Guild Artist Award -v- Gibson L5
Deano
new to this group.
I'm in the market for an archtop and would appreciate anyone's view on both
the Guild Artist Award and the Gibson L5 (New Wes M. or a vintage one
(probably '70s)) and perhaps comparisons between the two.
Thanks...
Dean
BLU335
would be a Guild Artist Award from the '70's. These guitars can be found in the
$3000 price range. Any L-5 is probably
going to be quite a bit more. Guild makes
excellent quality instruments and the
Artist Award certainly compares favorably
with an L-5. Gibson's pricing has gotten
totally out of control. Even an ES-175 now
lists for $6000. For what Gibson is asking
for its new archtops you could have a
custom built archtop like a Buscarino made that would probably be superior.
Another thought would be to check out
a Heritage Golden Eagle.
Russ
Tom Jaffe
has a floating pick-up, and the L-5 has the built-in humbucker. If you want an
L-5CES or Wes style guitar and you like Guilds, check out the Stuart 700 (or a used
X-500 for under $2K). Less money and quite a decent axe. You must resolve the
floater vs built-in pickup choice before making your decision. BTW, you could
probably get a Wes for in the mid-$4K range, and it is a fine guitar (I own one).
Personally, I did not like the blond Artist Award I tried at Washington Music
Center a few months back. Guess I'm one of those built-in humbucker guys!
SteveYetter
Tom Jaffe wrote:
>
> A Wes L-5 or L-5CES is a different kind of guitar than an Artist Award. The Artist
> has a floating pick-up, and the L-5 has the built-in humbucker. If you want an
> L-5CES or Wes style guitar and you like Guilds, check out the Stuart 700 (or a used
> X-500 for under $2K). Less money and quite a decent axe. You must resolve the
> floater vs built-in pickup choice before making your decision. BTW, you could
> probably get a Wes for in the mid-$4K range, and it is a fine guitar (I own one).
> Personally, I did not like the blond Artist Award I tried at Washington Music
> Center a few months back. Guess I'm one of those built-in humbucker guys!
Good points Tom,
But the Artist Award was originally a Johnny Smith before he endorsed
Gibson. Maybe a Johnny Smith Gibson would be a better comparison.
However, Heritage now has Mr. Smith's endorement. I'm sure a Heritage
Johnny Smith is more expensive than the Guild, but probably closer to
the Gibson Johnny Smith.
My $0.02,
-SY-
George4908
floating pickup instrument, most have been rather heavily built and not
particularly good acoustically, at least to my ears. And the pickups can sound
a bit harsh. On the other hand, a few of them have been very good. This is
one of those guitars that will be tweaked by Bob Benedetto per the deal between
him and Guild -- not sure what that means yet, except that the price will
probably go up. For a purely electrified sound, I agree with the earlier
poster who said that Guild's X-500 sounds great -- yup, better to me than the
AA -- and is a very good deal as well. So I bought one, although the neck is a
bit on the thin side (mine's an '82, not sure if the neck dimensions varied
over the years). Fine for a pick, not so good for fingerstyle. As for the L5
CES, they're not usually going to sound great acoustically with those holes cut
in the top, though surprisingly, some do sound pretty good in that regard.
Almost all of them sound great electrically, though, except perhaps for some
possibly crummy ones from the 70s/80s. I had a pretty good one from the early
70s for many, many years. Real nice guitar, but when its value began to equal
those of hand carved custom models, I sold it and bought a Nickerson for almost
the same money. And I've never looked back. Now yer talkin' about a killer
guitar!
James M. Hahn
When I spoke to Bob Benedetto at NAMM this past winter, he said that
among the changes to the Artist Award the primary one will be to make
the guitar thinner on the order of 3" like a Johnny Smith. I'm not sure
whether the scale length will be changed. I think it might possibly go
however from the current 25 5/8" down to 25 1/2". I know that he was
really unhappy with the current pickup on the AA. Fender is really
going to be pouring resources into the Guild jazz guitars. I really
believe that they are going to be making a run for a part of the Gibson
market share on jazz guitars. Guilds are an incredible value for the
money. Check out their new (originally made in the 50's and early 60's)
X-150 or X-150D. Beautiful instrument for about $1300 new. Jim
AT
wrote:
>
>
>When I spoke to Bob Benedetto at NAMM this past winter, he said that
>among the changes to the Artist Award the primary one will be to make
>the guitar thinner on the order of 3" like a Johnny Smith.
