Gibson Jazz Boxes

[jb_abides]

@brandtkronholm

That would be bringing back the CS-3x6 and Johnny A style carved tops, essentially, but with spruce.

New shapes with this construction might be cool, too.

I've only seen them do a run with spruce on the JA which has the Fender scale. [Maple on most everything else 3x6...]

A JA Spruce Top -



I'd like to see the older hollows, too.

I always loved the hollow body EDS-1275 Pete owned and featured on 'All The Best Cowboys...'



He gave it away to a friend, who had it restored to playable condition by Gibson.

Restoring Pete Townshend's Double-Neck Guitar

Restoring Pete Townshend's Double-Neck Guitar The inside story on returning this historic guitar to playability by Craig Anderton When I had my vintage Rickenbacker 360 12-string restored recently (expertly, I might add) by Gibson Repair & Restoration, I was fascinated to see rare guitars in ...

www.harmonycentral.com

 

[brandtkronholm]

@brandtkronholm

That would be bringing back the CS-3x6 and Johnny A style carved tops, essentially, but with spruce.

New shapes with this construction might be cool, too.

I've only seen them do a run with spruce on the JA which has the Fender scale. [Maple on most everything else 3x6...]

A JA Spruce Top -
View attachment 28911


I'd like to see the older hollows, too.

I always loved the hollow body EDS-1275 Pete owned and featured on 'All The Best Cowboys...'

View attachment 28912

He gave it away to a friend, who had it restored to playable condition by Gibson.

I did not know about the Johnny A in spruce! Thanks! I feel like I had some fuzzy memory of something like it existing…did PRS do something like this too?

Cool!

 

[bluesky636]

I don't know much about Johnny A as a guitarist, but I'm not impressed with him as a person.

My wife and I went on one of Joe Bonamassa's blues cruises for our 40th anniversary. I chatted with Joe for almost 20 minutes at a meet and great, talking about Golden Retrievers, until his handlers chased my wife and me off. I ran into Norm Harris outside a men's room while we waited for our wives to come out of the ladies room. We talked for about 15 minutes. Also chatted with several other of the musicians on tbe cruise. Johnny A and I shared an elevator together by ourselves. I said "hi" to him, hoping to have a short conversation. He didn't respond, didn't even acknowledge my presence on the elevator and raced to get off as soon as the doors opened. Oh, well. You win some and you lose some, I guess. Didn't bother to go to his show later that night.

 

[jb_abides]

I did not know about the Johnny A in spruce! Thanks! I feel like I had some fuzzy memory of something like it existing…did PRS do something like this too?

Cool!

I only know Hollowbody I / II, yes they did a spuce top once upon a time.

Not sure about current, but there's always Private Stock.

 

[Midnight Blues]

I don't know much about Johnny A as a guitarist, but I'm not impressed with him as a person.

My wife and I went on one of Joe Bonamassa's blues cruises for our 40th anniversary. I chatted with Joe for almost 20 minutes at a meet and great, talking about Golden Retrievers, until his handlers chased my wife and me off. I ran into Norm Harris outside a men's room while we waited for our wives to come out of the ladies room. We talked for about 15 minutes. Also chatted with several other of the musicians on tbe cruise. Johnny A and I shared an elevator together by ourselves. I said "hi" to him, hoping to have a short conversation. He didn't respond, didn't even acknowledge my presence on the elevator and raced to get off as soon as the doors opened. Oh, well. You win some and you lose some, I guess. Didn't bother to go to his show later that night.

He's a good player though and I'm sorry to read that bluesky. I had a similar experience with Robben Ford. Met him after a show didn't want to take a picture and wasn't really all that friendly. I should give him the benefit of the doubt because he was in Japan the day before. I still love his playing, but I've never looked at him the same way since.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

 

[J T]

... I had a similar experience with Robben Ford. Met him after a show didn't want to take a picture and wasn't really all that friendly. I should give him the benefit of the doubt because he was in Japan the day before. I still love his playing, but I've never looked at him the same way since.
...

Robbin told me that he doesn't like or go on the internet because of all the negativity. I can understand that. He didn't like people flashing photos. I wouldn't either. We got in the elevator and two older women in back were talking to each other and one said "They only guitarist I know is Jimmy Page. He's very good." I looked over at Robben and he was just looking at the floor smiling. The door opened and we walked out.

 

[charliechitlins]

So many great archtops available used.
There's a minty late-60's 175 near me asking 3500.
I appreciate the buyers of new guitars for keeping Gibson in business...I'v just never been one of them.
In almost 50 years of playing, the 2 guitars I bought new were cheapies when I needed a serviceable beater.
They were both shockingly good instruments, BTW.

 

[jb_abides]

Grant Geissman with his L5 Florentine

Gibson’s Fabulous Florentines | Vintage Guitar® magazine

The image of Elvis Presley on his 1968 NBC “comeback special” was, in a word, badass. Dressed in black leather and striking rock-and-roll poses, the King epitomized attitude while brandishing an eye-catching electric guitar. Part of the show’s cachet was the slightly dangerous look of his Gibson...

www.vintageguitar.com

Other nice Gibson Florentines featured in the article

Grant Geissman favored an L-5 with Chuck Mangione on the 1978 international hit “Feels So Good.” A hardcore Beatles fan, he gravitated to jazz at 15 and graduated from an Epiphone Casino to a ’68 L-5 purchased at Moyer Brothers Music in his native San Jose.

With Mangione, he explored a spectrum of archtop tones from warm, clean jazz to contemporary timbres doctored with phaser, wah, chorus, and volume-pedal effects.

Onstage, he plugged into a MusicMan HD-212, but the solos on the Mangione song were played direct to the board and heavily EQ’d, setting a precedent for the “smooth jazz” sound.

Geissman owns three Florentine L-5s – the ’68, a blond ’68, and a ’64 sunburst.

 

[brandtkronholm]

DID SOMEONE SAY FLORENTINE?!?



It’s a 1960 Byrdland!
Seen here being played by yours truly.
It is a delight for me to fake playing over the changes with this exquisite instrument.

 

[Greywolf]

The Heritage H-575 is a carved vs. lam bodied version of the ES 175 I love custom shop version.
In my 40+ years as a luthier , it's the one ALL my clients pick as the best when auditioning potential designs.

 

[ch willie]

I love my Gibsons. I have four and having wanted a Gibson so long, I feel guitar-wealthy: SG, Explorer, Les Paul Traditional, and my darling ES-335.

But I'm also not averse to playing Epiphones. I've got a Korean Joe Pass and a Chinese Casino, and they sound great and feel great. I won't ever be able to afford an L5, so my Joe Pass will do me.

So to commit an act of blashphemy, if the Gibson itch isn't worse than Tennessee chigger bites, then consider other brands. An Ibanez George Benson comes to mind for you righties. For lefties (I say with a wink) those Korean Joe Pass boxes are amazing. I've had two, a sunburst and a natural. I sold the sunburst because it was so gooped with poly. The natural can breathe. I've pllayed it around guys with custom shop boxes who've wondered why they can't get the same sounds. I also have a hand-carved Eastman box from 2005 that is amazing.