The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #26

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bluedawg
    So how do I get the pictures to align the way I want them?

    I tried rotating and saving before I uploaded, and they still load in sideways.
    You must kiss the screen before submitting them.

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #27

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    Quote Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop
    You must kiss the screen before submitting them.

  4. #28

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    Quote Originally Posted by deacon Mark
    BD that is a beautiful guitar and glad you got it. Larry has a Super 400 I sure would like to get he is a fine person to work with. A guitar like this while not an investment it is sinking money into something that at least has something behind it. What is behind it is the work put in the guitar and that it sits at the top of the food chain. One certainly could overpay for a guitar like this but within a reasonable amount it is a fine guitar to own. I hope you get in the practice room and play every one of the frets in with all types of chords and tunes. That will give you the rundown on what the guitar is like.

    The good thing about a guitar like this is that at least for me it has a good exit strategy if things come up. You might take a loss, but you have a sellable guitar with nothing to explain to anyone about the details. These days I have learned that trying to explain something in reselling a guitar normally is just not good. This Citation deserves someone like yourself who knew what they wanted and went after it.

    Yeah ... I have to agree that guitars are not really good investments ... overall.

    I do remember when 50s Les Paul's could be had for 5 or 10 thousand and some of those could be sold for 300 or even 500 thousand now, but there's no way to know if something like that will ever happen again or if they will still be worth that much in 10 or 20 years.

    Almost all of the guitars I've purchased in the last 40 years have gone up in value,

    But if I had put that money in smarter investments all those years, I might be showing off a 1950s D'Angelico and hauling it around in my Ferrari. LOL

    Fortunately, I managed to save enough money over the years to afford the toys I do have ... even if it means driving my 2013 Ford C-Max until it just won't go any more.


    As much as I admire the smaller luthiers and would like to have more than a few of them, Gibson's track record suggests that my Gibson toys will be worth some comfort and easier to sell when they have to be sold.

  5. #29

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    Quote Originally Posted by vinnyv1k
    Big WOW factor ! Top of the food chain. A huge Congrats !
    No where to go now but down.
    The way Gibson is going I doubt we will ever see one made again.
    Beautiful !

    I did check to see if I could order a new Citation. We've certainly seen a few new L-5s out there recently, so I had hopes.

    One dealer said they weren't taking any orders. Another dealer never got back with me.

    I even called the Gibson Garage in Nashville and talked to the "Made to Measure" shop, but no one is taking orders for Citations at the moment.

    That could change next week, but who knows.

    The last list price I found on a new Citation was beyond what I could probably do comfortably, and they could be even more if they start making them again.

  6. #30

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    But it has that volute that many here scorn!

  7. #31

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    That's really nice. Congrats! Gibson got these right!

  8. #32

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    Quote Originally Posted by Woody Sound
    But it has that volute that many here scorn!
    Fortunately, I have been acclimated to the volute by my 70s Les Paul Custom ... LOL

  9. #33

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    Quote Originally Posted by Gregc57
    That's really nice. Congrats! Gibson got these right!
    It does have something extra special about it.

  10. #34

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    What do you know about the pickup they used on these? Is it a standard mini-hum bucker?

    Congrats, it looks great!

  11. #35

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    Quote Originally Posted by bluejaybill
    What do you know about the pickup they used on these? Is it a standard mini-hum bucker?

    Congrats, it looks great!
    It seems to be the standard BJB mini humbucker. Doesn't seem to be all that different from the BJB mini in my Le Grand. Both of my BJB guitars sound great to me.

    I can't find much other detail out there with a standard internet search.

    One Citation description says it's a special version, but who knows.

  12. #36

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bluedawg
    Thanks

    I wish I could have given you my money and bought one of yours, but the stars weren't aligned for that then.


    There's another sister 1995 still for sale in Minnesota.

    Used Gibson Citation | LaVonne Music

    I would love to have that quilt, but we liked the color and the price of the one at Wexer's. And the figuring on the back of mine isn't too shabby now that I can see it for myself.

    The one at La Vonne's doesn't have the case cover either .. FWIW. Kind of funny that the case cover on mine says Gibson USA, when the custom shop was officially opened and making the upper end archtops in 1994.


