geeterpicker Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 I've owned my Gibson L-00 Pro for just about a month now and have played it almost exclusively. When I do pick up one of my dreads ('71 Martin D-28 or Guild D-40 NT CE) after playing the L-00, it feels as if I just picked up my van and am trying to reach over the roof of it. My other guitar, Huss and Dalton CM Custom, is a tad less deep than the dreads, but still feels huge compared to that L-00. The comfort of the Gibson's body and the playability of its neck make playing it so much more fun. While the tone is significantly shallower than the others, its clear voice is very sweet and will just get better. My other guitars almost sound like they are screaming, they are so much louder and deeper. But I am growing more attracted to a comfortable instrument over a loud one. The Gibson short scale has also won me over. The long scale almost feels like an irritant anymore. I was wondering how many of you find yourself shying away from the bigger is better theme park and now prefer wondering around at the small body carnival? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Versatile Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 I like to have both... Chez 'V' things have a habit of going full circle every few weeks/months... V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 The Gibson short scale has also won me over. The long scale almost feels like an irritant anymore. I like sticking to a single scale anymore. Even grabbing my Tele for a few minutes annoys me. It's still not for sale...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 I find the L-OO to be a very comfortable size. When I pick up one of my slope J's, I am extremely aware that it is a much larger guitar. If I pick up my L-7, with it's long scale and 17" body, I am even more aware how small and comfortable the L-OO really is. The L-OO just feels right for the way I play music today: fingerpicking, just for myself and maybe a few friends. I actually don't like to play for others any more, but I do like to play with others. I'm very self-conscious that I have lost my singing voice and my playing skills aren't what they used to be. But the L-OO is a warm, forgiving little guitar, and she doesn't seem to mind when I make mistakes. She is, however, somewhat wary of the fact that I have started playing with fingerpicks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdd707 Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 Yeah, nowdays the L00 is the first one I grab when I sit down , especially if I have only a few minutes to play. It's really comfortable and is set up wonderfully. Having played the long scale AJ for many years, I too like the short scale of the L00 or my J50. The AJ now feels stiff and hard to play. However .... the nature of the song generally dictates which guitar I like to play. So it usuall goes .... I pick up the L00 and play some blues then some fiddle or traditional folk tunes. Then to the J50 for some (old time) country or any song requiring warmth. Then to the AJ for more fiddle tunes and single note solos. The L00 is a stay at home guy ..... plenty loud for sitting alone playing or playing with one of two other instruments. The J50 is generally my go out guitar because of it's overall good quality ... one can play anything on it even if it won't slay a banjo or outshout a HD28. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kebob Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 I enjoy having both sizes. There are times I want to cuddle up with my Martin 000-15m on the recliner and there are times when I'm in the mood for the sound cascade from a dread or SJ-200. Variety is the spice of life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 My L-20 is short scale, 1 13/16" nut.....chunky "V" type neck.....I just love it....sounds so different than the L-00's I've played (vintage and new) I think it is the rosewood B&S that makes the difference. X-braced top has tall, very thin, tapered, non-scalloped braces, and creates a very woody, compressed, mid range guitar that has lots of sustain, and not a lot of overtones associated with rosewood. Also, the sound hole is fully braced all around with short little braces? Can you guys describe the braces on your L-00's? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 I just like guitars and body size and shape makes no never mind to me. I can move between my Supertone concert to my Epi with its 16" lower bout and never really think about it. What does tend to throw me for a bit though is nut width. I have been goofing around with a '64 B-45-12 for a bit. If put it down and pick up the Epi, which with its 1 11/16" nut is the narrowest I own, and even though the neck has a nice full soft V shape it still feels incredibly skinny to me. It always seems to take me a little bit of time to adjust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 X-braced top has tall, very thin, tapered, non-scalloped braces, and creates a very woody, compressed, mid range guitar that has lots of sustain, and not a lot of overtones associated with rosewood. Also, the sound hole is fully braced all around with short little braces? Can you guys describe the braces on your L-00's? My L-OO Legend has fully-scalloped top bracing, including a pair of very short (in length) fully scalloped braces above and below the soundhole, in place of the more typical two flat reinforcement (anti-split) strips above and below the soundhole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danner Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 I play my '64 LG-1 and my '09 TVSJ a lot. Whenever I grab my D21, the scale length and string spacing makes me feel like a child playing a grown-up guitar. LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpbiii Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 Comfort? Guitar acoustic players are not supposed to be comfortable -- they are suppose to sound good (and be heard). (If you plug in, you are playing an electic guitar, so you don't count[biggrin]. And here size generally matters -- but exceptions apply. Here are a couple of example I have lying around. Martin '51 5-18, Kalamazoo '39 Sport Model (ladder), Gibson '35 L-00 3/4 (X), '34 Carson Robeson (Kalamazoo KG-11 -- ladder), '33 Martin 0-18 (reference). https://vimeo.com/36200712 1935 D-28 1934 00-40H https://vimeo.com/album/1859285/video/40272226 Let's pick, -Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 I am all over the shop, but I will add another perspective: If you are a skinny, short little fellow, the giant J200 12 string version may look a bit odd when you struggle up to the microphone at the jam night. If you a tall, fat person, the Robert Johnson is going to look like a ukelele when you strum it at the open mic. Etc. What you do in you own home is up to you! BluesKing777. