Gibson 1937 L-00 Re-issue

[jpfeiff]

So Gibson has officially re-introduced the L-00

http://www.guitarsale.com/Gibson-1937-L-00-Legend--i755805.music

No, it's not the one they were calling the "Blues King" for awhile. Supposedly built to 1937 specs, but look at that WHOPPING price! Holy crap, L-00's back in the thirties were considered low-end, student models and were cheap. They're asking more for these babies than the vintage ones sell for! Oh, and I also thought by '37 L-00's featured a large sunburst....

Anybody play one of these yet?

[Ogre]

I have played 6 of them. They were all excellent. They are part of the Legend Series, which includes a J45 model. Those are also wonderful, if costly guitars. The neck on the J45 models I have played was huge. The L00 necks were a bit smaller, but still larger than what you see these days.

[zombywoof]

Don't get me wrong, I think Gibson can make a dandy guitar. I think the AJ is one of the best acosutics available today.

But until they decide to offer me the best they got in an off-the-shelf regular production model at a good price point, they will not get me in the door. First ya got the True Vintage - then the Legends which implies the True Vintage are not that "true" - then you get the Limited Edition True Vintage which I guess are even "truer" yet.

Until then I will stick with the pre-61 Gibsons.

[bazooka47]

I bought a real vintage 1938 Gibson L-00 this year, in excellent condition, complete with the Geib red-line case. I actually paid LESS for it than the dealer price for the Gibson Legend L-00, which I was also considering.

Everything I read and heard abut the Legend Series is that they are fantastic, though.

[jpfeiff]

I bought a real vintage 1938 Gibson L-00 this year, in excellent condition, complete with the Geib red-line case. I actually paid LESS for it than the dealer price for the Gibson Legend L-00, which I was also considering.

Everything I read and heard abut the Legend Series is that they are fantastic, though.
....and, are you happy with it??

[johneeeveee]

Are they using old wood on these?

I have a '36 L-00 and it's one of the best guitars I've ever heard. Mid 30's L-00's are in the $4000-$4500 (and up) range these days , so I guess the price on the new one's isn't way off.

You can buy a Greven L-00, which is arguably the finest L-00 style guitar out there (with 50 yr old spruce), for about $3700. Mary Flower and others play them, and they also own vintage Gibsons.

The vintage L-00's are very lightly braced and can need repairs from time to time, so I guess a new guitar could be a bit more reliable, but I've yet to play a new guitar that captures the sound of a 70 year old guitar that's been played it's whole life. They are like magic to my ears.

Peace - jv

[bazooka47]

....and, are you happy with it??

Oh yes! This particular one lives up to the reputation as having a somewhat loud, woody tone. It is not something I would take to gigs or depend on if I were a pro player- it is built very light- but it's fantastic for fingerstyle blues and rags.

I am partial to old Gibsons, though. I have been collecting them for years, and I realize part of the price I paid for this one was due to its age and collectability.

If you are just looking for that L-00 sound without quite such a steep price tag, there are modern versions being made. For example, I also have a Collings C-10 Deluxe, which I picked up used for less than half the price of the vintage L-00. It is a little different animal (rosewood back and sides, ebony board), but MAN does it sound good! LOUD, rich, and harmonically complex, but still retains that punchy blues tone.

Anyway, back to the Legend series, there is a pretty good 'shootout' between a Legend L-00 and its vintage counterpart at this link:

http://www.myoldguitars.com/wordpress/guitars/gibson-legends-series-1937-l-00-acoustic-guitar/#more-188

To my ears the vintage one sounds better, but I wouldn't mind having either (or both)!

Good luck.

[soulohio]

wow...i agree that the vintage L00 sounds better...I love that tone. Where do you buy an old guitar like that?

[johneeeveee]

Cool side by side test.
I personally thought the reissue sounded a bit thinner in the trebles, and lacked a bit of the punch and clarity in the bottom end that the vintage L-00 possessed.
They both sounded great, but the notes just seem to jump off the fretboard on these vintage L-00's, and their balance and throaty mids are hard to duplicate for some reason.

I think the Greven L00v that I mentioned earlier comes closer than any other I have personally heard (a lot), and they are less expensive than the Gibby's. Worth a look if you are in the market.

Here's a link to see and hear one:
http://www.dreamguitars.com/instock_greven.htm

Peace - jv

[j_uc]

It's probably fantastic - for that kind of money it'd better be - but being impervious to brand snobbery and marketing spin, no doubt I would go for Guild's high-end model, for about 2 grand less.

[LowWatt]

It's probably fantastic - for that kind of money it'd better be - but being impervious to brand snobbery and marketing spin, no doubt I would go for Guild's high-end model, for about 2 grand less.

Do they have anything in that body size?

[jpfeiff]

Oh yes! This particular one lives up to the reputation as having a somewhat loud, woody tone. It is not something I would take to gigs or depend on if I were a pro player- it is built very light- but it's fantastic for fingerstyle blues and rags.

I am partial to old Gibsons, though. I have been collecting them for years, and I realize part of the price I paid for this one was due to its age and collectability.

If you are just looking for that L-00 sound without quite such a steep price tag, there are modern versions being made. For example, I also have a Collings C-10 Deluxe, which I picked up used for less than half the price of the vintage L-00. It is a little different animal (rosewood back and sides, ebony board), but MAN does it sound good! LOUD, rich, and harmonically complex, but still retains that punchy blues tone.

Anyway, back to the Legend series, there is a pretty good 'shootout' between a Legend L-00 and its vintage counterpart at this link:

http://www.myoldguitars.com/wordpress/guitars/gibson-legends-series-1937-l-00-acoustic-guitar/#more-188

To my ears the vintage one sounds better, but I wouldn't mind having either (or both)!

