1979 L6-S Purchase

[duane v]

It arrived from GC yesterday.

It's all completely stock and it came with the stock case. In the listing it stated it had fret board separation, but that turned out to be wrong. The issue is it has a split in the fretboard from the 18th to the 24th fret... Pretty easy fix for me.

It plays great and has an array of interesting sounds. Been wanting one of these as long as I can remember and for $800 and thought it was worth the chance. .... And it's a heavy sucker.... Heavier than expected.

 

[mudface]

Solid maple,... yup,...they is heavy. Fantastic find and in ebony too, that is sweet.

Enjoy.

 

[1981 LPC]

Kewl. How does it compare to a LP or SG?

 

[dspelman]

Kewl. How does it compare to a LP or SG?

I have that same guitar (in black, with the ebony board). Notable is that the nut width on these is 1 9/16ths" (similar to most of Gibson guitars in the late '70's).

The rotary switch is NOT a Varitone, but is a pickup selector with six different positions that include:

Stolen from Wiki:

The L6-S Custom has a six way rotary selector switch, complete with "chicken head" pointer knob. Starting with switch position #1, in the most counter-clockwise position, the available pickup switching options are as follows:

1. Both pickups, in series
2. Neck pickup, alone
3. Both pickups, in parallel
4. Both pickups, parallel out of phase, with the neck pickup's bass response restricted through a series capacitor.
5. Bridge pickup, alone
6. Both pickups, series out of phase.

The capacitor in the #4 position gives a fuller tone than the otherwise very nasal out of phase tone. The capacitor serves to limit the low end response of the neck pickup, and also phase delays the signal from that pickup, resulting in a fuller tone, not too unlike the #2 and #4 switch positions on a Fender Stratocaster guitar.

In addition, there's a Master Volume and a Master Tone (treble rolloff), plus the middle knob is a Mids Rolloff.

The pickups are the first "Hot" pickups that Gibson produced (roughly 1.5 times hotter than the standard humbuckers) and it's a 24-fret board (the first 24-fret available from Gibson). Upper fret access is FAR better than that on an LP *or* an SG because the body is as thin as the SG (thus very little interference from the neck/body join as on an LP), but it's also wider than either guitar and offers a wider distance between the neck and the cutaway horn (I snag the outside of my left hand on the cutaway points of an SG). The L6-S is frequently called the "road-kill" LP because it's wider and flatter. The body is beveled and far more comfortable than an LP, and it has far less tendency to neck dive than an SG.

While the nut width is narrower than the usual LP, the frets don't have nibs and the bridge is standard width, so by the time you move past the first five frets, you really don't notice much difference between the two necks at all.

The black versions of the L6S (late '70's series) have the only ebony fretboards of the series. Everything else (including the reissues from around 2012) has either a maple board or rosewood. The bridge is the harmonica bridge (which I prefer) and the pickups have no external pole pieces and are sealed (tarbacks?).

It's very hard to find an L6S in good original condition these days. Most have been hacked and modified because they were inexpensive used. Vintage prices on good original guitars have accelerated in the past few years, and it's difficult to find an original case.

 

[Juan Tumani]

It arrived from GC yesterday.

It's all completely stock and it came with the stock case. In the listing it stated it had fret board separation, but that turned out to be wrong. The issue is it has a split in the fretboard from the 18th to the 24th fret... Pretty easy fix for me.

It plays great and has an array of interesting sounds. Been wanting one of these as long as I can remember and for $800 and thought it was worth the chance. .... And it's a heavy sucker.... Heavier than expected.

Sweet.

Yeah, at $800 it's a no brainer. I sold my 78 a couple months ago for $2000 Canadian.

Enjoy!!!

 

[1981 LPC]

I have that same guitar (in black, with the ebony board). Notable is that the nut width on these is 1 9/16ths" (similar to most of Gibson guitars in the late '70's).

The rotary switch is NOT a Varitone, but is a pickup selector with six different positions that include:

Stolen from Wiki:

The L6-S Custom has a six way rotary selector switch, complete with "chicken head" pointer knob. Starting with switch position #1, in the most counter-clockwise position, the available pickup switching options are as follows:

1. Both pickups, in series
2. Neck pickup, alone
3. Both pickups, in parallel
4. Both pickups, parallel out of phase, with the neck pickup's bass response restricted through a series capacitor.
5. Bridge pickup, alone
6. Both pickups, series out of phase.

The capacitor in the #4 position gives a fuller tone than the otherwise very nasal out of phase tone. The capacitor serves to limit the low end response of the neck pickup, and also phase delays the signal from that pickup, resulting in a fuller tone, not too unlike the #2 and #4 switch positions on a Fender Stratocaster guitar.