IMO dumb move. One of the main reason I like the A.A. is the thick
body width ala L5.
>I'm not sure
>whether the scale length will be changed. I think it might possibly go
>however from the current 25 5/8" down to 25 1/2".
I have no problem with that.
> I know that he was
>really unhappy with the current pickup on the AA.
Good idea here if they indeed find a better souding pickup.
IMO although the A.A. sounds wonderful accoustically, it is still
primarily a guitar meant to perform best amplified.
Custom built, hand carved guitars like Benedettos are IMO really
meant to be played accoustically with an optional pickup stuck on as a
necessary evil. It's almost a sin to put a pickup on them.
George4908
edition version with the Guild harp tailpiece fully carved out of ebony; ebony
pickguard with no biding; ebony overlay on the headstock with no binding and no
"silver chalice," just the word "Guild"; and simplified binding around the body
(maybe natural wood binding). A lighter carve wouldn't hurt, either. Make the
pickup optional, but by all means at least offer an acoustic-only version.
This kind of guitar would move Guild into the modern archtop idiom. And please
don't charge an arm and leg!
Willie K. Yee, MD
uniqueness is its extravagant appointments and Rococo design. There
isn't anything else out there like it, except for Carlo Greco's work.
Clearly, I would not expect this to be everybody's cup of tea, and I
appreciate the appeal of minimalism myself.
If I were to make changes, I would make the thing lighter. It looks like
Guild is already changing the pickup - the one I saw John Pisano playing
last May had a smaller pickup with pole adjusting screws.
--
Willie Kai Yee, M.D.
Developer of Problem Knowledge Couplers for Psychiatry
wy...@mhv.net
http://www1.mhv.net/~wyee/index.html
21 Tricor Ave.
New Paltz, NY 12561
(914) 255-0660
"We are the Universe trying to understand itself."
-- Minbari saying --
George4908
>uniqueness is its extravagant appointments and Rococo design
Agreed, which is why I suggested it as a limited edition. Or it could be a
whole new model. Either way, I'd love to see one.
Deano
I went for an Artist Award (1994) and it is absolutely stunning. I have
played a few L5's and I don't really think there's anything between them and
the AA except for personal preference. I love both and, in an ideal world,
would like to own one of each. Certainly the build quality on the Guild is
exceptional and it is a real pleasure to play. I prefered the sound of the
amplified AA by the way. Again, its all down to personal taste....
Now I have two more questions(!):-
The pickguard is really starting to bug me (just the way I play, it gets in
the way - had the same problem on the L5's) and I'd like to remove it, but I
would like to get the holes filled in afterwards. Is it possible to get this
down as close to invisibly as possible? I'd like the volume pot mounted on
the spruce top (I know, I'm squeemish too). I'm not interested in affecting
its value. As far as I'm concerned this is a guitar for life, but I don't
want to affect the sound or great finish.
Can you give me your views on whether I can get this done without ruining
what is as a great piece of furniture as it is an instrument?
Thanks again,
Deano
Deano
strings on it (the ones on it when I got it). I prefer roundwounds, but I
wondered whether flatwounds are on there so as not to damage the ebony? I
have a strat (back from the 12 bar shuffle days!) with these graphite
saddles and I noticed that the strings actually left marks quite deeply. I
don't want that to happen with the Guild!
Thanks
Deano
David C. Stephens
jazzers I know that use flat wounds prefer the darker tone of flats along with
the lack of string zing. I personally prefer round wounds on my archtop. I've
used both on my ebony fixtured Heritage and noticed no difference in wear on
anything.
Dave
JMG61
>the way - had the same problem on the L5's) and I'd like to remove it, but I
>would like to get the holes filled in afterwards. Is it possible to get this
>down as close to invisibly as possible? I'd like the volume pot mounted on
>the spruce top (I know, I'm squeemish too). I'm not interested in affecting
>its value. As far as I'm concerned this is a guitar for life, but I don't
>want to affect the sound or great finish.
