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  #16  
Old 08-29-2016, 07:12 AM
zombywoof zombywoof is offline
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Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa View Post
You've got a prewar Gibson, in a non-standard color, and you want to trade it on a run-of-the-mill factory-made Chinese instrument - what am I missing here...???

Black was a stock finish on 1930s L-50s. While I would trade an L-50 in a heartbeat for something like a late 1930s Kay Television, I agree on on re-thinking a trade for a run of the mill import guitar.
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  #17  
Old 08-29-2016, 08:16 AM
SolidSpruceTop SolidSpruceTop is offline
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Originally Posted by zombywoof View Post
Black was a stock finish on 1930s L-50s. While I would trade an L-50 in a heartbeat for something like a late 1930s Kay Television, I agree on on re-thinking a trade for a run of the mill import guitar.
The stock color of the L50 was sunburst for it's entire lifetime. They only had black from 36-37 or so as a color you could special order. I dunno if that was a mistype or what


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Originally Posted by savofenno View Post
My experience aout Martin is, great guitars, but not very good strings. Stiff and plain sounding.

Your L50 looks that good as i your image of it, and it is a late 30`s one? Keep it, it must be great with everything checked and corrected, like how the bridge sits on top, and suitable strings used.

I would never sell it without througly checking everything first!
I dunno if I already said this, but the guy I got it from had a friend who was a lutheir set it up, and I can definitely tell. The nut is spot on, the neck relief is perfect, the only issue was the action was set low for open bluegrass chords, which is where there's a bit of wear on the frets. All I did was change strings, action, and intonation. The bridge is already carved for perfect contact on the top.

The only issue I can really see is the slight sagging of the top, which is why I'm staying away from mediums.
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  #18  
Old 08-29-2016, 08:26 AM
Dreadfulnaught Dreadfulnaught is offline
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As a general rule, not just for guitars but in life, if something is worth more over time you want to own it. If it is worth less over time you want to rent or lease it and write the expense off against a business if possible.
This will be worth more over time, I say keep it and start saving for something else with a sound you love. Not all guitars speak to all ears, or styles. I personally don't care for L50s, they are very mid-rangy to my ears. I have large hands (catchers mitt size) and the skinny finger boards are TOO skinny. Some guys used to like old acoustic arch top Gretsches and Gibsons for recording purposes for some of the the same reasons I DISliked them, they did not need much EQing because of the strong mid. Whatever floats yer boat I guess.
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  #19  
Old 08-29-2016, 08:38 AM
Hot Vibrato Hot Vibrato is offline
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Originally Posted by zombywoof View Post
Just my opinion but I have never met an archtop that did not scream to be strung with 13's
+1! They just don't sound very good with light strings regardless of how well the guitar is played. If it were my guitar, I'd use 13's and let the top sag - most of the good sounding L-50's have slightly saggy tops. But I can't blame the OP for being cautious, so I suppose 12's is a good compromise. If you get brave enough to try roundwound 13's, you'll be amazed at how much better it sounds.
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  #20  
Old 08-29-2016, 04:34 PM
PistolPete PistolPete is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SolidSpruceTop View Post
? My local store has a Loar 300 down to $320, so I've been meaning to check it out and see if I like it better...

http://imgur.com/a/HxhZY

I'll give you $320 for the L50, then you can go out & get the Loar of your dreams
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  #21  
Old 08-29-2016, 05:11 PM
SolidSpruceTop SolidSpruceTop is offline
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Originally Posted by PistolPete View Post
I'll give you $320 for the L50, then you can go out & get the Loar of your dreams
You gotta pay shipping though fam, and shipping is $1000 ;p

Now that I have a set plan for what instruments to own and keep and pay back some money plus the opinions here, I'm keeping this L50. I only considered the Loar since they tend to sound pretty good and I could actually examine that one to see how decent it is, since Loar's are incredibly sketchy
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  #22  
Old 08-29-2016, 08:07 PM
zombywoof zombywoof is offline
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Originally Posted by SolidSpruceTop View Post
The stock color of the L50 was sunburst for it's entire lifetime. They only had black from 36-37 or so as a color you could special order. I dunno if that was a mistype or what



The Black Special was available from 1935 to 1939. It was basically a stripped down, bare bones version of the L-50. I just phrased it wrong meaning black was a stock color for span of time. Sorry.
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  #23  
Old 08-29-2016, 08:19 PM
SolidSpruceTop SolidSpruceTop is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zombywoof View Post
The Black Special was available from 1935 to 1939. It was basically a stripped down, bare bones version of the L-50. I just phrased it wrong meaning black was a stock color for span of time. Sorry.
Ohh, I see. I've had trouble finding info on these, but it makes sense for the time period, then. Cheaper to produce, cheaper to sell. Learning new stuff every day
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  #24  
Old 09-14-2016, 07:43 AM
Epiphonist Epiphonist is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SolidSpruceTop View Post
I've decided I'll pick up some light round wounds to try and balance out the tone while I learn the technique. I've wanted an archtop for a couple years now, so I'm gonna stick with it for a bit. A gypsy jazz guitar might be more up my ally, but I'm gonna stick with this for a while. By the way, I play rhythm, which is probably why I prefer the flatwounds
I currently use bronze roundwound 12s or 13s on all of my vintage acoustic archtops (for acoustic playing), I like 80/20s.

Another aspect which is often overlooked: those acoustic archtops were designed to project all tonal energy to the front. When you are sitting "behind" the box as the player an archtop can often sound somewhat thin in your ears, because the sound is mostly thrown out to the front. In other words: The true sound of an unamplified archtop can only be heard from the front where the audience is placed.

Flattops are usually different in this respect - you can hear it better as player because the sound projects somewhat more omnidirectional.

Felix
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  #25  
Old 09-14-2016, 12:24 PM
zombywoof zombywoof is offline
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Originally Posted by Epiphonist View Post
I currently use bronze roundwound 12s or 13s on all of my vintage acoustic archtops (for acoustic playing), I like 80/20s.

I just bought a set of those D'Addario Nickel Bronze strings for my Epi Triumph Regent. I was curious about them. I will probably string it up over the weekend.
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  #26  
Old 09-16-2016, 05:03 PM
ComradeGarrett ComradeGarrett is offline
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I have an early 40s L-50 with what I believe to be a 30s neck/headstock. I love it and it often get compliments.

As many others have suggested, I put 13s on it and might even go up to 14s. I use flatwounds so it looks like I'm in the minority here. I love flatwound strings for those chunky, percussive rhythm sounds. The low end isn't always stupendous, especially as the strings age. I've taken to wiping down my strings after every time I play the guitar. It lengthens the string life and retains low-end for a great deal longer.

I think the biggest factor for archtop ownership is what style you're going to play. Those guitars are just suited for certain styles and I don't think it makes much sense to try to make it do something else.

Have you played any gypsy or swing-era jazz with it? If you got a small group together to play that stuff, you might really appreciate what it does. Then again, maybe not.

I wouldn't dare get rid of mine but it's a family heirloom so keep that in mind.
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