Stratoben127
New member
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2013
- Messages
- 301
I made a thread earlier asking if it would be worth it to sell my 000-18 for an L-7C I accidentally fell in love with. Lots of great advice, but I still couldn't get peace of mind until I tried my guitar against the L-7 to see if I could live with only one of them.
The L-7 blew my Martin (a '51 000) out of the water for my needs. Louder unplugged, better neck, better upper fret access, better tone, and definitely better looks. It is one of the most traditional flattop sounding arch tops I've ever played with just a little added "honk" in the mids. Perfect for the type of playing I will be using it for (a lot of slide). The Martin sounded weak and muddy compared to it.
When I first tried it I didn't even get to plug in the McCarty pickup but I did yesterday and WOW. Totally not P-90ish at all. Super clear with none of the low end woof I find synonymous with arch tops, though I'm sure the 25" scale and Maple neck don't hurt. It can handle a surprising amount of volume and is surprisingly versatile. I was getting old school jazz tones through a tweed twin, blues overdrive through a 5 watter, and beautiful, clear clean tones with the tone all the way up regardless of amp. I was also told that it will sound very different if I put different strings on it. It has 12 gauge flats on it now, but with phosphor bronze strings, it would be even closer to a traditional acoustic.
I'm still in the process of selling my Martin but here's some pics. Hopefully I'll have it next week. Comes with the original Lifton as well, by the way.
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version="7" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:54.212962963% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BHTIwpuBqIl/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">She's coming home next week. What an absolutely incredible instrument. 1952 Gibson L-7C with McCarty pickguard/pickup. #Gibson #vintage #archtop #geartalk #jazzguitar</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A photo posted by Ben Sparaco (@bensparacomusic) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2016-07-01T00:38:07+00:00">Jun 30, 2016 at 5:38pm PDT</time></p></div></blockquote> <script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>
The L-7 blew my Martin (a '51 000) out of the water for my needs. Louder unplugged, better neck, better upper fret access, better tone, and definitely better looks. It is one of the most traditional flattop sounding arch tops I've ever played with just a little added "honk" in the mids. Perfect for the type of playing I will be using it for (a lot of slide). The Martin sounded weak and muddy compared to it.
When I first tried it I didn't even get to plug in the McCarty pickup but I did yesterday and WOW. Totally not P-90ish at all. Super clear with none of the low end woof I find synonymous with arch tops, though I'm sure the 25" scale and Maple neck don't hurt. It can handle a surprising amount of volume and is surprisingly versatile. I was getting old school jazz tones through a tweed twin, blues overdrive through a 5 watter, and beautiful, clear clean tones with the tone all the way up regardless of amp. I was also told that it will sound very different if I put different strings on it. It has 12 gauge flats on it now, but with phosphor bronze strings, it would be even closer to a traditional acoustic.
I'm still in the process of selling my Martin but here's some pics. Hopefully I'll have it next week. Comes with the original Lifton as well, by the way.
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version="7" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:54.212962963% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BHTIwpuBqIl/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">She's coming home next week. What an absolutely incredible instrument. 1952 Gibson L-7C with McCarty pickguard/pickup. #Gibson #vintage #archtop #geartalk #jazzguitar</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A photo posted by Ben Sparaco (@bensparacomusic) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2016-07-01T00:38:07+00:00">Jun 30, 2016 at 5:38pm PDT</time></p></div></blockquote> <script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>
