Gibson B.B. King Lucille

'93 Lucille in cherry red, stereo, varitone, bound ebony fretboard, fancy binding, fine tuning tail piece, no F-holes, etc. The works!

As others have stated, while the Lucille may be king of the ES-335 family, it has an entirely different sound. With the 6 position Varitone, you can get sounds from a Telecaster (kinda sorta although more like the intro to Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here") to an ES-175 to a Les Paul. Hours of entertainment right there.
I love ES-335s and will always have one but they can't match the range of tonal capabilities or sustain of a Lucille.
Rock, blues, feeble attempts at jazz, blasting your neighbors out with a Marshall stack, just wonderful.

This 93 was purchased used and the set up was really nice. Put on some lighter strings, lemon oil on the neck and the action is REAL low, fast, no buzzing and no sharp frets or nut. The previous owner may have had some work done on it or perhaps it's right from the factory that way.
The neck feels like a cross between a really nice Les Paul and a Firebird VII - a little fat and wide but just about perfect for me. If you have big hands, you'll be right at home.
This is my second Lucille (first one was a 1980 DeLuxe purchased new) and I was instantly comfortable with the 93, always struggled with the "original" Lucille as it just never felt right.
The paintwork around the binding and quality of the Lucille inlay are both sloppier than the original 1980 version which was PERFECT but I put that down to a Limited Edition (yeah, right) being compared to a mass produced version.
I'm still kind of ticked about being sold a Limited Edition and then they turn around and run off a million of them. $2200 in 1980 was a chunk of change. Poorly informed sales guy, I suppose.

The strap buttons are ridiculous and this is a big, heavy guitar. One El Kabong onto the floor and the headstock is done for.
Other than that, the gold plating is still good after 14 years. This is a used guitar and the previous owner left it on a guitar stand and it somehow managed to get hot enough to melt the finish on the back of the neck AND discolor and partially melt the binding on the base of the instrument! This may have led to some incipient checking on the front of the cutaways. Who knows.
This isn't Gibson's fault - all other parts of the guitar are solid and while they're expensive, you get what you pay for.
If it can stand being partially melted I think it'd withstand the rigors of live playing!

I've always found the people at Gibson to be pretty easy to deal with. They like guitars, I like guitars. Lifetime Warranty but only to the original purchaser.

I've been playing for around 30 years and have owned Gibson electrics since the early 70s and currently have a bunch of them. Over the years I've found that some were better instruments than others but only one struck me as being a complete hunk of junk (that model is currently listed on e-bay for $4500.00 or something ridiculous like that). If it was junk then, it's junk now but that's just me.
I would buy another Lucille in a heartbeat. I love everything about it - the looks, the magnificent sound, the way it plays. This is the best of the 335 line and because B.B. King isn't a rock star, used ones are usually cheaper than a 335 which is bad for the seller but good for the buyer!
I wish that it didn't weigh so much and I'd love to see a 7/8 sized version (not 339 size) as then it'd be more comfortable to play both sitting down and standing up.
I might like an ES-355 with a Bigsby more but they've always been out of my price range. What I can say is that out of all of the guitars I've ever owned, the Lucille is the best.

All maple. Features covered already. The neck shape on this guitar(rounded back) is the most comfortable neck I've played - very fluid and easy.

This guitar is my jazz specializist. It has a beautiful, modern CLEAN sound that is really pure through a good cleam amp. I would describe the cleans as very full and sustaining with solid attack. I would definitely not describe the tone as "woody" as in a 335 model - VERY different sounding than a 335. The only similarity is the body shape. The ebony board and maple body make for a much denser sound that doesn't excel that well at overdriven or distorted sounds from my experience. Varitone selection 1 is full, solid humbuckers. Varitone 2 I think is a bit more relaxed but actually darker than 1. When you go to setting 3 it starts to thin out the mids alot and become more useful for pop/funk strumming but it is less powerful so if you're using pedals, you'll notive your signal is not pushing as much in the higher Varitone settings. In conclusion - this guitar is not a jack of all trades and alot of people sing its praises at the blues. But for me, it really shines in jazz for a rich, solid clean that sustains forever. Great for chord melodies or soloing.

The frets on the treble side near the 12th fret have slight buzzing due to shoddy fretwork ('91 model). This can be remedied. I set it up for good intonation and reasonable action. The neck shape is a dream for playing long gigs with no fatigue. I wish I could have this neck back shaoe on all of my guitars!

Its interesting to see Gibson move many of their former "standard" gyitars into the "custom" shop and move the prices up astronomically as a result. To me this is just a marketing move - the quality is the same. But Gibson wouldn't do this unless folks are ponying up the $$ - hats off to them. This guitar used to run about $1600 a few years ago but now is $2700...incredible. If I had to get another I guess I'd troll eBay or something or maybe buy a Heritage.

The full features of this guitar are available on Gibson web site.This is a 2005 model.Body style is Es355 a luxery 335 without f holes painted,black. A maple laminated top with a 3 piece thick neck and humbucking pickups and variatone switch.The body is double bound and the neck has trapezium MOP inlays

First and foremost the guitar has a wonderfull humbucking gibson sound,from a bright ringing to a beautifull smooth bassy sound. I use a variety of retro valve amps and a laney vc30 is my main amp.The sound of the guitar through this amp is a spectacularly beatifull woody, clear, rich and seperated tone. one proviso roll of the bass cause if you hit the strings hard on the neck PU it tends to saturate the amp and the sound is less so defined. Now for the good bit.This guitar is equiped with a vari tone switch (Which is a tone switch to select a number of capacitors to create tone filters)One can change the tone of the guitar to a great extend. I litterally can go from a rocknroll ac/dc type of setting to a jazzie funky almost single coil type tone. Gimmick I hear you say my first impression was That I would not use it much but as my band explores new sounds(Jazz/funk/instrumentals)it is something I come to like. It is possible to select different tones for leads ect I find it adds only to this guitar and its possible applications,I would have given it a 10 if not for the bassiness of the neck pu.The possibilties are ample, much more than any guitar I have owned and thats a few.

Now this is something I was dissapointed about. This is an expensive guitar in anybodys books and its is a luxury edition so I would have presumed a flawless product and I feel i can be realy critical about this product.I undersand that guitars are cnc ed and automaticly routed etc. I opened the elctronics cavity to see how everthing was connected and the splinters from the routing were still attached to the top of the guitar meaning it was not even finished with sandpaper!!!! or some inspector was asleep. The paint is put on real thick i presume to hide any flaws like that. The paint is so thick one can not properly read the serial number.The paint was also mottled and crincled on the side where the fretboard meets the body. This was so badly done that someone tried to repair it but did a lousy job at the factory. The hardware supposed to to be gold plated but is allready starting to loose it coating. I have a 82 LP wich hasn't got a mark yet on the hardware and I use to own a Ibanez lawsuit LP on which gold hardware lasted a lot longer than this guitar. The stoppiece has not been sanded either as it has some casting pieces still hanging of it. I hear a lot about how guitar companies made bad products in the 70/80 but my main guitars have been for a number of years a 82 Lp and a 86 Strat plus but their finish and paintwork are of a much higher standard and quality than this guitar. I have bought a modern build accoustic which is cnced wood al well a Larrivee l 9, the build quality of this guitar is so much better than this Gibson with a reputation. I bought this guitar second hand but the set up is lousy as well and it needs some pro help to adjust the set up.

