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Jack, it changes on a day to basis.
Originally Posted by jzucker
i also have a GB10 for an archtop. It works nice for louder gigs. Been playing the guild all morning trying to decide if it's a keeper, lol.
I've been playing my Eastman AR580 for a couple of weeks and for that time I thought it could replace all my guitars. For Father's Day, I played the capo di tu ti capo, the Gibson L5. And what happened? It told me why everything else is tied for second.
Jack, if you are not in a position to have to sell, keep them for a while. Time will make it clear which one stays and which one goes.
By by the way, Happy Fathers Day everyone!
Joe DeNisco
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06-21-2015 11:19 AM
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good points Joe. By the way, anyone know why the like button comes and goes on this forum?
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Good to know. I was thinking about a wood bridge for mine, but probably shouldn't mess with a good thing. Originally Posted by Stringswinger
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Different browsers? Originally Posted by jzucker
L5 looks great, i love that deep wine finish...but in a straight up beauty contest...damn...that Guild
Can't wait to hear the Wesmo though...taking requests?
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if I keep the guild, will probably but a TOM on it. I may do that on my GB10 as well. Considering getting the GB10 refretted. It plays good but the refret on the X500 turned it into a beast. Super low action with no buzzing.
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I have fooled with TOM's and wood bridges on many of my archtops. Here are my conclusions:
On Carved top guitars with built in pickups, TOM's rule. The loss of sustain with the wooden bridge is a deal killer because the increased acoustic sound with the wood bridge is too negligible to be worth it. Lets face it, when the pickups are mounted to the top, the top simply does not vibrate enough to give you the full on acoustic archtop experience. The TOM gives you sustain, excellent intonation and a slightly brighter tone, which is OK with a full bodied spruce top guitar. The one thing that TOM's do with an archtop is present some overtones on the unwound strings. I solve this problem by putting a piece of foam between the bridge and the tailpiece under the two unwound strings. I have TOMs on my L-5 WESMO and my Super 400.
On carved top guitars with floating pickups, wood bridges rule. The TOM robs some acoustic tone, and these guitars do not have the same sustain as guitars with built in pickups no matter what you do. They are acoustic guitars and have their own vibe. My 5 carved top archtops all have wood bridges.
On laminated guitars with a maple top (ES 175's and their ilk), both types of bridges work well. The TOM gives you more sustain and better intonation, the wood bridge gives you more warmth (which can be desirable on a maple topped guitar). I have TOM's on three of my laminate archtops but have a wood bridge on my 63 175.
YMMV...try both on all archtops with a trapeze tailpiece and see what works for you...
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Jack, I almost bought that Wes Mo but passed for another one in Wine Red. I really like the look of that guitar, enjoy. Bob
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Jack, on the left of that photo, is that the butt of the model that involuntarily stayed in the camera range?...
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haha, no though it sure does look like a short skirt. I'll post a pic of the models. They were getting their hair and makeup done and wondering what the !@#$ I was doing with the guitars.
Originally Posted by Phil in London
Jack, on the left of that photo, is that the butt of the model that involuntarily stayed in the camera range?...
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i'm glad you passed on this one. It may not be the best looker but it sure blows away the other ones I tried recently. This one was luthier owned and the setup is flawless. Originally Posted by Top of the Arch!
A lot of people don't realize how common it is to have a tailrise on archtop guitars. Some manufacturers have gotten smarter and have a little slope-away in the fingerboard but neither gibson nor heritage do that so typically unless you have it refretted it's not going to play perfectly all the way up and down the fingerboard. My 175, L5 and X500 have super low action. I would say I lucked out but considering the 2 L5s I returned and the x500 I had to have refretted I guess I have made my own luck.
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That X500 is gorgeous Jack. Keep it for sure. I have a new X500 that was made last year in New Hartford with Seymour Duncan's. They only made 25 of these. Build quality, tone, and playability is A+. Let's hope Ren Ferguson starts making them again here in Calif. with the new Guild custom shop. I love Guild archtops too. Your L5 has a really dark wine finish. I like it. Looks classy.
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I posted that before - a 120£ setup on my L5 morphed this guitar into a totally different instrument. Easy to play, much improved sustain, balanced dynamics. I never saw anything comparable where the setup makes that much of a difference. Originally Posted by jzucker
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"i'm glad you passed on this one. It may not be the best looker but it sure blows away the other ones I tried recently. This one was luthier owned and the setup is flawless."
I thought it was a real looker! Something about it caught my eye! I had a funny feeling about buying it though, not that there would be anything wrong with it , I just had a feeling that something would happen to it before it arrived. Glad it made it to you in one piece and Im sure its going to get a workout. Bob
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Is Ren with the new Cordoba owned Guild now? That is good news for Cordoba if they are smart enough to harness Ren Ferguson's talent. Don't mess it up, fellas. The Guild steel-strings should be something to behold. Originally Posted by vinnyv1k
I can't wait to see the new Guild Artist Awards, X-700s, X-500s under Ren's watch. I understand that Cordoba-Guild is reverting to 24.75" scale length? Who owns the intellectual property that was Guild-Benedetto? Maybe resurrect the Fender D'Aquisto archtops too under Guild since FMIC wants nothing to do with them. I'd like to see Guild make a strong comeback.
