Gibson B.B. King Lucille

Price Paid: Italian # 1.700.000 (approx. 900 us dollars) used Purchased from: private ad
My Lucille (1993) is cherry red with ebony fingerboard and gold hardware, with single or multiple binding ... everywhere!. The almost perfect transparent finish lets see the slightly flamed maple of the top and neck (3-piece, plus 2 "ears" for the headstock). No f-holes, to reduce squealing at high volumes. Varitone switch to allow 6 radically different "voices". 2 output jacks, for mono or stereo use. 2 alnico humbuckers, each with volume and tone controls. 3-way pickup selector. TP6 fine-tuning tailpiece. Wanderful hard case (made in Canada).

Obviously perfect for the Blues, Lucille can play Rock as well and, thanks to the Varitone, could also funk. It's no good for Metal and in general for ultra-hi-gain-modern-digital distortions, but if you want this sounds you won't surely buy Lucille! The distortion is very "clean": you can always hear the single notes, even in minor or dim. chords (with a "human" gain level, obviously). The clean and crunch sounds are very responsive to the control knobs (and to your hand!). Even without the Varitone (I don't use it at all) you can have thousand of nuances only mixing the two p.u. with the volume pots.

I play rock-blues, I'm not a shredder. The action is not the lowest possible, but lets me to play very hard (when I need it) whithout buzzes all over the fretboard (I use 0.10 - 0.46 gauges). The tuning stability is very good: I must tweak on the TP6 only sometimes (and I bend very much the strings!). The finish is very good and rich - even too much: I don't like gold so much, and I know it will surely wear off on the bridge, on the bridge P.U. and on the tuning pegs. But I must admit it's like a Cadillac.

At this moment it looks as it was brand new, apart for the gold consumption (moderate, indeed). No structural, mechanical or electrical problems.

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As you could understand, I'm very happy of my Lucille. Its variety of sounds, its reliability and, last but not least, its wanderful and elegant look make it a very desirable guitar - a classic. The only real limit is the weight: a bit too heavy, even it's quite well balanced. You've got to use large straps. It's a bit strange not to see the f-holes on the top. Perhaps Gibson could at least PAINT them!

PRETTY MUCH LIKE A GIBSON 335, BUT WITH NO "F" HOLES. EBONY FRETBOARD, FRONT AND BACK BINDING, 2 HUMBUCKERS, 6 POSITION VARATONE SWITCH AND A TP6 ADJUSTABLE TAIL PIECE.

THE SOUND SUITES ME STYLE QUIT WELL- I LIKE TO PLAY BLUES! WORKS WELL FOR ROCK ALSO. DOES NOT SEEM TO SOUND AS MUDDY AS A LES PAUL, A LOT MORE TONAL VARIATIONS COMPARED TO MOST GUITARS. CAN'T DO A FUNK RYTHEM AS WELL AS ON MY STRAT, BUT IT COMES PRETTY CLOSE. I PLAY THE GUITAR THROUGH A CRATE CHORUS AMP. JUST THE STANDARD EFFECTS: CHORUS, REVERB AND DISTORTION. PICKUPS ARE HOT!

A PURCHASED THIS GUITAR WITH COINS GLUED ALL OVER THE FACE OF IT- THAT'S WHY THE PRICE WAS SO CHEAP. SUPPOSEDLY WAS GIVEN TO WILLIE KING FROM B.B., BUT NO PAPERWORK OR PICTURES. I POPPED THE COINS OFF WITH A HOT IRON AND THUS THE FINISH LOOKS TERRIBLE ON THE FRONT. THE PAINT IS WORN FROM THE NECK FROM HEAVY USE. THE ORIGINAL FACTORY FINISH WAS PROBABLY FINE, BUT THIS GUITAR HAS BEEN A FRONT LINE SOLDIER. ACTION IS MEDIUM TO LOW. RATING IS BASED UPON ACTION AND FIT.

MUST BE PRETTY GOOD TO STILL BE IN ONE PIECE. THIS GUITAR'S BEEN PLAYED-A LOT! PLAYS AND SOUNDS GREAT THOUGH. A LITTLE BUZZING AROUND THE FIRST AND SECOND FRET BUT I CAN'T HERE IT THROUGH THE AMP. THE SIX POSITION VARATONE SWITCH IS NOT WORKING RIGHT NOW, BUT THIS SHOULD BE AN EASY REPAIR. JUST HAVE NOT HAD THE TIME TO DO IT YET.

I CALLED GIBSON TO SEE WHAT INFO I COULD GET IF I GAVE THEM THE SERIAL NUMBER. THEY SAID IT WAS ONE OF THE FIRST (VERY EARLY) LUCILLE'S MADE, BUT DID NOT HAVE A RECORD OF WHO THEY GAVE OR SOLD IT TO. THE WARRANTY EXPIRED A LONG TIME AGO I' SURE.

I'M A DEVOUT FENDER FIEND, BUT MISSED THAT MEATY SOUND SOMETIMES, THE PRICE WAS RIGHT SO I BOUGHT IT. BESIDES, IT' GOT A STORY BEHIND IT ALSO. THATS WHAT I LOVE THE MOST. IF IT WAS LOST OR STOLEN I WOULD NOT REPLACE THIS GUITAR. I'M A AMATUER AND CAN NOT JUSTIFY $2500 TO $3000 FOR A GUITAR. IF I COULD ONLY HAVE ONE GUITAR I'D KEEP MY STRAT, ALTHOUGH I AM IMPRESSED WITH THIS GUITAR'S VERSATILITY

My Gibson B.B. King Lucille (1997) is glossy black with gold hardware, six position Varitone switch, three position pickup selector, stereo and mono 1/4 inch jacks, and 490R/490T Alnico magnet humbucker pickups. The bride uses a Tune-o-matic tail piece with TP-6 microtuners. The case was not includedin the 1,200 price tap ($140 extra) was is a work also very nicely appointed.

This guitar has so many tonal characteristics it is tough to begin describing this aspect. I generally use both neck and bridge pickups together with the Varitone switch somewhere in the middle of the six possible positions. This produces tones between a humbucker and single coil pickups. Add just a touch of distortion and blues/rockabilly grooves seem to flow from the guitar. Adding a heavy amount of distortion clouds the note-to-note distinction a too much. To my ears this guitar sounds best through an open back 212 combo amp.

Action was a bit too low when I purchased the guitar. Since, I raised the action a little and put on 12-56 guage nickle wound strings and dropped the tuning to 1/2 step from standard. The finish is striking. The nicest thing about the guitar is the high class fret work. Beautifully installed frets with smooth edges.

I am still trying to nail down the perfect combination of amps and settings to use with Lucille but my overall rating is very high (9).
This guitar is so nice I a bit timid bringing it to weekly gigs for fear that it might get stolen or scratched. However, it has made appearances at San Diego's Del Mar Fair several times and it sounded great being played at loud volumes through a Carvin 212 Bel Air.
If you can stand to plunk down this much money for a guitar do it.