Re: What are good years for old Gibson j-50 guitars?

Interesting thread!  It's nice to find some comradery around the
enigmatic Gibson brand.  My current all-time-favorite guitar is 
an old L-00 from, I figure, about the time FDR took office.  

I don't know any of you folks personally, but I sure wish I did.  
Steve and Gail hit it on the head, I think: "gibson guitars are 
very inconsistent...gems may be found from all periods" and "with 
all things Gibson, nothing is totally cut & dried".  A repair
person once quipped to me "anything goes with Gibson".  I like 
that.

All things being un-equal with Gibson, I have found that the type of
strings used make an enormous difference.  With a "regular brand"
phosphor bronze set, my L-00 sounds like a cheap 70 year old 
guitar - strident tone and no real presence.  With Thomastik 
AC-112 Plectrums, the sound is full, dry, and woody with plenty 
of punch on the low end.  All that to say, in my opinion, that a 
guitar should be auditioned by the player in person and that one 
should be prepared to try several different types of strings
before giving up on a particular Gibson guitar.

Regarding the J-50 guitars, I have played several from the 1960s
and 1950s.  I doubt I have the same level of familiarity as others
here, but as a general rule I have found the sound of the heavier
ADJ bridge models to be "compressed", with a springy bass, and real 
nice for a certain type of vocal accompaniment.   The lighter 
weight, 1950s I guess, guitars have more "bark" and a tighter,
punchier bass which is maybe more suitable to string band playing.
But, YMMV, of course.  Much is in the hands of the picker.

Coincidentally, I happen to be evaluating one of the guitars that
an ealier poster mentioned!  Small world.


-----------------------------------------------------------
I don't read mail at the address in the header.  old gibson 
at big foot dot com is a better choice.


-- 
Posted via Mailgate.ORG Server - http://www.Mailgate.ORG