Your Gibson L-5 Choice

[Crm114]

Whoa baby

That's a great guitar--I really enjoyed it when I owned it:

Attachment 78383




Can't help with the latter, but here's one of the former, a 1960:

Attachment 78384

Here's a reissue from '94:

Attachment 78385

and a few more Gobel-sized guitars:

Attachment 78386


NOTE!: I no longer own any of these guitars!

Danny W.

[nopedals]

Back in the 90s there was an ad in Vintage Guitar by a shop selling a "Goebel" model. Ran several months without a correction IIRC.

[Crm114]

Gobel was famous on American tv and radio and over the years played a number of Gibson guitars. Being of shorter stature he used the CT a lot. It became referred to as the George Gobel, learning a little Americana won’t kill uou

Back in the 90s there was an ad in Vintage Guitar by a shop selling a "Goebel" model. Ran several months without a correction IIRC.

[floatingpickup]

What most don't realize is the top plays a way bigger role than 1 or 2 pickups does. Thick top, thin top, wide grain or tight, stiff or soft.
My VSB Wes has a very thick top with grain so tight you can see no lines. It is darker than midnight in January. My Blonde Wes has a thinner top with wide grain a more airy tone. My Wine Wes has a top between the 2 and by far is my favorite tone.
Right now I own 3 Wes's but have bought 6 Wes's, 1 L5CES, and 1 L5P BJB and none of them sounded the same.
You could blindfold me and play one of my L5 Wes's and I could tell you which one you are playing.
Buying 1,2, or 3 L5's won't make you a expert. Being a Danny W. will. The wood stack of the build is the bigger factor.
When I bought that L5CES from TMZ 3 years ago it sounded exactly like my Tal Farlow so I decided not to keep it.
Ask any builder, the spruce top, the carve, and the stiffness is everything in the tone factor but yes a 2nd pickup will deaden the top more than 1. Personally I have a 175 and Tal's for that type of tone. Not to mention a CES weighs a lot more.

I was thinking of starting a new thread about weight and top thickness, but I decided to post more comments here because there are a lot of posts here that are very relevant to this topic. I have noticed a lot of variation in weight that seems to be related to the actual wood, which I assume is a result of the thickness of the carve. I have had four L5CES’s and they varied a lot in weight. My 1953 with two Alnico/Staple pickups is the lightest at 6 lb, 14 oz. I have a ‘74 CES that weighs in at a whopping 8 lbs. Interestingly, the heavier guitar really works really well on gigs, sounding a little more “electric” and doesn’t feed back easily. My acoustic archtops vary a bit too. I have a 1963 L5C with a Johnny Smith pickup and it’s 6 lb, 7 oz. My 1969 Johnny Smith is heavier at 6lb, 14.6 oz. That’s even a little heavier than my lightest L5CES, and I have always understood the Johnny Smith model to have a thicker top than an L5, per Johnny’s specifications. My Campellone Special with a floating Kent Armstrong pickup falls right between those two at 6 lb, 9.5 oz. The outlier in all of this is my 1989 Benedetto Fratello which only weighs 5 lbs, 13.4 oz. including a floating pickup! I’m not sure what to make of all of this, except that lighter guitars are more prone to feedback, which makes sense. A heavy guitar, such as a recent L5CES might not be the best couch guitar, but it may be the best gigging guitar in its class.
Keith

[jazzkritter]

From fine archtops.com:

What’s interesting here is the reference to having a red finish for early color TV. Same as the red paint job on Tal Farlow’s ES125.


By 1958, pint-sized country comedian George Gobel, after having been dwarfed by his massive Gibson Super 400 for many years, was ready for something more comfortable to play. So, Gibson took the L-5C and narrowed the width by one inch. They also shortened the scale length from 25 ½” to 24 ¾” and used an X-braced design instead of the usual parallel bracing used on all other L-5’s. It received the designation L-5CT for “Cutaway Thin”. While Gibson never officially called it the George Gobel Model, the name was commonly referred to as such. They also gave it a bright red finish so that it would show up on the newly introduced color televisions because at the time Gobel had a weekly variety show on NBC. Gibson produced a total of 43 guitars ceasing production in 1961.

[rpjazzguitar]

In real life, the L5 feels too big and I hate dealing with feedback.

But, if forced to pick one, I go with two pickups.

Why? Purely on appearance. I just like the way it looks with a bridge humbucker. I'd never actually use it.

[Irishmuso]

[QUOTE=Crm114;1091312]Gobel was famous on American tv and radio and over the years played a number of Gibson guitars. Being of shorter stature he used the CT a lot. It became referred to as the George Gobel, learning a little Americana won’t kill uou

I can see why that sort of entertainer would appeal back then. We had similar acts in the UK and Ireland. I suppose every country had them. I wonder why he used the L5 rather than a flattop? A closet jazzer?

[Danny W.]

From fine archtops.com:

What’s interesting here is the reference to having a red finish for early color TV. Same as the red paint job on Tal Farlow’s ES125.


By 1958, pint-sized country comedian George Gobel, after having been dwarfed by his massive Gibson Super 400 for many years, was ready for something more comfortable to play. So, Gibson took the L-5C and narrowed the width by one inch. They also shortened the scale length from 25 ½” to 24 ¾” and used an X-braced design instead of the usual parallel bracing used on all other L-5’s. It received the designation L-5CT for “Cutaway Thin”. While Gibson never officially called it the George Gobel Model, the name was commonly referred to as such. They also gave it a bright red finish so that it would show up on the newly introduced color televisions because at the time Gobel had a weekly variety show on NBC. Gibson produced a total of 43 guitars ceasing production in 1961.

