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I thought about Cedric, I think he was playing a White Falcon w/Wes in some of those pics, I just did a Google search on Ike and don't see him w/ an L5 in any shots, so it may have been Cedric's guitar.
Originally Posted by silverfoxx
But you're right, fantastic player Isaacs was and not very well known on this side of the pond.
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12-11-2019 02:19 PM
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Bummer. Contrary to what I had hoped, it seems I won't be able to access any more interesting information on the 1960 blonde L5. My conclusion is that is undoubtedly the guitar with which Wes' is portrayed on the cover of the "Wes and Friends" albums and possibly on "Full House" and "Boss Guitar" too but there is no real evidence for that right now. If Wes played or even owned this guitar remains a mystery for now. Did he use it on "Full House" as the cover of that album suggests? Or maybe on "Boss Guitar?" Or was only used for the photo's? Maybe someone else can shed some light on the subject. But it IS the guitar Wes is holding on the cover of at least one album. That I am sure of.
I do have another short clip of the guitar.
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i posted this years ago- but still pertinent- from kenny burrell
"I was very close to Wes and his brothers. I met Wes when I was a teenager in Detroit. He and his friends used to drive from Indianapolis to hear me play"
"I was working at the time, at the Village Vanguard I think, so I was using my L-5, but always had a couple other electrics, and so I let him have my L-7 for his first record (The Wes Montgomery Trio). I think he used my Fender Deluxe."
from great vintage guitar mag kb interview-
Kenny Burrell |
much more good stuff..great read!!
cheers
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Regardless of how much contact Wes had with that guitar, it sounds like a superb example of a Gibson archtop. Thanks for posting!
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That's an interesting question and one I've always wondered as I've never seen a live shot of him playing that guitar. He's playing a sunburst model on the back cover of Full House which is a live shot from the club.
It's just record cover pics that the blonde appears on from what I can see.
btw DB what kind of amp are you playing it through? that reverb, whew!
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the fact that there's no wear or any kind of "guard" where he pivoted his right hand fingers while thumbing had me wondering as well
cheers
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Wonderful..
Guitars like this are the stuff dreams are made of
its a gorgeous piece
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That L5 sounds HUGE! Nice work on "Misty", too.
Looks like another shot of Wes caressing that beautiful instrument.
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I'm starting to think he never owned the guitar at all, just used for publicity stills.
Still, the one DB played is certainly the one in those shots.
But a '60 L-5CESN is something to get excited about regardless...
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Keep the guitar. I'll take his right thumb!
You are a very lucky dude. I like your smile.
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Has there ever been a more joyful-looking jazz musician than Wes Montgomery? It just radiates from him every time you see a picture of him holding a guitar.
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No, excellent point and a beautiful thing, his smile was as authentic as his playing.
His peers always said so, he was universally loved and as unpretentious as they come.
Had a relatively short career as a major artist, what about 10 yrs or so?
There are always going to be great players popping up but will there ever be someone quite like him? Can never say for certain, there are many wonderful players but that guy just seemed to be a true original, a beacon in jazz guitar, much like his idol, Christian and Django...
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For the new Blog entry click here. I added some new pics of the guitar in the post.
DB
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This is just awesome. I'm just giddy with excitement about this. You got to play a guitar used by WES MONTGOMERY. I have a few books from my Doktor Vater's library, with his annotations in them, and that thrills me. This... this is a whole other thing.
It also reminds me how sad it is that we can't track down Joe Pass's 1960's ES175.
That can be your next project!
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How cool!
Happy for you that you got to play such an iconic instrument. Downside is: you're spoiled forever...
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Funny how grain and tortoise PG's are like fingerprints. There's absolutely no doubt that those gits are one and the same.
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What severe damage did it have that required restoration?
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The "heart" guitar was also damaged by fire/smoke/water, and later restored by Gibson. Maybe both guitars were together? Originally Posted by wintermoon
PS - Here's another one:
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By the way, with help of a French guitarist who sent me an article on this particular guitar, the mystery has been solved completely!
I'll have to write a new Blog entry for the final truth on this guitar. Coming up.
DB
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New Blog entry. Click here.
Have fun.
DB
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Thanks, DB! No matter if he owned it or not, I'm sure he ran a few of his great lines on it during the photo shoot!
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Cool, cool story. Loved reading about it here and on your blog!
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Wow! I know this feeling: I played the “heart” guitar at Mandolin Brothers. I was not worthy...
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The serial number of that 1960 L5 CESN places it as a very early January guitar. I bet it has a 1959 "S" FON or factory order number, which means the guitar was actually built in 1959. What was the neck profile like? I assume it was quite comfortable and not an overly thin profile. Great story. Thanks for sharing! Originally Posted by DB's Jazz Guitar Blog
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It had the best neck on an L5 that I ever played. The neck on the 2007 that I played side by side to the 1960 L5 was a lot chunkier. And the difference in weight was striking. Also the top plate on the 2007 L5 was way thicker. I think Gibson is totally overbuilding modern L5s (as they are overbuilding every archtop by the way). The 1960 L5 was almost a different guitar. A sobering experience really. But wait. Let me turn this into a separate thread because I'd like some opinions on the issue. Originally Posted by D'Aquisto Fan
DB
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