chefothefuture Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 Hi all. Well I guess this might also serve as as introduction to this forum. Though a "newbe" to this forum, I've been well acquainted with Gibsons and other brands (and their respective forums)for well beyond three decades. So I was delighted to see that Gibson finally gave their big bodied guitars a double venetian cutaway production model. Even though the 335 family has existed since 1958, I never thought they really fit the ideal. The Byrd custom was a tantalizer for sure! Now that I have one, I must say that it has fulfilled almost all of my expectations and then some. It did need some addition set up work, but to be fair, I bought mine second hand, so it might have been just the way the guitar has settled in. Sound wise it's fantastic. Yeah, so the double cutaways and thinner CT body do effect the tone but I didn't buy it for it's tone solely as an acoustic so that really wasn't an issue. It's tone acoustically isn't bad either, so I'm not unhappy. In some ways though, I would have liked a full depth better, but that's just because I like the look better. However, this guitar is just fine the way it is so I'm not complaining. The only other thin I can think of that bugs me are the Schaller M6s. I would have preferred Super Klusons but that's an appearance thing, not a functional one. The one thing that still puzzles me is why Gibson chose to do this on an L5. It would seem that given the demographic that goes for this body style, a laminate bodied guitar like an ES5 or a Tal Farlow would find a greater market. Who knows? I'm not complaining. So- On a scale of 1 to 10, I'll gave it a 9.5. The .5 point off for not being a full depth.... Cheers, chef Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny W. Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 I add a half point (at least) for it being a thinline. Pictures would be nice... Danny W. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 Hi all. Well I guess this might also serve as as introduction to this forum. Though a "newbe" to this forum, I've been well acquainted with Gibsons and other brands (and their respective forums)for well beyond three decades. So I was delighted to see that Gibson finally gave their big bodied guitars a double venetian cutaway production model. Even though the 335 family has existed since 1958, I never thought they really fit the ideal. The Byrd custom was a tantalizer for sure! Now that I have one, I must say that it has fulfilled almost all of my expectations and then some. It did need some addition set up work, but to be fair, I bought mine second hand, so it might have been just the way the guitar has settled in. Sound wise it's fantastic. Yeah, so the double cutaways and thinner CT body do effect the tone but I didn't buy it for it's tone solely as an acoustic so that really wasn't an issue. It's tone acoustically isn't bad either, so I'm not unhappy. In some ways though, I would have liked a full depth better, but that's just because I like the look better. However, this guitar is just fine the way it is so I'm not complaining. The only other thin I can think of that bugs me are the Schaller M6s. I would have preferred Super Klusons but that's an appearance thing, not a functional one. The one thing that still puzzles me is why Gibson chose to do this on an L5. It would seem that given the demographic that goes for this body style, a laminate bodied guitar like an ES5 or a Tal Farlow would find a greater market. Who knows? I'm not complaining. So- On a scale of 1 to 10, I'll gave it a 9.5. The .5 point off for not being a full depth.... Cheers, chef a late 60s , 70s Es 150 was a deep body Double Cutaway.. L5 double cut would be interesting though.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefothefuture Posted December 16, 2014 Author Share Posted December 16, 2014 a late 60s , 70s Es 150 was a deep body Double Cutaway.. L5 double cut would be interesting though.. Very true, but I group the 60's-70's ES150 in with the 335 family due to it's body shape. The full depth on those is cool though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefothefuture Posted December 16, 2014 Author Share Posted December 16, 2014 I add a half point (at least) for it being a thinline. Pictures would be nice... Danny W. LOL! Well, it's so amazing as it is I'll give back that half point. A perfect 10 she is. Photos to come when I get some decent light. I only have an iPhone and I'd like to catch some of the figuring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefothefuture Posted December 17, 2014 Author Share Posted December 17, 2014 Ok- here are a couple of photos.. I'll try to get some better ones soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 Wow!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 Wow!! I'll second that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GibFen Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 SWEET! Great color. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qblue Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 I have M6 Schallers on a Stratocaster that the previous owner installed and they are really good. They may be the best non-locking tuners I have. The other Schallers I have are on a Strat Ultra from 1990, and are locking tuners. I have some Klusons on a Les Paul I own from 2012, and while they look good, they are the worst tuners I have on any of my guitars. I am constantly retuning, sometimes in the middle of a song I am playing, especially the G string. I have an old archtop ES-347 (1990) with gold plated Grovers and they are pretty good. The Schallers I have are the best tuners I have encountered. The Klusons are the worst. I know Schallers are made in Germany and can be hard to get as replacement tuners because they only like large orders from companies. I think Gibson made a good choice. Klusons are period specific junk, and the ones they put on new Gibson guitars are only replicas because the Kluson company is defunct. The real Klusons had plastic deterioration after 20 years due to denaturing of the plastic. I predict that you won't have a problem, with Schallers. I would not complain despite your ruminations on your guitar. I think a pic of the headstock would be in order. http://images.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/Archtops/Custom/L-5-Doublecut/Gallery-Images/HSLCDCSITFGH1-Headstock.jpg http://images.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/Archtops/Custom/L-5-Doublecut/Gallery-Images/HSLCDCSITFGH1-Headstock-Back.jpg Here's the Headstock on my ES-347; note the tulip shape: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefothefuture Posted December 18, 2014 Author Share Posted December 18, 2014 I have M6 Schallers on a Stratocaster that the previous owner installed and they are really good. They may be the best non-locking tuners I have. The other Schallers I have are on a Strat Ultra from 1990, and are locking tuners. I have some Klusons on a Les Paul I own from 2012, and while they look good, they are the worst tuners I have on any of my guitars. I am constantly retuning, sometimes in the middle of a song I am playing, especially the G string. I have an old archtop ES-347 (1990) with gold plated Grovers and they are pretty good. The Schallers I have are the best tuners I have encountered. The Klusons are the worst. I know Schallers are made in Germany and can be hard to get as replacement tuners because they only like large orders from companies. I think Gibson made a good choice. Klusons are period specific junk, and the ones they put on new Gibson guitars are only replicas because the Kluson company is defunct. The real Klusons had plastic deterioration after 20 years due to denaturing of the plastic. I predict that you won't have a problem, with Schallers. I would not complain despite your ruminations on your guitar. I think a pic of the headstock would be in order. http://images.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/Archtops/Custom/L-5-Doublecut/Gallery-Images/HSLCDCSITFGH1-Headstock.jpg http://images.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/Archtops/Custom/L-5-Doublecut/Gallery-Images/HSLCDCSITFGH1-Headstock-Back.jpg Here's the Headstock on my ES-347; note the tulip shape: I think it could depend on the particular model of tuner. The modern Kluson Deluxe can be pretty difficult even with the tighter ratio, but even the original deluxe's are a love/hate thing. Conversely, I've had modern wafflebacks on my Tal Farlow for three years with no complaints. Same on a couple of Gretsch's. Schaller's are certainly more consistent, so it makes sense from a production standpoint to use a tuner that would not be a potential warranty issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qblue Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 I think you should check out the Tronical company, the people that make Min-etune and the newer Gforce tuner. These add-on units have white plastic buttons, that look like Klusons, and can be installed in about 20 minutes. The other plan is to seek those Kluson replicas and retrofit them. Me likes the gold plated Schallers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobouz Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 Wow, Wow, Wow! That is stunningly beautiful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 I have to say wow too. I get what you are saying. It's not really a "full on" L-5 in that sense. And neither, would a 335-type customer care to pay the price tag of anything like L-5 type builds. But I'll say this, as far as anything thinline, THIS is over the top. WAY over the top. I'd give it at LEAST an 11. I'd say 12 or 13. I also don't think there is anything that could be played this couldn't do well, and better than most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefothefuture Posted December 18, 2014 Author Share Posted December 18, 2014 Ok- Well, here is the result of a retro-fit. Caution be darned! LOL! My guitar and I like the result. I tried a "dry fit" with Imperials, but I preferred the Cartier like elegance of the Waffleback. Now if only there were a Sealfast re-issue..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefothefuture Posted December 18, 2014 Author Share Posted December 18, 2014 I have to say wow too. I get what you are saying. It's not really a "full on" L-5 in that sense. And neither, would a 335-type customer care to pay the price tag of anything like L-5 type builds. But I'll say this, as far as anything thinline, THIS is over the top. WAY over the top. I'd give it at LEAST an 11. I'd say 12 or 13. I also don't think there is anything that could be played this couldn't do well, and better than most. Over the top? Well, You can never be too rich, or too thin.... I'm now waiting for a Super 400 Double cut! LOL! Completely agree that this is beyond what a 335 customer would want unless they were going after a vintage one. Though there are some new models out of the Custom Shop that are fairly expensive.