Prices keep rising on
vintage   L-00   guitars

Prices keep rising for these great 1930s guitars.

To assess playability & condition,  we examined

two dozen L-00s with five vintage guitar dealers.

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©  2020 — Kenneth Lelen — All Rights Reserved

 

Gibson L-00 guitars from the 1930s in excellent condition are today offered at prices near $5000, with some priced by vintage dealers and online vendors as much as $7000. While prices reflect what a market will bear, price hikes for a 1930s L-00 guitar are shoving players and collectors into the nose-bleed seats    of the vintage arena.

Players call the vintage L-00 a quintessential blues machine. For a sense of how the guitar performs watch this video of Clive Carroll playing a 1936 Gibson L-00.

 
L-00 guitars and its sibling variants (L-1, L-0, HG-00, KG-14, KHG-14, etc.) exist at decent prices, but you have to hunt aggressively to find affordable candidates. Proof is in playing one at a dealer’s shop, not in ogling the pretty pictures you'll find online.

Steady supply + lower demand = rising prices
An L-00 is a desirable vintage guitar, so it seemed worthwhile to search for one of these grand concert beauties at an affordable price — say $3500 to $4500. 

But my research showed asking prices on vintage L-00 average $4250 and more. This is well above an average of $3500 only five years ago.

Likewise, KG-14 prices now range from $1950 to $2400, while five years ago prices on these blues-box beauties ranged between $1150 and $1750. These parallel price tiers of L-00 and KG-14 guitars mirror a lower demand for ladder-braced guitars.

One explanation for a price surge in both types of Gibsons is supply of good product is consistent, yet demand has tapered. Older players and collectors (i.e., Baby Boomers with disposable assets) may be exiting the market. Younger cohorts are starting to appreciate and afford vintage gear, but their numbers may still be scant.

It's generally acknowledged that well-off buyers are usually willing to pay top-tier prices for guitars in top-notch condition. However, there may be fewer such buyers in the market, allowing dealers to raise prices on their best offerings.

When challenged on prices for two L-00s in good condition with replaced bridges that were set $1500 above listings for comparable choices, the owner of a shop near Boston said: "I can wait to get my price. It [the price] affords me time for a buyer to find me."

If conditions change, prices will change as well. For example, if a pandemic hits and everyone is shuttered at home, demand may rise and L-00 prices may jump. People will find the money to buy a good guitar and fend off boredom.

Typical vintage Gibson L-00 guitars

Currently, a Gibson L-00 guitar from the 1930s, whether formulated as an L-00, L-0, L-1 and HG-00 or its Kalamazoo brethren, KG-12, KG-14 and KHG-14, will likely share these materials, body shape, dimensions and design elements:

   -  bone or ebony nut

   -  rosewood fretboard

   -  X-braced spruce top

   -  24.9-in. scale length

   -  script headstock logo

   -  kerfed or solid linings

   -  2.38 inch string spacing

   -  14.75-in. lower bout width

   -  adjustable truss rod in neck

   -  individual or 3-on-plate tuners

   -  neck with 12 or 14 frets to body

   -  rosewood bridge and bone saddle

   -  striped pickguard on sunburst body
   -  skinny (period) or fat (modern) frets

   -  white or striped pickguard on black body

   -  factory order # on neck block or headstock

   -  mahogany body (some maple, a few rosewood)

   -  body finished in sunburst, Cremona brown or black

   -  1-11/16, 1-3/4, 1-13/16 and 1-15/16-in. nut widths

Some of the guitars have a Kalamazoo brand. They are identical to an L-00 but employ a ladder-braced top and have no adjustable truss rod in the neck. Also, the headstock logo and pickguard shape are different than Gibson versions.

Called KG-12, KG-14 and KHG-14, these guitars were fabricated on the same chassis as an L-00, but served as Gibson's budget models in the Depression years. Even today the Kalamazoo models cost half the price of their Gibson-branded counterparts.

But, my oh my, as this video shows, what bluesy noise these 'Zoos can make.

Ladder-braced or X-braced, you'll want a vintage L-00 that performs well for the way you play, whether finger-picked or flat-picked. So, play the darn thing till it speaks to you!

Comparing L-00 guitars at five dealers

This past October, November and December (2019) I was able to visit five East Coast guitar shops and play their vintage L-00 stock. I examined and played two dozen Gibson and Kalamazoo models, including L-00, L-0, L-1, L-Century, HG-00, KG-14 and KHG-14 guitars.

The dealers I visited were Picker’s Supply in Fredericksburg VA, Music Emporium in Lexington MA, TR Crandall in NY City, RetroFret Vintage Guitars in Brooklyn NY and Vintage Instruments in Philadelphia.