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grampa Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 My Gibson F-25 has the small body like he LGs, with a 12 fret, flat and wide neck like a classical guitar - 2" at the nut. It found me in 1982 and it quickly became my soul mate guitar for life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6stringTom Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 My Gibson F-25 has the small body like he LGs, with a 12 fret, flat and wide neck like a classical guitar - 2" at the nut. It found me in 1982 and it quickly became my soul mate guitar for life. I played an F-25 at a store a while back and was really impressed with the depth of the tone. I mostly play small body guitars, although I find my J-45 as comfortable as most smaller bodies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpbiii Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 My Gibson F-25 has the small body like he LGs, with a 12 fret, flat and wide neck like a classical guitar - 2" at the nut. It found me in 1982 and it quickly became my soul mate guitar for life. We have a '65 F25. Ours is about the rawest sounding guitar we have -- even out-rawing some of the cheap ladder braced stuff from the 50s and earlier. What we discovered is that there appears to be two different construction periods on F-25s -- resulting in two different sounding groups of instruments. Raw and not raw. Ours is raw. Now raw is not the same as bad. The only thing that ours sounds "right" to us on is edgy mountain folk materials. Here are a couple of examples. 1 2 Best, -Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rambler Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 I'm finding my J45 is a bit of a bear to handle, sitting or standing; even using a strap. That combo of 16" across and 4.75 wide.... its like the old gospel thing.. so wide, cant get around it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 I'm finding my J45 is a bit of a bear to handle, sitting or standing; even using a strap. That combo of 16" across and 4.75 wide.... its like the old gospel thing.. so wide, cant get around it... It would be nice and light compared to the National you were playing! Do you still have that? I have trouble these days with my metal Dobro: slips off my knee, won't stay in the right position I like against my left side close to my left hand, and if I resort to wearing a strap Gary Davis style, I get a sore neck from the weight...... but what a tone....makes up for all that. BluesKing777. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedzep Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 I guess my overriding complaint about small bods is the eventual realization that the 6th string drops off in depth of tone. Thankfully, many old L00s have a thump at the low E and as luck would have it mine does. I adored my little Guild M20, Martin 0017, and L0 12 fretter, but eventually my ear would dwell on that last string in relation to the other five. These and others fell to the 'Sophie's Choice' over time for that absence of bass. I'm pretty anal about my home sound system being 'perfectly' equalized and balanced throughout the house, so it stands to reason I'd be equally obsessive about the tone across the range of my guitars capabilities. I'd love to have 'em all back though and have a pic taken like Juan posted of that poser Aaron Lewis, except mine would be naked, with three Blue Chip picks as pasties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
57classic Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 I guess my overriding complaint about small bods is the eventual realization that the 6th string drops off in depth of tone. Thankfully, many old L00s have a thump at the low E and as luck would have it mine does. I adored my little Guild M20, Martin 0017, and L0 12 fretter, but eventually my ear would dwell on that last string in relation to the other five. These and others fell to the 'Sophie's Choice' over time for that absence of bass. I'm pretty anal about my home sound system being 'perfectly' equalized and balanced throughout the house, so it stands to reason I'd be equally obsessive about the tone across the range of my guitars capabilities. I'd love to have 'em all back though and have a pic taken like Juan posted of that poser Aaron Lewis, except mine would be naked, with three Blue Chip picks as pasties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rambler Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 It would be nice and light compared to the National you were playing! Do you still have that? I have trouble these days with my metal Dobro: slips off my knee, won't stay in the right positionBluesKing777. Oh, yeh, BK. Still my pride and joy. Funny, the weight doesnt bother me that much (no worse than a Les Paul and balances better). The combo of 12-frets to the body, 00-width and shallow depth make it a very comfortable instrument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guth Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 I just like guitars and body size and shape makes no never mind to me. I can move between my Supertone concert to my Epi with its 16" lower bout and never really think about it. What does tend to throw me for a bit though is nut width. I have been goofing around with a '64 B-45-12 for a bit. If put it down and pick up the Epi, which with its 1 11/16" nut is the narrowest I own, and even though the neck has a nice full soft V shape it still feels incredibly skinny to me. It always seems to take me a little bit of time to adjust. It's almost as if zombywoof has answered for me. At 5'8", I'm not a big guy, but I've set down and played on a J-200 comfortably in the past and a few L-00s as well. The smallest guitar that I now own is a Martin 000. Mostly I play the slope-shouldered Jumbo sized guitars in both long and short scales. I just like to make sure that the little guitars have enough bass to keep me happy and that the big guitars don't have too much. Still, unless the bass is really way too weak or far too strong, I'm more concerned about the quality of the bass rather than the quantity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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