Is the Gibson L-5 worth the big bucks

**silverfoxx** · 09-03-2015, 03:33 AM

Originally Posted by citizenk74

I am not in a position to "know" if the L-5 is worth the big bucks, having never seen one in the flesh, let alone played one. But I am pretty darn sure that if I happened to be able to spare the aforementioned samoleans, I would not hesitate to find out.

I too hope that you get the opportunity to try , and maybe acquire an L5 , it took 30years
of lusting after one before a got my sticky mitts on mine, a Blonde L5CES ( with an
African Blackwood Bridge Assy per recommendations from Patrick2 & 2bornot2bop )
It is the ultimate Jazz guitar for me and I have had many . It is all as Joe DeNisco has
described, stays in tune.,superb tone etc., The Sunday best,special occasion instrument
not for casual gigs.Most do not purchase with future investment in mind, just the reassurance
that there will be a buyer should the need arise.

Best

**Max405** · 09-03-2015, 07:55 AM

Foxxy, Elegantly put. I know we stole our language from you guys, but I've yet to come across anyone here who can put the words together like you guys can.
Something to be said for the "original".
Hey that's what the L5 is. Go get one everybody.
JD

**rpguitar** · 09-03-2015, 09:01 AM

Originally Posted by silverfoxx

Most do not purchase with future investment in mind, just the reassurance
that there will be a buyer should the need arise.

Very well put. If you have an L-5 of almost any stripe, you'll find someone who wants it. In that way it is truly an object of timeless value.

An average L-5 may not be the absolute pinnacle of rarified jazz guitars (the two D'As take that prize). But it is arguably the highest tiered instrument still made, and still in plentiful quantity pre-owned, at an even vaguely reasonable price.

Yes, it's an investment in the sense that ~$5K USD is not small money, so one must "invest" the time and effort to save for it. But it is a no-compromise guitar suitable to play without regret for one's lifetime.

What's not to love??

**2bornot2bop** · 09-03-2015, 04:45 PM

A Citation with a snake head. Who'd have thought it!

Wow, what a guitar. Although I prefer MOP to Abalone, I could learn to forgive that slight oversight of the builders. Good 4 U FF!

**fumblefingers** · 09-03-2015, 08:32 PM

Originally Posted by wintermoon

super deluxe guitar. the figuring in the abby-loney is mind bending
and the may-pel is quilt to the hilt.....
really beautiful color too-interesting that it's a very 'wide' sunburst, dark edges are 'shorter' than normal, but still beautifully shaded.
looks'spensive, but then again, life is short too, so........

edited to add: if that were mine I'd experiment w/ an ebony saddle, would likely warm things up a bit....

yeah i like ebony, and metal bridges are a bit brighter than wood, but intonation issues are not for me. besides, i'm happy to report that the Citation is not just a fancy Legrand, which is a little bit bright sounding.

Gibson's marketing material says that the Citation "purrs", and i agree. it's warmer than you would think an acoustic arch top with a floater would be. it's a different guitar.

**999369** · 09-03-2015, 11:03 PM

Beautiful ~~~

2014 for sale on eBay $22K

Is the Gibson L-5 worth the big bucks-image-jpg

This is is My Dream Guitar ~~~

**yebdox** · 09-04-2015, 12:07 AM

I can't say what goes into the recipe that makes it so good, but my L5 is in line with the previous comments: stable, delightfully easy to play, sturdy, warm, lush tone, really just a dream.

I don't see it as a status symbol, more as a personal connection to my favorite source of inspiration (Wes), as well as a great tool that makes it easier for me to sound like I know what I'm doing

I couldn't afford one til I was about 45 (I'm 60 now). I've had a handful of nice guitars in my life, most of which had to go to fund graduate school when I quit playing professionally. But, the L5 is the tone I was always looking for, so the price of admission was worth it, and was worth the wait.

Its an investment only as a great and reliable tool is an investment. I have a bunch of really good guitars right now, but they are all for playing and will not be particularly sought after when I die. I'd rather have a stable of wonderful, playable production models in order to have a variety of tones available, which tends to keep me out of the luthier market. Maybe one day....

In the meantime, the L5 stays, forever. It always feels like a privilege to pick it up and play. That's a cheap price to pay for feeling consistently good about something. One could do much worse for a ROI.

It's complicated.....

