That Gibson L-5 Sound for under $2500?

**2bornot2bop** · 07-06-2014, 01:57 PM

Originally Posted by JazzJJ

I know my left hand it is quite "unusual" and also never developed a good picking tecnique but I know that I will try and try mayby forever?

forget the pick...some of us would practice forever just to get where you are with the thumb!

**Frank67** · 07-06-2014, 02:02 PM

Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop

Bomber blows the myth too..he's a beast...Captain of a fire dep't...must of been all that down time to practice.

Funny how this turned into a thumb picking thread :-) This guy is great - have seen several videos. I find it amazing how these players that have the Wes thing down don't seem to be constrained in their ability to express themselves, even when they only use their thumb with (at least mainly) downstrokes and three fingers of the left hand. Sigh, ... admirable ... Back to the woodshed ...

**JazzJJ** · 07-06-2014, 02:08 PM

Originally Posted by Jabberwocky

That's pretty cool, JazzJJ. I got myself a scratched up old L5 tailpiece with the medallion and L5 script on it just for this conversion. Since you have already had it done, do the screw-mount and endpin holes line up perfectly? I got mine, a Natural, from Japan. The Sunburst is a lot rarer.

Those Sealfast Bullseyes are an indulgence! I don't think I will go to that extent.

Very nice.

Thx Jabberwocky ,
I had the tailpiece mounted by a good luthier and he had to screw new holes and plug the old ones.
The tailpiece aligns perfectly with the bridge and it was a great improvement in sound!
I had to wait about 3 months to get the "Sealfast" tuners delivered at home ; pretty happy with them

**JazzJJ** · 07-06-2014, 02:19 PM

Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop

forget the pick...some of us would practice forever just to get where you are with the thumb!

thank you very much ; I'm onored talking about music with all of you ; and I also believe that here there are so many guitar players that could teach me a lot .
What about the sound of the guitar? It was ok? thx

**feet** · 07-06-2014, 10:50 PM

Originally Posted by JazzJJ

Hi,
Here just few pics of my Epiphone Broadway Elite ; this guitar is fantastic to my ears ... and eyes
I did few mods : re-radiusing to '14 , vintage nos Japanase brass L5 tailpiece, Gibson style bound
pickguard w/5 ply and bracket, Schaller "Sealfast" Big Jazz tuners, amber flat hat knobs , gold schaller trussrod
cover.

as a shameless modder, i applaud your willingness and efforts to defile an expensive and sacrosanct guitar. good work. interesting with that re-radius. never heard of that before, didn't think it was possible. why did you choose to have it done? also interesting that you stick with the stock pickups. after swapping the pots/caps and bridge on my byrdland, i haven't been able to go through with a pup swap, either. i keep trying to talk myself into it, though.

and i strum with my thumb, so suck it, guys. you heard me. six strings, one thumb. at the same time!

**JazzJJ** · 07-07-2014, 02:25 AM

Originally Posted by feet

as a shameless modder, i applaud your willingness and efforts to defile an expensive and sacrosanct guitar. good work. interesting with that re-radius. never heard of that before, didn't think it was possible. why did you choose to have it done? also interesting that you stick with the stock pickups. after swapping the pots/caps and bridge on my byrdland, i haven't been able to go through with a pup swap, either. i keep trying to talk myself into it, though.

and i strum with my thumb, so suck it, guys. you heard me. six strings, one thumb. at the same time!

