The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #26

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    just as long as Chet didn't stick that big ole cigar under a headstock string.....

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #27

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    Sounds good to me! Pickup is cool too.

  4. #28

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    Guitars should be played, not stuck in museums. You are now part of that guitar's history.

    Pity your patience ran out when it came to recording its sound, as it deserves better, I think. Always love hearing you play, though!

  5. #29

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    I think it looks badass.

    L50s are ripe for this sort of conversion no? I mean they are nice instruments but not the best acoustic guitars?

  6. #30

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    Totally applauding you! You have the skills to do that guitar justice in the upgrade. The guitar deserves a stylin’ pickup that gives it a second life.

    My 1954 L50 is destined for a Brit made CC pickup. I’m just studying how to do it—yes, it’s crazy but I want to do it myself. I”m a slow-going, methodical, one-step, measure 5 times then cut once kind of guy. I want to do it, but I’m studying it obsessively until I get the process.

    We’ll have to introduce our pimped out L50’s some time when mine is done!


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  7. #31

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    I grew up around an L-48, dad gave it to my sister who pawned it. That still burns me.

  8. #32

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    Quote Originally Posted by geogio
    I grew up around an L-48, dad gave it to my sister who pawned it. That still burns me.
    I have an L-48, which I treasure. It helped through some tough times. I also have a sister, and a brother and I treasure them as well.

  9. #33

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    Quote Originally Posted by Roget
    My 1937 L50 has the elevated fingerboard.
    Yes. I found many of the prior posts interesting. Gibson's production varied quite a bit over the years.

    I just finished restoring a 1935 Gibson L-50 for a client. It had the usual structural damage and came apart. The resulting instrument sounded excellent. Contrary to popular belief, top crack repairs have little effect on the sound. This was a Honduran Mahogany guitar with carved spruce top, 15' radius back. Aside from the typical structural damage, this guitar was original an owned by a professional musician since it was new. These were hot hide glue construction with the exception of the lining, where were installed with casein glue (an off-white glue made with milk protein).

    We see a fair bit of pre-war archtops that come through the shop. Glad to answer any questions if I am able. Photos of this particular 1935 L-50 can be seen here: Repair & Restoration - Morelli GuitarsMorelli Guitars

    Filippo

  10. #34

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    there is this L-50 for sale in a local shop (closed for now) and, I am thinking of grabbing it, but have some questions regarding the dating of the instrument. I also want to verify that it is an L-50 and not a L-48

    Shop has it listed as a '39 - which would have a solid wood back/sides, but the FON has red pencil at the end, supposedly the mark or a wartime instrument, looking at the FON lists i could find it seems like this could be a mid-late 40's model - but the back appears to be 2 pieces; i think that is an indicator of it being solid and not ply/laminate/veneer

    FON is 2210-xx

    anyone care to weigh in?

    here is the listing
    1939 Gibson L-50 Sunburst - Thunder Road Guitars Seattle

  11. #35

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    Vintage Guitars Info - Gibson collecting vintage gibson guitars

    I've always found this site to be helpful......

    I'd sure try to find a letter preceding the FON, if there is one. But yes I'd bet that back is 2 piece and solid......

    Good luck.....

  12. #36

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    Circa 1939 looks about right to me, based on the appearance and the FON. The headstock inlay looks right for that period and not right for mid-‘40s. The tuners are not original, by the way.

    For comparison, here is the headstock of a ‘36 L-50 followed by a ‘43.



  13. #37

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    I have a Gibson L50 I've wanted to amplify. The strings are too close to the body for a floater, humbucker, or P90. Today I was sorting through a box of guitar junk and found this:

    Gibson L-50-img_5484-jpg

    Gibson L-50-img_5485-jpg

    It's essentially a super-cheap Fender style single coil pickup, but it's got a mounting ring that allows it to be mounted recessed. The hole in the top need only be large enough to get the pickup in, the mounting plate sits on top.

    With a quality Fender Tele/Strat single coil pickup, this would leave good space between the pickup and strings. I am wondering if this could be a solution to putting magnetic pickups on these old archtops that don't have much clearance between the strings and the body.

