Gibson Custom 1933 L-00 Ebony Light Aged vs Takamine GD93
Reasons to Get
Gibson Custom 1933 L-00 Ebony Light Aged over Takamine GD93
Reasons to Get
Takamine GD93 over Gibson Custom 1933 L-00 Ebony Light Aged
Other Key Differences
Gibson Custom 1933 L-00 Ebony Light Aged vs Takamine GD93
Shared Features
Gibson Custom 1933 L-00 Ebony Light Aged vs Takamine GD93
Common Strengths
- Solid Top Wood
- High-Quality Nut
- Expensive Wood
Common Weaknesses
- Pickup Alter Switch/Knob
- Locking Tuners
- High-Quality Frets
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- Luminescent Sidedots
- Strap Lock
- Top Pickup Brand
- 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- Active/Passive Preamp
Table of Contents
Price History Comparison
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Which One is Better Overall?
After going through our comparison algorithm, the results show that the Gibson Custom 1933 L-00 Ebony Light Aged is probably the better product overall with its final score of 80 compared to the Takamine GD93's 76 score, although not by a lot.
The Gibson Custom 1933 L-00 Ebony Light Aged wins when it comes to build quality. On the other hand, the Takamine GD93 has the upper hand when it comes to sound, playability, value for the money.
If you got small hands, you'll probably feel that the Takamine GD93 is easier to play.
Which One is Better for Beginners?
Both meet 4 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players. If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, you can't go wrong with either of them.
New Player Friendliness
Gibson Custom 1933 L-00 Ebony Light Aged- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Tall frets
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable fretboard
- Narrow nut
- Short scale
- Soft Strings
- Locking tuners
New Player Friendliness
Takamine GD93- Easy-to-use bridge
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable shape
- Comfortable fretboard
- Short scale
- Soft Strings
- Locking tuners
Nevertheless, when it comes to choosing an instrument, you should pick the one more compatible with your personal style. Still, below we'll try you to give you our results as objectively as it's possible to help you decide.
Gibson Custom 1933 L-00 Ebony Light Aged Overview
- From Gibson Custom's 2023 Murphy Lab - Light Aged series
- Made in United States
- 6 strings
- 24.75"'' scale
- 12" Fretboard Radius
- Thermally Aged Red Spruce top
- Solid Mahogany top
- Solid Mahogany back
- Solid Mahogany sides
- Mahogany neck
- Rosewood fretboard
- Bridge pickup: (/)
- Rosewood; Rectangular, Open Slot bridge
- Acoustic V Set neck
- 19 Medium frets
- Square End, Cream Button, Light Aged tuners
- Weight between 3.5lbs (1.6kgs) and 3.625lbs (1.6kgs)
- Compare Specs >
Takamine GD93 Overview
- From Takamine's 2019 G series
- Made in China
- 6 strings
- 25.4"'' scale
- 12" Fretboard Radius
- Solid Spruce top
- Black Walnut/Quilt Maple back
- Black Walnut sides
- Mahogany neck
- Laurel fretboard
- Bridge pickup: (/)
- Fixed bridge
- Acoustic Asymmetrical C Set neck
- 20 Medium frets
- Takamine Die-cast tuners
- Compare Specs >
Sound Quality Comparison
The most important thing that will determine the tone of an acoustic guitar is the wood. Let's take a look at the differences between both .
Woods Used in Both
Mahogany is a fairly rare wood nowadays. It's used mostly for bodies due to its relatively lightweight. Gibson popularized it with their Les Paul guitars during their golden years, so this wood has a lot of good reputation behind it. The most expensive type comes from South America and it's still used by Gibson even today. Find out more about Mahogany.
Woods Used in the Gibson Custom 1933 L-00 Ebony Light Aged
Rosewood is an almost purple-looking wood that is used mainly for fretboards since it's heavy, rare, and expensive. It's sometimes used on acoustic guitar bodies to create stronger warm tones. Find out more about Rosewood.
