Description

Updated Jul 12, 2006

If you play guitar, or ever wanted to, sooner or later you're going to want to own a carved archtop jazzbox. You might play blues, or country, or rockabilly, fusion or even jazz on it, but you'll want that inimitable archtop mellow plus the full-bodied feel of draping your picking arm over sensual, resonant curves of the archy's lower bout. Wes Montgomery's expressive, quick, fleshy style was captured often by his special Gibson L-5 that was ordered without a bridge pickup. With only the neck pickup mounted close to the edge of the top in a relatively non-resonant area, the arched soundboard resonates freely for a warm, rich, amplified tone that also cuts through acoustically.

The neck is sufficiently slender to feel fast, but deep enough to feel meaty in your hand. The re-issued Gibson Wes has just enough inlay ornamentation to look special but is tasteful and restrained. You can get it natural, sunburst and even tobacco burst, but none of these are as graceful as the super-suave Wes in luscious Wine Red. This is a multi-generational instrument made in USA. (via Gibson Guitars)