In addition, there's a Master Volume and a Master Tone (treble rolloff), plus the middle knob is a Mids Rolloff.

The pickups are the first "Hot" pickups that Gibson produced (roughly 1.5 times hotter than the standard humbuckers) and it's a 24-fret board (the first 24-fret available from Gibson). Upper fret access is FAR better than that on an LP *or* an SG because the body is as thin as the SG (thus very little interference from the neck/body join as on an LP), but it's also wider than either guitar and offers a wider distance between the neck and the cutaway horn (I snag the outside of my left hand on the cutaway points of an SG). The L6-S is frequently called the "road-kill" LP because it's wider and flatter. The body is beveled and far more comfortable than an LP, and it has far less tendency to neck dive than an SG.

While the nut width is narrower than the usual LP, the frets don't have nibs and the bridge is standard width, so by the time you move past the first five frets, you really don't notice much difference between the two necks at all.

The black versions of the L6S (late '70's series) have the only ebony fretboards of the series. Everything else (including the reissues from around 2012) has either a maple board or rosewood. The bridge is the harmonica bridge (which I prefer) and the pickups have no external pole pieces and are sealed (tarbacks?).

It's very hard to find an L6S in good original condition these days. Most have been hacked and modified because they were inexpensive used. Vintage prices on good original guitars have accelerated in the past few years, and it's difficult to find an original case.

"The LS6 is frequently called the "road-kill" LP because it's wider and flatter."

OMGLOLWTF

 

[dspelman]

It arrived from GC yesterday.

It's all completely stock and it came with the stock case. In the listing it stated it had fret board separation, but that turned out to be wrong. The issue is it has a split in the fretboard from the 18th to the 24th fret... Pretty easy fix for me.

It plays great and has an array of interesting sounds. Been wanting one of these as long as I can remember and for $800 and thought it was worth the chance. .... And it's a heavy sucker.... Heavier than expected.

I have a few solid maple guitars and they're usually heavier than expected. For example, Carvin used to make everything out of hard rock maple and those guitars are SOLID. When Carvin switched over to semi-custom guitars from stock, I bought two DC-150s from the Carvin factory store on Sunset. One was a neck-through version with a koa neck and body, plus a 1/4" figured maple cap. That one has an HSH pickup setup and it's surprisingly lightweight. Its "brother" was a neck-through version with a solid maple neck and body and it's heavier than you'd expect. With an H-H pickup configuration, active preamp and a V-style arrowhead headstock (it's also all black), it's seriously rock and roll. Both guitars have the same dimensions, but that black maple one is seriously rock and roll, while the koa version is almost...jazz.

BTW, $800 is probably a steal given today's vintage market. Especially for one with the original case.

 

[billyhandyjunior]

Congratulations! Great score. \m/

 

[Deftone]

Super cool. What's it weigh?

Congratulations and enjoy!

 

[Frankie S.]

Great guitars, I have owned a couple of the early 70's black / ebony versions over the years and wish I kept one... The pickups / wiring was a Bill Lawrence design.

 

[gball]

Congrats on that one! That's a guitar I have always kind of wanted and never had for one reason or another.

A shop near me has one of the reissues (in silverburst no less) and I keep toying with buying it, but just picked up another Les Paul, so if anyone is interested...

2011 Gibson L6s

2011 Gibson L6s reissue Silverburst Finish checking top, finish chip back of headstock with Gibson hardshell case

www.mozeguitars.com

 

[moreles]

Tbe L6-S is a victim of both over-hype and excess criticism. I'm not sure why Gibson went all-in with the all-maple construction, though I guess it would be a matter of availability and ease of finish at a time when other traditional woods were in increasingly short supply and labor costs were seen as problematic. The resulting weight and brightness may be relatively undesirable, but it's easy to forget that this was a period in which most guitars were putting on the weight as well. The relatively simplified and decoration-free build was clearl;y a budget move by Gibson, but nobody cres that most Fenders are unbound, with unbound necks and virtually no added decoration. These very real factors hardly make the L6-S some incredible, grossly-overlooked wonder guitar, because they are somewhat detrimental. But they're hardly deal killers -- there are aspects of the LP that are not so great -- and if you can avoid the overpriced fake-Holy-Grail listings, the L6-S is, IMO, a fine guitar and a great value. If I had one, I'd refinish it into some really attractive color and people would surely be wondering where I got that great guitar. But even as it is, black is by far the best color for an L6-S as the very common natural finish makes the instrument look dated and lame.