Woods Used in the Takamine GD93
There are many types of Laurel, but East Indian is the most common for guitar building. Its color can vary from dark to light brown with black lines. Many people find its tonality similar to Rosewood, which favors the warmer frequencies. Find out more about Laurel.
Spruce has a light color with tight grain patterns. It's very stiff but relatively light. It's known for producing a well-rounded tone with a broad dynamic range. Find out more about Spruce.
This wood has beautiful patterns only found in specific types of maple.
It's a hard wood with a chocolate color that is often used to give an elegant finish. Since it's quite expensive and rare, it's mostly used for guitar tops. Find out more about Walnut.
Winner: Gibson Custom 1933 L-00 Ebony Light Aged.
Electronics
Neither of them come with electronics that allow you to connect them to an amp. This makes them completely acoustic, so you'll need to use an external mic to record with them or play live.
Winner:Tie.
Final Sound Quality Scores
Build Quality Comparison
When it comes to build quality, we like to take into account everything used to build the instrument. This includes materials, hardware and the quality control expected depending on the country where it was built. Let's see how the Gibson Custom 1933 L-00 Ebony Light Aged compares to the Takamine GD93.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Gibson Custom 1933 L-00 Ebony Light Aged is built in United States while the Takamine GD93 is made in China.
The United States is considered one of the best electric guitar manufacturers in the world. A guitar made in this country is supposed to have world-class quality control. Nowadays, guitars made in other countries can beat some of the ones made in the US, but most of the time, this country offers the best you can get. Of course, that comes at a price.
China has a bad reputation when it comes to building quality. However, times have changed and now respectable brands use China's cheap labor to build good instruments for a lower price. Don't discount a guitar only because it was built in China, but also expect more quality from countries like Korea.
Winner: Gibson Custom 1933 L-00 Ebony Light Aged
Nut Material
If you want your guitar to stay in tune and sound good, you need a well cut nut. Nut quality can be inconsistent even when comparing two copies of the same model. The best way to make sure you're nut will be well done is by getting a nut made by an expert company like TUSQ or Micarta.
The Gibson Custom 1933 L-00 Ebony Light Aged has a Bone nut. It's a type of nut found in high-quality instruments. They sound similar to Ivory since they give a lot of sustain and a bright sound (at least when striking open strings). The only problem they can run into is that you may get a bone piece that simply doesn't sound as well as others because that's just how natural materials are.
On the other hand, the Takamine GD93 comes with a Synthetic Bone nut. Bone is the best natural material for guitar nuts. However, its tonal properties can be inconsistent. That's the problem that synthetic bone fixes. This is much better than using a plastic nut because the nut is more slippery—which helps with tuning stability—, and it gives your open strings rich harmonics.
Winner: Tie.
Fret Material
Most fret wire is made of nickel silver. This material eventually wears down after a lot of use and most instruments end up needing a complete fret replacement. However, some expensive models come with stainless steel frets. This is what you should aim for if you can afford it.
Unfortunately, none of them come with stainless steel frets.
Winner: Tie.
Tuners
Both come with regular tuners. The Gibson Custom 1933 L-00 Ebony Light Aged's are Square End, Cream Button, Light Aged while the Takamine GD93's are Takamine Die-cast
Winner: Tie.
Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:
Gibson Custom 1933 L-00 Ebony Light Aged
- Made in United States
- Expensive Wood
- Bone Nut
- Bone Saddle
- Solid Top Wood
- Solid Side Wood
- Solid Back Wood
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- No Top Brand Pickups
- No Electronics
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Takamine GD93
- Expensive Wood
- Synthetic Bone Nut
- Synthetic Bone Saddle
- Solid Top Wood
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in China
- No Top Brand Pickups
- No Electronics
- Laminated Side Wood
- Laminated Back Wood
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Final Build Quality Scores
Playability Comparison
Let's now compare their playability. Bear in mind that the instrument will feel different depending on your hand size and play style. That's why you should always test before buying. But if you can't or want a second opinion on it, we can still take a look at each of the important measurements of the instrument for you. This way, we can predict how easy a guitar might be to play, or how different it will feel compared to the other.
