RusRob Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 Hi All, I have been lurking aroun the forum for some time now and finally decided to become a member. This seems like a very friendly place with a lot of knowledgable people. I got my first guitar at 8 years old, I picked it out of our neighbors trash and asked them if I could have it. The top was pulled half off of it and I took it home and fixed it. I am 60 years old this month and have been fixing and playing guitars since then. I never called myself a luthier but I have fixed just about every kind of problem there can be on a guitar. Last year I came across this little sad Gibson LG-0 for sale. It looked like it spent most of its life in a closet with no case. The finish was literally falling off, The back was split from head to tail and was flapping in the wind and almost every brace was loose or gone. But the neck was nearly perfect, the frets had almost no wear and was straight. So I made the guy an offer for it and he said "its yours". I brought it down to my shop and started on it. I was going to just fix it up and sell it but as I started to work on it I could hear it talking to me.... I could hear it saying how it had been locked away in the back of that closet and after all these years it wanted to feel loved.... Well something like that.... Anyway, I started this project just to make some money and ended up in a love affair... I had about half of the ladder bracing cut and shaped when I decided to put X bracing in it. I found an old drawing of a 1940 L-00 and decided to use that as the basic pattern with the addition of scalloping. Since I had the back off I also decided to try my hand at tap tuning. I put a maple bridge plate in and made a new ebony bridge with bone saddle with individual compensation for each string. I stripped everything except the peghead face since that was about the only thing that wasn't peeling off and was in great shape. I finshed the body in Behlen Stringed Instrument Lacquer and left the grain partially open. The top is gloss and the sides and back are satin. The neck and back of the peghead was done in an oil finish. I completed it a few months ago and I am finding that this is the only guitar I keep picking up. With the addition of the forward X bracing it has a wonderful sound that has a lot of sustain and some beautiful overtones. It doesn't have the plunky mid tones that an LG-0 has so I decided to give it the designation of LG-X Here are some shots of it in-progress and finished. Thanks for looking Click on image for full picture Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedzep Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 Ahhh...so great that you took out the useless ladderbrace configuration. I've always wondered what the improvement would sound like. Now I wish I'd kept my first LG0 and popped the back off. Very nice job, Rus, and a fun story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobouz Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 RusRob - Always good to welcome another 60+ geezer! Of course, you're just a youngster to some of us. Love the work you did on your LG-X, and I'm sure the guitar appreciates being rescued! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 Very nice job Russ....now, how much do you want for it??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 Nice job! Looks like you've made a silk purse out of the proverbial sow's ear. What you have effectively created is essentially one of the very rare mahogany-topped 1942 banner LG-2's. Well done. Should be a sweet guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 Absolutely it's a great project - and I'd say a great gift of skill and talent at making it work. Doggone young kid... <grin> m Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RusRob Posted March 13, 2013 Author Share Posted March 13, 2013 Thanks for the replies, @jedzep, I have actually gotten to really like the sound of the original ladder braced Gibsons. Since I started this project I have listened to a lot of Youtube videos and there is something about that old time blues plunk that they produce (given the proper guitar player is playing it). @bobouz, Yea it sure seems to creep up on us... @onewilyfool, I am not sure I could sell it now... but if the right offer came to me... who knows? @j45nick, I like your thinking... @milod, Thank you for the compliment Here is a shot of the whole family. Everything except my LG-X, my Tele and the little Crestwood on the right could be bought. From left to right Back Row- My old trusty (cheap) Yamaha - Martin EMP1 (Limited edition #147 of 620) - Giannini 12 string - Gibson LG-X Front Row Fender Tel (Love it) - Fender Jap Strat - Rickenbacker 360 - Dean Resonator - 1966 Crestwood (the first guitar I ever bought) Not in the picture is my Martin D-18 I am rebuilding and a little no name telecaster I loaned out to a friend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 Here is a shot of the whole family. Everything except my LG-X, my Tele and the little Crestwood on the right could be bought. I'd call that a nice family portrait. And just ignore MiloD. He's just an old fart, unlike us whippersnappers still under 70...... (66 here) Welcome aboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedzep Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 Yep...it's all about the proper player when it comes to 'student' guitar tone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 Hey, I ain't 70 yet either... Do that make me a whipper-snapper? m Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 Do that make me a whipper-snapper? m All depends on how much snap is still in your whip..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountainpicker Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 What a great story! You do excellent work and I bet that little guitar is really going to shine even more just a bit down the road. I'm finding that there is just this "something" about an LG size guitar. I suspect that it has to do with it being about the size of a classical guitar as defined by Torres only having the steel strings just gives it another, more modern dimension. Whatever it is, it works. Never had a hankerin' for a hog top guitar until seeing yours. Well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duluthdan Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 Amazing work! Hats off to you on breathing new life into that guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Marsh Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 Very nice attention to detail! I always liked those little mahogany guitars - Nice to see another one not only preserved, but improved. I'm sure with the new, more active top she'll have a beautiful voice. Welcome officially and thanks for sharing. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wnw95 Posted August 30, 2020 Share Posted August 30, 2020 Sorry to dig up an old thread, but I’m a young guy (25) who’s about to embark on almost this exact same project. Any tips? Hardest part? Also, I’d love to get my hands on that drawing of the bracing pattern for the 1950 l-00 - I once played a 1934 l-00, and to this day I still have yet hear a more beautiful sound. Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted August 30, 2020 Share Posted August 30, 2020 (edited) 11 hours ago, Wnw95 said: Sorry to dig up an old thread, but I’m a young guy (25) who’s about to embark on almost this exact same project. Any tips? Hardest part? Also, I’d love to get my hands on that drawing of the bracing pattern for the 1950 l-00 - I once played a 1934 l-00, and to this day I still have yet hear a more beautiful sound. Thanks!! You might try Georgia Luthier Supplies or Ultimate Guitar Online for plans. Also there is a Gibson Bracing Library at UMGF. But that sound you heard on that L00 was not just a matter of the bracing. Early-1930s Gibson L series guitars had a scary light build. Edited August 30, 2020 by zombywoof Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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