**DMgolf66** · 12-12-2017, 01:33 PM

I'm new to the site and was just doing some research on L-5s. I ran across Patrick2s name a bunch and his contributions to the discussions. I was so excited to read that he was a "Jersey Shore" guy from Tom's River! Having summers in the neighboring town and having my father still live down there I wanted to reach out to Patrick and introduce myself, which I did. After more digging I sadly realized why I received no reply. Ugh. I dug deeper into some of his contributions to the discussions on these pages and realize what a loss it was for this group and all of you that were here way before me.

I will continue to go through the history of discussions and look forward to learning more. Maybe there will be another "Jersey guy" that I can meet and learn from, but it seems there wont be another like him.

Cheers to this group!

**BigMikeinNJ** · 12-12-2017, 01:48 PM

Originally Posted by DMgolf66

I'm new to the site and was just doing some research on L-5s. I ran across Patrick2s name a bunch and his contributions to the discussions. I was so excited to read that he was a "Jersey Shore" guy from Tom's River! Having summers in the neighboring town and having my father still live down there I wanted to reach out to Patrick and introduce myself, which I did. After more digging I sadly realized why I received no reply. Ugh. I dug deeper into some of his contributions to the discussions on these pages and realize what a loss it was for this group and all of you that were here way before me.

I will continue to go through the history of discussions and look forward to learning more. Maybe there will be another "Jersey guy" that I can meet and learn from, but it seems there wont be another like him.

Cheers to this group!

It's a damn shame we lost Patrick. You have a slew of guys from Jersey you can reach out to - and you have guys from all over the map, the WORLD map that is, that have experience and maturity like Patrick's. Just study the threads and you'll learn so much. Too bad more guys don't come here, study up first, and then post...

Big (no longer in New Jersey)

Is the Gibson L-5 worth the big bucks-23032390_10155169191512239_1158558470183385925_n-jpg

Is the Gibson L-5 worth the big bucks-23032390_10155169191512239_1158558470183385925_n-jpg

**DMgolf66** · 12-12-2017, 02:18 PM

Big,

Thanks for the response and the encouragement. Look forward to more searching, learning and hope to reach out to "locals" as well as not-so-locals!

I will write up an intro soon. Not sure how much those get read, but I see that there is a page dedicated to them, so I will.

If you have any golf or whiskey questions, maybe I can help!

~DM

**rpguitar** · 12-12-2017, 02:23 PM

I'm a Jersey guy and I own four L-5s. Yes, Patrick was part of a pretty close-knit online community that thankfully still exists, albeit without his further input (if an afterlife exists, though, he's checking posts on a daily basis). There are a whole bunch of unpaid, self-appointed (but mostly deserved) archtop experts here on JGF, so fire away at all of us. Welcome to the forum!

**DMgolf66** · 12-12-2017, 02:42 PM

Originally Posted by rpguitar

I'm a Jersey guy and I own four L-5s. Yes, Patrick was part of a pretty close-knit online community that thankfully still exists, albeit without his further input (if an afterlife exists, though, he's checking posts on a daily basis). There are a whole bunch of unpaid, self-appointed (but mostly deserved) archtop experts here on JGF, so fire away at all of us. Welcome to the forum!

Hi RP,

I didnt want to hijack and clog up the thread by introducing myself, but your Private Messages box is full, haha. Briefly: I just moved to Tinton Falls, was in Montclair for about 8 years. Work up in Bergen County (Paramus) as a commercial real estate broker, but was a golf professional for about 10 years.

Thank you for responding and look forward to interacting more!

~Darren

**Bluedawg** · 12-12-2017, 04:02 PM

We do miss Patrick2.

Welcome to the site.

**Hammertone** · 12-12-2017, 04:44 PM

Originally Posted by Bluedawg

We do miss Patrick2. ...

Yeah, but what has he done for you LATELY?

**2bornot2bop** · 12-12-2017, 06:01 PM

Originally Posted by Hammertone

Yeah, but what has he done for you LATELY?

Seems someone has 1 of his guitars that's doing something

Miss U Mr. P!

**Hammertone** · 12-12-2017, 06:21 PM

Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop

Seems someone has 1 of his guitars that's doing something

...

Hmmm, yeah, I suppose that counts for something, heh. Maybe I'll play it right now for awhile - see you fellas later....

