Gibson LG-0

[Lee Gendvilas]

A friend of mine handed me a  Gibson LG-0 today and gave me this info:

 

Gibson lg-o 1969 serial #,1970 peg head .

Spruce top, mahogany sides and back

- Check ladder bracing and top crack, bone nut

The big question.

Can we put nylon strings on it? 

Will the nylons be enough to move the top for correct sounds?

 

I haven't thoroughly inspected it yet but it looks like it's a candidate for a neck reset. I thought I'd do a posting and get opinions as soon as possible. If pictures are needed I'll post those also.

 

Thanks in advance for your help and wisdom!

[Ned Knepp]

I think that if I wanted a nylon strung Gibson, I would probably sell the LG and purchase a C1 which is designed for nylon strings and would probably sound much better than an LG using them .

If there were mine, I would fix the cracks, make sure the braces were all well attached, replace the adjustable saddle with a fixed saddle, and  inspect/replace the bridge plate.  I would then string with with light or extra light steel strings.

If it shows a tendency to hump up behind the bridge or it is humped now with tight braces/bridge plate, I would consider installing a "bridge doctor". I believe that this would go a long way toward maintaining a more original sound from the guitar and would, most likely, improve upon it.

If the neck needs to be reset, I would make sure that all of this was done and that the top was as flat as it is going to get before I preformed the reset.

BTW, Pictures are always nice. :)

[Lee Gendvilas]

Hi Ned and thanks for the reply. One thing my friend mentioned to me that I forgot to add in the post was that because he has small hands, the neck felt good to him and he is hoping that it would be possible to convert it. I'm not familiar with a C1's neck but I'm guessing it's going to be wider than the LG. So I hope you can see where he's going with this.

[Kerry Krishna]

Lee, I imagine that this would not be a hard thing to do, but warn the customer not to expect much in the tone/volume department. There is an awful lot of wood under that top for a set of classical strings to move.

 also, you know how to test for the neck reset right? 

[Kerry Krishna]

 third picture down in this most excellent photoessay....http://www.frets.com/fretspages/luthier/technique/guitar/neckreset/...

[Tim Mace]

Silk & steel might work ok on LG-0...not nylon set..C1 is a wide neck but the fretboard may be slightly radiused w/jumbo frets as I recall.

[Paul Verticchio]

Tim, Ned & Lee,

I had a Gibson C1 in the late 70's.  It's an awful, overbuilt toneless piece of lumber. I wouldn't recommend it to my worst enemy.  BTW: that applies to all C series Gibson Nylon String guitars.  They were terrible sounding...but the assembly quality was good (:

The orange Ibanez nylon string acoustic electric w/cutaway has a nice slim (for a nylon stringer) neck and is a player's delight.  The acoustic sound is OK and the amplified sound is terrific. It doesn't have a radius-ed board, but it has an adjustable truss rod. For $300 new & even less used, it fits the bill quite nicely. The next guitar that fits the criteria is a Taylor NS series and you're talking some serious bucks. A nylon string axe with a neck as slim as the LG-0's would most likely require a custom build and a boatload of $$$$$.

BTW: I had a nylon strung LG-0 in the shop several months ago for a conversion back to steel strings.  It sounded like slop (actually, another descriptive word that starts with "s") with the nylon strings and a cat purring under my bench was MUCH louder.

Best of luck (:

[Ned Knepp]

Paul, I haven't played a Gibson classical in many years. I don't actually own any classical guitars. I sometimes think I should buy one then I play one somewhere and remember that I don't like the wide flat neck and forget about it again for a while. In the end, I'm perfectly happy with steel strings, though I use nylon on my ukuleles.

  I'm glad you kicked in. My mention of a C1 was based purely on the Gibson brand name being involved in the topic.  

[Ned Knepp]

  Lee, that does change things a bit but, as Kerry pointed out, your friend should be aware that this guitar will probably not produce a "classical" sound. I think that it might be better to try the silk and steel, as Tim suggested, if your friend insist on not using steel strings. 

  You'll probably need to widen some of the slots in the nut, or maybe replace it with another that is cut for the nylon strings width and depth but other than that and finding a way to tie the strings to a ball end, you should be able to try it as it is to see how it sounds.

  If a classical sound is what your friend wants, they might look for a narrow neck classical or a "crossover" style classical. I don't have a list handy but I know that several manufacturers are producing classical guitars with arched fingerboards and narrow necks. They will have the bracing that is needed for a classical sound.

[Lee Gendvilas]

I would like to thank all of you who replied so quickly and with excellent info - Ned, Kerry, Tim, and Paul. I talked it over with my friend and he's good with having a new nut put in and he's going to sell it and look into finding another guitar that was built to be a classical guitar. Ya'all gave me a great education on this one. Thanks again for your help.

[Tim Mace]

'bout the best thing you do to an LG0 is get rid of it or pass it on.......