Gibson L-5 vs ES-175 - Direct comparison vid

[goldenwave77]

Das is nicht so good :-)

Post #61 mentions the people who were at the German recording date who might know what Joe P. played on those record dates. (Sorry, the full quote did not re-appear here for me, so I'm paraphrasing.)


If anyone knows how to get in touch with any of these people, I know of a forum member, fluent in German, who would be happy to speak with them. Get back to on a PM with contact information, and I'll forward it along to the forum member so he can make his inquiry.

After this we can work on the mystery of "Who Killed JR?" And after that, we could find Judge Crater.

[grahambop]

Post #61 mentions the people who were at the German recording date who might know what Joe P. played on those record dates. (Sorry, the full quote did not re-appear here for me, so I'm paraphrasing.)

If anyone knows how to get in touch with any of these people, I know of a forum member, fluent in German, who would be happy to speak with them. Get back to on a PM with contact information, and I'll forward it along to the forum member so he can make his inquiry.

I doubt they would know or care what guitar Joe played. Would Joe know what bass Eberhard played, if he was still with us?

It's only us guitar nerds who worry about it.

[Archie]

From Steve Howe:

I think I was lucky in getting good 175s that tended not to feedback as much as things like L5s and Super 100s because jazz guitars definitely do feedback. And also, the other ingredient is you mustn’t have too much bass or middle on your amp, otherwise that will encourage the bass to feedback. Obviously don’t stand in front of it in a way that produces the feedback. The fourth reason that I thought of is that I use a volume pedal, so if it does feedback, I can control that. I always use a volume pedal—that came from hearing steel guitar players. And the volume pedal means I’m always under control; I can turn the guitar off, tune it, and have it quieter when I want it when the singer is singing. Also, I can voice my notes, so they’re not like Perpetual Change—it starts with voiced chords as opposed to just chink-chink-chink. So there’s a couple of ideas; get lucky with a guitar, tune your amp so that it’s not got too much bass end, and use a volume pedal.
Read more at Ask YES - Friday 12th April 2013 - Steve Howe - Yes

Well that explains a lot. Thanks for sharing :-)

[rickshapiro]

I am thinking the ES-175 tone is only divisive here, and for that matter really not much. The guitar has been around for decades, has been played by many of the best players. There really can be no definitive outcome to this discussion. I am too old to argue whether a Strat is better then a Paul. L5 vs ES-175. I will take Joe Pass on an Esteban over a mediocre player on an L5 when it comes to listening. For that matter, my enjoyment of Pass recordings has never been diminished over any of his guitar choices. Scofield has a totally different sound then Pass and I enjoy that sound as well....................shit what are we arguing over. You guys are brothers in a fairly small fraternity. I apologize to any I may have offended.

[RyanM]

Here's another video with the same two players. I think the L5 sounds better in this clip than the other video,

By the way, besides Wes Montgomery, which players or albums are considered to have the classic L5 CES tone? I always thought it was Wes, but now I get the feeling that, because of his technique and single pickup, it's not really a conventional L5 tone.

[Rob MacKillop]

Here's another video with the same two players. I think the L5 sounds better in this clip than the other video,

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The Eastman El Rey ER4 performs well alongside the Gibsons. Much cheaper too, if you can find one.

[Klatu]

Here's another video with the same two players. I think the L5 sounds better in this clip than the other video,

By the way, besides Wes Montgomery, which players or albums are considered to have the classic L5 CES tone? I always thought it was Wes, but now I get the feeling that, because of his technique and single pickup, it's not really a conventional L5 tone.

Thanks for posting this. It's the most enjoyable guitar video I've seen in a while. Watching those hip young cats tearing it up third wave style was really special. All of their tones sounded great to me, btw.

[goldenwave77]

The Eastman El Rey ER4 performs well alongside the Gibsons. Much cheaper too, if you can find one.

I think all three of these sound great. Wouldn't it be boring and less interesting to listen to, if they were the identical tone?

The 175---glassy, slightly compressed single-note presence....a perfect, slightly vinegary cucumber salad

The L5---layered with structure and depth---maybe a 25 yr. old red Bordeaux after the 1st hr.

The El Rey---liver and onions, with bacon (a favorite dish of mine, when done right)

....time to go shopping, this is making me hungry.

[gianluca]

great thread, I love it.

I post here a link to a youtube video in which I play my L-5 ces with a friend who plays an old 175 (maybe 1959) and a bass player.
the L5 is plugged in a roland jc120 while the 175 in a polytone minibrute

[Hammertone]

@Goldenwave77, I too like (and play) Western Swing. For a great, almost unknown Western Swing player check out Jimmie Rivers and the Cherokees. and yes, modern Country blows chunks.

Brisbane Bop? Very bad idea for any pedal steel player (and many guitar players as well) to ever listen to this recording.
Think of all the lost music from those who would simply give up after the experience. Hmmm….maybe not such a bad idea after all….

[Stbatz]

Another vid