1958 Gibson LG-2 Flattop Guitar
It's rare for me to have a same-year LG-2 and LG-1 in the shop at the same time, but I do at the moment -- so after listening to this guy, check out its LG-1 counterpart in my previous post to compare.
This is a customer's guitar and was in for sprucing-up. As usual, it arrived in a bit of a state, but now it's back in service and sounds great. It also looks great, with the countrified giant pickguard and wide-sunburst finish.
LG-2s make excellent strummers -- these mid-late '50s ones have a bit more mids snap and clean chunk to their low-end rather than straight-up warmth, but overall they do sound a bit like a more-compressed, more-defined J-45 from the same time. They're easy on a microphone compared to a jumbo, though, for sure -- and fingerpick better as well.
Repairs included: a neck reset, bridge reglue, new bone saddle, crack repairs to the top near the pickguard's edges, cleats for a hairline crack on the back, replacement bridge pins and endpin, replacement tuners (Gotoh "aged" Kluson-a-likes), a fret level/dress, and setup.
Setup notes: it plays bang-on at 3/32" EA and 1/16" DGBE action at the 12th fret, has a straight neck, and the truss rod works. Strings are 54w-12 gauges.
Condition notes: there's a fair amount of light scratching all over the body. There are repaired cracks on the top near the pickguard and one on the back. The tuners, saddle, and bridge pins+endpin are replacements. The finish also shows the usual weather-checking and light finish-cracking throughout that's typical for Gibsons of this age.
This is a customer's guitar and was in for sprucing-up. As usual, it arrived in a bit of a state, but now it's back in service and sounds great. It also looks great, with the countrified giant pickguard and wide-sunburst finish.
LG-2s make excellent strummers -- these mid-late '50s ones have a bit more mids snap and clean chunk to their low-end rather than straight-up warmth, but overall they do sound a bit like a more-compressed, more-defined J-45 from the same time. They're easy on a microphone compared to a jumbo, though, for sure -- and fingerpick better as well.
Repairs included: a neck reset, bridge reglue, new bone saddle, crack repairs to the top near the pickguard's edges, cleats for a hairline crack on the back, replacement bridge pins and endpin, replacement tuners (Gotoh "aged" Kluson-a-likes), a fret level/dress, and setup.
Setup notes: it plays bang-on at 3/32" EA and 1/16" DGBE action at the 12th fret, has a straight neck, and the truss rod works. Strings are 54w-12 gauges.
Scale length: 24 5/8"
Nut width: 1 11/16"
String spacing at nut: 1 1/2"
String spacing at bridge: 2 1/8"
Body length: 19"
Lower bout width: 14 1/4"
Waist width: 9 1/4"
Upper bout width: 11"
Side depth at endpin: 4 1/2"
Top wood: solid spruce
Back/sides wood: solid mahogany
Neck wood: mahogany
Bracing type: x-braced
Fretboard: Brazilian rosewood, synthetic (orig) nut
Bridge: Brazilian rosewood, bone saddle
Neck feel: medium C-shape, ~10" board radius
Condition notes: there's a fair amount of light scratching all over the body. There are repaired cracks on the top near the pickguard and one on the back. The tuners, saddle, and bridge pins+endpin are replacements. The finish also shows the usual weather-checking and light finish-cracking throughout that's typical for Gibsons of this age.
The Gotoh tuners are so close to the look of period ones with their aged finish that I almost forgot I put them on.
Comments