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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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Tim I can’t believe you have never played an L5. You been playing and around guitars all these years and live in a large metropolitan area?
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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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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ok, a custom made guitar might be better from a quality control stand point as I noted, but really in no other way unless it's custom made to the exact specs you specify that an of the rack L-5 might not have. that doesn't necessarily make it any 'better' than an 'off the rack' L-5, but possibly better for your specific tastes/needs.
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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Gotcha. My ES-175 does not have outstanding acoustic sound. It's adequate for practicing in a quiet room where I can at least hear the notes without plugging in. I also have a 17" carvetop (floater, 25" scale) which does have great acoustic tone, but is a struggle on stage due to some uneven amplification of notes and feedback issues, which the ES 175 does not have.
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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Good advice, but I don't know of an L-5 in any music store in the Twin Cities and I only even know of one guy who owns one. There have to be more around, but I've never even run across one being played on a gig.* I've played a couple of Johnny Smiths (how about that – much rarer than the L-5 and yet I've played two of those), ES-335s, SGs, Les Pauls and my ES-175. But never an L-5.
*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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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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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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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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Oh. Missed this. Yes. Well. I have a nice L5 Studio. There are two generations. I have an older one with a standard burst and laminate back and sides. The newer ones, brass or army green painted, have carved backs and sides. I also have a ES175 and an L5 CES. I have spent some time (is it obvious I'm retired?) comparing them. The L5 Studio is not as rich sounding as the L5 CES as you might expect with the laminate back and sides. Though not by as much as you would think. Plugged in it would take a pretty good listener to pick up on the additional warmth and sophistication of the L5 CES. And while both are very quiet unplugged, the CES does have a more pleasing and complex acoustic sound. I've started putting flat wounds on the L5 CES and rounds on the Studio which kind of obviates a comparison.
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.
irealpro better ?
Today, 04:47 PM in Everything Else