Gibson L-00 Studio Walnut

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Gibson L-00 Studio Walnut

Post by i love sharin foo » Thu Sep 30, 2021 8:58 am

I have always had a tough time with acoustics. From when I was a young player, it became ingrained into my brain that dreadnoughts were the standard, the one that you just naturally gravitated to. I've had a handful, from a pair of really great Martins, some Gibsons, etc. I love that sounds others get from them but I never loved the way they felt or the sounds that I got from them. I've always had a suspicion that an auditorium was more what would suit me better or at least something similar. I've been eyeing Gibsons offerings for years now. I was close to buying a Keb Mo signature a few years ago (for the guitar and it's specs, not him) but didn't. A few others have really piqued my interest but damn, it's just usually a lot of money for one. A couple weeks ago I spotted these Gibson L-00 Studios made with a Walnut back, sides, fretboard and bridge. The specs and appointments were perfect for what I wanted. I took the leap and bought one and my intuition was right on (Until now I had still never played an L-00 or similar). It is everything I had hoped it would be. The scaled back bass response, crisp high end, perfect balance across the strings, it's all there. Strummed with a flatpick, capo, fingerpicked, it doesn't matter. It does it all really well. I'm thrilled. It's really light and the mini Grovers are nice. I am not normally a fan of Grovers on an acoustic but the minis are way lighter and look good. The finish is really thin nitro. Like very thin. Fretwork is neat and clean. The neck is typical mahogany. Multi layered binding on the front, single ply on the back. I am not a fan of the plastic bridge pins, so I just bought a set of polished horn to replace them with. There is an excess of saddle height right now as is pretty typical of a brand new Gibson (or Martin based my experience). I'll lower it a bit shortly and perhaps take a hair of relief out of the neck. The hardshell case is different than any other Gibson I've had. It is flat black with all black hardware and a black interior. It might be particular to the Studio line. All in all, this little guy is a winner!

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Re: Gibson L-00 Studio Walnut

Post by marqueemoon » Thu Sep 30, 2021 9:09 am

Nice. I’m also a fan of smaller bodied acoustics.

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Re: Gibson L-00 Studio Walnut

Post by zhivago » Thu Sep 30, 2021 1:03 pm

Wow, that is very, very nice, Justin! :-*

I too went round and round with Jumbo/Dreadnought size guitars before trying a smaller body acoustic (000 Martin in my situation) and falling in love...I can't see myself going back. Especially as nowadays I play a lot of fingerstyle on acoustic, and a smaller guitar is perfect for that sort of thing.

I'd love to pick up an L00 or if I could find one even try an L-C Century of Progress. 8)
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Re: Gibson L-00 Studio Walnut

Post by Larry Mal » Thu Sep 30, 2021 2:51 pm

Very beautiful. I have an L-00 Standard, and an L-00 12 fret with rosewood, and then at some point they came out with these Studios. I was already really excited about walnut because I have a J-15, also... so I totally want one of these guitars. I've looked into them a bit but haven't pulled the trigger.

I bet it's wonderful sounding- congratulations.
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Re: Gibson L-00 Studio Walnut

Post by DrQuasar » Thu Sep 30, 2021 3:05 pm

Great choice, what a beautiful add to the collection. I feel similarly to you about dreadnaughts. I always feel like I have to hammer on them to get the top moving/vibrations to feel/sound right. To me they're sort of like the 100 watt half stack of the acoustic guitar world. Great when you want to be loud but compromised in any other situation.

Every time I pick up a smaller-bodied acoustic it feels more like home for sure. Congrats on the NGD. The walnut is very pretty.

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Re: Gibson L-00 Studio Walnut

Post by i love sharin foo » Thu Sep 30, 2021 3:48 pm

zhivago wrote:
Thu Sep 30, 2021 1:03 pm
Wow, that is very, very nice, Justin! :-*

I too went round and round with Jumbo/Dreadnought size guitars before trying a smaller body acoustic (000 Martin in my situation) and falling in love...I can't see myself going back. Especially as nowadays I play a lot of fingerstyle on acoustic, and a smaller guitar is perfect for that sort of thing.

I'd love to pick up an L00 or if I could find one even try an L-C Century of Progress. 8)
Thanks Yannis!

The size is so comfortable. It’s way easier to carry around the house, sit on the couch with it, etc. I’ve not put it down since it arrived. It’s really that good.

