Gibson LeGrand or Campellone Special?

**2bornot2bop** · 06-11-2014, 06:48 PM

Which of those two would you buy, and why?

TH · 06-11-2014, 07:04 PM

Am I allowed to try them both? That would make the difference because I'd want it as an instrument to play. Same price for both? I guess they're the same colour too, right?
I never think about investment, and in really good instruments the variations may be subtle from instrument to instrument. I'd get them both I suppose. It's only fair to the one you would have left behind.

How 'bout you, which one do you like?
David

**2bornot2bop** · 06-11-2014, 07:09 PM

Originally Posted by TruthHertz

Am I allowed to try them both? That would make the difference because I'd want it as an instrument to play. Same price for both? I guess they're the same colour too, right?
I never think about investment, and in really good instruments the variations may be subtle from instrument to instrument. I'd get them both I suppose. It's only fair to the one you would have left behind.

How 'bout you, which one do you like?
David

Either is bought blind with a 72 hour return. Campy is blonde (yech) Gibby is sunburst. I've not owned a Special or Legrand, so either would be new to me.

TH · 06-11-2014, 07:20 PM

Nice position to be in. Do you like Gibsons? There was a time I really had to have a Gibson. I had to get it out of my system. And I got a Johnny. I love it. But they're pretty different and only one may have what it takes for you to run home, throw open the case and play it all night. Wouldn't you want that one in the end?
I'm not trying to be an agent for indecision but that's a lot of money (unless it's an amazing deal, then share with us please!) and you can be missing out on the perfect guitar for you if you get the guitar that's perfect for me.
Can you assemble a repertoire of pieces of different styles, give yourself 3 choruses to improvise and see which one you feel makes you play things you've never played before? If it is a little more expensive to do this, I'd still say do it.
There'll be good things about either, and good and bad things about them individually. It may even be that that's an exceptional LeGrande (or Campy) that puts it ahead of an average selection of either.
I know, I know, you posted so you would have an easy time deciding, right? Get them both?
David
PS you can always return one but it won't be easy

**2bornot2bop** · 06-11-2014, 07:36 PM

I just sold 2 archtops so I could buy 1 archtop. My mind is still open, but both of these are decent enough buys. I've owned 4 Gibsons, but I'm still searching for a Gibson with an acoustic voice...I play unplugged the majority of the time.

**feral guitar** · 06-11-2014, 08:08 PM

lagrene on lagrande

TH · 06-11-2014, 08:09 PM

At the time I got my Johnny Smith, there was also a Campellone in the shop. I did have the great fortune to try them both, day after day, for weeks. I loved the colour, feel, vibe of the Gibson. The Campy had a more open sound, better suited, actually, for my fingerstyle. It was quick and responsive, fitting with the more modern trends in building. I was torn but I got the JS since I'd wanted one since I was a kid.
Regrets? Yes, but regrets that I had to choose. They were both different, very different. The Gibson was right at the time. If I'd known how my playing would have changed over the years, the Campy would have been better.
I still have the Johnny Smith, but there's another guitar I play much more. A different one that's right for me now. And that I would not have chosen but again, this was an outstanding instrument that is better than any of that name I've tried since.
I worked for a big guitar company, and I would occasionally come across that exceptional one. You just know it. This is the case for hand made guitars especially. Acoustic fit is a tricky thing, as I'm sure you know very well.

Have you ever come across a vintage L-7? I ask because a student of mine did find one, at a guitar show. Old, maybe 50's? And not being an L-5 it was really reasonable. Being of that vintage, it possessed a feel to it I've not felt in a modern Gibson, but that's just me. Each time I see that student, I have to check it out to see if it's how I remember it. Yes. It's undeniable.
David

**Greentone** · 06-11-2014, 10:09 PM

Two different guitars. I have played a couple of Campellones at shows. I thought they were very nice. They seemed VERY well made. They hadn't fully opened up yet, but they were clearly 17" guitars that had the modern, crystalline tone that one generally associates with carved 16" L5 guitars of the past--less bass, less darkness than many 17" arch tops. Great tone, to be sure. Maybe not so much natural reverb on the top three strings from frets four upward as on a 20s L5.

the LeGrande is essentially a Johnny Smith. They have a very distinct sound, owing to the construction that Smith called for, and to the intermediate scale--25". Acoustically and electrically, they are quite different sounding from other Gibsons. I happen to find the sound exceptional. They are a little lighter sounding than, say a L5 with pickup or a L5CES. They are less brassy, but very jazzy. They don't sustain as long as a Campy...but that is by design (talking acoustic voice here). They are beautiful instruments but a little more delicate sounding than a L5, IMO. (I have only played two vintage JS and one recent example...I have played many L5 guitars. I am averaging.)

i would buy the JS... But that is because of preference for a specific, identifiable sound.

