What is the best Gibson L-5 CES?

[Jimmy Mack]

thank you very much.
I’m not aware about pots so I assume that 500k return a wider tone…
what are the stock pots on an L5?

and, is any clip of your tone available?

Sorry that I don't have any clips.
If you read the above post, Gibson changed the pots from 500K to 300K. Why?? Maybe someone else can answer that one, but they did not do us any favor in doing that.
And the pots I removed ranged from 190K to 350K. Yes, 500K pots will not choke the tone as much as 190K pots. I had the same experience with a Les Paul '57 RI Custom. And one of the pots broke in that guitar. So....Gibson was using some crap electronics for a while.

[gianluca]

just made a tour in Gibson web site (es series) and they specifiy 500k cts tone pots (oil paper ?!? ) only for their top models (over 10k $); while for entry level 335s it’s just “two volume and two tone control”.

this seems to second the “economic” reason for the above mentioned switch to minor value pots, that, I assume, should be cheaper…

[JazzIsGood]

Wow good to know. Gives me a whole new view on the pricing. People who don't really want to sell are selling the Custom Shop L5 guitars for HIGHER THAN what they costs new. Like a Ford GT40 or something!

Because they're on pause from Gibson, and Henry built some beautiful specimens.

So, why not ask $15K? As a friend of mine in college used to say "all they can do is say no". (He was referring to a slightly different topic, but it still applies.)

[gianluca]

maybe this is not the right post for asking, but does anybody know what pots are on a ‘98 L5 Studio?

[6v6ster]

maybe this is not the right post for asking, but does anybody know what pots are on a ‘98 L5 Studio?

Gibson started the 300k pots in mid 1973. It continued through the 80s, then sometime in the early/mid 90s custom shop guitars went back to 500k.

[TAA]

Kind of related…

I have a 1952 L-5C and a 1973 Martin D-35. Up here in Minnesota, we have dry (humidity) winters. The guitars are stored in their hardshell cases. In each case is an Oasis humidifier that I check and refill weekly, on Mondays.

This past duration was longer, 2-weeks. The flat top (Martin) humidifier was about 2/3 full. But the arch top was almost empty.

Hard to believe the arch top was so much more thirsty than the flat top. Maybe worth thinking about as we care for our spendy arch tops.

Tom

[Jimmy Mack]

Just to bitch.... how much money can a company save by using 300K pots vs. 500K pots. There is NO price difference. I believe it was a cost cutting move by using INFERIOR parts, however the ohm rating.

I was sick over the fact that I, a consumer of high priced goods, had to replace INFERIOR parts. Sheeeesh!

[advid]

.....During the 70s/80s I owned both an early 60's L7c and an L5c. Had a DE-Armond 1100 'Rhythm Chief' that I used to swap between them when I needed electric...
in MY opinion - the L7c acoustically outshone the L5c....much prefered it to play when just 'armchair playing'..... Both beautiful guitars tho'.... Also had a 62'ish ES175 Natural - Used it on gigs for many years - best overall guitar I've ever owned....sounded and played great for all types of work.
Unfortunately for 'financial' reasons eventually had to sell off all my guitars.....
Today- can't afford any type of Gibson or expensive guitar ....For 'jazz stuff' I now use (wait for it..)
An Antoria JazzStar (L5 CES copy) made late 70's early 80's.... Looks the part - Plays OK - sounds OK.. BUT that's all I can say. Not great - but these days (I'm in the UK) I wouldn't trust taking any decent guitar out for general gig work. It would be stolen I'm sure - Mention the word Gibson to any low down thief and they know it's worth a fortune...nick it - sell it...(just my rant)...
Anyone got anything to comment on about the Antoria ?

[Dennis D]

I've owned 4 over the years. My best sounding one was a early 80s model stamped second volute the whole bit from a deemed inferior norlan period . Very resonate and alive. Some may not like that type sound though, it's so individual. Owned one from the 70s heavy and dead. Two montgomery's from the late 80s and late 90s both nice but not special. As far as playability they were all top notch and all needed attention to get them there, which I find typical of most guitars regardless of brand.