Remember that, even though the difference might seem small, every inch counts when it comes to feeling of the instrument in your hands. Any variation can completely change how comfortable a guitar feels in your hands.
Nut Width
The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, the Gibson Custom 1933 L-00 Ebony Light Aged has the wider nut with 45mm (1.77'') vs 42.8mm (1.685''). This is a 2.2mm (0.085'') difference
This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Gibson Custom 1933 L-00 Ebony Light Aged, especially closer to the nut. However, it's also easier to play without muting strings accidently. This favors people with big hands.
Scale Length
The scale length is one of the things that influences playability the most. This is the distance between the nut and the bridge and will affect everything from low action allowance, difficulty to perform bends, fret separation, and even tone.
The Takamine GD93 has the longest scale: 25.4". The Gibson Custom 1933 L-00 Ebony Light Aged is only 24.75" long. This is a 0.65'' (16.5mm) scale length difference.
This longer scale means that the strings need more tension to get in tune. This is good if you want to avoid fret buzz, which can happen when the strings are too loose and touch the frets while vibrating. This is especially important when playing in lower tunings. This will also let you reduce the gap between fretboard and strings (low action) to make them easier to press down. However, this higher tension will also make it harder to perform bends and vibratos as the strings will feel stiffer.
This also means that the frets have a longer separation between each other, so this will make it harder for people with smaller hands when playing some chord positions.
Another characteristic of a longer scale is that it makes the guitar sound 'snappier' or brighter. This is due to the extra separation between harmonics and overtones produced by the tension. This influences tone more than any other factor (except the pickups).
Lastly, remember that you can also affect the tension of the strings by changing your string gauge. You can use a thicker gauge for more tension and a lighter one for less tension.
Neck Profile
No single neck shape is better than others. However, most people tend to prefer a thinner necks because it doesn't get in their way when playing fast and most hand sizes can adapt to it pretty well. However, some people still prefer thicker necks for a better grip, especially if they have big hands.
In this case, both have different neck shapes:
The Gibson Custom 1933 L-00 Ebony Light Aged has a V type of neck. This neck shape was more common during Fender's early years. Some people like it because they use their thumb over the edge of the fretboard to press the lower strings. It's rather thicker than most modern necks, so it's not usually used for playing fast solos.
The Takamine GD93, on the other hand, has a Asymmetrical neck. Even though this neck shape looks like a poorly-made job, it's, in fact, the neck that most naturally adapts to the arc of your hand when grabbing a guitar neck. You'll notice that the lower part of your palm makes a more pronounced, deeper curve while the upper part makes a more subtle arch. This is the shape that adapts the best to that natural arch your hand makes while playing.
Fretboard Radius
Most guitar fretboards are not flat; they usually have a curve or arc across their width. A curved fretboard will make it easier to perform chords without muting strings, while a flatter one will make it easier to play single notes, which is good for bending and soloing in general. The best fretboards have a compound radius that varies across the fingerboard, but they're not common since they take a lot more work to build.
Both the Gibson Custom 1933 L-00 Ebony Light Aged and the Takamine GD93 have the same fretboard radius of 12". This is the radius used in most Gibson guitars. It gives you a good balance for playing chords without muting, but also good comfortability for playing single notes and bending.
Hand Size Comfortability
Everyone has a different hand size, and that's why it's recommended to try a guitar before buying, even if others tell you that it's comfortable to play. However, we can know whether a guitar favors small or large hands just by knowing its exact measurements.
And after taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that the Gibson Custom 1933 L-00 Ebony Light Aged favors large hands more than the Takamine GD93.
Gibson Custom 1933 L-00 Ebony Light Aged:
Takamine GD93:
Fret Size
Both have a Medium fret size. If you like feeling the fretboard when you play, but also appreciate some easiness to press down the frets, this size offers a good balance for that.
