tonebar Posted September 25 Share Posted September 25 Are modern Gibson L-00s the same body size and shape as the vintage ones? To me the modern ones look like they have a narrower upper bout and waist. Haven't seen any discussion of this, so maybe I'm just imagining things or maybe the bright white binding on the new ones is playing with my perception. Anyone have both an old one and a new one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted September 25 Share Posted September 25 Sort of....!!! I will line them up together later - working right now - but I believe it has been done before a number of times. 1937 Gibson L-0 (refinished): A friend's 2013 Gibson Blues King L-00 on left of photo and 2007 BK777 BluesKing L-00 on right of photo: BluesKing777. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted September 26 Share Posted September 26 I lined up the old 1937 Gibson L-0 and my 2007 Gibson Blues King L-00 pictured above, as promised, and.... It is too weird! The old one is a whisker wider in all dimensions and by the time you get to look at the headstocks, the oldie is about an inch longer in the neck. Blues King must have shrunk! Grabbed my Waterloo WL-14X, based by Bill Collings on the old Kalamazoo KG-14 and....it is the same as in identical, as the old Gibson L-0 except for the pointy headstock end, just the point. Too weird, should not have looked. 🤨😑🤨 BluesKing777. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonebar Posted September 26 Author Share Posted September 26 7 hours ago, BluesKing777 said: I lined up the old 1937 Gibson L-0 and my 2007 Gibson Blues King L-00 pictured above, as promised, and.... It is too weird! The old one is a whisker wider in all dimensions and by the time you get to look at the headstocks, the oldie is about an inch longer in the neck. Blues King must have shrunk! Grabbed my Waterloo WL-14X, based by Bill Collings on the old Kalamazoo KG-14 and....it is the same as in identical, as the old Gibson L-0 except for the pointy headstock end, just the point. Too weird, should not have looked. 🤨😑🤨 Sorry! Thanks for doing this – beautiful guitars, both! Interesting. And the Blues King L-00s, including yours, look closer to the old ones to me, they don't look as pinched at the waist as the current L-00 Standard / Original. So maybe I’m not imagining things after all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted September 26 Share Posted September 26 I play a 1932 L1 which was one of the last of the 12 fretters. In terms of body specs, new and old are close enough for rock & roll. But that is where the similarities end. L Series guitars built before at least 1941 were very different beasts than the Bozeman versions. Different bracing carve, top and bridge plate thickness, string spacing at the bridge, overall build weight, and such. Not a "good" or a "bad" thing when compared to current versions. Just different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted September 26 Share Posted September 26 1 hour ago, zombywoof said: I play a 1932 L1 which was one of the last of the 12 fretters. In terms of body specs, new and old are close enough for rock & roll. But that is where the similarities end. L Series guitars built before at least 1941 were very different beasts than the Bozeman versions. Different bracing carve, top and bridge plate thickness, string spacing at the bridge, overall build weight, and such. Not a "good" or a "bad" thing when compared to current versions. Just different. I think Ren & Gibson took a shot at reproducing the older specs with the early Legend series. The '32 L00 RI I have, has some of the features but I've never held a vintage one to know how close. From what I can tell, it was spec'd the same as the early L00 Legend except for the VOS finish. Tall braces, fabric stays, very light (per today's standards), 30's burst, wide bridge string spacing, V neck, painted head logo, long scale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted September 27 Share Posted September 27 8 hours ago, Dave F said: I think Ren & Gibson took a shot at reproducing the older specs with the early Legend series. The '32 L00 RI I have, has some of the features but I've never held a vintage one to know how close. From what I can tell, it was spec'd the same as the early L00 Legend except for the VOS finish. Tall braces, fabric stays, very light (per today's standards), 30's burst, wide bridge string spacing, V neck, painted head logo, long scale. My guess is that Gibson went with the "37 L-00 for their Legend Series because they were heavier built. The originals I have seen weights provided for were heavier than instruments built five years or so years earlier but as you note considerably lighter than the standard Bozeman issues. That though would do away with the doming/belly issues those older L Series guitars are particularly prone to although you tend to get used to it when you spend enough time with them. I have never even seen a '32 L-00RI in the flesh. If I recall they were available 10 or so years back. But it makes sense that Bozeman would have based it on the L-00 Legend platform. If it were me though, and if I did not own the '32, I would probably bide my time and wait for either a used Gibson 32RI or a Legend to pop up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted September 27 Share Posted September 27 (edited) So....... I have been playing my Gibson Blues King L-00 for a few days and just before, dragged out the 1937 Gibson L-0. No contest really, but....look at it this way - the Blues King L-00 is like a factory Ford perhaps, while my 1937 L-0 is a fully hotted custom steaming twin turbo rod! The neck is the slimline thing on the BK and a fat old neck on the L-0 - BK playable but the L-0 is....perfect! (for me). BK is heavy, L-0 a bag of fairy dust. So... Perhaps the late 80s with Ren Ferguson up until he left around 2012?.... should have named their Gibson Blues King L-00 the Ren Ferguson L-00....(or perhaps the whole company could have Ferguson Guitars?). Who knows what they should be called now? Keep in mind, I still own the BK...since around 2007, it is a nice guitar. BluesKing777. Edited September 27 by BluesKing777 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonebar Posted September 27 Author Share Posted September 27 Thanks for the great replies, everyone! I'm aware that there are significant internal differences between modern and vintage 14-fret L-00s, and even among the vintage ones themselves. I was really just curious about the dimensions of the upper bout and waist relative to the lower bout in the modern ones (as a generalization) as compared to the old ones (as a generalization) as they do look a bit different, to my eye. In contrast, the other Gibson acoustics' shapes seem to have remained largely unchanged throughout the years (except in the 70s and 80s, of course!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Dampt Posted October 9 Share Posted October 9 You’re not imagining things! The vintage L-00s from the 1930s have a bit more width in the upper bout and waist compared to the modern ones. The shape has evolved slightly, and while the core of the design remains, those small adjustments can affect the overall feel. The bright binding on the new models definitely draws attention and can make the waist look slimmer than it really is. Given my 6 years of experience working at Joe’s Vintage Guitars, I can assure you that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted 2 hours ago Share Posted 2 hours ago Riding along in my automobile.....thanks Chuck Berry...😁 So, I have two used BMWs that I split the drive with....one is my 1989 BMW E30 and the other is my 2010 BMW E88 convertible. The E30 was my only car and had spent a lot of time at the mechanic's and I was on foot, hire car, taxi...a lot...so I was researching online what to replace to replace it with with a limited budget. I came across the marketing guff for the 2010 E88 and they swore on their lives 😀 that the E88 was a newer version of the old E30. After I bought it, it came to me that the E88 is not one thing like my E30, except maybe the name badge. 🙃🙃🙃 Same with the new Gibson L-00 versus my 30s L-00. I happily play both (and drive both cars) but they are their own thing each and all! BluesKing777. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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