Lars68 Posted April 1, 2023 Share Posted April 1, 2023 I saw a concert last week here in Sweden with one of my all time favorite artists, Anna Ternheim. I had a seat in the third row and could hear the unamplified sound of the old guitar she plays in the clip below. It sounded as dry as walking on the leaves and twigs in a forrest not seeing rain for a thousand years. I think I saw a faint old style Gibson logo on the headstock, but I'm not sure. What do you think it is? Lars 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedzep Posted April 1, 2023 Share Posted April 1, 2023 (edited) If you hunt around, there are YT vids of her performances that show the guitar more clearly. I want to say 12 fret L0, but I've not yet been able to pick up a glimpse of what would be visible Xbrace as the camera moves around. Sound hole pickup blocks the view often, but it seems there isn't bracing you can see. When I blow up this photo, I still see L0 12 fretter. Edited April 1, 2023 by jedzep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted April 1, 2023 Share Posted April 1, 2023 (edited) 1940s Kalamazoo KG-12. Nice! https://jakewildwood.blogspot.com/2016/11/1940s-gibson-made-kalamazoo-kg-12.html BluesKing777. Edited April 1, 2023 by BluesKing777 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedzep Posted April 1, 2023 Share Posted April 1, 2023 (edited) Yeah? That sound hole ring looks Gibby. I almost see the K on the peghead, though, the script G is also there in a ghostly way. It would explain the apparent ladder bracing. 12 fret K'zoos? Edited April 1, 2023 by jedzep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lars68 Posted April 1, 2023 Author Share Posted April 1, 2023 Ah, a Kalamazoo KG 12 could make good sense. I remember reading a few years back that she bought it at Retrofret in New York. I love that dry, crisp tone. Lars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northcntryblues Posted April 1, 2023 Share Posted April 1, 2023 6 hours ago, Lars68 said: Ah, a Kalamazoo KG 12 could make good sense. I remember reading a few years back that she bought it at Retrofret in New York. I love that dry, crisp tone. Lars That was a nice track. Thanks for the link - I'm going to give her a listen!👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissouriPicker Posted April 1, 2023 Share Posted April 1, 2023 Yes, sweet guitar! However, I could watch no matter what guitar she was playing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted April 1, 2023 Share Posted April 1, 2023 Would a Kalamazoo have a truss rod? Guitar shown does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedzep Posted April 2, 2023 Share Posted April 2, 2023 That, too. That sound hole ring says Gibson. I know there are K nerds flying their flags out there, but they all look plywoody and cheap compared to the real thing. Her guitar doesn't have that look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted April 2, 2023 Share Posted April 2, 2023 13 hours ago, BluesKing777 said: 1940s Kalamazoo KG-12. Nice! https://jakewildwood.blogspot.com/2016/11/1940s-gibson-made-kalamazoo-kg-12.html BluesKing777. That Kalamazoo has a 14-fret neck. The one she is playing is a 12-fretter. Hers also appears to have white top binding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted April 2, 2023 Share Posted April 2, 2023 Sorry, - I blew up the black and white photo above and thought I saw a big 'K' on the headstock and assumed it was a K version of a G like an L1 cheapo, then looked up a K that looked similar - cannot find it now.... On the equipboard site it says she has a CW, A Gibson L1 or L-0 not sure and a Sundberg And on this video, it is clearly a Gibson L1 or.... BluesKing777. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lars68 Posted April 2, 2023 Author Share Posted April 2, 2023 I think that settles it. Thanks BK. I wouldn't mind having one of those guitars to play my very limited finger style on. Lars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northcntryblues Posted April 2, 2023 Share Posted April 2, 2023 (edited) 5 hours ago, Lars68 said: I think that settles it. Thanks BK. I wouldn't mind having one of those guitars to play my very limited finger style on. Lars Very good for fingerpicking for sure. But don't underestimate the smaller guitars with a thumbpick or a flatpick either. For full out strumming a la Pinball Wizard or something like that, maybe not, but these little guitars sound great with a pick too when approached with a nuanced attack. Edited April 2, 2023 by northcntryblues 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted April 2, 2023 Share Posted April 2, 2023 17 hours ago, BluesKing777 said: Sorry, - I blew up the black and white photo above and thought I saw a big 'K' on the headstock and assumed it was a K version of a G like an L1 cheapo, then looked up a K that looked similar - cannot find it now.... On the equipboard site it says she has a CW, A Gibson L1 or L-0 not sure and a Sundberg And on this video, it is clearly a Gibson L1 or.... BluesKing777. I would guess L-1 from around 1930, if Fabulous Flat Tops is correct on the changes timeline. Apparently, all were 14-fretters starting in 1932, but you know Gibson characteristics. Never say never. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedzep Posted April 2, 2023 Share Posted April 2, 2023 Oh, wishful ladder bracers out there like good ol' BK! They never give up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted April 3, 2023 Share Posted April 3, 2023 4 hours ago, jedzep said: Oh, wishful ladder bracers out there like good ol' BK! They never give up. Probably cos ladder braced guitars are great for country blues and bottleneck but also sensational for making a melody sing! My 1952 ladder Gibson LG1 is at the luthiers getting some fixes, been a long wait...but LG1s are going for so much cash now. BluesKing777. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedzep Posted April 3, 2023 Share Posted April 3, 2023 Can't argue with someone who has proven their usefulness here time and again. '52 is my birth year, and I could use some fixes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinder Posted April 3, 2023 Share Posted April 3, 2023 (edited) 12 hours ago, jedzep said: Oh, wishful ladder bracers out there like good ol' BK! They never give up. I’ve played plenty of ladder braced guitars over the years that I’ve really enjoyed. They’re very useful guitars for recording as they fill a sonic space that something X-braced doesn’t. The sonic fingerprint of a ladder braced instrument is very much that of midrange, but less the upper mid focus that a J45 has, and more of the lower mid that is often found in the human voice. This is typically an area that, when mixing a track or structuring the sonic architecture of a recording, you leave room for as a producer, especially when working with a singer. That gives a guitar like an LG-1 or similar a wide open door to come in and handle a solo (slide or otherwise) and really punch through. A great example of this is John Hiatt’s great track ‘Nobody Knew His Name’ from the Terms of My Surrender LP. The mix has a great big “V” cut into it where John’s immense voice sits. In the last third of the song, in comes an acoustic bottleneck solo which is played on an LG0 as I recall. Have a listen and see how useful these guitars can be. Most of the slide parts elsewhere on the song are played on electric with a haze of crunch around it-a punchy tone, for sure. Then in comes that ladder braced acoustic solo, sounding almost like a Dobro but smoother…so much cut and punch. Whilst not many folks would reach for a ladder braced parlour as a primary instrument for solo performance, it very much depends on the singer and the song. I don’t currently own any ladders but I have done in the past and will again. Ms. Ternheim’s guitar is an L-0, late ‘20s/early ‘30s by the looks of it. Sounds super dry and thunky through that Sunrise, love it! Edited April 3, 2023 by Jinder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustystrings Posted April 3, 2023 Share Posted April 3, 2023 16 hours ago, jedzep said: Oh, wishful ladder bracers out there like good ol' BK! They never give up. One of the most important, iconic guitars in my little world remains a c.1950-54 LG-1 I first encountered in Macon, GA in 1977. It belonged to my new friend on the school newspaper staff, and when he took some of my lyrics and set them to music, he started me on the road I've been traveling ever since. That lovely old guitar is all over my earliest recordings (most of which will NEVER see the light of day!), and to this day whenever I hear an LG-1 I lock onto it. My friend still owns his 70-ish year old guitar and treats it with respect and love. My take on the LG-1, more so than even the LG-0, is that it is the flattop Gibson that most reveals the baked-in archtop DNA. I'm surprised they aren't used more for people wanting to play old jazz standards solo in an intimate setting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted April 4, 2023 Share Posted April 4, 2023 Still waiting for my 52 LG1 to come home - previously of huge bow in neck that made it great for....slide! But not fingers... but it had a great tone, so if the neck can get bent back to playable, it should be good. Only catch is the 1 11/16" nut is not my preferred 1 3/4" and the bridge spacing is ok almost.... But it has the old wood tone! My other ladder braced guitar is my now nearly 6 year old Waterloo WL-14 ladder and that is just sensational! (I keeping thinking 'Thanks Bill!" when I play it, as they were what blues fingerpickers were looking for, and didn't know it yet!) BluesKing777. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lars68 Posted April 4, 2023 Author Share Posted April 4, 2023 Here is another great clip from the same tour I saw a few days ago with Anna on her old Gibson. Love the song and the sound. Lars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted April 5, 2023 Share Posted April 5, 2023 Another supporter of LG1s specifically and ladder braced faces in general here ! A '64 LG1 I bought new was my one and only for approximately 40 years and I never had any issues with it, including how it sounded. Mostly fingerpicked. Of course, I was not nearly as sophisticated in discerning tone then as I am now. Now that my hearing is half as good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted April 6, 2023 Share Posted April 6, 2023 12 hours ago, fortyearspickn said: Another supporter of LG1s specifically and ladder braced faces in general here ! A '64 LG1 I bought new was my one and only for approximately 40 years and I never had any issues with it, including how it sounded. Mostly fingerpicked. Of course, I was not nearly as sophisticated in discerning tone then as I am now. Now that my hearing is half as good. I rang my luthier even though I don't like chasing him - he hasn't done anything yet to my 52 LG1. Anyhow, it could never be my only guitar with the 1 11/16" nut and tight bridge spacing - I always end up with a capo on 3 on my other LG - 59 LG3. Trouble with 'previously affordable' vintage guitars, I suppose. But I do it for the old wood tone! (Arch those fingers, I hear my old teach say - then 'whack'). That is another reason Bill Collings' Waterloo idea is so great for fingerpickers - 1 3/4" nuts. ...2 3/8" bridge spacing, V neck and a bit of Bill's Old Age Sauce or something to make it sound great. .......I better drag out the LG3 for the weekend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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