Note that while most of the first run of Gobels had the shorter scale, some had the longer one longer, including the prototype that went to George. Also, Gibson has made a number of additional L-5CT guitars over the years, some by special order, some just because.

Danny W.

[wintermoon]

Note that while most of the first run of Gobels had the shorter scale, some had the longer one longer, including the prototype that went to George. Also, Gibson has made a number of additional L-5CT guitars over the years, some by special order, some just because.

Danny W.

I think only the prototype of the orig run was long scale and 2 had humbuckers.

[silverfoxx]

I think there must be more L5 owners here than anywhere! I’m in the double pu crowd. I owned a Wesmo and a CES. I sold the Wesmo because it sounded bright. Perhaps it had bad wood?

Greg, I have owned a Wesmo and an L5CES at the same time and I stand by the opinion that I prefer the latter, it had a fuller tone ,did not feed back
I have suggested the mass of the bridge pickup damps the top and even when switched off gives forth a better or different tone.
Being compelled to sell both due to an illness, I eventually replaced them with a Campellone ( one Pickup ) and an L5CT ( 2 pickups ) this is
a conundrum, as the Campellone, sounds better than my earlier Wesmo. and the slimmer depth of the L5CT sounds not very much different
to the previous L5CES. There is a similar difference with speakers, i have tested , a Mesa Boogie vs a Raezers Edge vs a Mambo Custom cab
each was compared using a Mesa Boogie V5 35 amp head. The conclusion, the Raezers Edge is better IMHO , softer treble , good mids & Bass.
Not Apples and Oranges LOL


Best regards Alan

[deacon Mark]

This poll is getting better. I want an L5C. So far I am hoping to use it as a weapon on the price. They are not as popular I should get a better price.?

[skiboyny]

I have owned both the L-5CES and the wesmo. I currently own the CES. They are both top level instruments but my thoughts are the L5 is primarily a electric guitar. It's a whispering giant. It really comes to life when it's plugged in. The Wesmo is a bit more acoustic, and a others have stated, you lose some of the electric attributes. In the end I think I decided that as an acoustic guitar there are others that just do it better. As an electric the CES might be hard to beat. I'm also absolutely sure that there are some examples floating around that would prove my thoughts wrong.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

As far as affecting the top -- two pickups versus one -- does anyone do something (short of added a bridge pickup) to simulate a second pickup sitting on the top, for their one-pickup-guitars?

[Gustavo Eiriz]

I play solo jazz/tango guitar. And i do prefer the Wesmo in term of dynamic ranges and tombre possibilities. Altjough it feedsbacks more.
I am not sure that the second pickup only dampens the top. Probably the magnetic field dampens the string to freely move to.
I did the experiment of removing the birdge from and L-5 Ces. And the result was exactly the sound of the wesmo. So finally i sold my 1970 ces for a 2014 Wesmo. Both were 100% similar quality instruments. The 1970 was lighter and the top was thinner but the acoustic sound is non usable at all in both instruments.

Enviado desde mi LG-H870 mediante Tapatalk

[floatingpickup]

I play solo jazz/tango guitar. And i do prefer the Wesmo in term of dynamic ranges and tombre possibilities. Altjough it feedsbacks more.
I am not sure that the second pickup only dampens the top. Probably the magnetic field dampens the string to freely move to.
I did the experiment of removing the birdge from and L-5 Ces. And the result was exactly the sound of the wesmo. So finally i sold my 1970 ces for a 2014 Wesmo. Both were 100% similar quality instruments. The 1970 was lighter and the top was thinner but the acoustic sound is non usable at all in both instruments.

Enviado desde mi LG-H870 mediante Tapatalk

This is a very interesting theory. I expect Gustavo is right, that the stronger magnetic field of two pickups pulling on the strings affects the sound of the guitar. That makes total sense to me. I am sure this is another reason that an L5CES sounds different than a single pickup Wes.
Keith

[hot ford coupe]

Some of you may laugh but I actually prefer a non cutaway acoustic L-5 with a DeArmond FHC pickup. Nice and warm while maintaining low tones.

[Average Joe]

To each his own. I don't understand why anybody would say no to the versatilty of the two pickup version. Lot's of tonal shades to draw from the two other positions.

[omphalopsychos]

Preference #1: Acoustic with no pickup

Preference #2: Acoustic with a Dearmond FHC.

[floatingpickup]

Some of you may laugh but I actually prefer a non cutaway acoustic L-5 with a DeArmond FHC pickup. Nice and warm while maintaining low tones.

How about and acoustic L5 with a Rhythm Chief 1100? I have all three models of De’Armonds (FHC, 1000 and 1100). They are all great sounding pickups, but I really like having a tone control as on the Rhythm Chiefs. The adjustable pole pieces on the 1100 makes it the perfect pickup IMO. Plus, it was available in gold, which matches an L5 nicely.
Keith

[omphalopsychos]

How about and acoustic L5 with a Rhythm Chief 1100? I have all three models of De’Armonds (FHC, 1000 and 1100). They are all great sounding pickups, but I really like having a tone control as on the Rhythm Chiefs. The adjustable pole pieces on the 1100 makes it the perfect pickup IMO. Plus, it was available in gold, which matches an L5 nicely.
Keith

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

While we're talking about DeArmonds, does anyone know how the nickname "monkey on a stick" came to be?

[Hammertone]

Now, THAT's a rare Dearmond.

[floatingpickup]

Very nice! I have only seen one gold FHC before. It was on a ‘59 Super 400C that was for sale near me. Sadly, I let it get away.
Keith

[wintermoon]

first one I've ever seen or heard of! learn something new every day.

[floatingpickup]

first one I've ever seen or heard of! learn something new every day.

It may have been gold plated after market. I had an RC-1000 gold plated several years ago.
Keith

Keith