...I am glad someone mentioned 'heavy and dead' and 'nice but not special '. The two I owned fell into these categories.

Still an L-5 is one of my dream guitars, and the right one would be a lifetime keeper, but there just aren't a lot to try without a significant ' road trip '.

Oh well.... : )

[TAA]

I’m on my third L-5. The first was a 1961 L-5CESTSV that I bought in March 1966, trading in an ES-175D. In June 1967 I traded it and cash for new L-5C that I ordered to include a Johnny Smith single pickup. At the time I was 18-19 years old and too inexperienced to conduct the many evaluations I see in this forum. That guitar was sent back to Gibson to have a single humbucker installed in 1971. Afterwards, at the time, I concluded I liked the sound of the JS better. In 1982 I sold that L-5 and stepped away from playing, gigging, etc. To me the ’67 L-5 sounded better than the ’61, but much of that had to do with body thickness. I was able to compare them when the ’67 arrived and I still had the ’61 for a short time.

Fast forward to fall 2021. The group I played in had a reunion, not to play but to catch-up, with old friends from various parts of the country. Afterwards I told myself I had to get another L-5. First I tried to track down the one I sold in 1982 but no luck. None of our local stores had one so I started “shopping” on the internet. I found a 1952 L-5C in NYC that I bought, arriving here 1 April 2022. I did violate the forum rule of “try before you buy”. In Dec. I had a Pete Biltoft CC replica floating pickup installed.

Unlike many who visit this forum, I don’t have several guitars that I can go back and forth making comparisons with and then saying one is like this and the other is like this, etc. I just know that I like my current L-5C and it sounds very good to me. My only other guitar right now is a 1973 Martin D-35 that I bought new, which I’d like sell. But can’t compare those two guitars to each other….apples and oranges….but I am an ardent L-5C believer!

Tom

[oldane]

I envy you people in US who have access to many different archtops, among them L5's. I use to say that the Silverface TR is the best amp I never owned, and likewise, the L5 is the best guitar I never owned. To me, the 17" L5 is the guitar where everything clicks in place aesthetically: Proportions, shape, decoration. IMHO it's the most beautiful guitar ever made.

Here in Denmark I have only twice through 40 years come across an L5. The last time was 25 years ago - of all places in the local music instrument shop in our very small sleepy town. I was there to pick up some Chromes strings I had ordered (no, they didn't have flatwounds in stock) and the owner asked me if I played jazz. When I said yes, he said he wanted to show me something. He went to the back room and came back with a Gibson case which turned out to contain a brand new sunburst WesMo - certainly not the kind of guitars they used to sell. It was a custom order which just awaited being picked up. Since then no L5s have crossed my path. Eventually, the shop wasn't able to survive and has since then closed. But of course, we now have the internet and Thoman from where I can get anything shipped to my doorstep in a few days.

[Woody Sound]

As a friend of mine in college used to say "all they can do is say no". (He was referring to a slightly different topic, but it still applies.)

I can only imagine...

[TAA]

Oldane,

Something we frequently see are situations where the writer has had the opportunity to compare two or more L-5’s side by side and then characterize the differences. So I can appreciate you living on the desert island, waiting for an L-5 ship to pass by…there will be only one!

Since I never had the opportunity to compare an L-5 I’m considering to another L-5, I buy the L-5, take it home and enjoy it. Is it inadequate compared to another? Maybe, but I don’t care about an evaluation conducted by someone else, not a factor. If I enjoy the one I chose, that’s all that matters. Maybe its a roll of the dice and some other L-5 might be “better”, who knows. But that’s up to others, not me. Someone else’s definition of inadequate might not be what I consider inadequate.

If you insist on cherry picking between several before you decide, looking for the perfect one, you could be missing out on a good instrument. If we get an L-5 others deem inferior, and we spend time with that instrument, we find out that string choice, playing style and time somehow make things work out to OUR satisfaction.

Hope you find one soon.