    Obviously one has to be willing to cut the hole in the top, which would eliminate a lot of guitars and a lot of people, for obvious reasons. On the other hand, if one was looking for a way to get a single-coil pickup near the end of the fingerboard on something like an L50, I see no physical barrier. I the the opening would be narrow enough to avoid shaving the bracing, as well.

    Obviously (2) the big question would be sound. How much difference is there between a Telecaster style neck pickup and a P90 when either one is on an archtop. I see P90's on solid bodies, why not Tele/Strat pickups on hollow bodies?

  14. #38

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    1. The polepieces will necessarily be very close to the strings. Stratitis on a Gibson? I predict that it will be very bright. There are far better options. But it's your guitar, so do to it whatever you will.

  15. #39

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    I think it would work.
    Why not slip in a P90-ish pickup if you want one:
    Tele-90 Neck – Lundgren Pickups

    Had one in a Tele many years ago. Very nice dark, but clear, tone.

  16. #40

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    Quote Originally Posted by sgosnell
    1. The polepieces will necessarily be very close to the strings. Stratitis on a Gibson? I predict that it will be very bright. There are far better options. But it's your guitar, so do to it whatever you will.
    Actually the pole pieces won't be close. From the top to the bottom of the strings is about .33." the space from the bottom of the mounting plate to the top of the pole pieces can be as little as .12"

    Gibson L-50-img_5486-jpg

    I do realize now, though, that the opening would need to be wider than I initially thought and might involve the braces unless I back off from the end of the fingerboard a bit.

  17. #41

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    If you're gonna cut the top I'd use a CC pickup.

  18. #42

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    Agreed CC pickup. Resale will,still be good.

  19. #43

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    My first guitar was a 64 L50. I had the cheaper of the two D'Armond models - the one with only a volume control. It doesn't require any mods to the guitar. You can't push it all the way up to the neck though. It sounded fine, but the rig generated feedback pretty easily.

    Strat pickup all the way to the fingerboard vs D'Armond a few inches further towards the bridge? Hard to say which would be brighter.

    I wouldn't cut the top for that.

    Another point this brought to mind. The idea behind putting the pickup next to the fingerboard is that the sound is mellower. Ideally,as I understand it, you would want the pickup under the node at the hypothetical 24th fret. And, you'd pick right over it. It seems to me that approach works best for an open string. But, if you're playing around the 5-9th frets a lot of the time, why wouldn't the sound be mellower further down? What am I missing?
    Last edited by rpjazzguitar; 04-24-2020 at 03:51 PM.

  20. #44

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    Not sure about the Strat pickup but another idea might be an old McCarty pickup. It's about 11 mm thick (0.43 inch)

  21. #45

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    Have you ever heard of Krivo pickups? They’re very thin and they’re designed for the L50. No need to cut a hole in your guitar.

    Jason, the owner, is very nice and very helpful.


    KRIVO PICKUPS - Home

    No affiliation whatsoever.

  22. #46

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    Unfortunately, a solid look at the inside of my L50 shows that no opening could be cut for a pickup that would not require cutting at least one brace, probably two. I guess I'm back to looking at stick-on options, which I just don't like.

    Gibson L-50-img_5496-jpg

  23. #47

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    I'm in the "Don't cut it" camp as well, but do as you will.

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  24. #48

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    The DeArmond Rhythm Chief, and other floating pickups, can be mounted using BluTack, which gives almost the same effect as being a set pickup, because it's coupled to the top. I have one on my Wu, and I love the sound. I don't know how close you can get one to the neck of your L50, but you can put it further toward the bridge as necessary. The stick isn't necessary, just BluTack it in place, and move it if you want. It does take a millimeter or two of extra height for the thickness of the BluTack, but that's about the same as you need for the stick mount. Whit Smith does this with his Gibsons. In his latest videos, he hasn't bothered to remove all the residual BluTack, it's still easy to see, but it's not that hard to take it all off. I think this is the ideal way to install a pickup, because it's entirely reversible, and sounds as good as a pickup mounted in a hole in the top.

  25. #49

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    In case you want a floater attached to the neck, Krivo does also have an option.


    Micro-Stealth PAF-Style Pickup for Archtop Jazz Guitar

    Again, no affiliation.


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  26. #50

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    Try the Krivo first would be my advice. That way you don’t have to do any guitar surgery if you like it.