jsberck Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 I've just ordered an L-5CES, a lovely instrument indeed! But what does "CES" stand for? Many thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted April 11, 2008 Share Posted April 11, 2008 "C"utaway "E"lectric "S"panish. The cutaway part is easy to figure out, but I've never understood why Gibson calls their electric archtops "Spanish". I guess there is a part of the history of guitar building and design that I'm not aware of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ignatius Posted April 11, 2008 Share Posted April 11, 2008 "C"utaway "E"lectric "S"panish. The cutaway part is easy to figure out' date=' but I've never understood why Gibson calls their electric archtops "Spanish". I guess there is a part of the history of guitar building and design that I'm not aware of.[/quote'] According to a couple histories of the Telecaster that I read recently, the "Spanish" part comes from the fact that the original electric guitars were steel guitars (i.e., the lap-held or table type guitars that we often now generically call pedal-steel and that are frequently used in country music). In order to clarify that these archtops with the new-fangled electric pickups on them weren't lap-steel guitars or some sort of electric dobro, the industry settled on the term "electric Spanish" to indicate that that were played in the same way that Spanish (i.e., classical) guitars were played. Ironically, all of what we today call electric guitars are by this definition "electric Spanish" guitars, and in early advertisements for the Telecaster, it actually is called the new "electric Spanish" model. Somehow, solid-bodies lost the designation over time, and it only remained tied to part of Gibson's line of hollow- and semihollow guitars. Ignatius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsberck Posted April 11, 2008 Author Share Posted April 11, 2008 Thanks to you both for that bit of arcane history! Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ignatius Posted April 11, 2008 Share Posted April 11, 2008 Thanks to you both for that bit of arcane history! Cheers. No problem. I like to give back to the forum when I can. It is a great source of knowledge for me. Oh, and friendship too, which reminds me, jsberck: Welcome to the forum! I should have paid attention to the fact that this thread contains your first post. I hope you enjoy the guitar ("lovely indeed," as you said, and that will probably prove to be an understatement once it is in your hands!), and I also hope you enjoy the forum. Ignatius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cottonwolf Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 What about the CE sticker you see on the neck of a lot of guitars of various brands? Does that mean cutaway electric? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibis Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 Its what we cynics here in the UK refer to as "Euro-Bollocks". It stands for "Conformité Européenne". Here is an extract from a lawyerly site: What is CE Marking? The CE marking is a European proof of conformity and is also described as "passport" that allows manufacturers and exporters to circulate products freely within the EU. The letters, "CE" -- French for "Conformité Européenne," indicate that the manufacturer has satisfied all assessment procedures specified by law for its product. Although consumers may perceive the CE marking as a quality mark, it is not. The CE marking addresses itself primarily to the national surveillance authorities of the member states, and its use simplifies their task. Just looking at the CE marking will not tell surveillance authorities to which directive a given product complies. Rather, it is the declaration of conformity that contains the details of the directive(s) to which the product complies and the standards that were relied upon in assuring compliance. The CE marking must be affixed to the product, to its data plate or, where this is not possible or not warranted on the account of the nature of the product, to its packaging, if any, and to the accompanying documents by the manufacturer, the authorized representative in the community or, in exceptional cases, by those responsible for placing the product on the market. The CE marking must be affixed visibly, legibly and indelibly. Where special provisions do not impose specific dimensions, the CE Marking must have a height of at least 5 millimetres. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cottonwolf Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 thanks Ibis, how in the world did you run across that info! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibis Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 Google! Seek and ye shall find! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeoConMan Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 Very cool! I sorta assumed it was some Euro version of the UL listing we've had on everything electronic for the last 40 years. Underwriters Laboratories did all kinds of destructive testing on a product before it was labeled with UL. Yes, it was considered a mark of quality, durability, or at least that the product would hold up well during normal use. I've wondered about that CE thing for years, turns out it's simply an exporting conforming mark. Thanks Ibis! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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