QuestionMark Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 Beautiful guitar. QM aka “Jazzman” Jeff 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 On 1/28/2024 at 9:21 AM, PrairieDog said: Finally made it down to Willies. Introducing our 1910 L1 (Plus bonus!) It’s in great shape, Willies repaired a couple cracks and a bit of binding, but otherwise it appears to be all original, even down to the Bakelite tortoiseshell celluloid tailpiece. I was buying mostly for the historical vibe and didn’t expect it to have much sound, but wow, it stands up to be heard very nicely! They did adjust the bridge back a smidge, so maybe that helped. Also, sometime in its life the back was taken off, maybe it was re-carved to help with the tone. Be kind to the other toy I picked up. That there is a 1926 TB1, save for the head, nice and original. (Including cobwebs in the pot, and dead life forms in the original case 😆It was out of the way and not even listed on the website, it was practically a give away. The trip to Willies treated me exceptionally well. Both these pre-wars came home for the credit from the poor Songbird returned to the pound. Now THAT is sweet! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieDog Posted January 30 Author Share Posted January 30 (edited) 13 hours ago, zombywoof said: Being used to Louisville Slugger necks on guitars, depths of over 1.0" feel like coming home. I still regularly play two others. Given the wide nut and generous string spacing at the bridge the L3 is the comfiest guitar I own. The finishes on Gibsons built before 1933-1934 were hand rubbed rather than sprayed. What is cool is that while they check like crazy it is so spider web fine that you can only see it when you are right on top of the guitar. By the way, at one time Gibson offered L1s with a fixed pin bridge. I have seen a 1906 and 1908 L1 which sported this feature. Toby Walker owned one of them. So, I probably should put on my glasses more often. I stand humbly corrected, tonight I was admiring carefully and yes, with my cheaters I can see there is the finest spiderweb of checking across the top, so ignore my earlier comment about it being pristine on front. Doesn’t change a thing for me, as you say, it just is. Edited January 30 by PrairieDog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 12 hours ago, PrairieDog said: So, I probably should put on my glasses more often. I stand humbly corrected, tonight I was admiring carefully and yes, with my cheaters I can see there is the finest spiderweb of checking across the top, so ignore my earlier comment about it being pristine on front. Doesn’t change a thing for me, as you say, it just is. My 1932 L1 displays the same kind of checking. The thing which still really strikes me about these instruments is the design and engineering that went into them. As there is absolutely nothing adjustable, Gibson radiused the tops so that everything lined up perfectly. When I stumbled upon my first one, given its age I actually thought the top had become deformed. l feel the sound though is an acquired taste. Gibson used to market these O size L guitars as the perfect accompaniment instrument for a mandolin orchestra. They conjure up the lo-fi sound you hear on 78 rpm records. I find them perfect for playing blues and rags and now and then backing a fiddle tune. Spider John Koerner play one early on. He though slapped a banjo tuner into the headstock and added an octave G string. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieDog Posted January 30 Author Share Posted January 30 3 hours ago, zombywoof said: My 1932 L1 displays the same kind of checking. The thing which still really strikes me about these instruments is the design and engineering that went into them. As there is absolutely nothing adjustable, Gibson radiused the tops so that everything lined up perfectly. When I stumbled upon my first one, given its age I actually thought the top had become deformed. l feel the sound though is an acquired taste. Gibson used to market these O size L guitars as the perfect accompaniment instrument for a mandolin orchestra. They conjure up the lo-fi sound you hear on 78 rpm records. I find them perfect for playing blues and rags and now and then backing a fiddle tune. Spider John Koerner play one early on. He though slapped a banjo tuner into the headstock and added an octave G string. Wish I’d been more attentive to shows where Spider John was on the bill, but that was back when i was too stupid to appreciate what I was hearing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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