    Their asking $35K for a 2016 blonde in Germany and the prices I've seen on the 70s and 80s Citations are just as crazy if not more.

    2016 Gibson Custom Shop Citation - Antique Natural | Reverb
    Congrats on your new Citation! Beautiful.

    But...did you REALLY have to post about this one at Lavonne Music? I recently bought a brand new, fresh out of the box, Eastman Frank Vignola FV-880ce-sb at Fret Central locally, and now here is this Gibson Citation only about 45 minutes drive away for me. I thought I was safe and set for years to come...until I saw your post.

    Until today, I was blissfully ignorant of this fact. Now, I just may have to go see it. Oh well, such is life.

    Anyway, wonderful guitars and may yours stay yours and get used a lot for years to come!



    Tony
    Last edited by tbeltrans; 08-17-2022 at 04:06 PM.

  13. #37

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    Quote Originally Posted by tbeltrans
    Congrats on your new Citation! Beautiful.

    But...did you REALLY have to post about this one at Lavonne Music? I recently bought a brand new, fresh out of the box, Eastman Frank Vignola FV-880ce-sb at Fret Central locally, and now here is this Gibson Citation only about 45 minutes drive away for me. I thought I was safe and set for years to come...until I saw your post.

    Until today, I was blissfully ignorant of this fact. Now, I just may have to go see it. Oh well, such is life.

    Anyway, wonderful guitars and may yours stay yours and get used a lot for years to come!



    Tony

    LOL

    If you go, let us know what you think. I was tempted to go with that one for the quilt and abalone inlay.

  14. #38

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    Will someone actually spend $18k for the one at Lavonne Music? Seems steep.

  15. #39

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    Quote Originally Posted by charleyrich99
    Will someone actually spend $18k for the one at Lavonne Music? Seems steep.
    I came close ... but price was part of my decision to get the other one.


    Reverb still has a 2016 Citation in Germany for $35K.

    Are these worth the extra money???

    Certainly not for everybody.

    I paid about $600 for my '85 ES-175.

    In hindsight I could have stopped there and been quite happy with that being my archtop collection. But it's fun to have my other toys.

  16. #40

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bluedawg
    LOL

    If you go, let us know what you think. I was tempted to go with that one for the quilt and abalone inlay.
    Well, I told my wife I want to go tomorrow and JUST LOOK. She agreed so will make a day of it, getting there and then finding a place to eat since we rarely go to that part of the metro area. We have not been doing very well health-wise lately so we take each day as it comes. If tomorrow is a good day, we will go, otherwise not.

    Tony

  17. #41

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bluedawg
    I came close ... but price was part of my decision to get the other one.


    Reverb still has a 2016 Citation in Germany for $35K.

    Are these worth the extra money???

    Certainly not for everybody.

    I paid about $600 for my '85 ES-175.

    In hindsight I could have stopped there and been quite happy with that being my archtop collection. But it's fun to have my other toys.
    Honestly, I have no idea how these should be priced since I was never looking for one. Since there is one in my area, I thought it interesting to at least take a look. If it turns out to be all that people here seem to think it is, then maybe I will have to check prices and see what can happen.

    My Eastman has a 1 3/4" nut with appropriate string spacing and that is what I prefer. My Howard Roberts Fusion III has a 1 11/16" nut, but it has wider string spacing than most guitars with that nut width, actually within .004" of the spacing on my Eastman. I was informed by a local jazz guitarist that there used to be a guy in town who cut nuts with wider string spacing for 1 11/16" nuts, so this is probably the case with my Howard Roberts. I really like that spacing on it. If the Citation has a narrower string spacing, it would not be to my liking and I would pass anyway. I play fingerstyle and prefer a wider string spacing if I can get it.

    Tony

  18. #42

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    Someone can ask 35K or 350K but I think these typically sell for around 15K or so give or take a couple grand.

  19. #43

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bluedawg
    Thanks


    Their asking $35K for a 2016 blonde in Germany and the prices I've seen on the 70s and 80s Citations are just as crazy if not more.

    2016 Gibson Custom Shop Citation - Antique Natural | Reverb
    Yes but it's free shipping!

  20. #44

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sleeko
    Yes but it's free shipping!

