http://www.gibson.com/Products/Gibson Acoustic Guitars/Gibson Acoustic Guitars/J-185 Jumbos/L-4 A/
Have any of you ever tried this guitar, or the previous L-4A that had maple back and sides (and Les Paul Standard-style inlays)?
I'm really interested in this guitar from the specs, but I haven't gotten a chance to try one. It's a lot of money to take a chance on mail ordering (internationally), but I am really interested. I have a J-100 that I really enjoy, but I'm finding the strings a bit too stiff for these old fingers. [I'm already using 12s, a capo is possible, but kind of defeats the purpose of getting an expensive guitar for me, and tuning down is possible, but messes with my singing key -- so, I'm struggling a bit with it and looking at the L-4A as perhaps a better match for me].
I like the shorter scale of the L-4A, I think that would more than do the trick (I have a cheap 25" scale acoustic that causes me no problems, so 24 3/4" scale would definitely be fine). I also like the Jumbo format, I think (if I understand it correctly) -- like my Super Jumbo, but just a hair less thick? Finally, the cutaway could be nice -- I do find my hand running out of room for some of the things I want to do on my J-100.
The rosewood body might give it a really nice sound. The previous version's maple body would be cool too, as I dig my maple-bodied J-100. In fact, I mostly just wish I had my J-100 with a shorter scale, so this could be the way to go.
Possible negatives:
-if the body is a bit smaller, but otherwise the same, I would expect a bit less bass and volume.
-the rosewood version might or might not be to my taste, tone-wise
-The cutaway might rob too much tone (I actually don't have a lot of experience with cutaway acoustics, having never owned one)
-The shorter scale might have a negative effect on the tone
*All those things together could add up to a guitar that sounds significantly less appealing to me than my J-100.
_____
Well, it's all certainly possible. I'm partly thinking out loud here, and I'll never know for sure until I try one or two for myself, but I would appreciate reading any experiences with this guitar or similar models.
Have any of you ever tried this guitar, or the previous L-4A that had maple back and sides (and Les Paul Standard-style inlays)?
I'm really interested in this guitar from the specs, but I haven't gotten a chance to try one. It's a lot of money to take a chance on mail ordering (internationally), but I am really interested. I have a J-100 that I really enjoy, but I'm finding the strings a bit too stiff for these old fingers. [I'm already using 12s, a capo is possible, but kind of defeats the purpose of getting an expensive guitar for me, and tuning down is possible, but messes with my singing key -- so, I'm struggling a bit with it and looking at the L-4A as perhaps a better match for me].
I like the shorter scale of the L-4A, I think that would more than do the trick (I have a cheap 25" scale acoustic that causes me no problems, so 24 3/4" scale would definitely be fine). I also like the Jumbo format, I think (if I understand it correctly) -- like my Super Jumbo, but just a hair less thick? Finally, the cutaway could be nice -- I do find my hand running out of room for some of the things I want to do on my J-100.
The rosewood body might give it a really nice sound. The previous version's maple body would be cool too, as I dig my maple-bodied J-100. In fact, I mostly just wish I had my J-100 with a shorter scale, so this could be the way to go.
Possible negatives:
-if the body is a bit smaller, but otherwise the same, I would expect a bit less bass and volume.
-the rosewood version might or might not be to my taste, tone-wise
-The cutaway might rob too much tone (I actually don't have a lot of experience with cutaway acoustics, having never owned one)
-The shorter scale might have a negative effect on the tone
*All those things together could add up to a guitar that sounds significantly less appealing to me than my J-100.
_____
Well, it's all certainly possible. I'm partly thinking out loud here, and I'll never know for sure until I try one or two for myself, but I would appreciate reading any experiences with this guitar or similar models.