Gibson L-30

[oldane]

I agree doesn’t look enough room for a Dearmond pickup on a stick.

Looks like there are only 3 good options for amplification:

1) Transducer, which you have—try to coax a good sound of it with a good DI and/or amp

2) Mic

3) Set in pickup

It's an L 30 or 37 from the 1930s. I have one of these with an original 1938 Charlie Christian pickup retrofitted somewhere along the life of the guitar before I got it. I'll warn that installing set in PU's in these old instruments carries a risk of developing cracks in the top (which is quite thin and has become brittle after all those years). According to the OP, this guitar has them already just as mine has.

I have sometimes thought of having mine restored and the cracks repaired. To keep the heavy pickup, I would likely also have some additional bracing installed around the pickup, though it would degrade the acoustic response of the guitar. One can literally feel the brittleness of the top. So far, I have not done anything about it, and the guitar is mostly a museum piece for me.

[Woody Sound]

Kent Armstrong also makes an ultra thin pickup called the "2D." Choice of neck bracket or tab mount.

https://www.djangobooks.com/Item/ken...icro-humbucker

ac accessories

[skykomishone]

Congratulations on the new old Gibson! My general feelings and approach with acquisitions like this is sort of like a doctor's hippocratic oath, i.e., do no harm! Same as with wine making. Once you have the grapes, your job is to retain whatever the goodness the vine has provided. Enjoy!

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

I love to see a guitar that has been highly used. Be respectful of it, it may not last more than another 50 years!

I suspect there’s not one surviving Strad, Amati, etc that hasn’t been repaired at least a dozen times and many have suffered significant injury or wear. What keeps them alive for centuries is the combination of intrinsic value as great instruments and their economic value as prized rarities. Simply put, they’re clearly “worth” protecting, repairing, and maintaining to their owners regardless of the cost.

Unfortunately, many nice older guitars from the bottoms of their makers’ price lists are allowed to deteriorate because maintenance and repair add up to their market value or more after years of enjoyment. The better the guitar sounds and feels, the more it’s played and enjoyed……and the more apparent that becomes over time. I’m always amazed at “collectors” who only want pristine instruments with all of their original parts. The most common reason for a guitar to have remained perfect after 50+ years (after death of its owner or having been forgotten about) is probably that it was a real dog.

I hate to hear “I can get an X for what this repair will cost”. A good luthier can keep most old guitars at their best, and sometimes make them even better than they were. The guitar(s) you love and have been playing for years are like your teeth - you only have to take care of the ones you want to keep. You can replace them, but the originals will go the distance if you help them. And once you start discarding and replacing, it’s just not the same.

Here’s to the perpetual survival of good old guitars and fine luthiers (and fine dentists)!

[osloutah]

It's an L 30 or 37 from the 1930s. I have one of these with an original 1938 Charlie Christian pickup retrofitted somewhere along the life of the guitar before I got it. I'll warn that installing set in PU's in these old instruments carries a risk of developing cracks in the top (which is quite thin and has become brittle after all those years). According to the OP, this guitar has them already just as mine has.

I have sometimes thought of having mine restored and the cracks repaired. To keep the heavy pickup, I would likely also have some additional bracing installed around the pickup, though it would degrade the acoustic response of the guitar. One can literally feel the brittleness of the top. So far, I have not done anything about it, and the guitar is mostly a museum piece for me.

How does it sound with the CC?

More importantly, thanks for the guidance. I just made a deal with rsclosson for his Lace, so I'll give that a go first. I'm generally inclined to let instruments be what they are, but I jump on old instruments that are still players, if that makes any sense.

How good is your luthier? Mine has a knack for finding old instruments which have little to no value, then re-engineering them so they play and can be played for another hundred years. I understand that isn't the case with your Gibson, but maybe your person can give it a good look and potentially find some solutions.

[osloutah]

Congratulations on the new old Gibson! My general feelings and approach with acquisitions like this is sort of like a doctor's hippocratic oath, i.e., do no harm! Same as with wine making. Once you have the grapes, your job is to retain whatever the goodness the vine has provided. Enjoy!

Agreed, almost all the time. I'm 99% sure I'll stick with non-invasive options with this Gibson. The person who put on the transducer barely had to remove any material for the output jack, so that option is almost entirely reversible. I'll never know what it sounded like before it was traumatized, but I love how it sounds now, so best to leave things be.