Oh, sorry for the thread drift.
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You fail the Rorschasch Blob Test! That is what is outside of the infinity cove or white backdrop that JZ used. You can see part of the wooden floor and the wainscotting. Originally Posted by Phil in London
But it could really be a butt after all...
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Very nice find, JZ. Congrats on The One. I've been meaning to find a Black one or one like that and implant a 3-point mount CC pickup in it. The odds of finding a Gibson L5C Charlie Christian used under $5000 is non-existent so this may be the only way.
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Yeh I like the Guild. I bet that plays like butter. Guilds always do
When you gonna post some clips of the 500 and L5?
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soon but unfortunately crazy busy this week Originally Posted by ArchtopHeaven
Yeh I like the Guild. I bet that plays like butter. Guilds always do
When you gonna post some clips of the 500 and L5?
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Jabber, yes Ren is back at the helm at Cordoba / Guild. I am hoping they will bring back the Westerley archtop models like Fender did in Corona in the early 2000's. Not too many working musicians can afford a L5 anymore. Hopefully the new Guild will keep prices within reach like they did in the old days. Sorry Jack to stray off a bit on your thread. Heritage will never build enough guitars to worry Gibson but if Guild can build a equal amount of archtops as Heritage does it can level the playing field a bit and help us the consumers. Quality competition is always beneficial to the consumer.
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That's easy enough - the software for this forum includes a detector that enables the LIKE button whenever someone posts pictures like those........... Originally Posted by jzucker
Really sweet guitars Jack. Bet the work done on the Guild makes it feel like two NGD's instead of one.
So let me get this straight. For a living, you play guitars like that and and also take photo's of fashion models, right?
Life must get worse than being Jack Zucker round about now.........
;-)
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Regarding your response to the question of the like button; not sure if you were joking or not. But, I don't think what you're saying is correct. I too have noticed that on occasion, the like and share functions are missing. I hit my refresh button and they reappear. But . . . I sense that you were just making a funny??
Last edited by Patrick2; 06-22-2015 at 01:52 PM. Reason: goofy spelling
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Vinny; I think you're speculations on this are inaccurate, in so much as forecasting the market as well as the reaction by Gibson to Heritage and Guild offering less expensive similar quality alternatives to it's brand icon in the jazz guitar world. If anything, it will drive the price of L5s even higher. Originally Posted by vinnyv1k
Gibson . . . and 99.5% of the jazz guitar playing, buying and collecting world knows what the L5 is and what it represents. Gibson would never reduce the price of the *Custom* L5, L5C, L5 Wes or L5 CES series guitars. If anything, in it's "arrogance of success" related to its iconic jazz guitar, Gibson will more than likely assume that people will draw a distinction between it and any other brand alternatives, based upon a *perceived* assumption of far superior quality. Gibson also understand the allure of its brand. Gibson also probably believes it offers suitable alternatives to the L5 series, at more affordable and *entry level* price points. We've seen this scenario play out before. The Gibson Les Paul saw many, many competitive models offered by other builders at substantially lower price points. Some as good as the original, some not so good . . . and some even better. Yet, the Les Paul continues to be a number one best seller for Gibson . . and prices are not coming down. Gibson has offered less expensive versions of the Les Paul to combat the competition. They to were and still are wildly successful . . . even though they're not at the same level of quality as some of the competitive brands.
If what you're saying was even remotely accurate, Heritage would need to triple it's work force of craftsmen (and the girl) and go back to 5 day work weeks, as well as sacrificing their coveted time off for hunting and fishing. They'd have orders out the wazoo for Golden Eagles, Eagle Classics, H150s and H535. These are damned near identical models that were being by Gibson . . . by the same guys who are building them today . . and at the same plant . . and on the same machinery and with the same lutherie tools. Yet . . . the vast majority of the guitar playing world hasn't flocked to embrace the Heritage counter parts to those iconic Gibson models . . . and it ain't just the head stock that's keeping them away.
Not every working jazz guitarist can afford an L5 model guitar. But, almost ever jazz guitar player wants one. Similarly with the kids coming up and the working rockers as related to a Lester, or a 335. That's what will keep Gibson's prices from falling, as well as what will keep their prices escalating. It's a wise strat, albeit an arrogant strategy.
As a business man, the last products I'd ever want to compete against without substantial differentiation . . are the Gibson L5 and a Gibson Les Paul.
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No, sometimes the like "link" is missing. Same browser. Not sure why it happens. Originally Posted by Patrick2
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Can't agree. They are fundamentally different instruments and different sounds. The eagle I have sounds way more acoustic and has less sustain than my L5 even though it has 2 pickups. It's also brighter. The 535 I had was similar compared to the Gibson. Originally Posted by Patrick2
I have not played another archtop or semi that nails the gibson sound. I just haven't. Others have "improved" or changed the bar in other ways but i cannot agree that the heritage guitars are damned near identical to the gibsons.
In fact, heritage seems to pride themselves on not being like gibson even though they claim to be the original luthiers using the same designs. It's an odd arrangement...
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