Tom

[Max405]

I for one certainly take for granted the selection of guitars available to us here in the US.
They are great guitars OD. When you get one, even a mediocre example will spoil you for anything else.
You will know it the moment you pick one up.
Not overbuilt, not under. It’s impossible to put into words the meaning of perfection.
My L5’s stay the same season after season. They always feel the same. Never go out of tune. The materials used make them stand the test of time. I’ve never had a bad one. I’ve never seen a bad one. Unless they are abused really badly, they tend to stand up to most normal use better than any other guitar. I have one that had a Bigsby screwed into the top for 20 years. It didn’t even leave an impression on the top, let alone damage it. The guitar is a masterpiece.
When you get one, you will be very happy. You deserve it buddy.
Joe D

I envy you people in US who have access to many different archtops, among them L5's. I use to say that the Silverface TR is the best amp I never owned, and likewise, the L5 is the best guitar I never owned. To me, the 17" L5 is the guitar where everything clicks in place aesthetically: Proportions, shape, decoration. IMHO it's the most beautiful guitar ever made.

Here in Denmark I have only twice through 40 years come across an L5. The last time was 25 years ago - of all places in the local music instrument shop in our very small sleepy town. I was there to pick up some Chromes strings I had ordered (no, they didn't have flatwounds in stock) and the owner asked me if I played jazz. When I said yes, he said he wanted to show me something. He went to the back room and came back with a Gibson case which turned out to contain a brand new sunburst WesMo - certainly not the kind of guitars they used to sell. It was a custom order which just awaited being picked up. Since then no L5s have crossed my path. Eventually, the shop wasn't able to survive and has since then closed. But of course, we now have the internet and Thoman from where I can get anything shipped to my doorstep in a few days.

[John A.]

I envy you people in US who have access to many different archtops, among them L5's. I use to say that the Silverface TR is the best amp I never owned, and likewise, the L5 is the best guitar I never owned. To me, the 17" L5 is the guitar where everything clicks in place aesthetically: Proportions, shape, decoration. IMHO it's the most beautiful guitar ever made.

Here in Denmark I have only twice through 40 years come across an L5. The last time was 25 years ago - of all places in the local music instrument shop in our very small sleepy town. I was there to pick up some Chromes strings I had ordered (no, they didn't have flatwounds in stock) and the owner asked me if I played jazz. When I said yes, he said he wanted to show me something. He went to the back room and came back with a Gibson case which turned out to contain a brand new sunburst WesMo - certainly not the kind of guitars they used to sell. It was a custom order which just awaited being picked up. Since then no L5s have crossed my path. Eventually, the shop wasn't able to survive and has since then closed. But of course, we now have the internet and Thoman from where I can get anything shipped to my doorstep in a few days.

This forum is not really representative of the US guitar market/shopping experience. Here, there are a bunch of people who are in and of themselves a significant chunk of the high-end archtop market, and their activity (most of which involves online sales) gives a somewhat misleading view of how many L5's or equivalents there really are.

I live in what many people think of the guitar shopping capital of the world (NYC). To be fair, it's really not that anymore, and there are only a fraction of the number of shops there were 15-20 years ago, but there are still a bunch of shops, and you can easily spend several days checking them all out. Looking at the sites of the shops that sell high-end guitars, I count four L5's for sale in all of NYC, and one in New Jersey nearby.

Granted, 5 is more than zero (which is what you'll find in most places), and there are also other nice archtops available as well. But it's no longer possible to walk into pretty much any shop in town and try several L5's and/or 175's on the spot (as it was some years ago).

[bluejaybill]

This forum is not really representative of the US guitar market/shopping experience. Here, there are a bunch of people who are in and of themselves a significant chunk of the high-end archtop market, and their activity (most of which involves online sales) gives a somewhat misleading view of how many L5's or equivalents there really are.

I live in what many people think of the guitar shopping capital of the world (NYC). To be fair, it's really not that anymore, and there are only a fraction of the number of shops there were 15-20 years ago, but there are still a bunch of shops, and you can easily spend several days checking them all out. Looking at the sites of the shops that sell high-end guitars, I count four L5's for sale in all of NYC, and one in New Jersey nearby.

Granted, 5 is more than zero (which is what you'll find in most places), and there are also other nice archtops available as well. But it's no longer possible to walk into pretty much any shop in town and try several L5's and/or 175's on the spot (as it was some years ago).

