Forums have been slow, how about a 'In the mail' thread?

Gear Aquisition Syndrome is a serious disorder.... FX etc

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jeremyb
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Re: Forums have been slow, how about a 'In the mail' thread?

Post by jeremyb »

Bg wrote: Thu Nov 17, 2022 6:16 pm Ready to pickup tomorrow, a matching hot jazz bass pickup for the bridge of my artist jazz. Now what to do with the active I have...
I promised myself not to start any new projects before we move... but... hmmmmm
I'll have a think at least haha.
The going rate is $40 for a pair of actives I believe! :mental:

What combo have you ended up with? still thinking about a 5 string P pickup for the neck of my PJ...
Slowy wrote: That's the problem; everything rewarding is just such hard work. Regret takes much less effort.

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Re: Forums have been slow, how about a 'In the mail' thread?

Post by jeremyb »

New tuners and bridge for my bass... not over investing again... really I'm not... :rofl:
Slowy wrote: That's the problem; everything rewarding is just such hard work. Regret takes much less effort.

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clubhouse
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Re: Forums have been slow, how about a 'In the mail' thread?

Post by clubhouse »

Only twenty nine bucks from Fender A/NZ...what's a boy to do then?


Fender Starcaster T-style.jpg
Fender Starcaster T-style.jpg (1.12 MiB) Viewed 1270 times
Wish they did a Jag.

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Re: Forums have been slow, how about a 'In the mail' thread?

Post by Starfire »

clubhouse wrote: Mon Nov 21, 2022 5:56 pm Only twenty nine bucks from Fender A/NZ...what's a boy to do then?



Fender Starcaster T-style.jpg

Wish they did a Jag.
Pics of the Starcaster and Jag, please!

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clubhouse
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Re: Forums have been slow, how about a 'In the mail' thread?

Post by clubhouse »

Starfire wrote: Mon Nov 21, 2022 6:06 pm
clubhouse wrote: Mon Nov 21, 2022 5:56 pm Only twenty nine bucks from Fender A/NZ...what's a boy to do then?



Fender Starcaster T-style.jpg

Wish they did a Jag.
Pics of the Starcaster and Jag, please!
Hey...that's sweet of you to be interested. Thanks man. :thumbup: I'll be sure to post them up when I make Fender status.

But as I'm Gibson, how about my 1937, L-12 arch top? I know it isn't offset but it sure is purty...well, at least to me.

1937 Gibson L-12.jpg
1937 Gibson L-12.jpg (687.57 KiB) Viewed 1229 times

...and, no. It's not a birth-date guitar :lol:

There's a LP Jnr skulking around here somewhere that I should post before I evolve status as well.

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Re: Forums have been slow, how about a 'In the mail' thread?

Post by robthemac »

clubhouse wrote: Mon Nov 21, 2022 7:26 pm
Starfire wrote: Mon Nov 21, 2022 6:06 pm
clubhouse wrote: Mon Nov 21, 2022 5:56 pm Only twenty nine bucks from Fender A/NZ...what's a boy to do then?



Fender Starcaster T-style.jpg

Wish they did a Jag.
Pics of the Starcaster and Jag, please!
Hey...that's sweet of you to be interested. Thanks man. :thumbup: I'll be sure to post them up when I make Fender status.

But as I'm Gibson, how about my 1937, L-12 arch top? I know it isn't offset but it sure is purty...well, at least to me.


1937 Gibson L-12.jpg


...and, no. It's not a birth-date guitar :lol:

There's a LP Jnr skulking around here somewhere that I should post before I evolve status as well.
Wait, is this yours?
Jops wrote: Sun Sep 18, 2022 7:46 am Spring is the comic sans of reverbs anyway.

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clubhouse
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Re: Forums have been slow, how about a 'In the mail' thread?

Post by clubhouse »

robthemac wrote: Mon Nov 21, 2022 8:35 pm
clubhouse wrote: Mon Nov 21, 2022 7:26 pm
Starfire wrote: Mon Nov 21, 2022 6:06 pm

Pics of the Starcaster and Jag, please!
Hey...that's sweet of you to be interested. Thanks man. :thumbup: I'll be sure to post them up when I make Fender status.

But as I'm Gibson, how about my 1937, L-12 arch top? I know it isn't offset but it sure is purty...well, at least to me.