Most of the L-00 guitars I played were offered in good to excellent condition. They all had the expected L-00 sound and were set up for finger-picking play. A few needed repairs or neck resets. And since I'm a flat-picker, a few needed set-up work to make them play better and worth their price.

This is all one man’s view on the sound, condition, playability, needed repairs and value of each guitar examined. But it should give players and collectors an idea how I examine a vintage instrument and what others will find at guitar shops offering vintage L-00 guitars.

Picker’s Supply

1932 Gibson 12-fret L-1
@ Picker's Supply

My visit to Picker’s Supply in November found eight vintage L-body guitars that represented the usual configurations, including a pretty pair of L-1 guitars from the early 1930s.

The first L-1 examined was a 12-fret model from 1932 priced at $5500. The other L-1 was a 14-fret guitar made in 1933 and priced at $6995. 

The 12-fret L-1 had an iced tea sunburst, finish crazing, warm and gutsy sound and much playwear. But it was pricey and had a skinny neck — 1-11/16-in. nut width — that was difficult for me to flat-pick accurately.

1933 Gibson 14-fret L-1
@ Picker's Supply 

The 14-fret L-1 guitar was the superlative instrument despite pickwear, belt buckle rash and a noticeable top crack. However, it had had a recent neck reset and freshly dressed frets.

The sound on this guitar was especially appealing. The playability was first-rate and versatile enough for any player's style.

However, though the sound of this L-1 was surprisingly robust, it came with a breathtaking $7000 price.

Here's a long-winded video on a pair of L-body guitars, the 1933 L-1 mentioned above and a 1938 Gibson L-Century with a maple body, spruce top and mother-of-toilet-seat fretboard. 

1937 Gibson L-00 @
The Music Emporium

The Music Emporium
The Music Emporium recently offered two vintage L-00 models with stratospheric prices. Not surprising, since they both had that mid-range honk and dry roasted sound that makes these guitars famous. One was an outstanding 1934 L-00 at $6500, while the other was a 1937 L-00 priced at $5500.

Both instruments were in excellent condition and a pleasure to play. By an odd coincidence, both had replacement bridges, which TME called "replica." The sound on each was super, especially on the higher priced (1933) model.
 
 
For a good idea of how this guitar plays, here's a video of David Surette with The Music Emporium’s 1933 L-00.

TR Crandall

1937 Kalamazoo KG-14 @ TR Crandall

At Crandall’s shop I enjoyed playing a 1937 Kalamazoo KG-14 priced $2400. I had played this guitar a year earlier — before new frets and nut were installed and it was a bear to play. Now, despite the V-shaped neck, it had an effortless fingerboard and a sparkling sound.

On the other hand, I was not overly impressed with the action, lack of warmth and hollow sound of a maple-bodied 1935 Nick Lucas. A premium and rare guitar, it was priced at $28,000.

RetroFret Vintage Guitars

At RetroFret I played a spiritless 1936 HG-00. Converted from Hawaiian set-up with neck reset, re-glued bridge, new frets, nut and saddle, this lightweight guitar was in great condition for $4750.

1936 Gibson HG-00 @ RetroFret

Despite RetroFret's boastful web listing, this was not a “HUGE-sounding guitar for a small-body instrument.” Nor did it “[offer] major sonic rewards.” I just did not hear it.

It was a disappointment to play. It had a wide Hawaiian neck (1-15/16-in. nut width) and low saddle set-up, which meant it was modified to please a finger-picker.

What's more, the sound was only a thin growl. This guitar was priced $500 to $900 above other HG-00 guitars in similar condition offered elsewhere on the market.

At RetroFret I also played three ladder-brace Kalamazoo guitars. Shown below (left to right), they were a dark brown sunburst 1942 KG-14 at $2250, a cheery cherry sunburst 1939 KG-14 priced at $2250, and rare 12-fret 1939 Recording King Carson J Robison at $1600.

The latter guitar was a converted Hawaiian, essentially a 12-fret HG-00 but outfitted with a ladder-braced top. It also was graced with a troubling 1-15/16-in. nut width.

1939 C J Robison (KHG-14)

1942 Kalamazoo KG-14

1939 Kalamazoo KG-14

All three ladder-braced guitars were attractive and in excellent shape. Yet each offered difficult-to-play necks, low set-ups and disappointing sound. Unlike their L-00 brethren, this trio's sound was full of grit and sand, nothing sweet, deep or mellow.

Vintage Instruments

At Vintage Instruments I examined ten vintage Gibson-made guitars in a long afternoon visit at the end of December. Seven L-00 guitars were priced from $3500 to $4850 (average of $4260) and three KG-14 models were priced from $1950 to $2500 (average of $2200).