  21. #45

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    The pick up is the BJB Which has a bar magnet inside and does a great job and bringing out the deep bass and crystaline highs the Citation can produce. The BJB was also used on the custom shop acoustic L5s and LeGrandes.

    That is a truly lovely guitar is one of the nicest Sunburst I’ve ever seen On a Gibson. WOW !!

    BigMike




    Quote Originally Posted by bluejaybill
    What do you know about the pickup they used on these? Is it a standard mini-hum bucker?

    Congrats, it looks great!
    Last edited by Crm114; 08-18-2022 at 10:02 AM.

  22. #46

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    Quote Originally Posted by Crm114
    The pick up is the BJB Which has a bar magnet inside and does a great job and bringing out the deep bass and crystaline highs the Citation can produce. The BJB was also used on the custom shop acoustic L5s and LeGrandes.

    That is a truly lovely guitar is one of the nicest Sunburst I’ve ever seen On a Gibson. WOW !!

    BigMike
    "Deep bass and crystalline highs" is a good description of what I am hearing and enjoying with the Citation.

    I remember my Le Grand having highs that were somewhat annoyingly bright, but I've had flats on it for so long I can't be sure how it would sound with the same round wound strings that came on the Citation. The flats bring out the more mellow aspects of the Le Grand.

  23. #47

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    I thought about nominating Laurence for Sainthood, but then I remembered how many of them achieved that honor —by being burned alive at the stake.

    Quote Originally Posted by Bluedawg;[URL="tel:1214119"
    1214119[/URL]]Overall, it was a good experience. He answered my questions quickly and sent me extra pictures when I asked for them.


    He was also very pleasant on the phone and on emails. He says he prefers phone conversations. I really wish I could take him out to dinner now and then and get him to tell me stories from his past.

    Many people here on the forum spoke highly of him and recommended him as a good source for guitars. That helped a lot.

    Once he knew the money was on its way, he had the guitar packed and shipped almost immediately.

    There was a cover inside the case that did not make it into the box. When I asked about that he shipped it right away.

  24. #48

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    OK, guys and gals, here is the result of my visit to Lavonne.

    In short, I was absolutely STUNNED/GOBSMACKED/BLOWN AWAY when I first strummed the Gibson Citation. I have NEVER, ever, played a guitar that astoundingly beautiful in my life. The acoustic sound is full from bass to treble and certainly loud enough to play at home without amplification or to mic for any performance. Playing it through a Fender Deluxe Reverb (since I have the Tone Master version that I modded), it played with a deep, full, rich sound. I expected that because when you amplify a guitar, the quality of the pickup is largely at play, but the amplified acoustic sound was unbelievable.

    This Gibson is by far the easiest playing guitar I have ever experienced. It has the same strings that I use on my Eastman FV-880ce-sb, D'Addario NYXL 52-12 (round wound), and it is ever so smooth, absolutely effortless playing.

    Honestly, I never knew a guitar, especially an archtop, could play and sound like that. Everybody else (in the shop) was oohing and ahhing over how it looks, and it is gorgeous. But for me, it was the sound and playability that absolutely blew me away. I have played a number of boutique type luthier built guitars, but none affected me like this Citation. It was incredible. The whole guitar vibrated as I played with bare fingers. It was so responsive and seemingly alive. I always thought this was the domain of fine acoustic guitars only, until today.

    I have heard all the hype about fine archtops, but never really believed it. This Citation is in another universe. Whether all Citations are this good, I will never know, but if they are, then their owners (the OP) are very, very, fortunate.

    This one was the first one built in 1995 (serial number is 001 after the year built). It is drop dead mint and has all the "case candy" including the original warranty, truss rod wrench, keys, etc. It did not have a case cover, but from what I have read, not all of them came with one. It depended on what Gibson had on hand. For me, this is a non-issue.

    So...down to the good part (as if the foregoing wasn't enough to give the OP a real thrill to hear another's take on his new Citation )...

    I bought it and it is safe at home with me. I got a better deal on it than was discussed in this thread, but that is probably down to buying locally so no shipping hassles and such. I am selling nearly all of my other guitars because I have been thinking about clearing house for some time now, and now I truly have a "lifetime" instrument. When the smoke clears, I will have repaid myself all but about $3k or $4k. I had the cash to buy this, since I never ever borrow money to buy guitars (except in this case I borrowed from my savings to buy the Citation), but it is nice to be putting that cash back into savings anyway.

