Fernando
Thanks - quite a challenge and quite a bit of fun
I am no Gibson expert, but in I have learned this. All Gibson guitars had a carved archtop and back until about 1925 when they made their first flat top, they changed the L-1. In fact this L-1 shape had a flat top and a carved back for a year or so before they also flattened the back. At the same time, the 14 fret idea was just starting. Of course the bridge location is determined by the scale length, the body length, and the number of frets clear of the body. So for a while, Gibson played with these, and no where was it more evident than the Nick Lucas Special starting in 1926. Check the third photo in my album for a shot of 3 Nicks each with a different approach - 12 frets, 14 frets, different bodies and different bridge locations.
I don't think the number of frets clear makes a difference in the sound other than it changes the bridge location. The quintessential Nick (IMHO) is the one I chose to copy - it has the bridge right in the center of the lower bout which changes the sound. Also the body is very deep - it is 4-3/4", more like the depth of a jumbo and it is a small guitar, and this changes the sound.
What is interesting - the early L-1 shape that I copied was later blown up to make the J-185 and the J-200, and reduced in size to make the LG-2 3/4 size. This is the guitar that Woody Guthrie gave to Arlo when he was 7 yrs old, and Gibson cooped it in 1999:
http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Acousti ... ie-LG.aspx
My current project is this smaller guitar in Osage Orange and everything has worked out so that it has 13 frets. And this smaller version is also the shape of the Les Paul solid body electric.
Santa Cruz makes a beautiful 13 fret Nick as their H-13, designed by Paul Hostetter (hence the "H") in 1978 and in continuous production since then:
http://www.santacruzguitar.com/instruments/h13-model/
Thanks for looking
