BB King Lucille...anybody got one or know about them?

[jrmercer]

Re: BB King Lucille...anybody got one or know about them?

I recently gutted my Lucille & replaced both pickups with classic '57's.....Amazing difference.....now I play this guitar on gigs where as it stayed in my closet. Am looking at trying 59/JB Duncans to see how much difference from '57's.......

 

[kaknight]

Re: BB King Lucille...anybody got one or know about them?

I tried out a couple Gibby Lucilles about a year ago. Both were brand new, and both had some construction flaws. the most noticable was that they hadn't filed the nut on the high e string properly so it slipped every time you strummed. It wasn't serious, but it seemed lame for such a pricey guitar. Honestly, I tried several 335's and recently the Heritage equivelent and found them much nicer sounding. The Heritage was really an unbelievable guitar, but I am biased

 

[Curly]

Re: BB King Lucille...anybody got one or know about them?

The maple neck of the Lucille vs the mahogany neck of the 335/345/355 is a little concern. I prefer mahogany on a Gibson...it's part of the Gibson tone I'm used to ...

you know, when these came out, I thought they were a lot of guitar for the money
I often look at 335 type guitars - I think they're versatile, elegant, not as common as an LP, and they can sound great.
But I was lookin' at the specs on the Lucille lately, and saw that maple lam body + maple neck + ebony fretboard would = bright tone !!
and, you know what? sometimes B's tone is bright! he doesn't have a more typical, fat, overdriven blues tone ... at least on record - live he *CRANKS* !!

I think, in the long run, despite the nice features and lower price of a Lucille, the 335 would be a better guitar. But, they aren't cheap!

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: BB King Lucille...anybody got one or know about them?

you know, when these came out, I thought they were a lot of guitar for the money
I often look at 335 type guitars - I think they're versatile, elegant, not as common as an LP, and they can sound great.
But I was lookin' at the specs on the Lucille lately, and saw that maple lam body + maple neck + ebony fretboard would = bright tone !!
and, you know what? sometimes B's tone is bright! he doesn't have a more typical, fat, overdriven blues tone ... at least on record - live he *CRANKS* !!

I think, in the long run, despite the nice features and lower price of a Lucille, the 335 would be a better guitar. But, they aren't cheap!

The biggest reason I passed on a Lucille is the weight. They're just heavier than a 335. I made the right choice. My Hamer Monoco is one of the best semi hollow body guitars I've ever owned and I wouldn't have had the cash for the Fender Custom Shop '53 Tele I picked up recently and which has become one of my favorite guitars. Lew

 

[Bludave]

Re: BB King Lucille...anybody got one or know about them?

Lew,
The earlier versions of Lucille had that wacky tune knob type of bridge that B.B. used in the lated 80's early 90's. Gibson has since changed to a Tunomatic. The advantage that this guitar will have over a 335/345 is no F holes, so it won't "howl" as 335's are known to do. I have a Dot 61 reissue 335. A great guitar, but when I play it through my Marshall I have to be careful where I stand or it will begin to scream. I have even gone to the extent of stuffing the holes with foam. This has reduced the problem considerably, but does not eliminate it completly. I can deal with it, but some people would get annoyed. I guess it depends on how loud you play, and how much gain you use. When I play through my Super reverb, the problem does not ever come up. I would say The Lucille would sound real good with Antiquities in her!!

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: BB King Lucille...anybody got one or know about them?

Lew,
The earlier versions of Lucille had that wacky tune knob type of bridge that B.B. used in the lated 80's early 90's. Gibson has since changed to a Tunomatic. The advantage that this guitar will have over a 335/345 is no F holes, so it won't "howl" as 335's are known to do. I have a Dot 61 reissue 335. A great guitar, but when I play it through my Marshall I have to be careful where I stand or it will begin to scream. I have even gone to the extent of stuffing the holes with foam. This has reduced the problem considerably, but does not eliminate it completly. I can deal with it, but some people would get annoyed. I guess it depends on how loud you play, and how much gain you use. When I play through my Super reverb, the problem does not ever come up. I would say The Lucille would sound real good with Antiquities in her!!

My Monoco Super Pro has no F holes either. I've owned quite a few 335's over the years including a '58, 60 and '61. The howling thing has never been a problem for me either, but I don't play that loud and compared to some guys, never have! Yeah I don't care for the stop tailpiece with the six fine tuners either...I like to rest my hand there sometimes and they get in the way, get broken off, snag on the shirt cuff, etc. I use just straight ahead stop tailpieces like a Les Paul has, tho I do prefer the featherwight aluminum TP's from Gotoh. Just a little more resonance and a more acoustic like tone from the aluminum. Lew