1935 Gibson L-00 @
Vintage Instruments

The large choice of playable L-00 guitars was an embarrassment of riches in one place. All were offered in good to great condition. Most were listed at reasonable prices.

Some I liked their condition, playability and sound. Others I didn't like their playability, condition and sound as much once I assessed the extra luthiery work needed to get them in shape for use in my concerts.

Nevertheless, right away I fell hard for a 1935 Gibson L-00 priced at $4500. It offered swift playing action and a balanced tone. It had an ebony nut, 1¾-in. nut width, older neck reset, soft V-shaped neck, minimal playwear and no cracks.

1936 Gibson HG-00 @
Vintage Instruments

I also was enthralled by a 1936 Gibson HG-00 priced at $3850. Not yet on the shop's website, it was a 12-fret, X-braced musical monster.

Most appealing were the guitar's vibrant bottom end, crisp definition and 1-7/8-in. neck, which is slightly narrower than most HG-00 models. Full of alacrity, this guitar would be a joy to play on any ragtime or swing tune in my concert repertoire.

Sadly, the price on this HG-00 rose another $400 to $4250 after only two months on the market. When asked, the shop owner said he would not honor his original quote. The higher price reflected his need to recover the cost of repairs by his luthiers.

Three Gibsons with attractive sound

I played three other vintage L-00 guitars at Vintage Instruments that stood out for their sound. Each had shortcomings, though, including the need for a neck reset, an unattractive crazed finish, and premium price that was well above my budget.

1939 Gibson L-0 @
Vintage Instruments

First, a 1939 Gibson L-0 at $4000 with an all-black finish and striped pickguard. It had a great sound, but the surface of the guitar was disfigured by heavy crazing.

In addition, the saddle on the black L-0 was low while the V-shaped neck was sharp. There was unsightly evidence of a trapeze tailpiece on the top below the bridge.

This L-0 has been listed for several years. It was nice to play despite its appearance. Someday someone will take it home. Not me

Next, I played a 14-fret 1933 Gibson L-1. Priced at $4000, it had a handsome dark Cremona finish, crisp sound and big bass. However, I thought it needed a neck reset, so the price didn't make sense to me.

Here's how I figured it. Nowadays, the cost of a neck reset on a vintage Gibson by my luthiers in North Carolina starts at $500. That excludes the expense to plane the fretboard, install new frets and, if the saddle is properly located, craft a compensated saddle.

1939 Gibson L-00 @
Vintage Instruments

Finally, there was a sunburst 1939 Gibson L-00 at $4850. It was the pick of the litter that day. It was in exceptionally fine shape but for a lightly shaved bridge. This guitar would make an eloquent example of the best that Gibson produced in the 1930s.

It had a soft, angelic voice, superb playability, 3-in-line Klusons with nickel plates and amber buttons, great neck angle and good frets. This wonderful guitar was a true no-excuses instrument, but the price was simply beyond my pay grade.

Five Gibsons with dull sound

At Vintage Instruments I played five other vintage guitars — two Gibsons, three Kalamazoos — that stood out for the absence of signs of life.

For example, a 1934 L-Century, a maple-bodied Gibson with mother-of-toilet seat fretboard, was priced competitively at $4500 by Vintage Instruments. It had good frets, slightly oversized repro bridge and a few glued cracks. In all, it was decent sounding, but just not worth writing home about.

1941 Gibson L-00 @
Vintage Instruments

A sunburst 1941 Gibson L-00 at $3500 was a decent player with scalloped tone bars. Made without an adjustable truss rod, it had maple neck reinforcement.

But the neck was skinny — 1-11/16-in. nut width — and the guitar top had numerous blemishes to the finish on either side of the sound hole and below the pickguard. It also had what looked like a smudged lipstick stain near the bridge.

A 1937 Cromwell G-2 priced at $1950 was a ladder-braced KG-14 by another name. In playable condition despite a warped neck, it had a high set-up and sharp V-shaped neck. With a sound that was harsh and boxy, it was not my cup of tea.

1939 Kalamazoo KHG-14
@ Vintage Instruments

A 1937 Capital priced at $2200 was in good condition with pickwear and scuffs and no cracks. Similar to the Cromwell G-2 above, it also had sharp V-shaped neck. Action was good after a neck reset, with new saddle and frets. However, the sound was also harsh and boxy.

Finally, there was a sunburst 1939 KHG-14 at $2500 — a Kalamazoo-necked guitar with an original X-braced spruce top and over-sized repro bridge. In other words, this guitar was a 12-fret HG-00 with a wide nut.

