"Old Splinters" - 1937 Gibson L-0

[BluesKing777]

I just wanted to post a photo of my 1937 Gibson L-0.....

What do you think when you look at this photo?






BluesKing777.

[kego]

I'm thinking I'd put an end-pin jack in it and get rid of that awful cable!

[The Bard Rocks]

Originally Posted by kego

I'm thinking I'd put an end-pin jack in it and get rid of that awful cable!

Ditto, But I might do without the endpin jack too. If I could avoid seeing the cable, I'd say it looked great, but the cable is what I see first.

[jpd]

I think you're a lucky man!

[Ben M.]

Originally Posted by kego

I'm thinking I'd put an end-pin jack in it and get rid of that awful cable!

Old splinters has gone 83 years with out having a hole drilled through her butt. I wouldn't want to break that streak either.

It could be worse. At least the cable isn't attached with duct tape.

My first thought was "I wonder if he plays slide on it." Then I noticed the slide at the bottom and my question was answered.

I love the look of an old well played beat up guitar. I'm sure it sounds amazing.

[thepassivevoice]

I think it probably sounds pretty good amplified. No under-the-saddle piezo quack.

[mc1]

The chairs should be up, and it seems odd there's no signatures on the guitar.

[Cool555]

I think it’s a great-looking retro & rustic Gibson. I like how it has aged nicely with the orange-brown top and dark lines from the sound hole running parallel to the strings. The bridge, fretboard & pickguard looks pretty new, are they?

Just curious, has this 1937 Gibson been in your family all this while?

[Wade Hampton]

Originally Posted by Cool555

..... The bridge, fretboard & pickguard looks pretty new, are they?

Just curious, has this 1937 Gibson been in your family all this while?

It clearly has muy mojo...very cool little rig.

My first thought when I glanced at the photo is that it might have had the original dark top blitzed down to the wood underneath, and a natural finish applied in its place. If so, however, that modification seems to have taken place long ago.

The tuners definitely look very recent, but there’s no crime in wanting the guitar to stay in tune. I’m not as certain about the pickguard and bridge, but they do look newer than the instrument itself.

Anyway, nice guitar. Thanks for posting the photo: I think ALL of us have gained extra mojo merely by gazing at it! It’s a guitar that my alternate blues persona “Blind Hambone Wadeboy” would like to play...


Wade Hampton Miller

[rockabilly69]

I'd go one step further and yank that Baggs pickup out of it, I don't like the sound of them and I love the sound of old Gibsons. When you want someone to hear it, mic it!

[BluesKing777]

Ha!

Some funny replies, thanks!

The pickup comes out....

I bought the guitar about 7 years ago. A previous owner added his own touches by decorating it with pearl all over the neck and headstock, but some rattled and they weren’t straight. The bridge was split and the tuners were held together with araldite. The fretboard was some driftwood with more of a bow than a real bow and arrow....All a bit weird and unplayable...sounded awful! Came in a stinker Martin thermo case.

Enter my luthier!

Neck reset, new fretboard in ebony, new ebony bridge, ebony faceplate to hide the holes from the previous homemade inlays, mahogany veneer on the side of the headstock to hide the holes also. New Klusons, new bone nut, saddle.

Voila!

So not a restoration, more a ‘custom Gibson L-0’.

And it sounds incredible!


BluesKing777.

[Silly Moustache]

It reminds me of a very similar looking guitar that an acquaintance of mine brought along to my club a while ago.
He had bought it in unplayable condition, and taken it apart and rebuilt it and it was magical.
As he stoutly refused t sell it to me, i started a search which resulted in the purchase of my Waterloo.

Lovely guitars.

[Wade Hampton]

I would stoutly refuse to sell to you, too - and heartily and emphatically refuse at the same time. “Go away!” I’d stoutly shout. “Go find your OWN basket case to restore to its former glory!”

Seriously, I don’t have any old guitars that required so much restoration, but I was given a rare prewar wood-bodied National resonator mandolin that required extensive restoration to be returned to full playability. There’s a sense of responsibility and perhaps a more profound feeling of ownership of an instrument when you’ve had that sort of rescue work done. It’s not unlike when you rescue a dog from the animal pound and it turns out to be a great pet; there’s a greater sense of personal accomplishment, in a way.

Hope that makes sense.


whm

[BluesKing777]

The Waterloos had not been invented yet when I had the L-0 repaired!

Bill Collings so NAILED the 30s Gibson/Kalamazoo thing - would I have gone through all that torture/experience if I had a WL-14X?

I have owned a WL-14X and a WL-14L for a couple of years now - it IS way cheating! Perfect builds, perfect setups, old 30s sound but beautiful playability. The poor old L-0 has had so much done to it and it will never regain its youth. A lot of people would buy the Waterloos before taking the hard road.....

Still glad I did it/own it!


BluesKing777.

[pegleghowell]

I think,if it had another three strings,Big Joe Williams would be over the moon with it.