Well here I must say the guitar shines. Although it is a semi hollow body the guitar has a solid feel to it and robust set up. All electronics work very well. See the previous category for review of the different finishes. I have giged a few times with this guitar and played a number of sessions on it and I can say it is utterly dependable, build like the proverbial tank. I only keep guiatrs I can depend on and never use a back up and I feel this is such a guitar

Never dealt with Gibson so I have no opinion on this

I have been playing for a good 30 years. A great variety of styles and a good number of different bands and musical projects. My main instruments are LP goldtop 82 and a Strat Plus 86 both stock standard. I use a variety of valve amps manly Laney VC30 and a Dynacord Emminence "69. I am a lead only man so Guitar lead and amp and that should produce the sound I want. This guitar does that in a variety of sounds which is great It plays beautifully and the guitar certainly has the gibson feel it sings in your hands and through the body it really is a fantastic guitar with a beautiful tone and playability. If it was stolen I would purchase an other one no doubt. I really think the finish lets this guitar down by a mile. No attention to detail is a problem. If you consider this guitar I would recommend to buy it through a shop where you can inspect the guitar for flaws. I would not recommend buying it unseen through the net as I did. I payed a good price for it so I can live with the minus points but for a luxury guitar BB would shruder putting his name to such a bad finish. But saying all this it is a truly wonderfull instrument that sings and feel alive, beatutifull neck and it plays like a dream, a true rolls royce and a beauty to hold.Again here It would have been a 9 or even 10 if this guitar was properly finished

Standard Lucille, 2004 model.

Sound is not like a 335, it's closer to a solidbody. It's tone is not as woody and organic as a standard 335. The varitone is an interesting feature, I didn't like it very much but some folks love them. No noise or feedback that I could find.

This Lucille was not very resonant, and wasn't very loud acoustically.

This guitar was purchased as a blem from Musicians Friend. It was actually purchased in 2006, but its serial number indicated it was manufactured in 2004. I have heard that the newer Lucilles are made in the custom shop, which is why the price shot up several hundred dollars in the last year or so.

This guitar has the poorest quality workmanship of any Gibson I have ever seen. The fingerboard is very poorly finished with lots of scratches on the fingerboard and binding. The body binding has several splotches of red finish that was not scraped properly, and the clear finish was applied over it. The strings are not centered on the neck, they are shifted around 1\8" toward the treble side of the neck. Either the neck was not installed properly or the bridge holes were not drilled in the body at the right location. What makes it worse is that the pickups were installed so that the polepieces line up with the misaligned strings; so if the bridge saddles are renotched to align the strings properly on the neck, they will completely miss the polepieces on the pickups. Finally, the neck joint on the top of the guitar is badly scratched and the finish is missing. The overall workmanship was shocking at how poor it was; I have heard stories of shoddy quality at Gibson, but have never seen one until I saw this guitar.

This is also one of the heaviest Gibsons I've ever picked up, a real boat anchor. It was much heavier than a standard 335.

The guitar seems fairly solid and stays in tune well. No problems.

I have not dealt with Gibson lately, but did have to have a warranty repair done several years ago on a J-200. They were excellent to deal with, bent over backwards to make me happy.

Please note I did not buy this guitar, it belongs to a friend. But I felt so strongly about the poor quality on this guitar I had to submit this review. I have been playing Gibsons for over 25 years and have been very happy with them. The quality overall has gone way up over the years. The best guitar I have played in my life was a new 1959 VOS Les Paul a few weeks ago. However, this Lucille is an embarassment and should not have been allowed out of the factory. Gibson should know better than to charge several thousand dollars for a guitar like this. You might want to carefully examine any Lucille you may buy to make sure you don't get a clunker like this one.

It?s a 2005 model, Vari-tone, ebony neck, TP6 fine tuner tailpiece (which I cannot see the need for on this type of guitar), twin Jacks for stereo, Gibson 490r and t pickups, Semi hollow body with no F holes, you can have one in any colour as long as its black or red

I love the sound of this Guitar. I play mostly classic and heavy rock, but occasionally try my hand out at a bit of jazz. Obviously it does the blues thing, but when you want to really let it rip it can scream with the best of them, also it can provide you everything from classic jazz to almost a Telecaster snap. As its semi-hollow and with a maple body it?s quite brighter and airy and a little tweaking of the treble was necessary otherwise it could get a little harsh and a tad too nasal (this may be more down to my amp than the Guitar). One of the reviewers mentioned getting AC/DC tones, I would defiantly agree with that, my brother in law is a huge AC/DC fan and he commented on that straight away. The vari-tone is really useful, much more than I ever thought it would be, I use all the settings to really change around my tone when recording, although I think it would prove too much of a faf in a live situation. The Stereo option is good fun when recoding, I put the bridge pickup through an amp and I either DI the neck pickup or put it through an amp modeller, I then record them onto separate tracks and mix the result, you can get really huge and interesting guitar tones that way, again I don?t think its something I would ever use live, but its cool to have.

This is the let down bit, but I new what I was getting when I bought it. I was at Music Live last year and when my girlfriend and I were walking out past the Rosette stand, my girlfriend pointed the guitar out on the wall (she new I have been interested in the guitar for a while). She persuaded me to have a play on it, the set-up was terrible, the nut was badly cut so if you fretted a chord on the first three frets correctly it would bend out of tune, there were a couple of minor blemishes on the bindings, all in all not too good, but even with all of this it still felt and sounded wonderful. I pointed this out to the sales man and he when and talked to his manager, he came back and offered me so much off the street price even my girlfriend said I?d be an idiot not too accept. With the some of he money I?d saved I took the guitar to a good tech, he removed the old nut and installed an Earvana one, adjusted the neck and sorted out the action. The guitar now plays like a dream. The blemishes are not noticeable (a couple of ink dots on the neck binding), if I?d got the guitar in the state it was in for list price (or even the street price)I would not have been happy, as it was I knew what I was getting so I suppose a 7 is in order (amalgam of before and after). One thing I have too mention is that the case it come in is very nice, it does kind of scream steal me, so if i gig with it then it ill be going out in more anonymous one.

Finnish aside this guitar feels very solid and reliable. The strap pins are a bit crap, typical Gibson, they look nice, but a normal strap would come off and your pride and joy would go flying if you even turned around to quickly, never mind ran about on stage. I would strongly suggest getting a locking strap (but I would suggest this for stage use for any guitar). The gold plating will tarnish in time, that?s just chemistry, and I think it ill look even cooler as it ages, not so bright and look at me if you know what I mean. As for not taking or needing a back up, when I gig I have a bag with spare strings, fuses (for both amp an plug), valves and anything else I can think of never mind a second guitar. When playing live Murphy?s law defiantly applies.