>
>Can you give me your views on whether I can get this done without ruining
>what is as a great piece of furniture as it is an instrument?
First, congratulations on your purchase. I have a circa 1984 AA and it has
aged tremendously well allowing for improved acoustic response.
I would recommend against mounting the pot on the top. First, the main purpose
behind Johnny Smith's original design of this instrument (and subsequent Gibson
and Heritage models) was that absolutely nothing interfere with the vibration
of the top. So, mounting it on the body may affect response, acoustics, etc. To
what degree, I don't know; it depends on your sensitivity to such things.
Second, although this is a guitar for life, things/events/circumstances could
change which could warrant the sale of your AA. In that case, you may lower
the resale value, especially for collectors.
One recommendation is to do what I did and have the pickguard and pickup
replaced with a narrower Benedetto-style pickguard and pickup (I used a
Bartonlini p/u). This puts the volume (and added tone control, BTW) closer to
the bridge and out of the way. I also kept all of the original
parts--pickguard, control, DeArmond pickup, etc.--so they could be reinstalled
if I ever decide to sell it.
Just my thoughts...
John Galich
Robteejr
primary guitar a 1977 Aria Pro2 Robert Conti Guitar (A Johnny Smith replica..
where the replacement of the DeArmond knock off was a big improvement) I own a
1960 Gibson ES345. In 1978 I replaced the PAFs with Mighty Mite pickups, a
brass bridge and nut and added a coil tap. I was pursuing the trend of the
moment and a Larry Carlton type of sound. In retrospect it was a very dumb
decision. (no great improvement in tone and a big drop in resale value). To
compound my mistake I stuck the PAF pickups in a Gretch Super Axe (another GAS
misfire) and traded the Gretch for a Polytone Amp.
In the clarity of 20+ years and rising vintage guitar prices, I have been
kicking myself royally. Other than the loss of the pickups, the next biggest
mistake was putting a permanent hole in the top of the guitar. Like John says,
work out an alternative that doesn't result in permanent modifications and save
the old parts. Who knows where your tastes (or prospective buyers/collecters)
will be 5,10,15 years from now.
Rob Taft
bill fender
> Johnny Smith is more expensive than the Guild, but probably closer to
> the Gibson Johnny Smith.
In my experience, Guild Artist Awards run higher than Heritage Johnny
Smiths, new or used, by several hundred $.
/bf/
Deano
volume on the body. If it came to it I could live without the volume
control and I may just remove the pickguard. As long as I keep the original
pickguard I could put it back into A1 condition and no-one would be any the
wiser (well except for anyone on this group!).
I'm not looking to replace the pickguard, I don't want one at all. I have
an unusual technique and the thing gets in the way!
BTW what do you think of the Bartolini versus the DeArmound??
Thanks
Deano
Cypher
news:378E52D2...@eesjobs.com...
> Personally, I did not like the blond Artist Award I tried at Washington
Music
> Center a few months back. Guess I'm one of those built-in humbucker guys!
I share the same opinion. While I am a Guild fan (I own an X-170T), I
expected much more out of the Artist Award given it's price. I found it to
sound quite "normal". It wasn't bad, but it's certainly didn't sound any
better to me than a Guild X-150 or X-170. Acoustically, it wasn't even as
loud as some of the mahogany Starfires I've heard.
--
-=Cypher
http://www.cyberramp.net/~cypher/
Brian Miller
Cypher <guit...@geocities.com> wrote in message
news:D1C97942E9D8FBE4.D918F30F...@lp.airnews.net..
.
> Tom Jaffe <tja...@eesjobs.com> wrote in message
> news:378E52D2...@eesjobs.com...
> > Personally, I did not like the blond Artist Award I tried at
Washington
> Music
> > Center a few months back. Guess I'm one of those built-in humbucker
guys!
>
> I share the same opinion.
I too was disappointed. I played a new AA without an amp some months
back. Went home, and played my 68 L-5CES and IMHO, the L-5 sounded
better without an amp, with more overtones. However, I also know that I
can take 2 identical guitars and 1 can sound significantly better than
the other.
--
In Him, who loves us and gave Himself for us,
Brian
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