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A friend of mine who has had a love affair with Lucilles over the years sent me this.
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The last time I bought a brand new Lucille was through sweet water when itarrived a chip of paint about 1" long fell off where the treble side ofthe neck meets the 12th fret of the fingerboard When I called sweet water theysuggested that I call Gibson to see if they would repair it After many phonecalls I finally got through to Gibson service in Nashville where the Tech toldme that they were backed up with repairs and they would make good on the repairbut it would probably take about 2 months He suggested that I purchase a blackink touch up pen from StewMac and fix it myself I then called sweetwater and they said that they would exchange the guitar for a new one but thatthey had no more in stock and the new models no longer had ebony fretboard butwe're now using a synthetic material made of a proxy and sawdust as the finger boardsince Gibson had been raided by the federal government and no longer had anymore ebony wood available My sales rep said that the material was untested andno one could verify how well it would last He said that he could give me arefund or that he could give me a partial refund if I chose to repair theguitar myself I purchased the pen from StewMac for about $20 repairedthe broken paint but I was never happy with the way it looked sweet waterissued me a partial refund of about $200 if I recall correctly I chose to dothis since I wanted the guitar with the ebony fingerboard I could not believethat Gibson would not even provide me with the touch up paint but rather toldme to purchase it myself I never purchased a new Gibson again I have also onlypurchased Lucille's that were made in Nashville prior to the Memphis factoryopening I have had problems with Memphis guitars in the past the Nashvilleguitars were made of a very high quality With better Fit and finish and eventhe pickups are not as hot.
It is very difficult to find a Nashville guitar inperfect condition now that the years have passed Also there is nothing like abrand new guitar that no one else has ever played So I still would purchase anew one but it takes a while unless you are lucky to get a perfect 1.
Bythe way most Lucille's weigh-in at about 10 or 11 pounds so it sounds like yougot a good one.
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10-05-2017 08:22 AM
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I'll finish the review now since I played it and had time to reflect.
This Lucille is perfect except for the minor flaw mentioned early in this thread. It would have been a small issue to touch up the spot. The black lacquer blends spotlessly and it would have been perfect. For whatever reason, Gibson let it slide. It's an easy fix for me to have that taken care of since Pete Moreno has true Gibson lacquer. He estimated it would be a $30 job. So in the end all will be well. An important point though is that it should have been well in the beginning.
The overall craftsmanship is on level with Kalamazoo 1960s semi-hollows. Indeed, this could be a Custom Shop product. The headstock veneer is outstanding. The inlays are flawless. The binding angles are very crisp.
The Lucille has mono and stereo output. I plug my cord in the rear outlet and it's like a standard Gibson. Long ago I did use the stereo feature for rock. Long ago. It doesn't hurt anything to have that option nowadays.
The Varitone is a little bit of fun. Most guys leave it on 1 or 2. No harm in having that.
The fine tuner is not necessary but does work. It adds an ounce or so and can be easily swapped to a standard stop tail.
Richlite. Hmm. I had a synthetic fingerboard on an Asian electric for a few years and really never was unhappy with it. Richlite certainly will be more durable than ebony. It's just not traditional, which can evoke a certain revulsion. In a few years it will be normal and just fine.
The pickups are 490s. They sound nice and slightly warmer than PAFs.
Here are the specs on the neck:
3 piece maple
Profile: Traditional C Thickness at Fret 1: 20.828 mm / .820" Thickness at Fret 12: 24.384 mm / .960"
Acoustically it has about the same volume as my 345. I can feel the back vibrate.
I'm particularly happy with this guitar because the body is lighter than average by a lot.
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Okay, how do I rotate pics? Ever since I lost Photobucket this has been a problem.
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I have trouble with that too. I wonder if portraits are automatically rotated to landscape?
Originally Posted by Marty Grass
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A Lucille under 9 pounds is a great find. I would be worried that the shiny new replacement was heavier. Some of these have weighed in close to 10 pounds. Great find and glad to hear CME worked it out to get it fixed. Originally Posted by Marty Grass
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Thanks. But how did you do that?
Originally Posted by WilliamScott
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Is that a 335 with 345 inlays, or a 345 sans the vt?
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Gibson is now using Richlite on their $7k Lucille? Bummer!!!
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for Windows? Originally Posted by Marty Grass
keyboard shortcuts Clockwise - control + R
Counter clockwise - control + shift + R
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It's a 345 without the Varitone or stereo. Yeah, I know- stripped down and no frills.
Having spent more than a thousand hours on my first 345, I didn't need the Varitone but loved the other 345 cosmetic features because they were so very, very familiar.
Originally Posted by Woody Sound
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If they stay in biz, I'll bet they start using it on carved tops too. It's on my ES-275, I don't mind it one bit. In fact, my Parker Fly with the carbon fiber fretboard felt fantastic, maybe the best ever. Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop
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Ain't working for me. The photos appear in portrait mode when I upload them, then they become landscape. Originally Posted by WilliamScott
I will test this by loading all of the following as portrait. We'll see.
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It works !
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Today I set up the Lucille. No real issues. There was too much relief and the bridge was too high. The nut slots need filing on four of the strings. One of the saddles may need some attention for a tiny burr. I'll recheck it after work.
The guitar places very well. When the action drops, it makes the neck feel closer to a 59 carve.
I'm pretty happy with this guitar. The initial hiccup reminds me of my days taking care of women in labor. There were tears and screams soon forgotten and replaced with smiles when they held their babies.
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Glad to hear that your Lucille set up nicely. And hopefully this was done without any 'tears and screams' and you now smile as you hold your newborn. Originally Posted by Marty Grass
(Sorry, your physician metaphor was just too good not to use!)
Play it in good health.
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Sounds like you've got a keeper there, MG. Congratulations, and play it in good health!
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Mark, my 330 has a few flaws (all easily fixable) that do not bother me due to the very fair price I paid. Had I paid what this guitar was supposed to sell for at retail, I would have been livid. All in all, those of us who have bought these CME Gibsons have done just fine.
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That’s the spirit SS.
I am jealous because I can’t swing one right now, but for cryin out loud, a brand new 175 in my favorite color for $2300? I’d be doin cartwheels.
JD
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$2200 bro for mine. Originally Posted by Max405
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I recently received a new overstock CME '59 VOS 175 sunburst (I paid $2600 for it).
It arrived with a neck that was not centered (attached on an angle). If you lined up the nut, the bridge and the tailpiece, then the strings would be off of the fret board!
There were also quite a few cosmetic issues.
It took it to a Gibson repair shop and was told to send it back to CME.
I don't think that I'll be purchasing any Gibson electrics in the future.
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I'm jealous as these deals aren't available in the UK.
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Recommandations for Hollowbodies for $600 and under?
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