The Free Bassist

“This Gibson Model LG1, steel string folk guitar, was purchased used on a rent-to-own plan from Grinnel’s music in Detroit by Joan E. Elkins as a Christmas present for Keevin Lee Elkins in December 1965 for $125.”

Thus began the the provenence of a cherished instrument that my father gave to me for my birthday last year. In the letter that accompanied the gift he wrote of some of the LG1’s travels and travails, the artists it had met and songs it had played, people it entertained and campfires it warmed.

The LG1 had a modest beginning. Produced by Gibson between 1947 and 1968, they were designed with the beginning guitar student in mind, and despite the use of quality woods – the top is spruce, and the sides, back and neck on my dad’s LG1 are all mohogany – the bodies are smaller-than-average, and all came with “3 on a plate” style Kluson tuners and a standard sunburst finish. Dad wisely replaced the Klusons with much superior Grover tuners. In 1962 Gibson began using a plastic bridge on the LG1, and the list price was $105.00.

My dad’s LG1 was produced in 1965 – whoever the original owner was didn’t have it for very long before my mother brought it home from Grinnel’s – and he had it for a few years (during one of which I was born) before he learned to play it. However, my earliest memories include him playing this guitar, and I can’t look at a Gibson acoustic today without seeing him behind it. He and the LG1 had the great pleasure of performing with hundreds of musicians, including such luminaries as Whisperin’ Bill Anderson, Curtis Mayfield, Tom T. Hall, and my uncle Kurt Takacs.

The longevity and playability of the guitars in the LG line today varies depending on factors within Gibson’s control (ladder bracing in the LG1 versus the more resilient X-bracing in some of the higher end models, for example) and those outside of their control (owner use and abuse). There are some, like my dad’s, which are currently unplayable due to simple bridge separation, but there are other forty-something year-old LG’s which are being played professionally today.

This guitar has performed bluegrass, folk, rock, old and new country, pop, and even alternative music – but it has generally seemed to gravitate toward the blues (I always suspected that this was my father’s motif a la maison, but interestingly, when collectors talk about why these old, inexpensive Gibsons are still popular, phrases like “they just have the best tone for the blues” come up more often than any other). This guitar introduced the family to music… see what my brother Jason wrote about the Gibson! It is directly responsible for both my broad taste in many genres AND my love of small necks, which can be seen in every instrument, from mandolin to upgright bass, that I currently own.

I’ve prototyped and built a few instruments over the years, and Dad gave it to me knowing that I would take care of it and restore it to it’s previous glory. And you’ll see the progress documented here when I get bold enough to begin! In the meantime, however, it will hang on the wall next to a framed copy of the provenence letter and whisper to me of the the artists it has met, songs it has played, people it entertained, and campfires it warmed… and my dad.