2010 Gibson L5 Wes Montgomery

**mattymel** · 02-15-2011, 08:19 PM

i dont know...

i feel like people are maybe expecting too much. i dont know about you, but for me, i expect ANY guitar i pick off a wall to feel like crap initially. that goes for Gibson, Fender, Heritage, etc...and i think 95% of those DO feel like crap when i pick them up. its pretty crazy for anyone to expect a guitar shipped out of a factory to suit your exact needs right off the wall when that varies from person to person. if it feels like crap, that has WAY more to do with what store you are buying from than the brand you are buying.

with the exception of a few SUPER low end guitars, if you know how to set up a guitar properly, almost anything can be made to PLAY pretty good. now feel, sound, craftsmanship, and looks are something all together different.

i think that all the generalizations thrown at gibson have more to do with Guitar Centers and any other slacker music store chain than the quality of Gibsons, and ABSOLUTELY any Gibson CS guitars. if you cant make music on one of those, there is no hope for you on any guitar.

that being said, how many Collings do you see at GC's? ive never seen one. and i venture to guess that if i did, it would play like crap because thats what happens when you play a guitar from GC. likely that is a direct decision BY Collings because they know thats what would be perceived of their guitars too. Gibson is big enough they dont worry about that.

bottom line though...being realistic, paying a pro to set up your guitar is PART of buying a new guitar unless you buy from a store thats small and hip enough to do it for you before they put it on the wall.

**ejwhite09** · 02-15-2011, 08:35 PM

Well no GC for me. A pro setup would be one thing, if I have to send it back to the factory, thats unacceptable.

**Drifter** · 02-16-2011, 12:33 AM

Originally Posted by ejwhite09

But if you really must have a guitar with Gibson on the headstock, ...

That's what people keep saying. But I don't think that it's about the name on the headstock but about tone and playability. That's all that matters.

The L-5 Wes Montgomery for example has a very specific tone and for whatever reason, my brain is somehow calibrated on this tone. I've been looking desperately for cheaper substitutes, Ibanez, Heritage, Guild, Benedetto, they all sound gorgeous but I keep missing something. On the other hand, if a rookie plays one chord on a L-5 Wes, it's Bingo immediately.

That's why I've become indulgent to finish flaws or other minor problems. It's the tone that inspires me when I play a guitar, not the immaculate finish or the name of the manufacturer. And in my experience, Gibsons still deliver in this respect. Of course, I agree that a new guitar sould not need a nut or fret job out of the box, but a good shop should sort out those black sheep and return them to the factory.