**Danny W.** · 06-11-2014, 10:22 PM

Originally Posted by Greentone

the LeGrande is essentially a Johnny Smith. They have a very distinct sound, owing to the construction that Smith called for, and to the intermediate scale--25". Acoustically and electrically, they are quite different sounding from other Gibsons. I happen to find the sound exceptional. They are a little lighter sounding than, say a L5 with pickup or a L5CES. They are

Unlike a JS, Legrand has a 25.5" scale and the end of the fretboard extension floats above the top. It may have replaced the JS in Gibson's lineup, but it's not the same guitar with a new name.

Danny W.

**Greentone** · 06-11-2014, 10:55 PM

Danny
True...and those two changes will certainly alter the sound--particularly the floating fingerboard extension. The modern example I played was actually a cheat--Heritage J'S Rose. Nice guitar.

**Jabberwocky** · 06-12-2014, 04:20 AM

Gibson Legrande.

...'Cuz it's Gibson.

**skykomishone** · 06-12-2014, 09:39 AM

I like the Gibson. Why, because it sounds better to my ear. Fuller, richer sound, IMO.

**Woody Sound** · 06-12-2014, 10:36 AM

Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop

Campy is blonde (yech) Gibby is sunburst. .

I think you just answered your own question. Unless you are really just looking for someone to convince you otherwise.

**2bornot2bop** · 06-12-2014, 11:08 AM

I've had more blondes than anything else. I always buy used. Either there's many more used blondes available for sale than sunbursts, or that's simply been my fate...but I'd not turn down a great guitar simply because it's a blonde (yech).

**gianluca** · 06-12-2014, 11:12 AM

I love that bireli's tone but that's not a LEGRAND: it is a SUPER V.
L-5 body, super 400 neck, BJB floating pickup.

Looking for the super V tone, I bought an used LeGrand but, although it was a vey nice guitar with any issue, I wasn't able to play it trough an amp (too much feedback, not smooth at all, etc) I sold it in 4 weeks.

Be aware: the Legrand is not a Johnny Smith and not absolutely a super V.
You can't find any decent youtube clip with a legrand...

I mean: try it very well before to buy it; be shure it fits your taste.

**2bornot2bop** · 06-12-2014, 01:28 PM

who wouldn't love the luxury of trying before they buy....I've had too many guitars to count..never once in the position to try before buying.

I'm not interested in a Super V. I did sample a Super V locally listed for a great price. The guitar was the only archtop dud I've ever played. But, in that guitars defense I'd have had it strung w/ 14's instead of 12's.

I'm interested in an acoustic electric...so that means, the dreaded floater over the humbucker...but I discovered the benedetto S6 that arrived on a recent arrival is very much to my liking...nice mid's, great clarity...a worthy compromise.

since sleeping on both the campy and the legrand, I'm not moved by either.

Who knows anything about a Comins Classic?

**Greentone** · 06-12-2014, 02:18 PM

I haven't played a Comins, but they look great. I _have_ played some Benedettos. Mainly, I have had experience checking out an early Benedetto Manhattan. Simply put: it is one of the very best archtops I have encountered, including my first guitar teacher's D'Angelico. (As a kid, I took lessons--Mel Bay Book One and all that--in a strip shopping center in Hawaii from the guy that had the guitar chair in the band at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. He had an old D'Angelico. I played a very early Yairi classical guitar. He showed me that the Danny could be used for any kind of music, even classical and flamenco. The guitar sounded unbelievable in his hands. He NEVER let me touch it.)

The instruments built by Benedetto are quite expensive. The ones built at Fender, under Benedetto's supervision, are excellent, but not priced in the stratosphere. If you want Benedetto-type construction and EXCELLENT sound and playability, my recommendation is to find an American Archtop by Dale Unger. I have played several. More importantly, I watched Jimmy Bruno play one for quite a while one afternoon. WOW. The AA is built, to my eye, with the neck carve, neck angle, body construction, etc., of the Benedetto. I think that the acoustic-electric AA sounds fantastic. Oddly, the laminated acoustic-electric AA is an insanely beautiful sounding instrument--both acoustically and electrically. I am not sure what Dale is doing with the wood, but he is getting one heck of a result. Check it out, if you get a chance. (Unger studied with Benedetto.)