Never talked to them

I have been playing for over 20 years, over the last 10 of which I have been in the lucky position of being able to buy most of the guitars on my wish list. I was originally going to buy a stock 355, I have a decent copy, but hankered after the real thing, the Lucille was a bit of a gut purchase. The lack of F holes originally bothered me, but that soon wore off, I can confirm that their absence does cut down on feedback problems. The tailpiece is a bit of a ?why?, but it does no detract from the guitars performance in any way and is an easy thing to replace if it becomes an issue. The neck is a real baseball bat of an affair and could be a little thinner, I don?t have the biggest fingers in he world, but my palms are very long so It suites me (makes me sound a bit freakish), a couple of friends who have plays it have commented that it?s a bit of a beast in the size of the body and the neck and have found it a bit uncomfortable to play, tehn again another friend who i 6 foot 4 thinks its teh best thin in the world and I have to phyicaly force it off him when he comes around. The one thing I'll say its not a Guitar for you if you are a bit on the small side (be warned!!). If it were stolen I would get another one as fast as the insurance check came though, it is a great guitar that?s different enough to stand out from the crowd (no bad thing in my view), and versatile enough to cover just about any form of music you could wish. It will also still look good on you when you?re in your 60s playing at the local blues/jazz club, try saying that about a BC Rich.

1990's Lucille. All stock.

This guitar has become my jazz specialist. I use Daddario Chromes (11-50) and a Fender heavy standard pick on mine and run though an Evans JE150 jazz amp. The tone this setup imparts could make me woodshed for two days straight w/o sleep in a room by myself. Its really that good. But I'm a fan of deep, warm and powerful sounding guitar jazz. Some folks prefer the more acoustic sound that might be found on a Benedetto type archtop with a floating pickup...this is not that sound. Its very snappy, yet fat, smooth at the same time. I also own a Super 400 that has its own unique tone, but doesn't have the solid depth that this guitar delivers.

Actoin if fine.

I've played at least 25 years and now am mostly into jazz and classical. The Lucille is the best jazz guitar I've heard, especially with a good jazz type of amp. For rock, it is a bit too dense sounding for light strumming. Yes - you can use the Varitone, but to my ears, each successive setting of the switch yields an increasingly anemic copy of setting number one. I don't use it.

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.

I think mine is a 2003 Lucille. It has tons of features, and one could argue too many... fine-tuners, stereo jack, varitone. I could do without the fine-tuners and I do not use the varitone switch much. Haven't tried the stereo output jack yet. See other reviews below for more details.

I like classic rock, blues, and I dabble in other areas, would like to get into jazz more seriously. I do not use effects with this baby, goes straight to tube amps. How does it sound? Don't know where to start since it's very versatile... Beautiful clean sound. A bit brighter than a 335. I found I could really express myself with this guitar, this is what got me hooked. I have not yet used the varitone switch much. I keep it on "1". I get the sound I want right there without tweaking so it stays there. It can rock too. I use it for Malcolm riffs and Angus leads, old ZZ top, some Led Zep etc.

Here I'm rating finish and fit. You can change the action. That said, the original action was stiff/high. It came with very heavy bottoms (B.B. signature strings I think). I thought I'd leave the guitar like that because I liked the fact that it felt quite different than my other guitars. Then, this became my main guitar and I lowered the action to something more standard and used 10-52s to improve playability. Could not find flaws with the finish. This is a relatively heavy, big guitar with a chunky neck. Depending on your size, you could perhaps have issues with the fit.

Don't know. I've had it for 8 months, still looks great. Am expecting the gold hardware to deteriorate.

I've picked up the guitar late and I've only been playing for 5 years. The other guitars I play often are an american strat with lindy fralins and a G&L ASAT special. When I bought this guitar, I was mainly interested in a 335. I went to the store and tried a few semi-hollow models and found the sound I was looking for in the Lucille. It was also less expensive than the 335s but that did not factor in my decision since I would have payed more. I've found "my" sound with this guitar. Loads of sweet, sweet tone.

Usual features - alot! Not sure of build year.

Blues music is OK, but after about three 12-bar blues tunes I'm about to fall asleep or die from sonic boredom. I'm not trying to slam blues players, but too many just do the twelve bar, three chord thing over and over. And BB is not one of these players - he can definitely mix it up!! Getting this guitar for playing just the blues is like getting a yacht for your built in swimming pool - totally underutilized!! This guitar can do so much more, especially in jazz or any other clean playing like country or fingerstyle. Also, its pretty cool running it through an overdrive into a nice tube amp. I run this guitar through a blackface Vibrolux and it is heavenly - I've never heard such luscious tone in my life, except maybe through a Polytone or something. My favorite is doing jazz chord melodies, or jazz combo situations. Awesome. The dude who said the full humbucker tone (Varitone 1) is too be avoided must have hearing problems and the inability to EQ his amp. It sounds fine on positions 1-3 with 4-6 getting a little too thin. Yes position 1 can get aggressive if you have you guitar wvolumes dimed and you bass EQ on your amp at 6. Common sense applies here, you may have to use some EQ tweaking. For sure, the guitar is naturally loud unplugged due to its all maple body. To contrast this guitar with a Les Paul standard (which I own), this guitar has a richer sound - more bell like, fat and a touch of sparkle with more mid range emphasis if that makes any sense. Definitely a more complex tone. I've tried the stereo cord hook up to two amps before. Its interesting but you lose the Gibson nasal honk tone for both pickups if you do this.

For cover gigs, I use setting 1 on Varitone, pickup selector in between, and have both volumes on about 6 for rhythm work. For leads, I crank the treble to 10 and kick in my Overdrive pedal. She really sings in this config. Another interesting point on this guitar - because its wired for stereo, when you drop the volume to zero for one pickup, it doesn't turn off the other pickup - nice!.

Action fit and finish are fine. A nice. fully rounded neck back makes it a dream to play. I prefer to wear it up a bit higher so I can rest my picking arm more comfortably on the body. This also makes the fretting hand much more comfortable and "fast as lightnin'"!

Gibson could have done a bit more careful fret job on my guitar which has a few buzzes high up the neck with standard action height. Its not that noticeable though.

OK so far.

This guitar is the favorite of my electrics because it has so much presence without being harsh when you chord or take solos. With its unreal sustain, you can hold notes for a long time which is great for legato playing. With my current rig, I could be doing cover band stuff one minute, then with a couple of quick EQ tweaks, be playing a solo jazz gig without any equipment changes. This guitar is a hoot! ANother guy mentioned the value and I agree...you could buy a subpar Les Paul for about two grand or buy this baby at $1700 and be satisfied with a better instrument.

Early 90's Varitone, tone and volume controls, stereo outs and two pickups. Ton's o features!

Suits my style fine - a hybrid of jazz, mixed with blues and vintage rock. I've got to point out to those hankering for a 335-like sound from this thing - look elsewhere. That's not a negative statement, only fact. This beast is all maple with an ebony fretboard - by definition a louder, more solid sounding guitar. I'm surprised at how different a maple vs. mahogany neck sounds. The varitone is needed to reign in the loudness and sustain of this axe. For example, with the guitar unplugged, I can play a barre chord on the twelfth fret and it sustains forever - that's how resonant this axe is! If you play the varitone at 2 or 3 and dial back the pickup volumes to say 7-8, you'll get the sweetest jazz tone around. If you crank into position 1, be prepared for a huge sound with biting mids (at full guitar volume) - maybe more than you want. I almost never have the guitar volumes/tones at 10 so its controllable in varitone position 1 (only for a lead boost through an OD pedal with guitar vlume at about 7-8).

