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Post by washboardchris on Jan 14, 2015 19:49:37 GMT
Bill Collings has set his mind to recreating depression era Gibson's, there seem to be two models (Ladder braced or X braced) one with an adjustable truss rod like an Loo & one with a non adjustable T bar.over here they are around £1900 & in the US quite a bit cheaper.I know its a lot of money but then a L00 in good nick will cost you much more.
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Post by leeophonic on Jan 14, 2015 21:33:13 GMT
Chris I tried the very guitar that is doing the rounds in the magazines, the people who supply the guitar to the shops had difficulty in answering my question as to why it was so badly finished with glue slapped everywhere around the curflings (was it deliberately sloppy!!!).
It did not impress me if they are trying to build a jim dandy then it is ten times what you can get one for.
And Chris you do not need any more guitars!!!
Lee
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Post by Michael Messer on Jan 14, 2015 23:09:00 GMT
I haven't seen one of these new Waterloo Collings guitars, but I do like Collings acoustic guitars.
A year or so ago I played a Collings 0002H and I have to say it was a great sounding guitar that I would have been very happy to own.
Shine On
Michael
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Post by zak71 on Jan 14, 2015 23:13:38 GMT
I like the idea, but it doesn't make much sense when you can get a perfectly playable and structurally sound 1930s Kalamazoo for less. A friend of mine picked up this late 30s KG-12 for $1200 late last year:  |
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Post by jamieisles on Jan 15, 2015 22:03:02 GMT
I own a Kalamazoo KG14 and they have a quality that you don't seem to find in the modern built guitars. I too love collings and Santa cruz guitars and they have jumped up a bit in the price over the last few years . If I was in the market for a modern built ladder braced guitar I would be looking here www.fraulini.com. This guy seems to get some great reviews and the finish and quality seems to be a very high standard |
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Post by washboardchris on Jan 16, 2015 1:10:51 GMT
Around 40 years ago I had a Kalamazoo which I bought from a Jazz,player, it had very heavy strings on it.I strung it up with lights and the whole thing fell apart while I was playing it ( neck went one way & the bridge went the other & I was left with the body) I have seen them in shops once in a while with bent neck's and cracks for around £1000 & as for L00's the last one a saw in a shop was around £2500 & it had a hole in the top and load's of cracks all over. I don't doubt that there are some good one's around but living in the wild's of suffolk there arnt many places to look & although they do turn up on Ebay they are usually for collection only & seem to involve a round trip of 300 miles for me. (fine if the guitar is ok but not so good if you go that far & find that the guitar is a wreck)sadly condition subjective.
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Post by davey on Jan 16, 2015 10:24:38 GMT
Hi Chris
I've had five or six pre-war Gibsons & Kalamazoos. They're very lightly built and have all pulled out of shape over the years.
I've had a KG14 re-braced which flattened the top nicely but it was a major job. I've also had a L-oo neck reset which was similarly dramatic & there aren't many Luthiers in the UK who do it.
I'd say that any pre war Gibson you find that hasn't had a neck reset will need it doing, the bodies are so thin it's inevitable.
The modern Guitars I've had which sounded and played in a very similar way were the all mahogany Martins. 015 / 00015 etc.
Cheers, Dave P.S. I still have some Gibsons. If you're really keen to have one, give me a buzz.
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Post by simonf on Jan 16, 2015 11:08:03 GMT
If I was in the market for a modern built ladder braced guitar I would be looking here www.fraulini.com. This guy seems to get some great reviews and the finish and quality seems to be a very high standard For what its worth, Fraulinis are fine guitars and Todd Cambio is a pleasure to work with. He really knows his stuff when it comes to the old methods and ladder bracing etc. Perhaps a little better known for his small guitars and ladder braced 12 strings (a la Blind Willie, Leadbelly et al)but the bonus is you get exactly what you want. Far cheaper is Devin Champlin (for now at least- I'm sure that will change as the word gets out and the waiting list gets longer), who's not been making so long, but has a similar approach and interest in ladder braced models. He spent some time with Todd and is now building his own business. He's a regular over at Weeniecampbell.com . www.champlinguitars.com/Here's a clip of my Fraulini which gives a decent impression of the sound and style. |
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Post by slide496 on Jan 16, 2015 14:55:56 GMT
IMHO to capture the feel, spirit iand rhythm may be possible but duplicating the sound per se with a modern built guitar strung with modern strings, captured on modern equipment, and trying to duplicate the original sound by technique is going to only be a rough approximation at best for most players unless they hit on a combination of strings, equipment, touch and recording devices by experimentation or chance. The exception I have head is a modern player on a vintage resonator. YMMV.
