The plastic degrades and the bridge lifts and must be replaced ASAP” or “the plastic bridge Gibson introduced in the early 60s was the dumbest idea they ever had. ”the ceramic saddle must be replaced with a rosewood saddle otherwise you cannot be inducted into the pantheon of awesome acoustic guitar players” or “oh the adjustable bridge they used in the 60s sucks tone, you must replace it with a fixed bridge” or I started reading up on the B25 and the Cortez on the same acoustic guitar websites and comments like the following seem to flow freely: I also had narrowed down my model selection to the X-braced Gibson B25 (effectively the extension of the Gibson LG2 / LG3) and the Epiphone Cortez (a B25 but with Epiphone headstock and guard). But 1964 – 1969 Gibson/Epiphone Kalamazoo built acoustic guitars had 1 10/16” and 1 9/16” nuts, along with necks that were more like electric guitar necks. In fact those acoustic guitar websites makes OSG seem quite modern, open minded and cutting edge !Īfter a while it was obvious that any 1940s or 1950s small bodied guitar will still have the wide nut size that I cannot abide. they will often deride something based purely on “history” and “lore” rather than listening to the instrument or accepting that sometimes a combination of factors can make a particular acoustic guitar sing, even though in their opinion the individual factors should all be negatives. I learnt that acoustic guitar guys and acoustic guitar newsgroups are even more opinionated than Offset guitar people. Ladder bracing verses X-bracing (I already knew the Texan I had was X-braced). (I subsequently read that the LG stands for either Ladies Guitar or Little Guitar … but who knows if what one reads on the interwebz is truthful or not) I learnt about may have been even 1 12/16” … a size nut that I cannot handle or enjoy on an acoustic guitar.Ī couple of days later while checking out various on-line vintage guitar stores I started looking at the Gibson smaller bodied guitars such as the LG0, LG1, LG2 & LG3. Only problem was … the nut was at least 1 11/16”. Sat down and had a play … it was really good … the perfect guitar size for the couch, perfect for watching TV, perfect for relaxing … the size felt like it was designed for this very activity. I do not know what possessed me to do it, but I picked up a small bodied (parlour) acoustic guitar and had a play.
Let’s move forward almost a year and I found myself in one of the very few guitar stores here in Melbourne that sell vintage guitars. So I searched the interwebz and bought myself a similar 1965 Epiphone Texan. Essentially it felt like an electric guitar neck.
The 1965 Texan, like a large majority of acoustics manufactured at Kalamazoo in the 60s had a thinner 1 10/16” nut and a neck that also wasn‘t a baseball bat. But then last year I happened to play a mates 1965 Epiphone Texan and it all changed. Even the Maton acoustic I bought 3 or 4 years ago hardly got played (My nephew now has that and plays it ALL the time). I never could play acoustics, never enjoyed or really bonded with any acoustic guitar I picked up. I have written up a lot of info I have learnt over the past month or two about acoustic guitars that Gibson made in the 60s … the info was certainly new to me, it maybe useful to you … you can always skip all the words and go to the bottom to see the pics if you wish. I have done the absolute unthinkable … I have bought myself a second vintage acoustic guitar. Your dealer can adjust the truss rod during regular maintenance in minutes, when neccessary, to ensure the perfect string height.Ī truss rod is increasingly present in the higher price range classical guitars, but with Salvador Cortez guitars this is a standard feature.įingerboard wood black walnut/juglans nigraNew Vintage Epiphone Acoustic Day – 1965 Cortez. Playability is guaranteed by the presence of an adjustable truss rod. The cedar top ensures a quick response and some percussion which is why cedar is a popular choice for beginners. The CC-06 has a warm round tone and a durable satin finish.This guitar is of the category classical guitars with nylon strings which are easier to play for beginning guitarists than the steel strings of eg western guitars. The CC-06 by Salvador Cortez is a perfect entry level guitar. Classic guitar, cedar top, agathis back and sides, satin finish