The net? Although you can overdo it with this guitar in varitone 1 with both pickups wide open on volume, the clean sounds in positions 2 and 3 are unparalled - very bell like tone - almost remainds me of a piano. From my experience, you can't get that sweet clean tone out of an ES-335. If you like to play with overdrive, and want a more soft, creamy singing tone, then go for the 335. If you want beautiful cleans with total punch and warmth, go for the Lucille. BTW, the Lucille works reasonably well with OD pedals, but not as creamy as a 335 - more punchy, dense and immediate. Its all about what you want. Since great clean sounds are more important for me, I give it a 9.

No guitar has ever felt as comfortbl and easy to play as this. I'm a tall guy (6'3"), so I've always felt while playing a Les Paul that there wasn't enough body to support by strumming arm - so it felt akward and I didn't feel I had the best hand position for effecctive picking. No problems in that department with this guitar - very comfortable to play and with its huge resonance, I pick so lightly that its effortless - what do they say? - "plays like butter".

I do myown set ups and adjustments and can't remember the facory set up. I don't know why people fuss about factory set ups - the guy in the factory ainn't playing it - you are!! I think you should always expect to tweak the factory set up of a new guitar.

FInish work is nice, but black shiny guitars show every smudge and scratch in the stage lights.

Yes - its very reliable and seems totally solid in construction - no problems in 13 years.

The above sections sum it up...I like this guitar in that its versatile and sounds different than the typical humbucker equipped axe.

Mid 80's ebony Lucille , ebony fingerboard, chrome hardware and brass nut these features I've never seen anywhere. Other than that the guitar has the same features as all others. Varitone, 470 humbuckers, semi hollow body etc...

Now I've own lots of guitars and this one makes it for me. I've sold most of the others and kept my Lucille. The sound of this instrument is simply put, great! It has warmth, it's rich and with the Varitone switch the guitar will give you unlimited possibilities. Just pick one and play it, I garanty you'll fall under it's charm.

I bought it use and when I got it, the neck was slightly warped. Even then it was still good to play. In fact I only fixed it a few months ago after I owned it for more than a year. The finish is great and you can see that this is a quality built instrument. I've heard a lot being said about Gibson's lack of quality in the 80's. This one does not subscribe. It is a beautifully built guitar.

I have now owned it for a little over two years and I've had no issues with it so far. I live in Quebec where the weather is not always nice and I've have never experienced a problem. Again, this is a solidly built quality guitar that anyone can depend on. Take it everywhere, play it, have fun and don't worry.

I have been playing for close to 30 years. I've owned a Gretsch 6120, a Washburn J6, I still own a 79 Stratocaster, a 63 Telecaster and just before I got Lucille, I was playing a Gibson Chet Atkins Country Gentleman. If Lucille was stolen from me, it would be very hard to replace as I never saw another one with a brass nut and chrome hardware before. This is my favorite guitar ever! The only feature I miss on this giutar is the Bigsby vibrato I had on my 6120. But then it had it's problems...

1991 Ebony. Gold hardware, varitone, 470 Humbuckers, etc. Semi-hollow, no f-holes, laminated maple all around as far as I know - maybe the top is solid maple. Three piece neck - this neck is built like concrete - inherently stable. Fine tuning stop tailpiece, 24 3/4" scale.

Rich with a very clear, warm clean sound. I personally like the Varitone and pretty much keep it on 3 - to me, this is the sweet spot between a humbucking warmth and single coil spank. The tone is very versatile. So it covers Jazz, Country, Pop stuff in spades. Sustain is endless.

On the distortion side, it has a bit of an aggressive midrange bite due to the maple - definitely not as creamy as you'd get from a Les Paul. In certain situations, this is more desirable, other times not. This guitar doesn't "give" or "flex" as much as a Paul, the notes are more immediate and crisp. And the Les Paul can't deliver the clean tones this guy does.

I almost never use position 1 on the Varitone at stage volumes because it's lamost two loud with overwhelming bass and mids...but position 3? - to die for. At low jazz volumes, position 1 is very nice.

Great for fingerstyle jazz or country picking as well.

This guitar is about as efficient as it gets for playing economy. Using a Fender medium jazz teardrop pick with a nice warm tube amp, it alsmost feels like its playing itself. It has incredibly resonant response to you picking attack. I rarely have to dig in hard while picking because the guitar responds do well (so I don't wear out picks as quickly - another bonus!!).

The neck on this guitar is sort of a slim taper '60's style neck. Seeing current Lucilles in the store these days, the necks are a bit fatter - I wouldn't mind this as I usually can adapt to different nec profiles. The neck handles like a dream with no hand fatigue. I also like the flatter frets which make it easier to play fast and are cool for chording.

I removed the pickguard as it was in the way - a great improvement in usability.

The only down side of this guitar's fit is the body - but not tremendously so. It can be a bit akward playing sittinng down.

Solid build quality. I've had no issues. Barely have to tweak the truss rod seasonally due to three piece maple neck. I think its three piecess laminated together lengthwise to provide extra stability. Easy to tune up intonation and changing strings is easy - you don't have to pull them through the stop bar - they just pop off the front of the guitar.

I called once and they were friendly and responsive in answering my question about string height specs. But, never had to deal with them on a serious issue.

I've played for 25 years. I own too much gear and won't bore you with details. I would replace this guitar quickly if it were stolen. It's got the leader position among my other guitars. I'd recommend it especially when you compare it's price to value with the outrageous prices for one of the thousand variations of a Les Paul.

I have the standard black tuxedo-style Gibson BB King Lucille. Twin 490 tuners, etc etc. Got it at a local used guitar store; a barely-used '00 for $1600; I've had it nearly two years. All the hardware is gold, and although mine is looking slightly less than perfect, it is still in good condition. Definitely need to keep it clean. I'm not a big fan of the fine tuners: they work great but (i) I like to pick the string with my right hand and I gotta turn them with the same hand (somehow that is a hassle) and (ii) I don't like them too high which makes resting my hand uncomfortable. Otherwise, this guitar has pretty much every feature you could want (no wah bar, but they have their own problems). It is a BIG guitar and not light, but with a quality strap I have no problem palying it forever. This guitar looks old fashioned, which initially turned me off, until I came to appreciate it's essential coolness. Best assay: my wife? who has great taste? loves it. A big black guitar.

Ah, now this is the make-or-break category for this guitar. This is the key: I first picked it over a Les Paul because its sounds great without an amp (it is a semi-hollow, and the unamplified sound is great). The sunburst LP looked good, but my decision was the right one: this guitar is terrific. I have several other guitars? a Reynolds strat (amazing sound for a cheap strat), a BC Rich Mockingbird acrylic (now THAT'S a heavy guitar), a U1 Danelectro, etc.. I think I have a pretty cold eye for guitars. No question which is the king of my guitar pile, and the one guitar on the planet I would pick if I could only have one. But it is not plug-and-play.

As others have said, this is a guitar that you need to understand and get used to. It took me at least six months to really turn the Varitone and explore its full sonic possibilities. I like to play everything: blues, punk, rock, grunge, and this guitar can do ALL of it if you take the time to explore it. Blues works with the Varitone at one, most others work at settings 2-3, and Ramones (cheap and trashy) works on still higher settings. At low settings, the resonance is so rich and complicated, that too many effects just sound muddy. If I want hardcore, I go with a small Marshall solid state and turn up the Varitone. Then it roars with as much distortion as you can dish out. Strat-like clean sounds are gotten in the middle settings. For blues, I used a lower setting and run it through a '68 Ampeg G-20 tube amp; with the tank reverb, everyone in the neighborhood will start crying including BB. It makes the LP and PRS sound thin.

