Gibson L-9

[Jabberwocky]

looks to me more like 16" or 17"

[edit] i read elsewhere that it's a 17" pressed archtop. Carving would cost more...

Yer right! L9 Archtop - Dave's Guitar Shop .

I stand corrected.

24.75" scale length though.

[Top of the Arch!]

The top is carved not pressed so at least you get something for that kind of dough, not much but something. Must be carved like a Lesters top on a machine , not hand done. Thinking along those lines Id say its about $2000 too much. Just my two cents. Bob

[Bluedawg]

OK $6499 MAP so maybe you could get it down to $6K or $5500

A bit much for me and a new model ... unless it blows my socks off

[vinlander]

You get a brand new Tal for 600$can less including multiply bound body, bound f-holes and even headstock.
Ok the top is laminated and not tap tuned pressed, carved or whatever but still.
I am a Gibson fan but their current price tag and marketing strategy makes no sense to me.

[mr. beaumont]

Marketed to guitar owners, not players.

Any jazzers out there saying "well, finally! A big Gibson hollowbody with some Les Paul heritage!"?

[entresz]

I think that guitar would make a lot more sense with a floating bridge and trapeze tailpiece. The price seems unreasonably high too.

[nickyboy]

I can understand most of the dislikes about the l9 but I'm keen on it to use in a rockabilly band I play with.
With a bigsby I'd be in business!

[redwater]

I can understand most of the dislikes about the l9 but I'm keen on it to use in a rockabilly band I play with.

I bet every Japan made Gretsch does a better Job.

[nickyboy]

I bet every Japan made Gretsch does a better Job.

I bet you're right!
I've been using a 6120sslvo for 4/5 years and I have a love hate relationship with it.
I'm not keen on the whole orange vibe and not keen on the cowboy image thing...also it feels flimsy and insubstantial.
But, as much as I loathe the thing, it performs so well, stays in tune all night, sounds perfect, fits a guy my size beautifully (5ft 7)..yet I still crave a gibson!

[jads57]

Tried one recently at Dave's Guitar LaCrosse, Wi. Plays like a very pregnant Les Paul Std. Personally thought if the body was 15" it would have made a lot more sense. The Pat Martino model they made was a better design overall.

[Hammertone]

So much misinformation, so little time…

- The guitar is 17" wide, unlike the Heritage Roy Clark or Collings.
- It is thinline, unlike the Tal Farlow.
- It is hollow, unlike the Soco.
- It has a @24 3/4" scale, unlike the Tal Farlow
- It has a carved maple top and a carved mahogany back, unlike the Heritage Roy Clark or Tal Farlow.
- It has hardware and cosmetic appointments similar to those of a Les Paul.

I have had the opportunity to play the Gibson L-9 at the last Winter NAMM, and I thought it was great and unlike any other production instrument currently on the market (which custom builder is making something similar?). To me, it was the most interesting guitar at the Gibson Custom Shop booth. It marries some of the design characteristics of a big, hollow, carved archtop with those of a solid-body guitar and is a logical extension of Gibson's past experimentation with models such as the Les Paul Bantam/Florentine, CS-336, ES-446, Pat Martino, Johnny A and more.

The underside of the top is carved with a thick middle section to allow the bridge and stop tailpiece to be mounted directly, without the need for braces, additional glued-on wood, or a block - the top vibrates freely. This makes it most close in concept and construction to the 1960s version of the East German-made Musima Record, althugh similar ideas have been incorporated into guitars I have seen from Baker, Benedetto, Nickerson, Ribbecke, Yanuziello and more.

I think the guitar is designed so that it can be played very loud, and/or with lots of distortion and effects, with the vibrations from the hollow chamber significantly affecting the tone, and with minimal and highly controllable feedback.

[Groyniad]

seems to me hammertone made it all rather clear there...

maybe he knows quite a lot about guitars?

[nickyboy]

I'd imagine ted nugent has one on order :-)

[Flat]

Reminds me of a little PRS JA-15 -- but with a Venetian cutaway and a carved top. And a smaller lower bout. And probably a bunch of other stuff. ;-) But that's what I thought of when I first saw it.



The second time I looked, though, I saw a Heritage H-550.

So apparently the L-9 can morph into other guitars depending on the player's mood, which I have to say is even cooler than auto-tuning pegs.

[Thecytochromec]

A big Gibson hollowbody with some Les Paul heritage!"?

I'm relatively new to the jazz scene, but even that statement made me think, "WTF?"

[Bluedawg]

How easy we forget that Les Paul himself was a jazz player ....

Myself, I welcome our new guitar option ...

[Hammertone]

Even if the design can be related to the Les Paul ("Hey, what if we made a completely hollow, carved Les Paul, and made it 17" wide? Let's figure out a way! And let's borrow a bit of our archtop heritage for this guitar."), I do think that the 17" body width, even with a thinline depth, is a real obstacle for many players, especially if reminded of the connection to the Les Paul guitar, which is just under 13" wide. My guess is that it might have a wider appeal and be easier to relate to a Les Paul if it was 16" wide with a florentine cutaway.

[nopedals]

Can someone explain to me the purpose of a carved maple top?

[Woody Sound]

i love it. Gibson's now making copies of heritage.

Attachment 22841

Well not exactly a copy. From an aesthetic pov, the Gibson has a much nicer traditional shape, especially the cutaway. The Heritage cut looks more like a 335 earlobe.

[docdosco]

What's the deal on this new model?

Gibson.com: Solid Formed 17" Hollowbody Venetian

I happened to spot this when looking at the L9.

Can anyone decipher if this is just a pressed solid top with some new verbal nomenclature or if it is some radical new technology. I didn't get too far into the description, however for 6K plus, one would hope the grain matches even if it just a pressed top.

Any comments on this 'eco freindly' model?

Doc Dosco

[Jonathan0996]

How is it that Gibson lists the weight of each fingerboard inlay but not the weight of the guitar? They also tell you the dimensions of each individual nut slut but not how wide and deep the guitar is.

I suppose they're not in stores yet because they want to make sure they've got the weight of the fingerboard inlays just right.

Beautiful looking instrument, but what are these guys thinking?

[r_cc_c]

[citizenk74]

IMHO heftier strings and a lighter price tag would be nice.

[rio]

Hard to tell how it sounds from that video and those super light strings being spanked by the player. Not a big fan of the finish either. It looks thick but has a stoptail and unless I missed it I can't find info on the construction and if it has a center block. Anyone know? Seems like a miss in terms of what I would like from an archtop but maybe I'm wrong.


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[Hammertone]

Hard to tell how it sounds from that video and those super light strings being spanked by the player. Not a big fan of the finish either. It looks thick but has a stoptail and unless I missed it I can't find info on the construction and if it has a center block. Anyone know? Seems like a miss in terms of what I would like from an archtop but maybe I'm wrong.

Read post #36.