I was looking at Waterloos a few years ago. They seem to be very well regarded but I just couldn’t lay down that much money for the scaled back appointments. I mean, I know that was the point of them and also the sound is all that should really matter. But I just couldn’t do it! This little L-00 was the perfect middle ground of everything I wanted.
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Re: Gibson L-00 Studio Walnut

Post by i love sharin foo » Thu Sep 30, 2021 3:54 pm

Larry Mal wrote:
Thu Sep 30, 2021 2:51 pm
Very beautiful. I have an L-00 Standard, and an L-00 12 fret with rosewood, and then at some point they came out with these Studios. I was already really excited about walnut because I have a J-15, also... so I totally want one of these guitars. I've looked into them a bit but haven't pulled the trigger.

I bet it's wonderful sounding- congratulations.
Thanks Larry!

That’s quite a collection you have! I wonder how the rosewood back and sides compare to the walnut. This one is really crisp and clear but not harsh. The bass response is good. Very balanced. The tone is really even string to string and all the way up the neck. They seemed to hit a perfect balance with it.

DrQuasar wrote:
Thu Sep 30, 2021 3:05 pm
Great choice, what a beautiful add to the collection. I feel similarly to you about dreadnaughts. I always feel like I have to hammer on them to get the top moving/vibrations to feel/sound right. To me they're sort of like the 100 watt half stack of the acoustic guitar world. Great when you want to be loud but compromised in any other situation.

Every time I pick up a smaller-bodied acoustic it feels more like home for sure. Congrats on the NGD. The walnut is very pretty.
That is a good comparison! It’s like that small wattage amp that just flat out sounds great all around. And you’re right, you don’t have to beat on it to get a good sound and volume. It’s really responsive and dynamic.
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Re: Gibson L-00 Studio Walnut

Post by Larry Mal » Thu Sep 30, 2021 4:18 pm

i love sharin foo wrote:
Thu Sep 30, 2021 3:54 pm


That’s quite a collection you have! I wonder how the rosewood back and sides compare to the walnut. This one is really crisp and clear but not harsh. The bass response is good. Very balanced. The tone is really even string to string and all the way up the neck. They seemed to hit a perfect balance with it.


Well, I have a J-15 (walnut, standard bracing), a J-45 (mahogany, standard bracing) and a J-29 (rosewood, advanced bracing), and while the J-15 and the 29 are kind of different under the hood, my feeling is that walnut offers a lot of volume and just about all of the frequency response and clarity of rosewood, maybe just with a little more of the fundamental and less of the glassy, bell like high end of the rosewood.

Of course, all guitars are different, but that would be my prediction. My J-15 is much louder than my J-45, with more frequency response, great clarity and with a little bit more of a Gibson/Americana old world growl to it.

Regardless, as soon as I played my walnut guitar I realized that walnut is absolutely as good as any other tone wood and that Gibson was just pricing these guitars on the low end because walnut isn't one of the woods that guitar players have grown to idolize.

In short, don't feel the Studio tag means you got any less a guitar than if it would have come with other woods and other marketing, fact is, walnut is as good a wood as it gets, and I bet if we were playing my L-00 Standard next to your Studio you would not feel you were missing out on anything, and it's very possible that you would feel you had the better guitar.

Walnut is great!
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Re: Gibson L-00 Studio Walnut

Post by i love sharin foo » Thu Sep 30, 2021 5:22 pm

You are right, walnut is fantastic! I think it will eventually be regarded as highly as rosewood, mahogany, and maple.

At one point I had a pair of really great Martins. One was an older HD28-V and the other a D-18V. The 18 (mahogany) was a bit unrefined. Kind of aggressive, not very smooth, but with good note separation. The 35 (rosewood) was really detailed and nuanced. The bass was really good. Overall it was a bit muddier though. Now certainly not apples to apples here, but I think the walnut splits the difference right down the middle. That seems to agree with your thoughts too. If you buy one or get a chance to try one, I would love to hear your firsthand thoughts. I’m so stoked to have it!
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Re: Gibson L-00 Studio Walnut

Post by PorkyPrimeCut » Fri Oct 01, 2021 1:57 am

Congratulations on the little guy! I'm glad to hear you're enjoying the intricacies of a smaller bodied guitar.

I bought this a few months ago & am still loving it...

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Chinese, rather than US made, but still a great sounding a playing guitar. I deliberately chose a full mahogany model to compliment my other rosewood & spruce dreadnought.

It's so much fun to play on the couch. I've really got used to changing my strumming action too. It can take a fair amount of digging in but becomes much more pronounced & articulate if you back off & caress the strings instead (that sounds naff but there's definitely something to be said about having a more refined, softer touch). It's also encouraged me to fingerpick more, something II've never been brilliant at.
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