My guitar was flawless. The bridge is adjustable, and the guitar seems to excel at any string gauge. The neck somehow feels right to me, but it's not set up for pure speed. The whole instrument is tight and says 'quality'. Really a classic, as a guitar of its cost should be. Something I'll give my grandkids.

I don't do much live playing anymore, but obviously this is one solid guitar. I know Gibson necks can break, but it would take a lot to dent this monster. Again, everything is first class.

NA

I've discussed most of the issues. I love this guitar, and it grows on me the longer I own it and the more other guitars I play. If I lost it, I think I might cry (especially at the replacement cost). I've been playing on-and-off for 35 years, I've owned too many guitars, but this is a step up. I don't buy guitars to collect them, but this has to be seen as a work of art twenty years from now. Again, take the time to learn it, and take the sonic possibilities of the Varitone seriously. If I had to change anything, I might add a wah bar, but this has its own problems (I believe you can get one from a third-party company, but they're expensive).

1991 model, black tuxedo looking guitar. Laminate, but what-ever. We all know the drill by now. Mine's a stock piece with the fine-tune tail-piece. Th elonger I have it, the more I like it. A guitar that has these kind of harmonics needs to be "440" all the way. Again, King designed and kept that way. It has all the features I need, plus gold hardware (which, by the way, is still in excellent shape.)

I play blues, pop, R&B, rock & roll, and whatever category it is that my original compositions fall into. Damned if I know. I use a Johnson JT-50 (which I love!) and a Fender Super 210 tube amp. Guitar itself is never noisy, except for the noise I make. As for rich, full, bright sound--yes, yes, and yes! The Varitone circuit allows a player to access so many pick-up variations it is astounding. There is a learning curve, though. So many reviewers have a tendency to jump right into the music journalist role and write a review after a few hours of plunking. I needed to make sure I gave the instrument time before I wrote anything. A lot of times, it is the impatience of the reviewer that colors the review. Example--Peavey T-60 guitar. Very versatile, many variations available. Sorry though; it is not "plug and play." Using it through a modeling amp (pardon my foul language, tubers), there are so many tonal possibilities it can confuse even the most discerning players. One must sit with it--like with Shakespeare or Chaucer--and take notes, to truly categorize and explicate the experience. What I can honestly say after spending many hours exploring the nuances of Lucille is WOW! B.B. may not have a degree, but the man has an ear and a half! What a machine he has built. And what of the price? Why so inexpensive? I paid $900.00 for mine. A steal, brother.
But wait a minute. Accollades are nice, but what of the actual sound?
The varitone circuit (that many disdain, and some disable) has a fan in me. Some say the sound gets nasal or hollow. If you leave your amp settings the same and change the varitone setting, that may be true. Would you use the same EQ settings for a Strat as for a 335? I would say, no. The guitar is a 335--or a 355--and it's made of maple; with NO sound holes. That makes it almost a chambered solid body. Neck pick-up in the "one" varitone position equals a nice "Dot" sound. CLick it over to five or so, and a nice Strat quack comes through. Of course the amp needs to be adjusted for the change, but the sound is there. I found that the Johnson modeling amp (my favorite among modelers) allows for the maximum flexibility in guitar programming. Yeah, I'm an old rocker, but I know programming. This guitar is NOT a beginner's ax. One needs to be a student, and leave all the aural discriminations behind. For me, this is the guitar that will stay, no matter what. My child will own her, and maybe her child. Thanks B.B.

I bought used, so N/A. But for me, perfect--scracthes and all.

The ultimate in reliability, I presume--though I never play without a back-up. But--you ask, what is my back-up? A cheap Washburn Mercury by Grover Jackson. Unbelieveable for the price.

I've heard that there is an actual Gibson factory, but it's located on Mount Olympus or something--you know, like in North Dakota or Montana. I don't speak the language (I'm a New Yorker), so I guess I wouldn't know about service. Plus, Lucille don't never need nothin'

For me (and I stress that this is my opinion) this is the ultimate ax. I have not yet found the sound that displeases me. Twang, full-tone jazz, heavy rock (I don't do metal--well maybe aluminum), and chorused R&B chords. So freaking sweet, boys and girls. Would I buy it again? No brainer-YES! I hate nothing about it, I love how classy it makes my old sorry ass look on stage. It's like playing a Tuxedo.
And baby, there are no other guitars that compare. B.B. designed it.

According to the serial numbers, mine was made in Nashville in 1991. It has enough frets to reach the pick-ups, not one more. It is laminated (as am I), and possesses an array of electronic controls equal to those available to the lock operator on the Shinnecock canal. There is sufficient information concerning such configurations in previous reviews. I only wish to add a few opinions where I have something to add. This is not one of those areas. Read on reader.

Now, this is where I want to ad a few things. I've been playing for many more years than I've been alive--I do think it's genetic for some of us. Lucille is a demanding bitch. Know yourself first; know what you want; get that sound in your head; search for it in the electronics. Don't get impatient during the foreplay; you'll never know her that way. This is, by far, the closest I've ever gotten with an instrument. I'm one of those nuts who names his guitars and personifies each instrument that I develop a rapport with. Hey, go figure. It's my weird religion, I guess. Anyway, I wasn't sure I liked this guitar when I first got it. I hate hype, first of all. Tell me something is great, and I raise an eyebrow in skepticism. I really wanted a Gary Moore (Peter Green) Les Paul, but--since I'm approaching geezerhood--I thought Lucille was more "age appropriate." I've been plunking for over 35 years, and I never wanted to look like the old, fat rocker--trying to look like he's still 21, but with graying hair and a paunch. B.B. does it so well, and with so much class; so I figured the guitar would make me look like a sophisticated grown-up. I play in "The Hamptons" a lot, so that tuxedo look is a plus. Okay, so much for looks. Well, when I plugged her in I found there were several doors (tone-wise) through which I could enter Lucille's domain. The Varitone circuit is the key. Many musicians do not care for the Varitone. I must admit that I was one of those. I think many of us get into the "plug-and-play" mentality. We want the Strat sound--we buy a Strat. We want the Gibson sound--we buy a 335 or an SG. Now, to compound this problem, I'm playing Lucille through a Johnson JT-50 modeling amp. Uh oh, you say--one of those guys. First, I don't know what "one of those guys" means. Maybe someone with an open mind? I do know that with Lucille, I needed an amp that could morph. After trying them all--amd I MEAN them all--I decided on the Johnson Amplification JT-50 model. First, it's a great amp for carrying around to jams, and secondly--it didn't have that annoying digital decay sound that haunts so many other modeling systems. It took some time, some note-taking (yeah, don't be afraid to log your settings) and more than a few Merlots, but I was able to dial in some of the best sounds I have ever been able to make. This is all personal opinion, fellow pickers, and please approach each review you read as such. Find out who the person is that left the review, and if that person's taste is similar to yours. I'm not a sixteen year-old with limited funds and a hormonal imbalance. If you want to piss your parents off through music, that's cool--but I play for different reasons. Hey, it happens as one matures. This is a thinking person's guitar. Man, is it cheap for what you get. This guitar will be with me for a long time; not because it's so freaking cool or anything--just because it fills a need that that no other guitar can come close to. It's one of the best all-around guitars that I've ever played--hands down. But be ready for a relationship. If you can't handle the nuances of a real woman, don't even bother to waste your time with Lucille. She requires attention, love, and lots of foreplay.