Yes, I was going to say the same, there aren't really that many L5CES's floating around here on the west coast, that I have seen for sale anyway. Most of them find homes and never leave (looking at you, Vinnie!). What we do have is a decent selection of alternatives that are perfectly capable of professional use, and in some cases may be more appropriate than an L5. Keep in mind that many (most?) pro players in the states who don't have an album out on a label are doing many kinds of gigs, including but not limited to jazz. Or are playing louder gigs that require a laminate or solid body instrument. So for many, versatility and the ability to handle funk, pop, theatre etc might be a prerequisite for a pro instrument.

Of course if you are not a pro (I am not any longer), then of course you can get what you enjoy playing and that suits your area of focus. I love L5's, had two for many years, and now have a Campellone that is pretty similar, and that is what I enjoy playing the most. And I maintained other guitars for different gig scenarios.

But definitely not a lot of L5's around to choose from!

[TAA]

“I live in what many people think of the guitar shopping capital of the world (NYC). To be fair, it's really not that anymore, and there are only a fraction of the number of shops there were 15-20 years ago, but there are still a bunch of shops, and you can easily spend several days checking them all out. Looking at the sites of the shops that sell high-end guitars, I count four L5's for sale in all of NYC, and one in New Jersey nearby.”

Interesting….I bought my 1952 L-5C, in April 2022, from TR Crandall, located in NYC. IIRC there were two L-5’s and a Super 400 available at the time, early 2022. But those offerings can change quickly. Of course I violated the JGF rule of “try before you buy”….but no regrets.

Tom

[Spook410]

This forum is not really representative of the US guitar market/shopping experience. Here, there are a bunch of people who are in and of themselves a significant chunk of the high-end archtop market, and their activity (most of which involves online sales) gives a somewhat misleading view of how many L5's or equivalents there really are.

Good insight.

In southern Oregon I rarely see any archtops for sale much less high end ones. I have to trust online sales. Not my first choice but it is what it is.

Still.. I've been playing my L5 CES (blond, 1989, pretty thing) through a 1981 Fender Concert the last few days. Haven't had the L5 CES all that long and the Fender usually stays in the garage because it's too heavy to move about. Anyway.. it's such a great match. Tone is absolutely amazing and not just in the traditional jazz sense. It's not just that it's a reflections of some of the better sounds Wes or Kenny recorded. Regardless of historical context, it sounds good. Really good.

[John A.]

“I live in what many people think of the guitar shopping capital of the world (NYC). To be fair, it's really not that anymore, and there are only a fraction of the number of shops there were 15-20 years ago, but there are still a bunch of shops, and you can easily spend several days checking them all out. Looking at the sites of the shops that sell high-end guitars, I count four L5's for sale in all of NYC, and one in New Jersey nearby.”

Interesting….I bought my 1952 L-5C, in April 2022, from TR Crandall, located in NYC. IIRC there were two L-5’s and a Super 400 available at the time, early 2022. But those offerings can change quickly. Of course I violated the JGF rule of “try before you buy”….but no regrets.

Tom

TR Crandall is one of the sites that I checked.

[TAA]

Looks like Crandall is still active. No L-5’s right now but a few 175’s.

If I ever get to NYC (remote chance, but…) that’s my first stop. I really liked dealing with them!

Tom

[customxke]

• “I live in what many people think of the guitar shopping capital of the world (NYC). To be fair, it's really not that anymore, and there are only a fraction of the number of shops there were 15-20 years ago, but there are still a bunch of shops, and you can easily spend several days checking them all out. Looking at the sites of the shops that sell high-end guitars, I count four L5's for sale in all of NYC, and one in New Jersey nearby.”
  

Interesting….I bought my 1952 L-5C, in April 2022, from TR Crandall, located in NYC. IIRC there were two L-5’s and a Super 400 available at the time, early 2022. But those offerings can change quickly. Of course I violated the JGF rule of “try before you buy”….but no regrets.

Tom

I bought a Super 400 from TR Crandall in 2022.