ac1dt3st Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 o.k., i have a consulting gig that's *finally* starting to pay out after *5 long years* of time and effort helping out a friend. i'm not made of money by any stretch, but i do suddenly have some cash on hand, and my wife is finally done with graduate school, so it's time to spend some money on me, if you know what i mean. i'm looking for a great vintage jazz guitar made in 1967, the year i was born. i'd like to get back in touch with my jazz roots. there's obviously a wide array of options for '60s Gibsons, both hollow body and semi-hollow body. so, i have two questions for those in the know. 1. if price were no object, what 1967 Gibson hollow or semi- would you buy, and why? 2. more realistically, if you're not made of cash but still want a sweet '67 jazz guitar, what would you buy, and why? thanks in advance to anyone who wants to weigh in. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdntac Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 A Byrdland. But then I'm obviously biased. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ac1dt3st Posted December 13, 2009 Author Share Posted December 13, 2009 A Byrdland. But then I'm obviously biased. ;) bias is o.k.; that's absolutely what i'm looking for. ;) however, i would like to better understand the bias in order to make my own decision. what about the Byrdland makes it the best option...? thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanC Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 Depends how much you want to spend but I'd go for a 175 or a Johnny Smith. The Johnny Smith's are not cheap!! From the surveys conducted by 'who knows who' and I can't remember where I heard it, the 175 is the most popular guitar used for Jazz in the USA. There is a reason for that! Having said that my favorite archtop is my L-4 CES Mahogony and I don't own a 175 or a Johnny Smith! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre S Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 bias is o.k.; that's absolutely what i'm looking for. ;) however' date=' i would like to better understand the bias in order to make my own decision. what about the Byrdland makes it the best option...? thanks! [/quote'] its perty.... I would go with the Johnny A too though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 Money no object: L-5CES (107 shipped in '67) On a budget: ES-175 (1060 shipped in '67) These are certainally Gibson's two most coveted jazzboxes. If an ES-175 was good enough for Joe Pass and Herb Ellis, who can argue with that. I lusted after an L-5 for 25 years before I could afford one, and didn't know what to do with it when I bought it. It's now my main guitar, for I'm doing more jazz concerts than blues gigs these days. cdntac mentions the Byrdland, beautiful and great guitar, but it is a "thinline". I always wanted a Byrdland or an L-5CT(T=thinline). A thinline hollowbody is probably more versatile (look what Ted Nugent does on a Byrdland), but a thinline will never sound like a full bodied archtop. The semi-hollows are more versatile even yet ( I have an ES-345, and had an ES-335 and ES-320), but I don't really think of them a "jazz" guitars. Even once you decide what model you want, you have another problem. 1967 began the dark period of Gibson's six-digit serial number mess. Gibson serial numbers from '67 start at 000001 and go straight through to 099999. Then it gets ugly, the numbers 100000 to 140100 were used in '63 AND '67. In 1967 Gibson also used 3XXXXX, 4XXXXX, 6XXXXX, 7XXXXX, and 8XXXXX series numbers, most of which were also used in others years. 1967 is probably the WORST year of all to nail down by serial number alone. That will mean checking pot codes which is not an easy task in a hollowbody. One feature that might work in your favor is that '67 may fall into the period that there was no dot on the "i" on the the peghead logo. It was only for a few years, and the dot came back in the late 60's sometime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanC Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 L5Larry says:- "The semi-hollows are more versatile even yet ( I have an ES-345, and had an ES-335 and ES-320), but I don't really think of them a "jazz" guitars." I'd definitely agree with L5Larry's comments. The full bodied archtops give you the jazz sound and feel. So easy to play with an archtop if you are seated. I love the 175's, Herb Ellis (165), L4, L5 etc for playing jazz. Hard to beat!! Give any of those a try to be certain about your needs and wants! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdntac Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 bias is o.k.; that's absolutely what i'm looking for. :) however' date=' i would like to better understand the bias in order to make my own decision. what about the Byrdland makes it the best option...? thanks! [/quote'] Comfort, looks, tone, feel....and I like the shorter scale. It makes reaching for chords much easier. Occasionally you'll see an older one on Ebay and they seem to go for about $6G or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ac1dt3st Posted December 14, 2009 Author Share Posted December 14, 2009 Even once you decide what model you want' date=' you have another problem. 1967 began the dark period of Gibson's six-digit serial number mess. Gibson serial numbers from '67 start at 000001 and go straight through to 099999. Then it gets ugly, the numbers 100000 to 140100 were used in '63 AND '67. In 1967 Gibson also used 3XXXXX, 4XXXXX, 6XXXXX, 7XXXXX, and 8XXXXX series numbers, most of which were also used in others years. 1967 is probably the WORST year of all to nail down by serial number alone. That will mean checking pot codes which is not an easy task in a hollowbody. One feature that might work in your favor is that '67 may fall into the period that there was no dot on the "i" on the the peghead logo. It was only for a few years, and the dot came back in the late 60's sometime.[/quote']very interesting; thanks for the great information. that happens to be the story of my collection. i have a 1970(?) Guild F30 SB; its serial number falls neatly between the well-kept records of the late 60s and the new system of the early 70s. however, i've been assured by several experts that it's "most likely" a 1970 model (only 150 made...). also, my modified ES-335 has a number of ambiguous features (including the serial number) that i've been told could date the guitar to anywhere between 1969 and 1972... obviously there's a pretty big difference between a '69 and a '72. in this case, i've also been told there's actually a good chance it's a 1970. overall, i guess you raise an important consideration. if i were to buy a guitar from, say 1965 - 1969, that's probably "close enough" to 1967, and might allow me even more wiggle room for finding just the right guitar and the right price. but even as i type that... man, i'd really like a '67. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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