1968 L-50 Archtop

[killaconrad]

Hey guys, I am considering buying a '68 Gibson L-50 that I found on Craigslist. I went and checked it out yesterday, it is in pretty good shape, it has some dings but only cosmetic- no cracks or anything like that. The neck seems OK too, theres some fret buzz but the action is set ridiculously low. The nut is a little messed up, some strings sit way too deep and theres an extra slot cut just below the 1st string.

Anyways, it's a pretty cool guitar, real carved top and comfortable neck, but I'm not 100% on the tone. It's a little thin and "string-y," I think. I was thinking about raising the action, getting a new nut installed, and putting in some nice higher gauge strings to give it a little more kick. He's asking $1100, but also throwing in a nice case. I would really love a real Gibby acoustic archtop, but I don't want to spend over a G on a guitar that doesn't sound great.

What do you guys think?

[dspelman]

Originally Posted by killaconrad

Hey guys, I am considering buying a '68 Gibson L-50 that I found on Craigslist. I went and checked it out yesterday, it is in pretty good shape, it has some dings but only cosmetic- no cracks or anything like that. The neck seems OK too, theres some fret buzz but the action is set ridiculously low. The nut is a little messed up, some strings sit way too deep and theres an extra slot cut just below the 1st string.

Anyways, it's a pretty cool guitar, real carved top and comfortable neck, but I'm not 100% on the tone. It's a little thin and "string-y," I think. I was thinking about raising the action, getting a new nut installed, and putting in some nice higher gauge strings to give it a little more kick. He's asking $1100, but also throwing in a nice case. I would really love a real Gibby acoustic archtop, but I don't want to spend over a G on a guitar that doesn't sound great.

What do you guys think?

The L50 I remember was one of Gibson's cheapest archtops, and there are a lot of them out there (production started in 1932), so this is not a rare collectible. $1100 in this market is probably a fairly premium price for that guitar (the asking prices on these range from $500 to $1500 when the economy is good), so you should have a pretty premium-looking guitar there (as in NOT a lot of chips and dings). They were discontinued, I think, in around 1971 and if it's electric, then someone added the electrics. What, exactly, is the setup on it? I'd definitely check the frets for level (and for wear) and you're going to have to spring for a new nut (or shim that one) or you're going to have to be raising the action more than you like. In short, I'd figure on some fixing to make it truly playable.

The top is a single piece of carved spruce, but this is not a 'big sound' guitar acoustically (compared to the up-market gibson archtops). There are some with cutaways, though that's not a normal production thing. Again, however, not of collectible significance.

[killaconrad]

Well, the neck felt pretty OK- it had obviously been played, but I didnt notice any glaring problems with it, it wasn't begging for a refret or anything like that. It didn't have a pickup either (I believe the neck of most L50's is too close to the body to accommodate many pickups.), and seemed to be all stock. I believe your facts are all correct- but my price checking indicated that around $1000 was about right for one of these. That said, I understand that the L-50 was a pretty low-end archtop. Do you think that nut, action and string upgrades will make a significant difference to the tone?

I really appreciate your comment - in this market there are probably better deals to be found.

Maybe something like a Loar LH-600-VS would give me a more awesome sound for less money.

[dspelman]

Originally Posted by killaconrad

Well, the neck felt pretty OK- it had obviously been played, but I didnt notice any glaring problems with it, it wasn't begging for a refret or anything like that. It didn't have a pickup either (I believe the neck of most L50's is too close to the body to accommodate many pickups.), and seemed to be all stock. I believe your facts are all correct- but my price checking indicated that around $1000 was about right for one of these. That said, I understand that the L-50 was a pretty low-end archtop. Do you think that nut, action and string upgrades will make a significant difference to the tone?

The ones I've seen electrified have either been rather significantly hacked or have had pickups hanging off a pickguard (and suspended, sometimes, from the other side of the neck).

I'm not sure that nut, string and action changes will do much for the tone if you don't like it now; you would get some more punch out of better bronze-wounds and maybe a bigger gauge, but the L50 never really projected all that well. I'm a little jaded, though -- my basis for comparison is a 1939 Epiphone Emperor and an old Super 400, both of which were bigger guitars and designed specifically to push rhythm chords in the big bands. Those had some good bottom end, but the size of the bodies had a lot to do with that, as did their tuned tops.

I like the idea of owning a good old archtop guitar (obviously), but these days spending that money on a modest Taylor or a really good Seagull or the like will probably get you more/better sound quality.

[jomo]

Too high. My Wife's Grandmother has a 1958 and it was appraised at Gruhn for $750. And it's NICE.....

[killaconrad]

Thanks a lot for the feedback, dspel and jomo. I went and checked it out again with a guitarist buddy last night. The neck is in fact a little warped, and there are some kind of wolf tones, or just ranges where it doesn't sound great.

BUT we found that tuning it down into alternate tunings in a lower register really, really helped. I busted out some Nick Drake fingerstyles, and my friend did some other fingerpicking and chording relatively low on the neck that sounded really sweet- actually it sounded a bit like Nick Drake's flattop Guild. The 6th string sounded good as low as a C (though we didn't have a tuner around - that's assuming it was in concert at first, which it probably wasn't). I'm offering the guy $900 - does that sound about right to you guys?

I also have my eye on some other archtops- the Loar 600 VS, and some second-tier brand (Kay, Recording King, Vega) midrange vintage instruments in the bay area. I'm like a girlfriend who wants to settle down and have a big family that you can't quite afford!

[jomo]

If you want it that bad, I'd offer $800, that's all the money with a warped neck. Tell him about the one I mentioned. I have a thread on it somewhere on here.