I bought used. She was dinged, but I lovingly polish and protect her. All top quality components.

Well, she ain't a canoe paddle or a war club. Other than that, she should enjoy a long life (if I care for her as I should). Built like a big-legged woman.

What the hell is customer support? We musicians have a network of our own. If we can get reimbursed for warranty service, that's cool, but not a consideration for me.

Playing a long time, though not a guitar god. I like the sounds of guitars and amps and I try to put their natural abilities on display. Who cares how fast I can play? Make it sound good. To me, Lucille is the penultimate guitar. But that is merely my opinion. I like the tonal diversity that Lucille makes available to me. Sometimes I almost feel like she is leading in the dance; pulling the riffs from me. I know, it sounds a little weird, but I just adore this guitar. Never have I encountered such an instrument. And it was NOT love at first sight. I worked at it--just like a real relationship. Danmed if I didn't stumble onto something. Take this as you will--it is only my humble opinion. Feel free to contact me for further info.

'91 Lucille - Black w/3 piece maple neck, flatter frets, varitone, ebony fretboard, etc. Varitone circuitry creats neat tones. Solid maple sustain block - basically an ES-355 without f-holes.

For you Les Paul folks, be prepared. Because Lucille is maple, it has a more tightly focused, punchier sound than the Paul. What does this mean? For clean playing (on positions 2&3 of the Varitone), it sounds wonderful with well balanced bass, mids, highs. Clean playing on position 1 (full power) is like a sledgehammer - I'd avoid it if I were you - very midrangy. Distortion sound is great, but again, more punchy that a Paul. Jazz on Varitone 2&3 is heavenly. FIngerstyle Jazz on this axe is second to none.

Examples of ES-355 rock recordings: Alvin Lee at Woodstock, Mick Taylor lead work on Sticky Fingers (wild Horses, Can't you hear me knocking?, etc.)

The 335 style fits me perfect. I think its because there's so much body behind the bridge (unlike a Paul), that it pushes the neck out a bit further out when you strap it on (compared to a Paul). The net - this guitar almost play's itself. When I got this guitar, naturally some tweaks were needed to fit my preference (truss rod, bridge height, intonation) - this is needed for all new guitars I think. One prob - I think I have a higher fret up around 12 for the high e string - slight buzz if you dig in hard. Otherwise - just fine.

All guitars' necks slack out just a touch with heavy string bending (try hitting an open e while bending another string - you;ll hear it go out of tune). With the Lucille, this is less the case. THe three piece neck is very strong and provides awesome sustain - more than a Paul in fact.

N/A

My main axe. It sounds different than a Paul/Strat. Extremely comfortable to play.

A 2001 Lucille. Prior reviews have the specs nailed as it has been around since the 80"s in a couple of forms,a striped down chrome standard (wich was discountinued) and the current fancier model with gold, grovers, ebony fret board, the 490 pups and the adjustable tailpiece. Basically the same that King plays except his has a standard Gibson stop bar instead of the adjustable. For those interested in the difference from a stock 355, from what I can tell, it has no f-holes (cuts the feedback), the adjustable tail, the 490 pups (a little more trebely)looks a little thicker (although I have not measured it) and it appears to have thinner and higher frets which mirrors Kings higher set up. Note, this sucker is heavy so get a good strap with a pad. Made/finished in Memphis.

I got it 9 months ago to use it for the more high end blues -bb, t-bone, freddy k. tunes and over the 335/355 mainly because I hate f holes and liked the pimpier looks.I have found that as I play it it is much more versatile than I expected and with the veritone at 1-2 and heavier distortion can make it really sustain/scream, but with it's own unique sound. More like a les paul's big brother. Settings above 4 basically remove midrange until it is thin (but not bright).Simple effects chain - a clyde>fd2 to a twin reverb (with just a little reverb). I have settled on the veritone at 2-3.

Factory set up was great (what you expect from a high end Gibson). I am finding I like the adjustable tuning tail peice. It was set high to mirror King's and is strung with heavy bottom .54/light top .10 strings like he plays. I genarlly like low action and as I'm a major bender so I originally had it adjusted down and used standard .10's. I switched around though, and found that I actually liked a higher setting and heavy/lights because of the clear sound on the bass strings at higher registers, the high frets and the ability to still bend a few g's b's. The best of both worlds.

A tank, stays in tune. The gold gets nasty looking quickly so keep it clean. It's black, so regular polish is required as swirls appear overnight. Generally plug and play.

NA

Becoming one of my favorites and I find when practicing I am picking it up first a lot more than I thought. The feel of the higher frets took a while to get used to and I still debate wether I would prefer the flatter Gibson type. I play blues so my guitars tend to keep to the standard issue stuff -strat(I just got a ventage pick up Clapton, but that's another story)and lp's mainly w/ p90's. The Lucille is starting to replace the lp's though as I am getting more addicted to the cleaner sound.

No doubt, B.B. King's Lucille is the guitar legend: All maple, all black. It's a hollowbody-construction (no f-holes) with a center-block an a set-in neck (22 frets). The special features are the variotone-selector (no one really needs), two Classic '57 humbuckers (two outputs for stereo) and the fine tuning stop-tail-piece. I have catched one item of the masters 70 anniversary tour. Easy to be seen at the written B. B. King between two guitars (pearl inlays)in the fretboard (ebony). The hardware (Schaller tuners) is golden, two volume, two tone controls.

There is no better instrument for Blues. But Lucille is just more: That ol' lady is very versatile: You can play nearly everything with (not at least because the "variotone", which makes the tone every step more hollow and thin), because it has that special tone: Fat, brillant, it pushes You throu the wall. Every single note is perfectly figured our, so with chords. It's really a masterpiece (improved for the Gibson custom shop bei the famous Tom Launhardt, Wetzlar, Germany).

All at it's best

You might say: Too much honour fur one single instrument. But at least custom shop instruments seem even today have the best possible quality. Okay, I had the luck to get a very special offer, but the guitar is worth more than the double or tripple prize.

My guitar is a B.B.King Standard. It's one of the first exported
to the Netherlands in 1981.These days there was the B.B.King Custom
with gold hardware and varitone and there was the B.B.King Standard
without varitone and with chrome hardware.The fretboard is made from
ebony.The tuners contain a little crank lever.It's very well build
with a firm neck thats still perfectly straight.

I use the guitar with a Fender The twin. It can sound very much
like B.B.King.I play Jazz and blues for wich it is very well suited.
I don't know if I miss the varitone because I never used one.Sometimes I wish the tone could be a bit more bright.

Thee action is very good annd remains so over the years.
The finish is good but "Lucille" on the headstock is just a decall
and should have been a proper inlay.

Is build to last a lifetime. Never failed on me.

Never dealt with Gibson.

I own many guitars, 5 of them are semisolids, the B.B.King Standard
is one of the best (together with the Hofner verythin classic)

1988 Lucille (ES-355 without f-holes, Ebony finish with multiple white/black binding around the body and peghead, single white binding along neck. Gibson and Lucille on the peghead, large pearl block inlays on ebony fretboard. Two humbuckers with volume and tone for each and a 6 position varitone rotary switch. Three way pickup selector switch. Tortise shell pickguard with B-w-b binding.

