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If I was you Id be talking with TRM
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09-18-2024 04:05 PM
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Originally Posted by Cunamara
You just have to go play an L5. I mean like real quick. Any L5 be it a ces or acoustic. Not to buy or even to compare but to just play one. They are not rare and seems every style of music has been played with them.
Go now and be quick about!
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Originally Posted by Fred Archtop
good call Fred
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I know this isn't what the thread is about, but also consider trying some Eastman archtops. You could save a whole lotta cash and end up with something that suits you personally just as well. These won't be L5 replacements, but they are really nice archtops at less cash. Consider that I own a Gibson Citation AND an Eastman Frank Vignola model. I wouldn't get rid of either one.
Tony
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It's all a preference. Depends on the things you value. L5 is heavy and fat, has 25.5 scale, set pickups. Those things may or may not matter to you. Sound of course is non quantifiable. If you think it sounds better than anything else, and like the above qualities, nothing beats it. However....
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Yep, If I was looking for a carved Gibson archtop (I own three plus a Campellone), I would buy the L-4CES that JZ is selling on this forum (if I did not have the extra 3K required for an L-5.
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Originally Posted by Rickco
you sound like a satisfied Campellone owner, nothing wrong with that.
I've had a number of custom made guitars as well as L-5's but all things being equal neither is really better imo, just different.
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TMZ has a brand new ebony L4CES that I happen to know they will let go for $5K if new w/warranty is something you would want.
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keep in mind that an L-5 is typically 17" wide w/25.5" scale length and an L-4 16" /24.75 if that's a consideration.
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I have a number of 17 inch guitars and to tell the truth my L5 feels the biggest of the 17 inch guitars I have. In fact it feels a bit bigger than one of my 18 inch guitars because the upper bout more pinched and the guitar is a bit thinner.
That said Jack's L4ces checks all the boxes except it is not an L5. The only folks who would even know the difference are mostly on this forum.
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I've only tried a few dual pickup L5s from the 90s onwards, but "sound good acoustic" is not exactly the phrase I would personally use to describe them.
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Maybe saying I want an L5 is like saying I want a Chevy.
New Corvette or old Chevette?
Which L5?
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Originally Posted by joe2758
Sounds like what you maybe want is a single pickup L-5, possibly a Wesmo. A Heritage Golden Eagle, their version of the L-5, would also be worth looking into. Made by the same luthiers that made the L-5 for decades but maybe half the price or a little more than half. And in my opinion just about the best sunbursts in the biz.
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Originally Posted by deacon Mark
*Edit. I have to correct this. Papa John Kolstad has a 1930s L-5, one of the ones with a virtually no clearance for a pickup at the end of the neck; he has one of those "2D" Kent Armstrong pickups on it, if I recall correctly. I saw him play that with the Hot Club of Eastlake.
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Originally Posted by Spook410
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Originally Posted by Stringswinger
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A Strat that sounds like an L5?
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Well if you want to save up another $2K I can let you have this.
To my ears a 18x2.5 CES sounds the same as a 17x3.3 or at least to me.
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Originally Posted by joe2758
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Originally Posted by vinnyv1k
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Thanks everyone for the info and deal alerts. I'm not quite ready to pull the trigger yet and financing is also a (big) consideration.
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Just a note on the Wesmo versions sounding better acoustically than the CES versions: When I got my CES last year, I thought it had a very good acoustic sound. A couple of months ago, a customer brought a beautiful Wesmo into my shop to reassemble after he had all of the hardware re-plated. Upon playing the Wesmo after reassembly, I noted that this Wesmo was not nearly as acoustically resonant and pleasing as my CES. So while I agree that a Wesmo should be better acoustically because of only one hole routed in the top, there are exceptions to the rule for a variety of reasons. Therefore, if it is possible to play before you buy (which is sometimes hard these days), then do so.
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Originally Posted by Zigracer
I have an old twin pickup Gibson that sounds so loud and full acoustically I almost never plug it in.
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Mark Campellone has a Wesmo in his shop right now that has some cosmetic issues. He is going to fix the finish and flip it.
Might get a good deal on that one.
He likes to fix and flip Gibson’s like he did to the S400T above.
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Originally Posted by joe2758
The ES175 is a different sort of thing with the shorter scale, smaller body, and all laminate woods. Odd that it's such a great guitar and just nails a nice jazz tone the way it does. There's something special about the design of an ES175 that just works.
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