**Hammertone** · 12-12-2017, 06:41 PM

Which reminds me, speaking of lately, this pair just got re-united on Saturday. Hooray for Mike!

**2bornot2bop** · 12-12-2017, 06:50 PM

Originally Posted by Hammertone

Which reminds me, speaking of lately, this pair just got re-united on Saturday. Hooray for Mike!

Leave it to a Marine to cover all the bases by having a pair of pickguard's made on his guitar build!

How is the binding so aged on that guitar? Looks 20 years old. Aged binding trickery?

**Hammertone** · 12-12-2017, 07:56 PM

Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop

Leave it to a Marine to cover all the bases by having a pair of pickguard's made on his guitar build!How is the binding so aged on that guitar? Looks 20 years old. Aged binding trickery?

The binding is cream coloured. The purfling is white and black. No trickery - just one of many detailed design specifications that no doubt confused and frightened the folks at Heritage.

**Hammertone** · 12-12-2017, 08:59 PM

Back to the original question, possibly asked by a bot: "Is the Gibson L5 worth the big bucks?" - I'm guessing we're talking mostly about instruments like the L-5CES (from the 1970s to now) and the L-5WES (@1993 to now). These currently, typically sell used for between $4,000 and $6,000 all day long - hardly cheap instruments, but far from the high end of archtop pricing. I think that's a fair trading range and that they are definitely worth it. Beyond questions of brand value, there are simply not many similar-performing alternatives.

**2bornot2bop** · 12-12-2017, 09:25 PM

L5's truly are exceptional guitars. If one truly searches around they can find a more affordable one that suits their needs.

**QAman** · 12-12-2017, 09:34 PM

Originally Posted by Hammertone

Back to the original question, possibly asked by a bot: "Is the Gibson L5 worth the big bucks?" - I'm guessing we're talking mostly about instruments like the L-5CES (from the 1970s to now) and the L-5WES (@1993 to now). These typically sell used for between $4,000 and $6,000 all day long - hardly cheap instruments, but far from the high end of archtop pricing. I think that's a fair trading range and that they are definitely worth it. Beyond questions of brand value, there are simply not many similar-performing alternatives.

Well said.

**pilotony** · 12-12-2017, 10:23 PM

Welcome to the forum Darren. Check out some of the older threads for a sample of what you can learn here. Be sure to watch or listen to some of the experts here play, you'll be truly in impressed.

I have a lot of "good" guitars. The L5 stands out as the best of the best.

Tony D.

**lawson-stone** · 12-12-2017, 10:50 PM

Originally Posted by Hammertone

Back to the original question, possibly asked by a bot: "Is the Gibson L5 worth the big bucks?" - I'm guessing we're talking mostly about instruments like the L-5CES (from the 1970s to now) and the L-5WES (@1993 to now). These typically sell used for between $4,000 and $6,000 all day long - hardly cheap instruments, but far from the high end of archtop pricing. I think that's a fair trading range and that they are definitely worth it. Beyond questions of brand value, there are simply not many similar-performing alternatives.

Definitely worth it, and if you can tolerate some cosmetic problems, you can get a recent, very sound and wonderfully playing guitar. Mine had the binding "bleed" but otherwise is a 201x model that is perfect. I know my own side-by-side recordings demo'd just how close some of the L5ces clones come in terms of sound, but playing them, you know when you have that L5 in your lap. It delivers.

**lawson-stone** · 12-12-2017, 10:53 PM

Originally Posted by Hammertone

Back to the original question, possibly asked by a bot: "Is the Gibson L5 worth the big bucks?" - I'm guessing we're talking mostly about instruments like the L-5CES (from the 1970s to now) and the L-5WES (@1993 to now). These typically sell used for between $4,000 and $6,000 all day long - hardly cheap instruments, but far from the high end of archtop pricing. I think that's a fair trading range and that they are definitely worth it. Beyond questions of brand value, there are simply not many similar-performing alternatives.

I would say also that the better L5ces clones can take a person along way. The Epiphone Elitist Broadway is a sweet guitar that reeks of class and quality, plays great, sounds great. The Aria Pro II PE180, even though laminated, is another that really has the heft and solid feel, as well as a solid, sweet-but-a-little-surly sound. Someone who has one of these has a great instrument. Not an L5ces to be sure, but still, a very rewarding piece of that L5ces magic.