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Interesting Gibson custom shop tour video posted just a few days ago .... everyone's wearing masks so it has to be in the last few months or last year
Looks like a few archtops in the racks on the left just past the 3 minute mark ... maybe even some Super 400s
A close look at the back of what may be an L5 around 40:53
Maybe a few more archtops in the background if you have a sharp eye. Of course they don't show any archtop construction, only us archtop nuts care about that ..
I don't see any information on archtops on the Gibson web pages. I guess you have to contact a dealer to find out about ordering one.
I thought the Henry J era (1986 to 2018) archtops were some of the best archtops since the golden era of the 50s ... certainly better than most of the mid 60s archtops and Norlin era archtops I've encountered. IMHO YMMV
I would like to try some of the new archtops and see if the company's new management is building archtops as good or better than they were under Henry J's management.
I don't blame the dealers for not stocking them, though. It took a few years to sell off the Crimson series archtops Gibson forced them to buy and they were selling them near cost.
I'm sure they are crazy expensive ... glad I already have nice collection of Gibson archtops to last me ...
but it is tempting to pull a little extra out of my retirement savings and order a new Citation as a retirement gift to myself.
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03-28-2022 01:34 PM
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Fingers crossed. Albeit I think it'll be a few years before the savings catch up sufficiently.
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I wouldn't look too much into the sight of an archtop, they could be in for repair
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Unfinished. No hardware. These aren't in for repair ...
Originally Posted by wintermoon
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Could be ... but a boy can dream Originally Posted by wintermoon
I think there's way too many to be there for repairs
I just checked again and there's at least 5 rough and unfinished big body archtops with no hardware at the 3:29 mark and about 5 or 6 more on the left at the 3:26 mark
And at least 6 in the final assembly area at 44:36 .. maybe more
I saw a few more as they walked through the shop
Some of them could the be the 350s they had on the website a few months ago, but many of them look like L5s to me and perhaps a couple of Super 400s at the 3:06 mark
Better yet, the Guitar Center Platinum shop has L5s listed for sale ... this listing looks like they can get you new ones to me ... price is high, but not as bad as I would have expected
Gibson Custom L-5 CES Hollowbody Electric Guitar Natural | Guitar Center
Yes ... I am a little crazy to crawl through a Youtube video looking for hints of Gibson archtops
More from Guitar Center
Gibson Custom Byrdland Hollowbody Electric Guitar Natural Gold Hardware | Guitar Center
Gibson Custom Wes Montgomery Hollowbody Electric Guitar Vintage Sunburst | Guitar Center
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"This item is backordered but is available to reserve now. You will not be charged until the item ships."
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Potemkin archtops
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That's pretty normal these days, what with supply issues and such .... Originally Posted by wintermoon
And I wouldn't be surprised if GC will only order them if they have a customer with a down payment or credit card on the hook
I have been eyeballing a new Fender Jazz bass for the last few months and GC has the same thing in the Jazz bass listing.
I ended up buying one direct from Fender. And even at Fender it was unavailable for several months and after I bought mine they were listed as out of stock again.
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I’m so over Gibson. Who cares. They had a long run. Nothing lasts forever. Deal with it.
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Love Gibsons last Archtop guitars by Phillip Wharton and crew Crimson Series I believe. But at the price they are asking I would go with Mark Campellone in a heartbeat for sure!
I hope they return at a more realistic asking price.But I’m sure it’s a loss for Gibsons current owners investment and profit driven agenda. Plus I seriously doubt they ever were into any of the Jazz guys.
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Originally Posted by jads57
Campellone is winner for sure .. I have one of his 18 inch acoustics ... I need to figure out the best way to amplify it
Adding a Cameo to the collection would be really nice ... but I'm running out of room ,,, need to sell something just to make room LOL
What's the wait time on a new Campellone?