Hi,
'17 body, 25.1/2 scale , 5 piece Maple neck w/ rosewood inserts, ebony fretboard ,solid pressed spruce top and a good workmanship are all features for a standard "iconic reference" that in my opinion makes of this guitar a good sounding instrument.
I decided to re-radius to '14 and refret w/ stewmac 146 just for personal feel and taste and the guitar now gives more action setting choices (I set for a perfect straight neck and low action). The electronics works fine , never had scratches or other noises coming from the pots even though I am curios on how a new quality wireharness and pots/caps can affect on sound. About pickups I really like the original SR50 ST50 a lot and even compared the neck pup with a Classic 57 that now lives in my Tele.
Many compliments for the Byrdland that is a beautiful instrument always on my wishing list ::: and keep swinging

**callouscallus** · 07-07-2014, 10:20 AM

For a $2500 keep an eye out for a L7 with added pickups. I bought a 1957 L7C that had been modded into a CES with set humbuckers for under $2500, perfect condition otherwise, I LOVE this guitar and I own a L5 Wes too. Very different sounds from these two guitars, the l7 is much lighter and has more acoustic spectrum plugged in or not. The l5 Wes just gets that Wes sound without even trying (of course). The 1957 L7 has he most amazing neck I've ever held, perfect

**Al Br.** · 07-07-2014, 05:28 PM

Check out a Peerless Cremona. Solid wood arch top, Ebony Fretboard. About 2k new. Talk to the boys at Jazz 'n guitars. Nicely made guitars which sound fabulous.

**user404** · 10-30-2023, 02:17 PM

Same question for 2023, the price have gone crazy!
What about ibanez ? Pat metheny or af series?

**Rickco** · 10-30-2023, 03:01 PM

Heritage Eagle, older the better theres some good deals out there or even better an L7 if its in good shape with some cosmetic wear you might find one in your ballpark.

**Sleeko** · 10-30-2023, 03:09 PM

Elitist Broadway comes to mind. If you can find one …

That Gibson L-5 Sound for under 00?-img_0112-jpg

**user404** · 10-30-2023, 03:48 PM

Originally Posted by Rickco

Heritage Eagle, older the better theres some good deals out there or even better an L7 if its in good shape with some cosmetic wear you might find one in your ballpark.

Heritage about 5k…

**Rickco** · 10-30-2023, 04:10 PM

Theres a nice 2 pickup Eagle on reverb right now around $2500

**Sleeko** · 10-30-2023, 04:11 PM

I saw a few L4CES references and this video has a great A/B comparison.

**Rickco** · 10-30-2023, 04:21 PM

Heritage Eagle TDC Sunburst | Reverb one owner $2400. shipped
I doubt youll find an L4 for much under 4K
Not quite the same thing but what about a nice DAquisto there are some nice lams for around your budget.
Dude! you got a crew of personal shoppers!

**Spook410** · 10-30-2023, 06:12 PM

Thread started in 2014 when an L5 cost $5K. They now cost $8K used. 1.6X the 2014 price. So the original post referencing $2.5K would scale to $4K.

So what sounds close to an L5 for $4K? Several choices even in today's market insanity.

**Jabberwocky** · 10-30-2023, 11:52 PM

Originally Posted by Sleeko

Elitist Broadway comes to mind. If you can find one …

That Gibson L-5 Sound for under 00?-img_0112-jpg

I have got one that I bought from Ishibashi Gakki in about 2011-2012. Plugged in, with a similar set of strings, there's very little to separate it from an L-5CES. The humbuckers can always be changed for the Classic 57s, Seth Lovers, Seymour Duncan Antiquities, Throbaks, Doyles, etc..

**lawson-stone** · 10-31-2023, 09:00 AM

There is an Epiphone Emperor F (MiJ) for sale on this board that is outstanding. I owned both the L5ces, the Epiphone Broadway Elitist, and the Aria Pro II PE180. Both the Epi and the Aria gave the L5ces a very decent run for its money. IN a side-by-side test on this board, very few were able to pick out the L5 against the other two.

Don't believe the trashing of the Broadway Elitist. It's a splendid guitar and if I had one right now I might actually sell my Gibson L5ces. It was that good. Problem is, you won't find a Broadway Elitist, or maybe not even an Aria Pro II PE180, for under $2500. The Epi has a slim neck that I like, the Aria neck is a little thicker than the Gibson. Being a laminate, the Aria also has a bit more "thunky" tone than the Epi or the Gibson. Moving in the direction of the Tal Farlow, actually. But still in L5 territory.