I learned a relatively inexpensive lesson about this many years ago with an old, non-valuable alto saxophone. I got it for a good price, and my tech told me to just enjoy it as is. I kept pushing him to do an overhaul until he reluctantly took my money and did it. Took a quaint, pleasant sounding instrument, and just ruined its voice. I destroyed whatever was there, and ended up gifting the horn to a friend's son who wanted to play around on a saxophone. Long story short: I think that the acoustical properties basically settle in over time, so if you don't like the instrument as is, don't get it and let it find the right owner.

[osloutah]

I suspect there’s not one surviving Strad, Amati, etc that hasn’t been repaired at least a dozen times and many have suffered significant injury or wear. What keeps them alive for centuries is the combination of intrinsic value as great instruments and their economic value as prized rarities. Simply put, they’re clearly “worth” protecting, repairing, and maintaining to their owners regardless of the cost.

Unfortunately, many nice older guitars from the bottoms of their makers’ price lists are allowed to deteriorate because maintenance and repair add up to their market value or more after years of enjoyment. The better the guitar sounds and feels, the more it’s played and enjoyed……and the more apparent that becomes over time. I’m always amazed at “collectors” who only want pristine instruments with all of their original parts. The most common reason for a guitar to have remained perfect after 50+ years (after death of its owner or having been forgotten about) is probably that it was a real dog.

I hate to hear “I can get an X for what this repair will cost”. A good luthier can keep most old guitars at their best, and sometimes make them even better than they were. The guitar(s) you love and have been playing for years are like your teeth - you only have to take care of the ones you want to keep. You can replace them, but the originals will go the distance if you help them. And once you start discarding and replacing, it’s just not the same.

Here’s to the perpetual survival of good old guitars and fine luthiers (and fine dentists)!

Amen!!! And on that note, I was devastated to learn that my luthier is retiring. I know there are other great people around, but I've known this guy for 20 years.

A related anecdote: I'm aware of a handful of saxophone flippers. Not too long ago, one of them somehow ended up with an amazing and very valuable alto saxophone. For whatever reason(s), he ended up stripping off all of the remaining original lacquer, and then threw the horn on the market for absolute top dollar because he'd made it look brand new. He makes me sick, because he works at conning people out of these great old instruments, then he turns around and does stupid things with them. Ends up ruining them for everyone, but I guess he's making enough to keep doing it.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

Amen!!! And on that note, I was devastated to learn that my luthier is retiring. I know there are other great people around, but I've known this guy for 20 years.

A related anecdote: I'm aware of a handful of saxophone flippers. Not too long ago, one of them somehow ended up with an amazing and very valuable alto saxophone. For whatever reason(s), he ended up stripping off all of the remaining original lacquer, and then threw the horn on the market for absolute top dollar because he'd made it look brand new. He makes me sick, because he works at conning people out of these great old instruments, then he turns around and does stupid things with them. Ends up ruining them for everyone, but I guess he's making enough to keep doing it.

A classic story! I’ve been gigging for many years with 2 guys who still have the Selmer Mk 6 tenors they bought new decades ago. Both horns have lost a fair amount of lacquer and luster over the years. They really look ratty, but both have been left alone cosmetically out of fear they won’t sound as good if altered in any way. Mechanical maintenance has been meticulous, but nothing more than a clean, soft cloth has ever touched their skin. And they sound sooooooo fine!

[oldane]

How does it sound with the CC?

More importantly, thanks for the guidance. I just made a deal with rsclosson for his Lace, so I'll give that a go first. I'm generally inclined to let instruments be what they are, but I jump on old instruments that are still players, if that makes any sense.

How good is your luthier?

Mine has a knack for finding old instruments which have little to no value, then re-engineering them so they play and can be played for another hundred years. I understand that isn't the case with your Gibson, but maybe your person can give it a good look and potentially find some solutions.

My CC sounds good but is uneven volume wise from string to string. My problem is that we have no luthiers in Denmark who have experiences with archtops, so I would have to contact one of the Dutch or German archtop makers for repair work. One problem is that the CC pickup is too heavy for the fragile top, so to avoid more cracks, the top will have to be reinforced in some way if the instrument should find more constant use outside of my living room.

[osloutah]

My CC sounds good but is uneven volume wise from string to string. My problem is that we have no luthiers in Denmark who have experiences with archtops, so I would have to contact one of the Dutch or German archtop makers for repair work. One problem is that the CC pickup is too heavy for the fragile top, so to avoid more cracks, the top will have to be reinforced in some way if the instrument should find more constant use outside of my living room.

Bummer about the state of that top and lack of a local luthier. Hopefully a solution will eventually present itself.

And thanks for the info on the CC, I'm really curious about them.