1937 Gibson L-12.jpg


...and, no. It's not a birth-date guitar :lol:

There's a LP Jnr skulking around here somewhere that I should post before I evolve status as well.
Wait, is this yours?
Why, yes, my good man...I'm custodian for now. Have been for a decade, nearly two.

I have a 60s De Armond 'super chief' 1100 (monkey on a stick) pick-up yet to put on...it's one of the only options slim enough in height to fit between the strings and arch-top to amplify them...and it's in keeping with the vibe of the thing, looks and sound-wise. The tuners are Grover replacements (I have the originals) for smoother tuning. The neck profile is a solid 'C' shape without being a baseball bat. The pick guard is the original, bound tortoiseshell, celluloid...and hasn't bubbled, warped, shrunk or generally disintegrated over the years. Everything else is tight, together and as the day it left Gibson...a genuine 'survivor' guitar.

Regarded by Gibson as an 'Advanced' model (L-5, L-7, L-10, L-12 series), L-12s sat under L-5s price wise. They came from the same wood stock and other materials chosen for the L-5, and the same line of craftsmen worked on them as the L-5, but for some reason...blemishes, the very high spec 'wood combination' tone (L-5s have a distinct tone and volume/projection that puts them in a class of their own from other models), etc...they never made the final cut to receive tuning as an L-5. Instead they were braced and tuned as the L-12 model and received their own style appointments...maybe Gibson's way of recovering costs of L-5 that weren't? They are much rarer than L-5s.

This is a '37. The second year of the 17" wide bodies. Like the L-5s, the L-12s had gone from a 16" lower bout to a 17" in '35. Unlike the L-5s though, the L-12s continued on with X-bracing (like D'Angelicos, D'Aquistos, Benedettos), whilst the L-5s stuck with Loar's 'traditional', parallel bracing. X-braces are said to give a bigger bass and more sustaining tone, not as cutting as parallels, so less likely to acoustically cut through a big-band setting. '37 is the last year of X-bracing on L-12s, as they too, became parallel braced from after that.

I think X-bracing suits amplification better than parallel as the board is less prone to feedback issues, on the whole.

I regard them as 'tone-wise' companions to L-5s. If you could afford it, and had the chops to demand it, the L-5 was the choice for most working-men, big band guitarists (stars would have used the Gibson Super 400) as it sat very well in a big, acoustic, swing band mix. The L-12, whilst not as 'in your face' tone-wise, would have been the choice of dudes in smaller bands and those looking to lay back more in the mix. If your band didn't have a piano, then the L-12 would've been a better bridge between double bass and the bass brass.

Much like the Selmer Maccaferri 'Django' guitars: Le Grande Bouche was favoured for rhythm whilst Le Petite Bouche was favoured for soloing...although, obviously, either could do the other, and with Django, often did.

'37 did, however, signify the apex of the Art Deco movement, in terms of aesthetics and appointments for Gibson and the the L-12 was the brand styling hero. It was the first Gibson to feature parallelogram fretboard inlays. It also had a model unique tailpiece design and headstock inlay in a typical Art Deco geometric style.

Toward the end of the '30s, through the '40s, the L-12 became plainer in appointments, eventually became available with a cutaway and pups and eventually dropped in the '50s. Probably more than you wanted to know :yawn: ...so here's some wallet shots:


Gibson L-12.back and case.jpg
Gibson L-12.back and case.jpg (3.04 MiB) Viewed 1124 times

The original Gieb case has lasted well and is in very good condition outside and in.

Gibson L-12.Gieb case button.jpg
Gibson L-12.Gieb case button.jpg (1.44 MiB) Viewed 1124 times

...and for the gynaecologically inclined...a view through the f-hole...

Gibson L-12. label through the f-hole.jpg
Gibson L-12. label through the f-hole.jpg (1.86 MiB) Viewed 1124 times

If you squint, and put your tongue in the right place, you can just make out the 'L12' stamp digits in the upper right :geek:

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Re: Forums have been slow, how about a 'In the mail' thread?

Post by bender »

I really enjoyed that! Thanks!

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Re: Forums have been slow, how about a 'In the mail' thread?

Post by Jay »

Very informative Mr Clubhouse. Any recordings you have done with it?
When faced with quality, I recognise it every time.