I think you should look long and hard at that Epiphone Emperor F for sale on the forum for a very reasonable price from a very fine seller.

**Doug B** · 10-31-2023, 09:45 AM

Originally Posted by Jimmy Mack

What about the new Guild offerings? Classic.

Which new Guilds were you thinking of? Most of their full body "jazz guitars have a bigsby on them. The A150 Savoy is the only one without a bigsby, but it has a DeArmond Rhythm Chief pickup. Hardly an L5 type.

**2bornot2bop** · 10-31-2023, 04:26 PM

Originally Posted by Rickco

Heritage Eagle TDC Sunburst | Reverb one owner $2400. shipped
I doubt youll find an L4 for much under 4K
Not quite the same thing but what about a nice DAquisto there are some nice lams for around your budget.
Dude! you got a crew of personal shoppers!

That’s a Heritable Eagle wannabe. It was a bargain basement Eagle once built by Heritage. Mahogany top, and many had a hog sides and back. A real Eagle, if you can find one, would likely sell for more than $5k. Once Gibson used prices increased Heritage prices did too, and many Heritage used prices for the coveted Golden and Super Eagle nearly doubled.

**Rickco** · 10-31-2023, 07:36 PM

Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop

That’s a Heritable Eagle wannabe. It was a bargain basement Eagle once built by Heritage. Mahogany top, and many had a hog sides and back. A real Eagle, if you can find one, would likely sell for more than $5k. Once Gibson used prices increased Heritage prices did too, and many Heritage used prices for the coveted Golden and Super Eagle nearly doubled.

I had no idea they made that guitar like that, I agree probably not "great" But being stubborn I still say if you watch close you may still catch a standard eagle close to 2500-3000. I might add theres a very nice looking 575 with spruce top and MH body for around 2500 on reverb. I happen to have one kinda like Mimi Fox's with maple body and it really is like a mini L5, obviously not the huge sound but very much in the carved jazz archtop camp, just sayin

**Hammertone** · 10-31-2023, 08:00 PM

Originally Posted by Rickco

Heritage Eagle TDC Sunburst | Reverb one owner $2400. shipped
I doubt youll find an L4 for much under 4K
Not quite the same thing but what about a nice DAquisto there are some nice lams for around your budget.
Dude! you got a crew of personal shoppers!

Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop

That’s a Heritable Eagle wannabe. It was a bargain basement Eagle once built by Heritage. Mahogany top, and many had a hog sides and back. A real Eagle, if you can find one, would likely sell for more than $5k. Once Gibson used prices increased Heritage prices did too, and many Heritage used prices for the coveted Golden and Super Eagle nearly doubled.

Asking $2,400 for a solid carved top, solid carved back, thinline, 17" wide, CES set-up? GREAT STUFF for cheap, IMO! I think this is way closer to the "Gibson L-5CES" sound than anything short of another inexpensive Heritage Eagle or inexpensive Gibson L-5 Studio (both hard to find at deal prices!). I'd grab this in a second if I didn't already have a pile of carved archtops from Heritage, Gibson and others, that do the job.

**Spook410** · 10-31-2023, 09:35 PM

Originally Posted by Hammertone

.. or an inexpensive Gibson L-5 Studio..

After price increases over time not sure this is a thing anymore. Might be able to get a good player for cheap if you can find one of the blue ones that faded to swamp greenish.

**lawson-stone** · 11-01-2023, 09:41 AM

For fun and general information I'm re-posting and old clip comparing the L5ces, Aria Pro II PE180, and Epiphone Elitist Broadway. Please forgive inadequacies in my playing, I had newly learned a Jimmy Raney solo and was struggling a bit with some latency in my recording set up. But the tone and sound of the guitars matches pretty well what I heard in the room playing. It is not a "blind" test though I can re-post one.

I also have a 3-way in which instead of the L5ces I have the MiK Epiphone Broadway, sort of "bringing the clones" as it were.