Gibson L-4 - '30s vs '50s

[zizala]

Nice looking L-4's Bluesbreaker and John!

I've got a '50 L-4c that I set up with a McCarty pickup/pickguard, but lately I haven't been plugging it in too often.
Its a much better sounding acoustic than I expected when I acquired it a few years ago, and it only seems to get better.

[Bluesbreaker]

Lovely looking L-4 you have there John, really clean, it's a beauty! Is that the original case? Mine is supposed to have the original case but I've no idea what cases these would have come with. It's a nice looking, brown case similar to yours. I've never had the original case with any of my vintage guitars except for my 30's National so I'm hoping it is.

[powerwagonjohn]

The case that came with my L-4 is the orignial Geib case. It has 4 latches and still has the Gibson nameplate by the handle and the Geib nameplate on the inside door.
I think the clamp on monkey on a stick as their called takes some of the resonance away from the acoustic sound of the guitar. If I wanted the pick up mounted all the time I would go with neck mounting rod or pick guard mount, but that is just me.
Believe it or not I found my L-4 in a Guitar Center. It had been in the back room for 6-8 months. I made them an offer and they said it was $200.00 more than they had paid for it. The DeArmond RC 1000 came with the guitar but did not have a cord to test and it needed the coaxial wire from the pick up to the control box replaced.
I hope you enjoy your L-4 as much as I do mine!
Thanks John

[Bluesbreaker]

Sounds like you got a great one there John, and a good deal! The case looks to be in great condition too. I got mine from Chicago Music Exchange, it's the first guitar I've bought from them.

Good point about the monkey on a stick pickup, I had wondered whether they hamper the acoustic tone, I will take a look at other options too. I haven't even decided 100% on whether to add a pickup at all yet.

The other option would be to go for a transducer type like a K&K for more of an amplified acoustic tone. I had a K&K on an old Harmony archtop I had and it seemed to work really well. Has anyone got one of these on an L-4?

Here's a video where the guitarist from Pokey LaFarge talks about the K&K on his L-12 - skip to 14:12 :

[zizala]

Pokey and band are lots of fun....

I've got a '47 Epiphone Spartan like his thats a great acoustic archtop.
Loud and clear and plenty of cut to beat the band.

DeArmonds don't have to hamper the acoustic tone if they are mounted so they don't contact the top.
Can be tricky and needs a neck rod and pickguard tab or some other support rather than the whole monkey stick thing.

With your L-4 a Dearmond wouldn't have enough clearance to get near the neck and would likely end up anywhere from bridge to middle position....so what I described above would difficult or impossible to do.
But on the plus side a complete monkey on the stick is easy enough to take on and off should you decide to go acoustic for awhile.
When amplified dampening the top with some pickup contact isn't such a bad thing.

Sorry I can't help with the K&K but hope you find your way....

[archtopeddy]

Hi all. A good friend of mine, a locally known jazz guitar player passed away two years ago. His wife is selling some of his gear now and I'm assisting as I can. Here's one I don't know how to gauge because of its been professionally and correctly refinished around 20 years ago. I know you guys have a much better feel on these things than I do so I hope you don't mind me asking.

The guitar is a 1936 Gibson L-4 in excellent condition with no scratches, dents, cracks, etc., with the aforementioned refin from around 20 years ago. Original case and all parts original except one open back Grover tuners which has been replaced with a modern equivalent. It looks, plays and sounds great the way it is.

How much does this refin devalue the guitar? She's asking $2,000. Is that reasonable?

Thanks for your help. -- Archtop Eddy

(I'm sorry the picture's fuzzy but it's all I have at the moment.)

[Jabberwocky]

Refinish or not, try $2500 and hope for $2250.

[wintermoon]

2k is about right imo

[archtopeddy]

Thanks jabberwocky and wintermoon for the responses! Any other thoughts still appreciated.

Just curious... Anyone have any ballpark idea of how much they think a proper refin devalues a guitar in percentage? Like is it worth 20 percent, 30 percent, 40 percent less, or what? (I'm talking ballpark figures and about relatively available vintage guitars. Not something super rare and valuable like an original Gibson Lloyd Loar or a value-enhancing original finish like Eldon Shamblin's custom gold 1954 Stratocaster.)

[Cunamara]

I have no idea the effect that refinishing has on the value of a guitar like that, but the refin on that is lovely. And usually if the guitar was refinished, the original finish was in pretty tough shape and would probably not be worth any more with that beat up finish.

[wintermoon]

Depending on the model guitar a good refin is generally about 40-50% off, but if it's a really rare guitar w an old factory refin maybe a bit less.
The L4 in question is probably about a 4K guitar w good orig finish so figure about 1/2 that for a good refin, right about what the seller is asking, orig case as shown a plus.

[archtopeddy]

Thanks guys for your inputs. This is exactly the kind of info I was looking for!