The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
  1. #1

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    1935 Gibson L-12 (with the original case!)

    It arrived yesterday and went almost directly to my guitar tech so I just got it back this afternoon.

    I have never owned a real archtop so this is a big surprise to me. What a sound! It is big and loud, in a nice way, and very bright. My tech did very little to it other than lower the action and set up the neck properly. He also cleaned up it susbstantially. removing an old pickup that was a bit in the way, and fixing some of the very nasty scratches it had. Yesterday, the action was quite high and it was a bit of a wrestling match to play. But today, even with 13's, it plays effortlessly and sounds fantastic.

    The only issue was that one of the braces was slightly loose at one end. I am going to play it for a while first and then take a second look.

    Thanks for all the help and advice I got on this from many of you guys, particularly from Hammersmith and Jonathon Stout. Jonathan is a fantastic player, as we all know, and he gave me a LOT of very sober advice on how to go about selecting a guitar. His blogs were also extremely helpful.
    Attached Images Attached Images Gibson L-12-img_0204-jpg 

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  3. #2

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    I like it. Hammersmith. Maybe I'll change my screen name. Sir Hammersmith. Duke of Hammersmith. I think I need to talk with a posh accent from now on.
    Oh, and the guitar is cool as well!

  4. #3

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    Quote Originally Posted by Hammertone
    I like it. Hammersmith. Maybe I'll change my screen name. Sir Hammersmith. Duke of Hammersmith. I think I need to talk with a posh accent from now on.
    Oh, and the guitar is cool as well!
    LOL, sorry Hammer. The guitar still has me dazzled. But I do like "The Duke of Hammersmith."

  5. #4

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    That is an awesome guitar. Congratulations, and play it in good health!

  6. #5

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    The L12 is one of the all-time great guitars.

  7. #6

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    The first acoustic archtop I ever heard live was an L-10 (same format, different cosmetics IIANM). I was hooked for life!

  8. #7

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    HEY, I should own that Beautiful Guitar!

    Congratulations & enjoy!

  9. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by rabbit
    HEY, I should own that Beautiful Guitar!
    Congratulations & enjoy!
    Damned straight you should own an L-12. This one is available through this very forum:
    Gibson L-12 - 1937

  10. #9

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    Enjoy it. I'm glad my advice was useful.