#16
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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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"You start off playing guitars to get girls & end up talking with middle-aged men about your fingernails" - Ed Gerhard |
#17
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The only issue I can really see is the slight sagging of the top, which is why I'm staying away from mediums. |
#18
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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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90s Martin D-28 (Algae guitar) 1979 Alvarez CY 115, #226 of 600 1977 Giannini Craviola 12 String 1997 Martin CEO-1R 1970s C.F. Mountain OOO-18 1968 Standel/Harptone E6-N 1969-70 Harptone Maple Lark L6-NC (Katrina guitar) Supreme A-12 Voyage-Air VAOM-06 Esteban Antonio Brown Model |
#19
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+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
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I'll give you $320 for the L50, then you can go out & get the Loar of your dreams
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"I used to think I was an artist. Come to find out I'm a beer salesman" - James McMurtry Hear some footstomping acoustic blues at pistolpetewearn.co.uk! |
#21
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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 |
#22
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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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"You start off playing guitars to get girls & end up talking with middle-aged men about your fingernails" - Ed Gerhard |
#23
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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
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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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Visit NY Epi Reg- The Unofficial New York Epiphone Registry |
#25
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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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"You start off playing guitars to get girls & end up talking with middle-aged men about your fingernails" - Ed Gerhard |
#26
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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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Late Shift: https://lateshiftcountry.bandcamp.com/releases The Davenport Brothers: https://www.reverbnation.com/thedavbros 1942/3 Gibson L-50 1952 Kay K-27 1965 & 2001 J-45 JW Peabody Parlor 1960s Goya G-12 |