Robert Johson L!

[sammyreynolds01]

I know this is the electric forum but this place gets more traffic. So could you guys help me giving me some ideas on what brand of acoustic guitar has the same body shape as Robert Johnson's L1 without breaking the bank meaning 300 or less?

[DeepEnd]

The L1 looks kinda like a mini jumbo. The Takamine GN20 would be similar if you discount the differences in woods (cedar top vs. spruce): https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/GN20NS. The Seagull Entourage Mini Jumbo used would be similar: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/EntRusMJ. Worth a shot if looks are the main concern.

[sammyreynolds01]

Thanks man. Some people say it was a parlor size guitar but from pics i've seen there's no way that's parlor guitar.

[DeepEnd]

Yeah, a "parlor" is narrower. The L1 has a rounder lower bout than an OM or 000. The best I could think of was a mini jumbo. I don't know what the dimensions of the L1 are so the Takamine or Seagull may be a tad bigger or maybe not. The overall shape is about right though. Just happened to remember the Breedlove Discovery Concert also has a similar shape and it has a spruce top like the L1: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/breedlove-discovery-concert-acoustic-guitar. Anything that isn't an actual L1 is going to be apples vs. oranges in terms of sound anyway.

[Freeman Keller]

The term "parlor guitar" actually does not have a well defined meaning and people use it for everything up to and including triple oughts and auditorium sizes - I tend to think of single oughts and concert guitar. The flat topped L-1 in the iconic RJ picture is actually pretty close to a single ought (altho Gibson did not use that size designation). The L-1 changed a lot over the years Gibson was building it - it was produced as both an arched topped and flat top (RJ's was flat). Another guitar in that general size and shape is the L-00. Gibson has reissued several guitars in this size and shape.

 

If you just want to look like RJ check out the Dirty Thirty from Recording King, The Loar LH-200, several of Blueridge's small guitars, heck, even the new Fender CP-60 sorta looks right. The dark sunburst does limit the choices, if you can forgo that there are lots of options.

 

If you want to sound like RJ, well that's a whole different subject.....

[Freeman Keller]

FWIW, here are three guitars built more or less to Martin's size conventions (which are close but not the same as Gibsons). They are, left to right, single, double and triple ought. All are 12 fret clear (Gibson made 12, 13, and 14). OM's are always 14. The only one I consider to be a "parlor" is the single ought but others use the term in a much broader sense

 

 

[Freeman Keller]

I know this is the electric forum but maybe if you checked the acoustic......

 

http://www.harmonycentral.com/forum/forum/guitar/acapella-42/31984570-ngd-recording-king-dirty-thirties-solid-top-single-o-satin

[sammyreynolds01]

The term "parlor guitar" actually does not have a well defined meaning and people use it for everything up to and including triple oughts and auditorium sizes - I tend to think of single oughts and concert guitar. The flat topped L-1 in the iconic RJ picture is actually pretty close to a single ought (altho Gibson did not use that size designation). The L-1 changed a lot over the years Gibson was building it - it was produced as both an arched topped and flat top (RJ's was flat). Another guitar in that general size and shape is the L-00. Gibson has reissued several guitars in this size and shape.

 

If you just want to look like RJ check out the Dirty Thirty from Recording King, The Loar LH-200, several of Blueridge's small guitars, heck, even the new Fender CP-60 sorta looks right. The dark sunburst does limit the choices, if you can forgo that there are lots of options.

 

If you want to sound like RJ, well that's a whole different subject.....

 

 

Those Recording Kings look like nice guitars for the money. I was looking on Reverb and the L1's from the early 1900's are cheap but it's hard to gauge what the condition is like.

[Freeman Keller]

Gibson acoustics seem to require less than old Martins, but still there is a lot that can go wrong. What exactly are you looking for? RJ's tone? (some say the recording was speeded up a little so you probably won't get it directly from the guitar). Also, I read somewhere that the guitar in the iconic picture may have only been a prop for the photo - he might have been playing something else.

 

I play several RJ songs on my resonators. He never did as far as I know, but they seem to fit very well. Also, he typically tuned up to A or E (and of course there really wasn't a "concert pitch" for the blues), that can be kind of hard on an acoustic (or resonator).

[sammyreynolds01]

i just always thought those guitar looked cool.

[Freeman Keller]

There is a story about when Mississippi John Hurt was rediscovered he was taken to a music store by the Newport Folk Foundation and told to pick out a guitar. He chose a sunburst Guild F-30 over a lot of more expensive guitars because he said "he always wanted a two colored guitar".