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qblue Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Those are very special Schaller tuners and waay over the top. They look better than the ones on the current versions of this guitar. You have nothing to worry about. Go and play this beauty... a lot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanC Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Hi all. Well I guess this might also serve as as introduction to this forum. Though a "newbe" to this forum, I've been well acquainted with Gibsons and other brands (and their respective forums)for well beyond three decades. So I was delighted to see that Gibson finally gave their big bodied guitars a double venetian cutaway production model. Even though the 335 family has existed since 1958, I never thought they really fit the ideal. The Byrd custom was a tantalizer for sure! Now that I have one, I must say that it has fulfilled almost all of my expectations and then some. It did need some addition set up work, but to be fair, I bought mine second hand, so it might have been just the way the guitar has settled in. Sound wise it's fantastic. Yeah, so the double cutaways and thinner CT body do effect the tone but I didn't buy it for it's tone solely as an acoustic so that really wasn't an issue. It's tone acoustically isn't bad either, so I'm not unhappy. In some ways though, I would have liked a full depth better, but that's just because I like the look better. However, this guitar is just fine the way it is so I'm not complaining. The only other thin I can think of that bugs me are the Schaller M6s. I would have preferred Super Klusons but that's an appearance thing, not a functional one. The one thing that still puzzles me is why Gibson chose to do this on an L5. It would seem that given the demographic that goes for this body style, a laminate bodied guitar like an ES5 or a Tal Farlow would find a greater market. Who knows? I'm not complaining. So- On a scale of 1 to 10, I'll gave it a 9.5. The .5 point off for not being a full depth.... Cheers, chef Great purchase. Congrats. Personally I'd love a double cutaway L5. I own 2 CT's, a Super 400 and an L5. They are both really lovely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanC Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Ok- here are a couple of photos.. I'll try to get some better ones soon. Just gorgeous. You are very lucky. Enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanC Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 Hi all. Well I guess this might also serve as as introduction to this forum. Though a "newbe" to this forum, I've been well acquainted with Gibsons and other brands (and their respective forums)for well beyond three decades. So I was delighted to see that Gibson finally gave their big bodied guitars a double venetian cutaway production model. Even though the 335 family has existed since 1958, I never thought they really fit the ideal. The Byrd custom was a tantalizer for sure! Now that I have one, I must say that it has fulfilled almost all of my expectations and then some. It did need some addition set up work, but to be fair, I bought mine second hand, so it might have been just the way the guitar has settled in. Sound wise it's fantastic. Yeah, so the double cutaways and thinner CT body do effect the tone but I didn't buy it for it's tone solely as an acoustic so that really wasn't an issue. It's tone acoustically isn't bad either, so I'm not unhappy. In some ways though, I would have liked a full depth better, but that's just because I like the look better. However, this guitar is just fine the way it is so I'm not complaining. The only other thin I can think of that bugs me are the Schaller M6s. I would have preferred Super Klusons but that's an appearance thing, not a functional one. The one thing that still puzzles me is why Gibson chose to do this on an L5. It would seem that given the demographic that goes for this body style, a laminate bodied guitar like an ES5 or a Tal Farlow would find a greater market. Who knows? I'm not complaining. So- On a scale of 1 to 10, I'll gave it a 9.5. The .5 point off for not being a full depth.... Cheers, chef If you want more interesting tone you might consider installing an ebony bridge. I've put an ebony bridge on my L5 CT, L5CES and my Tal Farlow. I didn't put them on all at once but did so with each guitar after playing them for at least 3 years except the CT which i did after 12 moths of playing. Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanC Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 I think it could depend on the particular model of tuner. The modern Kluson Deluxe can be pretty difficult even with the tighter ratio, but even the original deluxe's are a love/hate thing. Conversely, I've had modern wafflebacks on my Tal Farlow for three years with no complaints. Same on a couple of Gretsch's. Schaller's are certainly more consistent, so it makes sense from a production standpoint to use a tuner that would not be a potential warranty issue. Have you posted photos of your Tal Farlow on the Gibson Forums? I own one and gig with it pretty regularly. I'd be interested in seeing some pics of yours. Luv the Tals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skilsaw Posted December 23, 2014 Share Posted December 23, 2014 Makes me jealous. Dream of NGD. But I don't think it's happening. Not unless I lose all self control and find my credit card has popped out of my wallet in the Shoppe de la Guitarology. And my parents thought learning an instrument was good for me. It's more addictive than smoking crack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefothefuture Posted December 24, 2014 Author Share Posted December 24, 2014 Have you posted photos of your Tal Farlow on the Gibson Forums? I own one and gig with it pretty regularly. I'd be interested in seeing some pics of yours. Luv the Tals Actually I have not. I'll post one when I get it back from having some work done.... Yes, those Tals are great guitars :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefothefuture Posted December 24, 2014 Author Share Posted December 24, 2014 If you want more interesting tone you might consider installing an ebony bridge. I've put an ebony bridge on my L5 CT, L5CES and my Tal Farlow. I didn't put them on all at once but did so with each guitar after playing them for at least 3 years except the CT which i did after 12 moths of playing. Just a thought. That would certainly bring out a different dimension. Right now, it pretty happy with the throaty tone with a brief top end ring on the end of a note. Given that I play flats, it has a pleasing balance to my ear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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