    My intention, at least for a while, is to hang on to the Eastman because it has the wider string spacing and is a fine instrument, though not in the same league as the Citation, but certainly worth hanging on to.

    When I was a full time working musician, it always seemed as if the part time and hobby players always had much better instruments than we union road musicians did, and the thought crossed my mind after getting this Citation, that this is probably still true today since I am just a hobbyist and have been for years now.

    Anyway, thanks to this thread, because I would have never known about this instrument.

    Tony
    Last edited by tbeltrans; 08-18-2022 at 08:28 PM.

  25. #49

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    Quote Originally Posted by Crm114
    The pick up is the BJB Which has a bar magnet inside and does a great job and bringing out the deep bass and crystaline highs the Citation can produce. The BJB was also used on the custom shop acoustic L5s and LeGrandes.

    That is a truly lovely guitar is one of the nicest Sunburst I’ve ever seen On a Gibson. WOW !!

    BigMike
    Thanks Big Mike! So is it a Johnnie Smith style construction?

  26. #50

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    Quote Originally Posted by tbeltrans
    OK, guys and gals, here is the result of my visit to Lavonne.

    In short, I was absolutely STUNNED/GOBSMACKED/BLOWN AWAY when I first strummed the Gibson Citation. I have NEVER, ever, played a guitar that astoundingly beautiful in my life. The acoustic sound is full from bass to treble and certainly loud enough to play at home without amplification or to mic for any performance. Playing it through a Fender Deluxe Reverb (since I have the Tone Master version that I modded), it played with a deep, full, rich sound. I expected that because when you amplify a guitar, the quality of the pickup is largely at play, but the amplified acoustic sound was unbelievable.

    This Gibson is by far the easiest playing guitar I have ever experienced. It has the same strings that I use on my Eastman FV-880ce-sb, D'Addario NYXL 52-12 (round wound), and it is ever so smooth, absolutely effortless playing.

    Honestly, I never knew a guitar, especially an archtop, could play and sound like that. Everybody else (in the shop) was oohing and ahhing over how it looks, and it is gorgeous. But for me, it was the sound and playability that absolutely blew me away. I have played a number of boutique type luthier built guitars, but none affected me like this Citation. It was incredible. The whole guitar vibrated as I played with bare fingers. It was so responsive and seemingly alive. I always thought this was the domain of fine acoustic guitars only, until today.

    I have heard all the hype about fine archtops, but never really believed it. This Citation is in another universe. Whether all Citations are this good, I will never know, but if they are, then their owners (the OP) are very, very, fortunate.

    This one was the first one built in 1995 (serial number is 001 after the year built). It is drop dead mint and has all the "case candy" including the original warranty, truss rod wrench, keys, etc. It did not have a case cover, but from what I have read, not all of them came with one. It depended on what Gibson had on hand. For me, this is a non-issue.

    So...down to the good part (as if the foregoing wasn't enough to give the OP a real thrill to hear another's take on his new Citation )...

    I bought it and it is safe at home with me. I got a better deal on it than was discussed in this thread, but that is probably down to buying locally so no shipping hassles and such. I am selling nearly all of my other guitars because I have been thinking about clearing house for some time now, and now I truly have a "lifetime" instrument. When the smoke clears, I will have repaid myself all but about $3k or $4k. I had the cash to buy this, since I never ever borrow money to buy guitars (except in this case I borrowed from my savings to buy the Citation), but it is nice to be putting that cash back into savings anyway.

    My intention, at least for a while, is to hang on to the Eastman because it has the wider string spacing and is a fine instrument, though not in the same league as the Citation, but certainly worth hanging on to.

    When I was a full time working musician, it always seemed as if the part time and hobby players always had much better instruments than we union road musicians did, and the thought crossed my mind after getting this Citation, that this is probably still true today since I am just a hobbyist and have been for years now.

    Anyway, thanks to this thread, because I would have never known about this instrument.

    Tony
    Congratulations! As I was reading your post I was hoping you were going to buy the guitar. Very happy for you. Enjoy!