Gibson L-5 Premier (Prototype) with BJB Pickup?

[Dennis D]

Anyone know where to get a spec sheet on one of these ? ( Nut width, scale length ) And / or heard one ? I found the demo's on YT, but geez, should I really have to ask Greg Koch to back off that treble ??

Anyway any experience w/ these appreciated.

Thanks.

[rpguitar]

It's an L-5C. 25.5" and 1 11/16". Check out the Custom Crimson thread for some info and anecdotes.

[Dennis D]

It's an L-5C. 25.5" and 1 11/16". Check out the Custom Crimson thread for some info and anecdotes.

Thanks Roger !

[Dennis D]

It's an L-5C. 25.5" and 1 11/16". Check out the Custom Crimson thread for some info and anecdotes.

L-5 Premier Prototype '14 - Dave's Guitar Shop



I started drooling over this guitar 'til I saw the back - not sure I've ever seen 2 bookmatched pieces of wood take to a stain so differently. Is it me, or the photo or ?

Thx

[Jabberwocky]

That's call chatoyance or chatoyancy and is a characteristic of maple. In spruce, it will be called run-out and a serious no-no for looks. The grain and medullary rays of the wood reflect light differently.

On Les Paul Standard Historics, chatoyancy is a prized characteristic.

[Bluedawg]

L-5 Premier Prototype '14 - Dave's Guitar Shop



I started drooling over this guitar 'til I saw the back - not sure I've ever seen 2 bookmatched pieces of wood take to a stain so differently. Is it me, or the photo or ?

Thx

I wouldn't kick it out of my guitar collection if I had it ....

I'd love to have an L5P

[plasticpigeon]

That difference in colour is just the way the light hits the wood. the two bookmatched pieces are a mirror image of each other so the grain run out will be in opposite directions. If you could hold the guitar and move it around the sides would switch from dark to light, and you could probably find an angle where they looked very similar. In my opinion that is a beautiful piece of wood.

[Dennis D]

Well I'll be - -I had no idea wood could affect light like that.

Any idea how close the strings are to the p/u ( they're going to measure it ) -- -

- - -and how loud it'd be for only living room volume - - meaning rarely plugging in ?

Thanks.......

[Dennis D]

That's call chatoyance or chatoyancy and is a characteristic of maple. On spruce, it will be called run-out and a serious no-no for looks. The grain and medullary rays of the wood reflect light differently.

On Les Paul Standard Historics, chatoyancy is a prized characteristic.

And thanks ! Maybe there's a road trip in my future !!

Dennis

[rpguitar]

Dennis, about the acoustic volume:

Do a search for "Johnny Smith Interview Youtube" on Google. He plays his Gibson Johnny Smith acoustically and chats with a former student for about an hour. He even talks about how to him, the sound of the plectrum guitar IS an acoustic sound, and amplifiers are only used in order to be heard when playing live.

The Johnny Smith guitar is plenty loud acoustically for living room fun, as is my L-5C with a floating JS pickup. The new L-5P, being of the same ilk, should be about the same. The only caveat is that the newer Gibson L-5 models are definitely heavier than the older ones, and that can make a difference in acoustic volume (for the worse). The good news is that the older ones are probably in the same price range or LESS than the new L-5P.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

I have an original L-5P from the '40s with an added floating pup and it's loud enough acoustically. Use 13s or 14s and drive that carved top!

[Dennis D]

Dennis, about the acoustic volume:

Do a search for "Johnny Smith Interview Youtube" on Google. He plays his Gibson Johnny Smith acoustically and chats with a former student for about an hour. He even talks about how to him, the sound of the plectrum guitar IS an acoustic sound, and amplifiers are only used in order to be heard when playing live.

The Johnny Smith guitar is plenty loud acoustically for living room fun, as is my L-5C with a floating JS pickup. The new L-5P, being of the same ilk, should be about the same. The only caveat is that the newer Gibson L-5 models are definitely heavier than the older ones, and that can make a difference in acoustic volume (for the worse). The good news is that the older ones are probably in the same price range or LESS than the new L-5P.

