar though. 

I have a few modern Gibson slopes: the Legend, a J-45 True Vintage, a Rosewood Custom Vine J-45, a Southern Jumbo True Vintage, a Fuller's Vintage 1939 J-35, and a short-scale Maple AJ (essentially the FV 1939 J-35 in AJ dress, with maple back and sides and a wider, flatter neck), so many variations on the theme. I also have an Advanced Jumbo and  a 12-fret Rosewood Stage Deluxe,  so if I can compare the Legend to one of those you may be familiar with, please let me know.

Red 333

Edited January 9, 2023 by Red 333

[Old Neil]

Thank you,

Yes, I have a very good standard J-45 (and a 12 fret AJ) but have played a few True Vintage models and a Sheryl Crow Southern Jumbo (I think that's what it was at least). Some sound bites I recall on Youtube at the time seemed to show a very dark, dry version of the J-45 tone but you are obviously better placed to comment on that.

[Red 333]

4 hours ago, Old Neil said:

Thank you,

Yes, I have a very good standard J-45 (and a 12 fret AJ) but have played a few True Vintage models and a Sheryl Crow Southern Jumbo (I think that's what it was at least). Some sound bites I recall on Youtube at the time seemed to show a very dark, dry version of the J-45 tone but you are obviously better placed to comment on that.

Yes, exactly.

In terms of dryness, the 1942 J45 Legend > FVG 1939 J35 > SJTV > J45 TV.  

The Legend has a beautiful tone. It's also the darkest of the four, but by no means muffled.  It's balance just tips toward the bottom. The low end is very strong, possibly in part due to the substantial neck. 

Hope that helps.

Red 333

[olie]

Can anyone here tell me how a straight old 2014 J-45 Std. compares to all the exotic types mentioned on this thread. I live a long way from anywhere that I could get to compare so I'm curious as to how much better these up-market versions really are.

[Old Neil]

As it turns out, my J-45 standard is a 2014 model. Just the year in itself doesn’t guarantee anything of course. In my case, I was fortunate to be able to compare and choose from six examples at the time. They were spread out over various guitar shops so I had to use my memory a little in the process but after several rounds of this, plus a few signature and TV models thrown in for comparison, I kept coming back to the one I eventually bought.

in regards to your question, standards begin life as relatively brighter and more “string-ey” sounding than their darker, mellower “pre-vintaged” brethren but mellow and deepen themselves with time and playing. 

 

Edited January 10, 2023 by Old Neil

[Old Neil]

14 hours ago, Red 333 said:

Yes, exactly.

In terms of dryness, the 1942 J45 Legend > FVG 1939 J35 > SJTV > J45 TV.  

The Legend has a beautiful tone. It's also the darkest of the four, but by no means muffled.  It's balance just tips toward the bottom. The low end is very strong, possibly in part due to the substantial neck. 

Hope that helps.

Red 333

Yes it does. Serious necks on the Legend series too. I remember having the good fortune to play an L-00 Legend and a 30’s something L-00 side by side. Both had huge, V-neck profiles, especially considering they were attached to a small body guitar. Wonderful sounding. The actual vintage had that magical quality where you can hear new song ideas spring out of it while you play thing going on. Unfortunately it had a price tag to match that, by today’s standards, looks like a bargain but that’s life.

Thanks for the “review”. It sounds like you have an enviable stable of Gibsons there. More power to you. 🙂

 

 

[olie]

47 minutes ago, Old Neil said:

As it turns out, my J-45 standard is a 2014 model. Just the year in itself doesn’t guarantee anything of course. In my case, I was fortunate to be able to compare and choose from six examples at the time. They were spread out over various guitar shops so I had to use my memory a little in the process but after several rounds of this, plus a few signature and TV models thrown in for comparison, I kept coming back to the one I eventually bought.

in regards to your question, standards begin life as relatively brighter and more “string-ey” sounding than their darker, mellower “pre-vintaged” brethren but mellow and deepen themselves with time and playing. 

 

Thanks for the reply, ON. I do notice a marked difference in my '14 since I got it - deeper, more resonant and a bit louder it seems. I've never had a chance to A-B it with any of the delux models.

[j45nick]

On 1/8/2023 at 2:39 PM, Dave F said:

The first go around of the legends around 2007-2010 (I'm not sure on the exact years) were closer clones to an original example they used.  I believe they used Eldon Whitford's  '42 J45 and LeeRoy Parnell's '37 L00. After that they started using the Legend moniker loosely with various versions.

I had a 2010 J45 version. Very nice.

Nick has the L00 version

 

Yes, I have an L-OO Legend. It is supposedly (by the Certificate of Authenticity) an exact replica of Lee Roy Parnell's 1937 L-00. Like the J-45 Legend, it has an Adi top, and Madagascar rosewood fretboard and bridge.

It is also all hide glue construction, and is accurate in detail down to the fabric interior side stays. Mine is from 2010.

It is a wonderful, great-sounding guitar, with a big voice for its small size.

I bought it after spending a year looking for a vintage L-00  that was in good condition, at a rational price. The  L-00's are so lightly built that many of the original ones have suffered over their 80+ years of life. Finding the L-00 Legend felt like finding a brand-new 1937 L-00, minus 80 years of aging, but also minus 80 years of wear and tear. I'd call that a reasonable tradeoff.

In recent years, Gibson has done a number of re-issues and custom runs of both the J-45  and the L-00 that are close to the original vintage specs, but not quite as authentic as the Legends.

[BluesKing777]

Nick is back!

Where have you been? Doing OK?

Glad you still enjoy your L-00 Legend. (I played a J45 Legend in a shop years back and watched and watched hoping they got the L-00 Legend....but nothing...ever.)

If you can't get hold of a L-00 Legend, pretty scarce - try out a Waterloo WL-14X - X braced. Here is Mark Stutman's write up on one from Folkways Music (and I totally agree - mine is sensational):

Picking up an X-braced Waterloo is the closest any of us will ever come to experiencing what it must have been like to play a new Gibson L-00 back in the 1930's. We tip our collective hats to the people at Collings who've created these fine guitars after carefully studying those great 1930's originals. They've really did a remarkable job of capturing the details of an original L-00.

The guitar is built with protein-based fish glue, un-scalloped braces, a wide-angle X, tiny and thin maple bridgeplate, and a spruce top. Looking inside the guitar, it's not too different than a 30's L-00 under the hood, except it's built with Collings' incredible attention to detail. The guitar has a beautiful spruce top, mahogany back and sides, ivoroid top binding, and an unbound back; comfortable slimed and rounded V shaped neck, rosewood fingerboard, adjustable truss rod, and simple dot markers. The headstock features open-geared tuners, silk-screened logo, and an ebony nut. Ebony bridge and pins, bone saddle, firestripe pickguard, and ivoroid-bound soundhole complete the top. The WL-14x is finished in a very 1930's Kalamazoo sunburst, with period brown back and sides. The neck measures 1-3/4” at the nut, pin spread at the bridge is 2-3/8”, and the scale length is 24-3/4”.

Talk about an exciting guitar. Not only does the Waterloo WL-14x capture the looks and feel of a 1930's L-00, it's got the sound to back it up. The Waterloos are the only new guitars we've played that really does the L-00 thing right. The mids are punchy, strong, and up front, and are very well supported by an underlying warmth and rich overtone presence. Trebles are round and thick, and the bass is present and well defined.

 

 

BluesKing777.

 

 

Edited January 13, 2023 by BluesKing777