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Re: Forums have been slow, how about a 'In the mail' thread?

Post by robthemac »

Dibs. Dibs. Dibs.
Jops wrote: Sun Sep 18, 2022 7:46 am Spring is the comic sans of reverbs anyway.

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Re: Forums have been slow, how about a 'In the mail' thread?

Post by robthemac »

Wonderful history lesson. Thank you. A pre-1960 Gibson jazzbox of some description will likely be my first vintage guitar acquisition. Obviously an L5 would be out of reach, but something like an L-12 would go down a treat.
Jops wrote: Sun Sep 18, 2022 7:46 am Spring is the comic sans of reverbs anyway.

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Re: Forums have been slow, how about a 'In the mail' thread?

Post by clubhouse »

Jay wrote: Tue Nov 22, 2022 11:29 am Very informative Mr Clubhouse. Any recordings you have done with it?
Kind of you to write that. Always hard to know if I’m ‘trying to teach my Granny how to suck eggs’ in writing about gear to gear nerds. I’m glad my enthusiasm wasn’t boring.

Umm….you’ve caught me short with that question actually. I’m a little surprised I can’t find anything. I remember the Christmas of the first year I had the L-12, I played with the extended family in a combo as a gift to the FiL (ex-artillery brass band player and chorister…loves his music) and the BiL recorded it…not too shabby, IIRC, except that the L-12 had had a little too many Christmas libations :lol: I’ll try and dig a copy out…

It used to earn it’s keep in band work as it really looked the part, as much as sounded the part. I have no recordings as a result…which in hindsight is dumb. It works best live. It’s main speciality is projection which isn’t necessary for point of source recording or amplification.

It doesn’t have a ‘modern’ acoustic guitar sound when recorded either. It’s not as full and sweet as a flat-top and doesn’t sustain well. It demands the player to drive the strings in order to keep the air moving otherwise it dies quickly compared to a flat-top’s sustain. That does have advantages though as up tempo chordal melodies are clean and clear, devoid of the mushy sonics that can build to overload mics from big bodied, flat-tops. When you play open string, cowboy chords, I’d say it has a woody and boxy sound, compared to a flat-top…maybe a 400Hz bump in a fairly flat frequency plot…but man, it can pump some air! Much louder than my D-28 or Lowden jumbo body :thumbup:

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Re: Forums have been slow, how about a 'In the mail' thread?

Post by clubhouse »

robthemac wrote: Tue Nov 22, 2022 12:39 pm Wonderful history lesson. Thank you. A pre-1960 Gibson jazzbox of some description will likely be my first vintage guitar acquisition. Obviously an L5 would be out of reach, but something like an L-12 would go down a treat.
Hey, man…thanks for that. Dibs noted…you’ll make a great custodian when I do pass it along.

Yeah, you’d be able to get a nice, new car for the cost of a Lloyd Loar era Gibson L-5! Super 400s…well, that’s a telephone number, right there…although the market has softened quite a bit over the last 10 or so years. I do remember seeing a 1920s, Loar L-5, 16” in immaculate, original condition with OHC and a provenance from hell (maybe one of Mother Maybelle’s?) for sale at Gruhn’s for what I worked out to be NZ$120,000 back before the GFC.

L-7s are worth a look too. A little plainer, but still Advanced models, with all the old tone-wood species and quality, materials and skills of master craftsmen thrown at them…they sound excellent if you want that big, jazzbox tone and look. Punchy as a sports-bar pugilist and responsive like a sports-car to drive, they make excellent, working guitars without completely breaking the bank :thumbup:

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Re: Forums have been slow, how about a 'In the mail' thread?

Post by olegmcnoleg »

I know what you mean regarding attack over sustain. It is the right choice for this kind of big band rhythm instrument. And it looks awesome, it could pass for 49 years younger than it is. Unlike the rest of us :-)

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Re: Forums have been slow, how about a 'In the mail' thread?

Post by rickenbackerkid »

I haven't been playing guitar much at all and certainly not thinking about gear, but at lunch time a Facebook post caught my eye, an old beat up Boss DD-2 and a GE-7. I know FB is full of scammers but the guy seemed ok so I bought both. It will be cool to try the DD-2 as it's semi-legendary and the GE-7 would be a cool thing to try as well, might work really well now that I am a Marshall amp type player.

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