Incredible smooth sounding guitar. Very full with varitone in position 1, with varitone on position 3 I get a very clean, almost single coil sound which is great for jazz chords. I try to play mostly blues, early rock and am taking lessons for jazz. Play through a Hughes and Kettner Triplex amp. Guitar is able to produce a wide varity of sounds between the pickup selection and varitone settings.

As this guitar was 13 years old when I got her I don't know about factory set up. The guys at Freedom guitar in San Diego did a really nice job of set up before shipping her to me. I played this guitar in San Diego six months ago, loved it then went checking out new Lucilles. I played three different new Lucilles and all of them had various minor problems (poor binding with gaps, varitone not working or stereo jacks wired wrong. All brand new from factory) So I called and found that this Lucille was still available and had it shipped to Florida.

1988 and in great shape. Built like a tank, very heavy for a semi hollow guitar. The gold plating on the pickups is starting to wear on the edges and one small chip in the surface "paint". Not bad for an older guitar.

Have not had to deal with Gibson

This is a great guitar, my favorite Gibson. I have owned a Nighthawk Special, Howard Roberts Fusion and Chet Atkins Tennenasean from Gibson as well as Guild Starfire III, a Dean Sarasota, G&L Legacy, PRS McCarty, Guild Perrigrine custom. Have sold all of the other Gibsons. This is the best of the lot. Mostly play this through the H&K amp or a Behringer V-amp for headphones. Great guitar!

I'm reviewing my 2001 Lucille that I bought brand new. This is the BB King named version of the ES-355 (NOT the 335 as stated elsewhere). Two AlNiCo 490 pickups. Two volume/two tone knobs, three-way pickup switch and six-way varitone rotary selector. Stereo outputs. Grover tuners (I thought these had Gibson modern tuners and was surprised to find the Grovers on this one. I look at it as an improvement). Pretty thick neck; think of a Les Paul Standard. Beautiful ebony fretboard, thick binding everywhere, gold hardware, and "Lucille" inlay in the headstock as opposed to the 355 which has the split diamond. The Rolls Royce of guitars.

This guitar is EXTREMELY versitile. Though it is BB King's signature guitar, it is not limited to use in blues. Its sound for blues is amazing, but it is suitable for just about everything. I use it for classic/hard rock all the way out to metal and also for blues. The varitone switch adds a lot more tonal options, but I've found myself generally leaving it off (position #1) or in positions 2 or 3. The others just seem to cut into the sound too much. The sound with the neck pickup alone through medium gain is amazing. So warm and full. The bridge pickup alone through high gain gives a great crunchy sound. I play it through a Peavey Revolution 112 (at home) and a Peavey 5150. You'd think a BB King and a 5150 is a strange combination, and maybe it is, but I just love the sound. I can't stress enough how versitile this guitar is.

Here is where I had a few gripes. There were a few imperfections with this guitar. They were all minor, BUT this is a $3000 list guitar. For that kind of money, there shouldn't be and imperfections. If the same things had been on a $900 Strat, I wouldn't hold it against it. But here.... There were some tooling marks on the fingerboard and neck binding, and some bits of reddish residue of whatever Gibson uses to buff up the guitar on some parts of the neck binding. There was also a small, less than dime sized finish blemish on to of the headstock. Also, the varitone knob was mounted too low and was marking up the switch plate below that has the numbers on it. In its defense, I got this particular guitar because the neck and frets were done so well, and that's really the important part. The other stuff is pretty minor. I really care how the guitar feels and plays, and this is one of the best playing guitars that I've used. I will deduct significantly here for the imperfections, though, because this is a $3000 list instrument and should be perfect.

This guitar is built solidly. The hardware is also of good quality, considering the grover tuners and the solid fine tuner tailpiece. I think the strap buttons are my biggest problem here; they're quite small and deserve to be replace with a set of strap locks. I actually worry about this gigging, not because of any problem with the guitar, but because it's just so damn nice and I DO NOT want anything to happen to it. Fears of imminent destruction aside, I'd have no problem using this guitar without a backup.

One other thing here that goes for ANY guitar with gold hardware is that the gold will eventually wear away. You can slow this down by always wiping down all the hardware and pickup covers with a soft cloth after playing, but it will wear away and oxidize years down the line no matter what you do. I won't deduct for that because it is totally unavoidable with gold hardware. That is the price you pay for it looking so nice on this (and most other) guitar. It does lose out due to the strap buttons, though.

I contacted Gibson about the imperfections. They were very nice and said that if I wanted, I could arrange for them to do a free evaluation. If they decided it was really lacking in their opinion, the guitar would be replaced for free. I didn't do this because of the quality of the neck and fret job, and I didn't want to take the chances of ending up with a worse neck or fretjob. Nonetheless, the fact that they would do this is pretty amazing. I did have them send me a new varitone switch plate at NO COST to me. Overall a really good deal if you ask me.

I've been playing for a while and had always wanted a BB King. I love the sound of the guitar, and I've always been a sucker for ornate binding and inlays like this has. I also own a Jackson USA Randy Rhoads with Floyd Rose and a USA Fender Strat with Texas Specials and an SD Pearly Gates. This is my favorite guitar. The versatility is a great thing to have, and it just plays so well. Not quite as fast as the Rhoads due to the neck shape but then what IS as fast as a Jackson? It's not meant to be a shredder's guitar anyway (though you actually shred almost as well as on the Rhoads). I absolutly love the sound of this guitar and how it looks and I'm sad that the gold will wear away eventually. But the hardware can be replaced cheaply and easily anyway. BOTTOM LINE: this guitar is amazing and I recommend it for just about anything.

1997 Lucille just purchased for $1300 used. Ebony fretboard, cherry red, tuneable bridge, stereo, inlays in fretboard. Action quite remarkable, heavier than my ES335, neck is thicker than the 335. From the other comments that I've viewed it appears everyone agrees on the quality workmanship of Gibson. The case wasn't original Gibson but I will be purchasing that item for this guitar. The finish is quite extrodinary with one slight mark near the bridge. Gold Humbucking pickups with gold tuners.

My music style is 40's - 70's mostly. Use a Fender amp with 2 12" speakers. Varied sounds possible, no noise. Somewhat heavier than my ES335 although I've always used a wide strap with strap locks.

Action was very low, had to raise it somewhat. Pickups are crisp and clean.

Play this one for years without wearing it down. Pickups gold and will wear down eventually but who cares! Very dependable. No backup ever used with any Gibson I've owned. Strings are easy to quick change.

I've visited Gibson and they've been very informative in the past. Never had a guitar repaired in my lifetime. No warranty with this used instrument.

I have been playing for 38 years. I'd purchase another one if something happened to this guitar. It's the right color - red! Favorite feature is the fretboard inlay. I compared to Fender and Guild.

All maple, I like maghogany necks better but this neck played good.

The pickups sucked so I replaced them with a set of Lindy Fralins (8.5 neck, 9.5 bridge) It sounds and plays allot like an ES-355.

The nut was too low and I had a high fret. Had that taken care of with a bone nut and a fret job. The fine tuning tailpeice had to go. along with the gold hardware. Some chick that was with me when I was looking at one said it looked like a pimps guitar.

As good as any Gibson I've had.