Gibson has lowered their prices in the past, but that has been rare
With the way things are going everything will be going up in price
So I don't think Gibson will lower their prices ... especially if they keep selling everything they make ... and I'm guessing they are only making archtops if they have an order for it and it's already sold
but maybe Guitar Center or some other dealer would give us a better price
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Have Mark send you a pickguard with an attached pickup for that 18". I have a Lollar mini humbucker in mine, sounds terrific, there are many Armstrong pickups available as well. And Pete Biltoft makes a full size humbucker that attaches to the pickguard. Originally Posted by Bluedawg
Mark puts the volume and tone control under the pickguard. And then the jack is in the end pin.
Wait time on a new one last I heard was 2 years plus, but may have changed plus or minus.
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Musician’s Friend keeps spamming me with ads for new L5s and a couple of other Gibson hollows. All are listed as “on order.” If you have 11k or so, I’m sure they’ll be nice.
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Sounds like a good plan ... my Campellone has no pickguard and no end pin ... I would have to let Rainbow guitars in Tucson do the drilling. I don't trust myself with a drill anywhere near my guitars. Originally Posted by bluejaybill
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lots of negative feelings towards Gibson here ...
You can not seriously compare a one man operated custom guitar shop and its output with a company like Gibson.
that ain't even apples and oranges.
all that Gibson bashing is pretty tiresome
they are building fine guitars since 150 ? years, that have never been cheap.
get used to it.
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Seeing that almost home video quality stuff makes me understand what a loss it would be if Gibson ever went belly-up for good. The operation is far too large to be restarted from a standstill. Probably too old-fashioned, too. Sure, Mark Campellone and his colleagues can cater for the small market niche represented by esteemed Forum members. But not the remaining 99%. If people are willing to pay overprice for the brand, and yet it barely keeps afloat, the problem is in cost structure. I bet foreign competitors don't pay much less to their employees, but new factories need less of them, and indirect costs like insurance and health benefits may be a fraction of Gibson's.
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Not negative. Reality. You seriously expect them to last forever? Hey, a Super 400 was cheap at one time. $400 was a cost many working musicians could afford back then. There weren’t collectors buying them and driving up the prices. Originally Posted by Filmosound 621
lots of negative feelings towards Gibson here ...
You can not seriously compare a one man operated custom guitar shop and its output with a company like Gibson.
that ain't even apples and oranges.
all that Gibson bashing is pretty tiresome
they are building fine guitars since 150 ? years, that have never been cheap.
get used to it.
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they were never cheap and only a well heeled buyer could afford one. Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop
$400 in '34 when they were introduced during the depression is over 8 grand today.
the average salary was less than a grand in '34, so you'd have to pony up 1/2 a years pay to buy one.
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nothing but negative.
and nothing but wrong to boot.
especially after we have seen how much work
went into these guitars ... we should be happy, that these exist.
I am so happy that they do.
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So how in the world are there so many photos of guitarists on stage with one? Originally Posted by wintermoon
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if you had a steady gig in a name band you might be able to afford one but there weren't many such gigs Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop
they never made that many either, only about 50 a year on average
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And the inference is? Originally Posted by wintermoon
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50-ish per year until 1979. Since then, what, five per year between 1985 and 2020, if that? Originally Posted by wintermoon
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Originally Posted by Filmosound 621
especially after we have seen how much work went into these guitars ... we should be happy, that these exist.
I am so happy that they do.
Yeah ... that's the point ... glad to see them back on the assembly line
And even with all of the CNC and other automated processes ... most of the important stuff still has to be done by skilled human hands ...
There's lots of other great guitars out there .. and other great archtop makers ... and I may even buy some of them one day
but I'm happy to see Gibson back on track and making archtops ... if I buy another one it will probably be just to top if my little collection with one final massive splurge on a Citation or a Kalamazoo Award or maybe something made before 1960 ... unless I find an irresistible deal on something like a Tal Farlowe
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actually production ramped up circa '67 and they were putting out about 100 annually w a peak of about 250 in '79 Originally Posted by Hammertone
no production totals available '80-'85 and yeah only a handful '85-'90.
not aware of totals post '90 but I'm sure they're more than that, maybe 25-30ish annually if I had to venture a guess
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