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Around the 18 minute mark into this very recent factory tour there’s a section on solid arched top guitars. The L5 and Byrdland are mentioned. Some top wood and completed bodies are shown. Yet on Gibson Custom’s product page, there’s no sign of them… yet?
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11-12-2023 07:25 AM
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Most encouraging!
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It comes up again in the interview at the end of the video. The guy from Gibson says they're going to do a "historic reissue series of archtops" including L-5s, Super 400s, and Byrdlands. The only year/model he mentions specifically is a '57 L-5. I find that choice interesting because all the '57 L-5s that I've been able to find photos of had the alnico staple pickups. You'd think that a '58 or '59 with PAFs would be the logical place to start.
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Maybe he isn’t aware of which pickups were in a ‘57 L5CES. I wouldn’t be surprised if those of us on this forum are more knowledgeable about the evolution archtops than most people at Gibson these days.
Originally Posted by andrew
Keith
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…but not if the price would buy a new Honda Civic, a new Sadowski, and a Bud 6 Originally Posted by Gitterbug
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just gotta say it...Goodman can barely give away a hand made guitar certainly equal to anything gibsons going to offer but people are plotzing to get in line for an overpriced corporate made guitar from a company thats been far from consistent in quality...I dont get it.
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It's the power of the Gibson brand. No matter how famous, an individual luthier is gone once he/she is gone. There must have been thousands of great violin-makers over the centuries, but only the likes of Stradivari, Guarnieri, Amati, Testore and Guadagnini command a brand or collector premium. I'm absolutely certain that Gibson will command exorbitant prices for the carved Custom Shop reissues. Depending on how these fare, there may well be a 175 reissue from the main plant.
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Thankyou Gitterbug, I find that now in my 70's I have to have the facts of life explained to me once more...my kids think its funny!
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On the other hand ... Monteleone, Manzer, Benedetto, Marchione and a few more are selling guitars at prices far beyond Gibson's most recent new prices and they have waiting lists to get on their waiting lists. Originally Posted by Rickco
I don't remember hearing about Goodman ... prices on Reverb are quite reasonable. I'd love to try one.
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I love factory tour videos like this. I was able to tour the Gibson factory and Custom Shop in 1994. It was a great experience.
Very glad to see them bringing archtops back into the mix.
They've been quietly building them and selling them for the last few years, but earlier this year one of our forum members was told they weren't building them ... at least for the near future.
I guess they either finally fulfilled all of their COVID era orders for archtops or took a strategic pause to reset their archtop program and are ready to start again.
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As long as they’re making guitars that are making people happy, I’m good. Hopefully they still have the knowledge and skill in house. The price will be high but over the last years prices of quality guitars have skyrocketed across the board.
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Like Gitterbug put it, the power of the world wide known brand is huge. If Gibson makes jazz guitars, it means that the instrument and the genre still lives, at least for the eyes of the public.
We experts don’t need the Gibson to say that to us, but I consider that as an important gesture to the rest of the world.
The prices will possibly be ridiculously high, but doesn’t that mean, that they are wanted items that are sought after and popular in some way?
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I recently bought a 2023 Byrdland and 2022 L-5. They are still making them. Just very few. They just stopped new orders on them as they have a backlog. They must be special ordered now. They no longer just make them. They are a dealer special order.
They will do special historic limited runs like the Chuck Berry ES350T.
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How did you get your guitars? Originally Posted by vinnyv1k
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When I see new Gibson jazz guitars, THEN I'll believe it!
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Sweetwater had the Byrdland in stock and the L-5 I ordered with a year wait. Originally Posted by Benson-GB10
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Hi Vinnyv1k, Originally Posted by vinnyv1k
What are your overall impressions of your new custom shop archtops? How do they compare with good vintage examples?
Apologies if this was already discussed in another thread.
thanks very much,
- AC
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Vinny what pickups are in the byrdland? They’re using the custombuckers for most of their custom shop now but would be curious if they still use 57 classic on the “jazz guitars”. It would be interesting if they built a late 50s style CES, lightly built with custombuckers, which sound more like vintage PAFs than the 57s do.
I’d go for a 50s style wesmo finished by Murphy lab. No aging, just using the Murphy lab lacquer which feels just like the lacquer on my 70+ yr old gibsons.
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He's posted two for sale on here in the past few months, the last one discounted a 2nd time to a price that wouldn't even get you an AR805ce here in Europe: Originally Posted by Bluedawg
New Goodman 16 “Archtop-$2400. Including shipping! .
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The fit and finish is flawless. They are still using 57 Classic pickups. My only complaint is they plek the frets a bit low for my taste. Originally Posted by Artichoke
Sweetwater sold me the new Byrdland for $7.5K and the black L-5 was $8.2K.
Black used to be the economy color but now is a $600 up charge over VSB.
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Gorgeous instrument Vinny! Thank you for the encouraging reply and the photos.
- AC
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I feel like I have seen the Lord face to face, and yet I live! Originally Posted by vinnyv1k
The fit and finish is flawless. They are still using 57 Classic pickups. My only complaint is they plek the frets a bit low for my taste.
Sweetwater sold me the new Byrdland for $7.5K and the black L-5 was $8.2K.
Black used to be the economy color but now is a $600 up charge over VSB.
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Lawson there is no heresy in that statement. The great thing is you have one you play, now that is a gift from God in some way for sure.
Last edited by deacon Mark; 11-15-2023 at 07:30 PM.
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I have played Vinny's Byrdland and can report that it is a superior instrument in every way.
The price he paid, considering the actual value of a dollar today, is just about right for a new instrument of that quality. The sad thing is that while Gibson guitars command an inflation adjusted price from say their cost in the 1950's, the wages earned by a jazz musician have not kept up. Not even close, in fact.
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I would actually prefer the staples. Originally Posted by andrew
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Raney and Abersold, great interview.
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