This guitar has been listed at Vintage Instruments for a while. The shop's web info offered a clever twist on the wide choice in Gibson guitars and L-00 iterations. It said the cheaper Kalamazoo neck with no truss rod looked “as though [Gibson] reached in the wrong neck pile” when the guitar was made. 

 





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Vintage shops currently offering 1930s L-00 guitars

       Folkway Music — Waterloo ON                            folkwaymusic.com

       Gary's Classic Guitars —  Loveland OH               garysguitars.com

       Gruhn Guitars —  Nashville TN                            guitars.com

       Intermountain Guitar – Salt Lake City UT             guitarandbanjo.com

       Lark Street Music – Teaneck NJ                           larkstreetmusic.com

       Lowe Vintage – Burlington NC                             lowevintage.com

       The Music Emporium — Lexington MA                themusicemporium.com

       Pickers Supply — Fredericksburg VA                   pickerssupply.com

       RetroFret Vintage Guitars — Brooklyn NY           retrofret.com

       Schoenberg Guitars — Tiburon CA                      om28.com

       TR Crandall — New York NY                                trcrandall.com

       Vintage Instruments — Philadelphia PA               vintage-instruments.com

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     ©  2020 — Kenneth Lelen — All Rights Reserved

Mississippi John Hurt's Emory guitar
Installed at Smithsonian Institution

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© 2020 — Kenneth Lelen - All Rights Reserved

    Please visit previous posts about Mississippi John Hurt's Emory guitar:

http://kenlelen.blogspot.com/2015/03/mississippi-john-hurt-and-emory-guitar.html

https://kenlelen.blogspot.com/2017/09/mississippi-john-hurts-emory-reappears.html

The vintage acoustic guitar played by Mississippi John Hurt at Newport Folk Festival in July 1963, missing for five decades and recently unearthed in a South Carolina luthier's shop, has been donated to Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC. Along with new findings on the guitar's possible origins, the John Hurt Emory is now on display at the National Museum of American History.

                                                    Photos + Illus - SI / NMAH

The c. 1910 Emory acoustic guitar and case on display at the

National Museum of American History, Washington DC. The
backdrop is the John Byrne Cooke photograph of Mississippi
John Hurt performing at Newport Folk Festival in July, 1963.

The Smithsonian acquired the John Hurt Emory from luthier Darrell Guinn, museum officials said, since the guitar embodies the convergence of several nationally significant ideas. These include:

•  A rise of musical instrument firms and proliferation of guitar building techniques in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

•  The acclaim for John Hurt (1892 - 1966) following his performance of two sets of blues on a borrowed guitar — the Emory — at Newport Folk Festival in July 1963. 

•  The role of Newport's event and other folk festivals in U.S. music history.

•  The work of Tom Hoskins (1941 - 2001), Dick Spottswood (b. 1937), Mike Stewart (1943 – 2007) and other blues enthusiasts who reveled in John Hurt's recordings from the 1920s. Once Hoskins found the musician residing in Avalon MS in February 1963, he verified the septuagenarian's musical chops. He then wrangled a 50 percent contract from Hurt for his musical output and began promoting the performer before contemporary audiences. 

•  The money was good while it lasted, but the story goes deeper. Some still decry the underlying racism of middle-class folkies, Newport audiences and the white promoters who "discovered" African-American blues artists in the 1960s, said Ulrich Adelt, author of Blues Music in the Sixties — A Story in Black and White [2010, Rutgers Univ. Press.] 

In Hurt's case, the performances, recordings and song publishing rights were lucrative enough for Hurt and Hoskins. Yet the relationship between impresario and performer ended in a contentious contract dispute at the time of Hurt's passing in 1966. 

•  Finally, the recordings Mississippi John Hurt made in 1928 and in the mid-1960s, as well as his performances at festivals, clubs, coffeehouses and national television, are all testament to his renown. Today, Hurt's recordings fill more than 78 albums issued by multiple labels.

In his day, John Hurt was acknowledged for his avuncular blues and sly sense of humor. Today, his celebrated guitar playing style is admired by countless musicians and finger-picking acolytes. 

In short, John Hurt and the Emory guitar represent many American musical stories. Musicians, researchers and museum visitors will now have access to a fine vintage acoustic guitar and a legendary musician.

Emory guitars and the Chicago connection

Research on John Hurt's Emory guitar led museum officials to enticing hints about a retail vendor of Emory guitars and possible fabrication in Chicago during the 1880s or 1890s — 20 years prior to previous estimates. This info may help future musicians and guitar collectors assess the provenance of an Emory guitar as it comes into the vintage market.