Maybe a change - I had them measure the distance /clearance from p/u to string and it's pretty tight...less than 1/4 inch.......in fact almost 1/8 in....I'm not sure there's a space between the p/u and the end of the fingerboard, so I am not sure.....I'm not going to go through this and end up fighting pick clearance.........

...so maybe step 2 is a natural Wes Mo.....how would that be acoustically ?..again back to the unplugged living room ?......

.....thanks for all the help !!

[wintermoon]

"The good news is that the older ones are probably in the same price range or LESS than the new L-5P"

RP, is that a typo of some sort?
if you're referring to original L-5P's, they're 2-3X more expensive than the new ones

[Woody Sound]

Here's an original at a good price - just one problem:

https://reverb.com/item/1257134-gibs...-1947-sunburst

[2bornot2bop]

I'm a big fan of the BJB pup, and acoustic archtops. I had to really resist buying this Premier at $5999

2014 Gibson L5 Premier Crimson Custom Electric Guitar Sunburst | eBay

[rpguitar]

I meant that older L-5C and Johnny Smith guitars were less costly, or at least on par with, the new L-5P. I was not referring to the true original 1939-40 L-5P.

[citizenk74]

Here's an original at a good price - just one problem:

https://reverb.com/item/1257134-gibs...-1947-sunburst

This is an instrument badly in need of some TLC, and not a little ca$h.

[Dennis D]

I'm a big fan of the BJB pup, and acoustic archtops. I had to really resist buying this Premier at $5999

2014 Gibson L5 Premier Crimson Custom Electric Guitar Sunburst | eBay

That P/U sure looks close to those strings.....

[2bornot2bop]

That P/U sure looks close to those strings.....

Your eyes are better than mine. How's about a "quilted" version?

Gibson Custom Shop L5 Quilt | eBay

[Dennis D]

I'm a big fan of the BJB pup, and acoustic archtops. I had to really resist buying this Premier at $5999

2014 Gibson L5 Premier Crimson Custom Electric Guitar Sunburst | eBay

Are those P/U's designed to rest on the top ? It sort of looks like it isn't touching the top i.e., there's some clearance. The McCarty P/U I removed left some surface marks /scratches on the top so I'm guessing it rested on it.

Sure looked unplayed !

[Dennis D]

That's call chatoyance or chatoyancy and is a characteristic of maple. In spruce, it will be called run-out and a serious no-no for looks. The grain and medullary rays of the wood reflect light differently.

On Les Paul Standard Historics, chatoyancy is a prized characteristic.

Also - -tried to P/M you -but kept getting error messages...... re: McCarty P/U, it's been sold...... it was the single p/u cutaway...sounded fine -surprising to me - -but I feel it's a clumsy design, and didn't like the look, so I took it off.....

Dennis

[Bluedawg]

Maybe a change - I had them measure the distance /clearance from p/u to string and it's pretty tight...less than 1/4 inch.......in fact almost 1/8 in....I'm not sure there's a space between the p/u and the end of the fingerboard, so I am not sure.....I'm not going to go through this and end up fighting pick clearance.........

...so maybe step 2 is a natural Wes Mo.....how would that be acoustically ?..again back to the unplugged living room ?......

.....thanks for all the help !!

I have an L5 WES and it has a nice unplugged volume ... I have done many a pleasant living room noodle on it while watching TV

More volume than my L5 CES

[Woody Sound]

This is an instrument badly in need of some TLC, and not a little ca$h.

My point was, it's advertised as a Premier. And it's not.

[Dennis D]

I have an L5 WES and it has a nice unplugged volume ... I have done many a pleasant living room noodle on it while watching TV

More volume than my L5 CES

That is exactly what I do.

I just returned from Dave's.

No affiliation, etc etc .......Still a decent store w/ decent folks !

