B.T. Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 Recently acquired a late 40’s Gibson Archtop. Appears to be an L-50. Specs match up. No serial number that I can find. Seems very solid. Replaced the tuner buttons restrung it etc. Holds pitch well - harmonics are great, neck is nice and straight, action is good. As this is the first “old” guitar I’ve ever owned I’m curious what strings and gauge might be best. Also any suggestions for careful cleaning etc. Likely already been a thread with suggestions you might direct me to. Sorry if I’m being redundant! Thanks! B.T. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieDog Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 Congratulations on the new guitar, sounds like a good one! And fwiw, I’m glad you asked. I’d like to know too for when the comes and I need to know. The search engine here is so difficult with the silly time limits on retrying if you don’t get your answer on the first hit, I don’t begrudge anyone asking questions that may have been answered before. I never can find anything. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 I would just put bronze or phosphor bronze 13-56 as a starting point. Brand? Who knows? If your fingers can handle 13s on it, your search is mostly over. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.T. Posted December 31, 2023 Author Share Posted December 31, 2023 9 hours ago, ksdaddy said: I would just put bronze or phosphor bronze 13-56 as a starting point. Brand? Who knows? If your fingers can handle 13s on it, your search is mostly over. Thanks - according to the previous owner it was recently restrung with 11 - 50 DaDadarios. Feels too light. My acoustics all have 12 - 52 so I’m comfortable with that. Definitely going to move them up that far. Any suggestions for cleaning and polishing? Finish is nicely checked - no chipping or flaking. I don’t want to use anything too harsh but it could use a good polishing. I appreciate the advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 There was a guy who did some polishing on an old Gibson a month or two ago and had bad results. He used some expensive polish and it hazed the finish badly. Whatever you choose to try, try it on an inconspicuous spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieDog Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 (edited) I don’t have any checked guitars (yet, chuckle) but assuming they are like other old wood products with broken finishes (that I do know something about) the most important thing to remember is to put the cleaner/polish lightly ON THE CLOTH! Never spray right on your target where the wet can get down into the tiny cracks and lift them. Put up some pics, inquiring minds want to admire 🙂 Edited December 31, 2023 by PrairieDog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieDog Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 3 minutes ago, ksdaddy said: There was a guy who did some polishing on an old Gibson a month or two ago and had bad results. He used some expensive polish and it hazed the finish badly. Whatever you choose to try, try it on an inconspicuous spot. Didn’t he try to use a silicon based product on a nitro finish? I hope someone else who knows chimes in, but it seemed the consensus was plain old mineral spirits type was the way to go. I’m curious if anyone has a problem with the Gibson branded version? I know it’s a huge mark up over the pennies for a can at the hardware store but I got a bottle along with my first guitar from GC. I’ve been using it occasionally with no problems. But I notice no one ever mentions it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.T. Posted January 2 Author Share Posted January 2 Thanks again! I’ll see if I can get the Gibson polish. Need to get some strings on order as well. Regarding photos - I never seem to be able to post a picture. Always says the file is to big. I know I’ve seen some instructions on posting pictures but couldn’t find it. Please direct me! 😄 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieDog Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 7 minutes ago, B.T. said: Thanks again! I’ll see if I can get the Gibson polish. Need to get some strings on order as well. Regarding photos - I never seem to be able to post a picture. Always says the file is to big. I know I’ve seen some instructions on posting pictures but couldn’t find it. Please direct me! 😄 Just last week I signed up for imgur. You upload your pictures from your device there, then there are links with a copy button along the side that you paste in your post in the forum. I usually have to try several before I hit the right one that shows the photo. Make sure down at the bottom of the imgur page the size is “original” rather than one of the thumbnail versions. If you go to the top of the general forum here, I think there is also a pinned post that talks about how to post pics. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.T. Posted January 6 Author Share Posted January 6 (edited) Follow up - Sorry for the slow response! I did find the info on how to post pictures. Haven't had a chance to work on it, but I shot a quick video and posted it to my YouTube Channel. You can get a look and listen there. The guitar sounds kind of "tinny" to me, but I gather that is somewhat the nature of the model. That aside - it's a really fun addition to my collection. Truly wish I had the money to purchase several older ones. Just something about playing a guitar that is older than me that I really enjoy! (That's becoming harder and harder to find!) Thanks again for your suggestions. I have strings on order. I plan to research the composition of the cleaner / polish I use on my good guitars and see if it might be a good option for this one. Happy New Year to all of you! Brian https://youtu.be/WEMin4NpUbk?si=KLVzL8_drBG9hpzH Edited January 6 by B.T. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.T. Posted January 20 Author Share Posted January 20 I finally figured out how to post pictures! To date; I’ve changed the tuner buttons, lightly lubricated the tuners, Cleaned and polished, new D’Adario XS Phosphorous Bronze strings - 12 - 53. Play’s pretty nice! Kind of cool playing a guitar that’s older than me! I think it’s in better shape! 😂 Thanks again for all the wise counsel! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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