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Post by washboardchris on Jan 16, 2015 17:48:32 GMT
Hi again.I play vintage Nationals because I prefer the sound to NRP's which are nice guitars but maybe a tad overbuilt for my taste.however I am looking for a small body 14 fret guitar with a chunky neck& 1 3/4" nut. A couple of years ago I had an ulnar nerve transposition done on my right arm which has left a scar just where my arm contacts the body of an OM size guitar which is fine when the weather is dry and warm(or as warm as it ever gets over here)but when it gets damp or cold the scar tissue starts to hurt & get tender(just call me a human barometer) so having seen this guitar on the net I wondered what it was like.I have 2 small body 12 fret guitars but I find that for some things I play a 14 fret works better for me.Winter in the UK is setting in and has made me think.
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Post by rickS on Jan 16, 2015 17:52:03 GMT
There is definitely a special quality about the oldies - I have a couple, a 1933 Gibson L1 & a 30s Stella concert, both very lightly built so the notes just jump out of them, but they've both had to have neck resets, & still don't play quite as smooth as a well-set-up new one, ( tho 80-year-old wood is hard to beat, the Stella totally nails the sound of Charlie Patton's guitar ) ; having said that, if you're looking for a modern L00-style guitar you could check out the new Eastman models - I recently got a rosewood b&s one & it's superb, for a lot less than a Waterloo ..lot of good choices out there..
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Post by slide496 on Jan 16, 2015 19:31:47 GMT
Hi again.I play vintage Nationals because I prefer the sound to NRP's which are nice guitars but maybe a tad overbuilt for my taste.however I am looking for a small body 14 fret guitar with a chunky neck& 1 3/4" nut. A couple of years ago I had an ulnar nerve transposition done on my right arm which has left a scar just where my arm contacts the body of an OM size guitar which is fine when the weather is dry and warm(or as warm as it ever gets over here)but when it gets damp or cold the scar tissue starts to hurt & get tender(just call me a human barometer) so having seen this guitar on the net I wondered what it was like.I have 2 small body 12 fret guitars but I find that for some things I play a 14 fret works better for me.Winter in the UK is setting in and has made me think. Hard to know then. I've done things to help my left hand finger issues only to find they help that but then I developed a problem elsewhere and some things I've done no new issues developed and it was a good idea. I hope between the 12th fret and the 14th you are comfortable. I sometimes wear a latex-free cotton stockingette sleeve on my right arm when the edge bothers me or to reduce contact with the metal reso coverplate and sharp screw edges. Good luck.  |
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Post by jamieisles on Jan 16, 2015 20:27:12 GMT
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Post by zak71 on Jan 16, 2015 21:24:11 GMT
" Might as well" if you have their asking price of $25000.  There are good options in the vintage guitar realm that aren't priced twelve times higher. In the meantime, there is no shortage of viable Kalamazoos out there for the same price (or less) than a Waterloo. I was just playing the $1200 Kalamazoo KG-12 in the photo that I posted earlier in this thread. |
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Post by washboardchris on Jan 16, 2015 21:39:08 GMT
Hi Zak, maybe you dont know this but for a lot of years there was an embargo on US made instruments in the UK & so there are not that many of them over here.I suspect that most of them came over with US service men in the war.If I bring one over from the US you can add 20-25% to the price plus the shipping which can be as much as $400 or more & then there is the risk of letting some courier firm loose on a 80 year old lightly built guitar. There is not much that can happen to a National except a broken neck or a crushed cone :-( but an old Gibson may well end up as matchwood
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