Here's my humble opinion:
I played the 3 contenders - the * New * L-5 Acoustic only, the * New * natural Wes and the ( Demo ? ) L-5 Prototype/ floater BJB ( the one that originally got my attention and still does, because of the price ) ........
1. All ( surprisingly ) strung w/ round wounds.....12-56 on acoustic and Wes, and 11-56 on BJB.....all action and playability similar......I saw plenty of room to improve action, if you went with different strings etc.........
2. The sound of all 3 is classic L-5 through and through....unamplified......they sound like my L-5 R/I, which is all the more credit to how good a job they did on the R/I...
3. I started on the Premier w/ BJB...I was very interested in the string - pickup clearance, and as is was ok...not sure how much clearance there'd be if I went with my usual 12/52 Chromes......I remembered to check the back
( ' chatoyancy' - - thx 'Jabs') and damn - -you could make those 2 sides of maple ' strobe' depending upon how you held it to the light........( yes, the girls would love it )............cool, and really good looking in person, as they all were /are ....I just thought this one ought to have been louder unplugged...I tried it in the main room and didn't ask if they had a sound room....I also played it through a Polytone and it was really good...then- -
4. I tried the acoustic - no p/u.....mostly for a volume comparison - -and ( scratch my head ) they were almost the same.....( ? )
5. So then I tried the 'natural Wes' as they called it - -just checking unplugged volume - - and again there's that L-5 sound, although this time with the top cut for the humbucker, and the unplugged volume is almost equal to the others....( ?? )........I thought there'd have to be a pretty good difference, but to my ears, there wasn't......same room etc...........I even asked Dave 'cause I know he plays out and he just thought the acoustics should be louder, (braced differently ? ).....maybe I missed it - but then he got a call, so that was that.....
Anyway, bottom line you sure get that L-5 sound - Gibson has absolutely nailed that...and fit and finish they nailed that too.....all naturals, all gorgeous, all sound great.....I didn't plug in the Wes, but I have no doubt that's a knockout..

Right now, I guess just have to decide on my pickup preference.

Hope this helps.

Dennis

[Bluedawg]

That is exactly what I do.

I just returned from Dave's.

No affiliation, etc etc .......Still a decent store w/ decent folks !

Here's my humble opinion:
I played the 3 contenders - the * New * L-5 Acoustic only, the * New * natural Wes and the ( Demo ? ) L-5 Prototype/ floater BJB ( the one that originally got my attention and still does, because of the price ) ........
1. All ( surprisingly ) strung w/ round wounds.....12-56 on acoustic and Wes, and 11-56 on BJB.....all action and playability similar......I saw plenty of room to improve action, if you went with different strings etc.........
2. The sound of all 3 is classic L-5 through and through....unamplified......they sound like my L-5 R/I, which is all the more credit to how good a job they did on the R/I...
3. I started on the Premier w/ BJB...I was very interested in the string - pickup clearance, and as is was ok...not sure how much clearance there'd be if I went with my usual 12/52 Chromes......I remembered to check the back
( ' chatoyancy' - - thx 'Jabs') and damn - -you could make those 2 sides of maple ' strobe' depending upon how you held it to the light........( yes, the girls would love it )............cool, and really good looking in person, as they all were /are ....I just thought this one ought to have been louder unplugged...I tried it in the main room and didn't ask if they had a sound room....I also played it through a Polytone and it was really good...then- -
4. I tried the acoustic - no p/u.....mostly for a volume comparison - -and ( scratch my head ) they were almost the same.....( ? )
5. So then I tried the 'natural Wes' as they called it - -just checking unplugged volume - - and again there's that L-5 sound, although this time with the top cut for the humbucker, and the unplugged volume is almost equal to the others....( ?? )........I thought there'd have to be a pretty good difference, but to my ears, there wasn't......same room etc...........I even asked Dave 'cause I know he plays out and he just thought the acoustics should be louder, (braced differently ? ).....maybe I missed it - but then he got a call, so that was that.....
Anyway, bottom line you sure get that L-5 sound - Gibson has absolutely nailed that...and fit and finish they nailed that too.....all naturals, all gorgeous, all sound great.....I didn't plug in the Wes, but I have no doubt that's a knockout..

Right now, I guess just have to decide on my pickup preference.

Hope this helps.

Dennis

That matches my experience ..

I loved the electric sound of the L5P ... but my wife and I weren't convinced it was acoustically any louder than my L5 WES and neither were the completely acoustic versions

I would love to have one and see if it opens up in a few years.