Good luck.

Super-cool website! Both guitars sounded awesome--in some ways the re-issue sounded a little punchier to me. Thanks for that link--I know where I'll be wasting a little time today.....

[bazooka47]

De Nada.

In case you are interested, here are a couple shots of my '38:

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m289/bazooka47/1938%20Gibson%20L-00/IMG_1120.jpg
http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m289/bazooka47/1938%20Gibson%20L-00/IMG_1125.jpg

[jpfeiff]

WOW--she's a beauty. I've actually got a 1934 L-00, but much more beat up than the one you've got. It's got GREAT tone down in the first position, but begins to lose intonation as you go up the neck. I've always accepted this as part of the funkiness and imprecision of an old guitar. You think I could solve this with a professional setup?

[avincent52`]

wow...i agree that the vintage L00 sounds better...I love that tone. Where do you buy an old guitar like that?


That L-00 was really beat. I'd be interested in seeing what it looked like inside. I don't think you can tell much from lo-res computer videos, but the people who say "vintage guitars are all hype" probably played one badly repaired example and drew a conclusion from that.

I played a True Vintage L-00 and it was actually pretty good, one of the better new Gibsons I've played. That said, you can buy a really great, pretty clean vintage one for $4k (saw one in the classifieds a couple weeks back) and one with a few issues for $3k or less.

A Martin OM-18GE may not truly compete with a real vintage OM, but the price difference ($2500 for a used one vs $15,000 or more for a decent vintage one) makes up for it.

The Greven L-00 is really amazing but again some of the same issues apply.
And I say this having owned four vintage L-00s and played a bunch more.

[avincent52`]

WOW--she's a beauty. I've actually got a 1934 L-00, but much more beat up than the one you've got. It's got GREAT tone down in the first position, but begins to lose intonation as you go up the neck. I've always accepted this as part of the funkiness and imprecision of an old guitar. You think I could solve this with a professional setup?
__________________

John
I think you can improve the intonation a lot, but you'll likely need more than a "setup."
Once you decide on strings and get the action where you want it, a good luthier could make a compensated saddle which could likely help with the intonation. That's a rather, cheap, easy and reversible fix.
The next step might be to reslot the bridge. If the bridge is original, this should be considered carefully. If it's a replacement bridge, it's not a big deal.

Again, go to someone who's well versed in dealing with vintage Gibson acoustics.
Steve Kovacik (www.guitar-repair.com) is an option.

Those 34s are especially nice, with the smaller bursts and the more v'd necks. Does yours have an elevated fretboard? Got pics?
best
Allen

[jpfeiff]

John
I think you can improve the intonation a lot, but you'll likely need more than a "setup."
Once you decide on strings and get the action where you want it, a good luthier could make a compensated saddle which could likely help with the intonation. That's a rather, cheap, easy and reversible fix.
The next step might be to reslot the bridge. If the bridge is original, this should be considered carefully. If it's a replacement bridge, it's not a big deal.

Again, go to someone who's well versed in dealing with vintage Gibson acoustics.
Steve Kovacik (www.guitar-repair.com (http://www.guitar-repair.com)) is an option.

Those 34s are especially nice, with the smaller bursts and the more v'd necks. Does yours have an elevated fretboard? Got pics?
best
Allen

I'll try to get some pics posted this weekend. I had some posted in an earlier thread, but they've disappeared thanks to Apple's switch-over from their ".mac" service to what they are now calling "MobileMe." It has totally screwed up the abililty to host pictures...arrghhhh!

[Traintrack]

Great thread. I love these guitars. Thanks for the conversation.

For Pictures just use Tinypic.com
You upload and post in 40 seconds. It's free.

[pickaguitar]

Is the list price 6,919 firm or can you take 40% off it like a new Martin?

[jpfeiff]

Is the list price 6,919 firm or can you take 40% off it like a new Martin?

See the link in the original post--5 grand plus change....

[jpfeiff]

Those 34s are especially nice, with the smaller bursts and the more v'd necks. Does yours have an elevated fretboard? Got pics?
best
Allen

Some pics of the '34. No elevated fretboard, no firestripe pickguard, SMALL sunburst. She's a little beat but sounds great....

http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd357/akpfeiff/L00/IMG_0876.jpg

http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd357/akpfeiff/L00/IMG_0864.jpg

http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd357/akpfeiff/L00/IMG_0871.jpg

http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd357/akpfeiff/L00/IMG_0872.jpg

http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd357/akpfeiff/L00/IMG_0874.jpg

[zombywoof]

The Legend Series are the only real reissues coming out of Gibson. I saw a shootout between an original L-00 and the RI and will say they were increibly close in tone.

But since the mid-1980s, Gibson has used a Martin-style bracing on their guitars even those labeled as "vintage." Not saying they aint nice guitars but because what gave Gibsons their unique tone was the bracing - reissues the new ones ain't.

[PedalFreak]

Thought I would chime in. I am a Gibson Certified Acoustic Specialist. The Legend's have a couple big reasons for the price tag. There are only about 24 built a month (they build 70-75 guitars a day), they have to out source some of the building of these. The bracing is done with a table saw like they did back in the 30's. OSHA doesnt allow this in a factory now, so they hired someone to make them. They also use hot hide glue. Essentially they are built 99% accurate to the way the built them in 1937. Today though that means a higher price tag.

[Dotneck]

Thought I would chime in. I am a Gibson Certified Acoustic Specialist.<snip>they have to out source some of the building of these. <snip> so they hired someone to make them.

Interesting that Gibson doesn't even make these guitars. Gibson branded Grevens?

:confused: