Epiphone Elitist Broadway vs Gibson L-5 CES Comparison

[tomvwash]

Has anyone ever played these two archtops for a side by side comparison? I have an Elitist but don't have a definitive comparison with a Gibson in the same room and wondering how similar they might be in tone and quality. Thank you for any insight.

[wintermoon]

I think member lawson-stone has both, if he doesn't chime in send him a PM

[SOLR]

Has anyone ever played these two archtops for a side by side comparison? I have an Elitist but don't have a definitive comparison with a Gibson in the same room and wondering how similar they might be in tone and quality. Thank you for any insight.

Lots of good infos here Gibson L-5 and Epiphone Broadway Elistist

S

[Gustavo Eiriz]

Never tried the Epiphone, even like that i think that the difference is that one is pressed wood and the other is carved solid wood.
That changes the sound, not only the acoustic but the amplified. My closest experiment was to compare a Washburn J6s using gibson pickups and a Gibson L-5 CES. There is a difference, not that much, but would describe it as a punchier sound coming from the Gibson, anything related to the attack is very punchy and has a lot of weight in the low end of the harmonic spectrum. Laminated or pressed wood doesnt have it (i am speaking about the amplified sound always), they might sound very well recorded, but playing them doesnt inspire you as playing a tuned carved wood. It is a far more live sound, in case of L-5 Wes version that is even more clear.

[lawson-stone]

Never tried the Epiphone, even like that i think that the difference is that one is pressed wood and the other is carved solid wood.
That changes the sound, not only the acoustic but the amplified. My closest experiment was to compare a Washburn J6s using gibson pickups and a Gibson L-5 CES. There is a difference, not that much, but would describe it as a punchier sound coming from the Gibson, anything related to the attack is very punchy and has a lot of weight in the low end of the harmonic spectrum. Laminated or pressed wood doesnt have it (i am speaking about the amplified sound always), they might sound very well recorded, but playing them doesnt inspire you as playing a tuned carved wood. It is a far more live sound, in case of L-5 Wes version that is even more clear.

I used to own both and made a couple of side-by-side videos. Honestly I could not tell the different in terms of sound between them. The Epiphone Elitist Broadway was superb, every bit as beautiful sounding as the L5CES.

[tomvwash]

I used to own both and made a couple of side-by-side videos. Honestly I could not tell the different in terms of sound between them. The Epiphone Elitist Broadway was superb, every bit as beautiful sounding as the L5CES.

That is great to read, as a side by side. Probably need to hold on to mine. Thanks for that post.

[bluenote61]

I owned an Epiphone Broadway Elitist for years, it was my workhorse at that time. One day a friend gave me his L-5 CES for a few weeks,so I could play both side by side.
As I remember, the Elitist had a good sound, but the L-5 was even better. Not 3-4 times better like the difference in the retail prices at that time, but remarkable different. The L-5 was acoustically louder and had a more dynamic attack.
Which is obvious, the carved top and back of the L-5 versus the solid pressed top and back of the Epi.
If you compare the Epi with other guitars in that price range, the Epi is still a good deal.
Just my 2c.

[lawson-stone]

That is great to read, as a side by side. Probably need to hold on to mine. Thanks for that post.

You can find the clips I did on here somewhere. If I get a moment I will hunt them down on YouTube and re-post.

[Marty Grass]

I would be cautious on at least two points.

1. It is very difficult to not see the Gibson logo when doing an in-person comparison.

2. Tastes are opinions. Fortunately there are many of them, just like there are many brands of toilet paper.

It would of interest to record both instruments under identical circumstances and look at volume amplitudes, sustain and frequencies. But then, what does that get you?

There is a romance for instruments. For those smitten it is best to realize it. I have an old Gibson Howard Roberts. When I see it, it means something to me that others won't detect. I can live with that. If someone wants to criticize it for any reason and say it is not the L-5, so what?

The physics and art of luthiery are very interesting. But like choosing a mate, attraction is in part ineffable, and we are very lucky if we choose one that lasts.

[lawson-stone]

I would be cautious on at least two points.

1. It is very difficult to not see the Gibson logo when doing an in-person comparison.

2. Tastes are opinions. Fortunately there are many of them, just like there are many brands of toilet paper.

It would of interest to record both instruments under identical circumstances and look at volume amplitudes, sustain and frequencies. But then, what does that get you?

There is a romance for instruments. For those smitten it is best to realize it. I have an old Gibson Howard Roberts. When I see it, it means something to me that others won't detect. I can live with that. If someone wants to criticize it for any reason and say it is not the L-5, so what?

The physics and art of luthiery are very interesting. But like choosing a mate, attraction is in part ineffable, and we are very lucky if we choose one that lasts.

So true. Back when I had the Elitist Broadway and the L5CES, I think that blindfolded I would only have recognized the Epiphone because the neck is slimmer. Otherwise, the two guitars felt, played, and sounded very very similar. Slightly different, but that could be touch or slight differences in the pickups. The differences were not a better/worse thing, just very small differences. But blindfolded and asked to play, say, 5 guitars in a row before trying the Gibson and the Epi, only the slim neck would give away the Epi.