Emory acoustic guitar played by Mississippi John Hurt at Newport Folk Festival, July 1963.

Vintage guitar experts say the John Hurt Emory guitar was built by unknown hands sometime between the 1880s and 1920. Its design elements — rosewood body, spruce top, auditorium size, 12-fret neck, 25-inch scale length and slotted headstock — all suggest fabrication by the end of World War I. Fingerpicked or flatpicked, the sound is deep, sweet and bright, with an amazing sustain.

The headstock's top edge is stamped 1166 and an Emory trademark is chisled into the neck block. A strikingly visible element across the 16th fret of the fingerboard are the letters  E  M  O  R  Y  inlaid in an ivory hexagonal block.

It is possible the Emory was a one-off or custom guitar for a single buyer. Just as likely, it was a catalog offering by a maker who sold a limited number of guitars to jobbers, pawn shops, retailers, music stores and private tutors. 

Heretofore guitar gurus have argued — without confirmation — for a Chicago or a Boston source as maker of Emory-branded guitars. I still suspect Lyon & Healy as the maker of Hurt's instrument, not Regal or Larson Brothers in Chicago and not J.C. Haynes in Boston.

My view is based on the late 19th Century catalog description for L&H's Washburn Style #403 auditorium guitar, which is nearly identical to its contemporary, the John Hurt Emory. The design elements, materials, body depth and lower-bout width (14-1/2 inches) are the same.

While ivory dots on the fingerboard's 5th, 7th and 10th frets are found on both, an ivory hexagonal block in the 16th or 17th fret is only found on the Emory. And while L&H produced both ladder-braced and X-braced guitars, the Style #403 listing does not identify if soundboard support was ladder-braced (like Hurt’s guitar) or X-braced (like Martin and many L&H guitars in the same era).

L&H's original bridge for the Style #403 was a flattened pyramid. The large pyramid-style bridge currently found on the John Hurt Emory is a restored or retrofit item.

As for the making of branded guitars — even some with serial numbers — for retailers, distributors and other private buyers, Lyon & Healy's catalogs from 1889 and 1897 proclaim: "The makers of the Washburn Guitars are prepared to supply extra fine instruments to order for presentation and other purposes."

Emory guitars and the Omaha connection

Research by museum officials into historical newspapers found Emory guitars and Emory mandolines offered in advertisements published in the 1890s. The seller was Max Meyer & Brothers Co., a department store at Farnum and 16th Streets in Omaha NE. Opened in 1866 during the town's early rise, the business failed in the 1893 Depression.

One Max Meyer ad was published in time for Thanksgiving on Sunday, November 15, 1891 in the Omaha Daily Bee. It shows Emory guitars with prices ranging from $10 to $65 and Emory bowlback mandolines with prices ranging from $18 to $75. The Emory instruments were listed with six brands of violins and 500 styles of banjos on one page, while watches, eye glasses, lamps and jewelry were listed on the opposite page.

Emory guitars and Emory mandolines listed in a Max Meyer & Brothers Co.

newspaper advertisement in Omaha Daily Bee, Sunday, November 15, 1891.

The guitar listings showcased Emory and four other brands. This included Washburn by Lyon & Healy of Chicago, Bremo (unidentified source), Bay State by J. C. Haynes of Boston and Benary of New York.

What's more, a prominent illustration of an Emory guitar joins the 1891 instrument listings. It is a guitar with 12 frets to the body, pyramid bridge and slotted headstock — not unlike the John Hurt Emory. However, it shows a hexogonal fretboard inlay at the 17th fret — unlike the inlay found at the 16th fret of the John Hurt Emory.

Museum researchers also found sheet music published by Max Meyer & Brothers Co. dating to 1890 among possessions of the Library of Congress. One song, titled "Emory Waltz," was composed for play by two mandolins and a guitar. Coincidentally, researchers said, this sheet music was sold by other publishers, including Lyon & Healy of Chicago.

FOR MORE INFO:

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American Instrument Makers - Mugwumps

www.mugwumps.com/AmerInstMkr.html

Blues Greats Re-emerge - The Guardian

www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/16/blues-greats-re-emerge

John Hurt Discography - Wirz' American Music

https://wirz.de/music/hurtfrm.htm

John Hurt Profile - Acoustic Blues Pickers

http://acousticbluespickers.com/mississippi-john-hurt-his-life-his-times-his-recordings/ 

Meyer Brothers - Jewish Museum of the American West

www.jmaw.org/meyer-omaha-jewish/

National Museum of American History

https://americanhistory.si.edu

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© 2020 — Kenneth Lelen - All Rights Reserved