I never deal with warranty repairs I don't like getting aggravated so I fix it myself.

This is a 1992 B.B. King Lucille, manufactured by Gibson USA. It is a 22 fret semi-hollow guitar, with two humbucking pickups, and three-way
selector switch. Essentially, it is a ES-355, without f-holes or a split-diamond inlay on the headstock. It has gold hardware, and an ebony finish. This one was purchased used, and had been converted to mono, by the previous owner. It came with a deluxe hardshell case, and the stereo electronics included.

This guitar is a very good fit for me. I play mainly Blues/Rock, but also many other styles, and as far as it's tone and action, it's right up my alley. It is mainly played through a Johnson Millenium 150 amp, but also through Marshall/Peavey/Mesa-Boogie rigs. The electronics are very rich, while displaying no hum/noise. It can take you from a very full bodied, natural tone, to a screaming Albert Collins-like honk. The neck pick-up is dead-on, while the bridge p.u. is just a hair on the weak side. As this one was converted to mono, the Varitone control acts as a Master Volume. This is rather cool, and a handy option to have to go to over-the-top solo-ing.

This was, again, purchased used, but even so, it's action was great from the get-go. I re-strung and set the intonation, but the neck required NO ADJUSTMENT, and this is about the only guitar I've ever had that you could say that about. I prefer light strings (9-46's) and my action pretty low, and this guitar accomodates these parameters nicely. The finish was flawless when I got it, and nobody does that gloss black like Gibson. The hardware was all in mint condition, too.

I've played this guitar for 15 months now, and I have found it to be extremely well built, and user-freindly. You do have to keep the gold hardware wiped down, but that's true of any make/model. The same is true for the finish, especially a black guitar.
I replaced the strap buttons with a Dunlop Strap-lock system when I got it. The old ones were fine, but I've learned from my mistakes. Being human can be a b***h.
This is as dependable guitar as I've ever owned, but I still don't gig without a back-up. It's not necessarily the guitars' fault if you break a string.

As I got this guitar used, I've never tested the warranty. However, being a life-long Gibson kinda guy, they've always been helpful when I've contacted them. Great web-site, also.

I've been playing since the Mid-Seventies. The first guitar I owned was a Les Paul Jr. I now have a few Les Pauls, a Fender Tele Deluxe, and a Charvel in addition to this guitar. I once owned a 60's ES-335, and wanted another guitar of that type. This guitar more than fits the bill. I must say that I prefer not having f-holes. This guitar looks better, and I experience less feedback as a result. The only thing I may do differently is to install another pickup, perhaps a '57 Classic humbucker in the bridge position. I would like a little more headroom than the existing (490T) one allows.

"98 model ,cherry finish, it's beuatiful! I got replaced stock tuners almost immediately, set tailpiece tuners all to one position, love the fast neck and ebony fretboard

sounds like B.B.'s in the room with you. lot's of tonal variations available. this guitar doesn't seem to have the output levels of my Les Paul's., I have to keep the amp volumes higher. I use a Marshall "Bluesbreaker" re-issue and a Fender Hot-Rod Deluxe

I did have a control knob come loose

I have played gigs with this guitar, though I always carry a back up.As i previosly mentioned, I changed out the stock tuners because they just wouldn't stay in tune for me, I had a set of Grovers installed. This greatly improved the tuning though it still seems to fluctuate to a point where i wouldn't trust it on stage in higher humidity conditions, also seems better if the strings have been on there a while

Gibson's been very nice. They're always sending me stuff in the mail. nice people on their phone line. I haven't needed any repair work done.

I've picked up guitar playing again now for over 5 years after quitting for 15 years. I can now afford some nicer gear and don't need to depend on playing for a livelyhood. I play in a gigging blues band with like people. I usually gig with a Les Paul Custom. I would like to gig more with "Luciille" though I sometimes still worry about tuning problems, especially through 3 sets( it's definitely lighter than my L.P. which would be real nice).But damn! It sounds so great!

Presently, I have a 2000 Epiphone B.B. King "Lucille" (not to be confused with the Gibson one). I have had it about a month now, and it is all holding up very well. It is basically a supped up version of the Gibson ES-355. It's got loads of sweet features: stereo and mono inputs, separate bass and treble volume controls, a 3-way selector and a varitone knob. It has 2 giant humbucker pick-ups. Also all its hardware, (Pick-ups etc.) are gold, which is very attractive. A lot of other guitarists i know thought that it would be semi-solid, BUT IT ISN'T, so be warned!! Also it came with a lined hard case.

It really suits my style of playing (brit-rock, rhythm 'n' blues). The only way to get its true sound is to play it through a valve amp. The only effect i use with it is a tremelo box as it doesn't com e with one. The last guitar i had was a Fender Strat, which has really noisy pick-ups, the one's on this are a lot quieter. The thing i like most about this guitar is the amount of bass you can get out of it. Also, there are 100's of different combinations of sounds you can get from it.

This guitar is very nice to play, and I think the action is comparable to my old strat. When i went to look at it in the showroom there was a scratch on the back, but I received money off the price for this flaw. The one thing that I am disapointed about is that eventually the gold hardware will rub off, however, this will happen with any guitar that has it.

In the month I have had it i have only gigged it once and it took almost anything i threw at it (literally!!). The one thing that slightly irritated me was that it did not stay in tune for as long some guitars i have had.

I have not dealt with Epiphone yet, and hopefully won't have to. However it does have a 3 year warrantee.

I have been playing the electric guitar for 3 years now, and this is definatly, the best one i have ever played. If it were lost or stolen i would definatly go out and replace it with another one. I think that my favorite feature is the stereo input, because it features on so few guitars. The only thing i wish it had is the name 'Gibson' on the headstock!!!

This is a 1999 Ebony Lucille. Gold hardware, TP-6 Tuner (yank out the fine tuners...they really catch). Double Humbuckers with tone and volume for each, varitone (6 way switch) and 3 way toggle (allowing 18 different sounds in theory, although the bleed on the varitone 6 is extreme). Mono and Stereo jacks allowing each pickup to go to an individual amp. Beautiful pearl inlay. This is basically the ES-355 (not 335) without the Bigsby Trem or the F-holes...I think it was called the ES-355 Custom before 1984. The neck is a 12" radius (no compound) with nice high frets... It's a gibson so a quality case was, of course, included!

I love the blues and this guitar makes me feel like a blues man. I've seen so many photos of Blues Boy King playing this axe that it puts me in the mood. The range of this guitar is really suited to blues...it is very warm...even with the toggle on lead (bridge pickup), it still imparts a warm sound.

The factory setup was great, but I like a little more fall away starting at around the 19th or 20th fret. My relief was too extreme, but a quarter turn straightened the neck considerably. My action is a little lower than I like, making bends near the nut a little (speaking of which , I wish they'd use bone for the nut <sigh>). The finish is immaculate with only one little defect near the head (the burfing went a little deep.

This guitar is built to last...everything says quality... everything... although bound frets are a pain to replace <grin>. I wouldn't use it without a backup...but then again, neither does B.B. King...besides, I need a 12 string acoustic for my gigs as well as an electric with a good tremolo...I like the floyds...so I need to gig with at least 3 axes... Could it make it alone...sure, why not!

The warranty is 1 year from date of purchase...this seems to fly in the face of the Gibson Gold Warranty, but I don't know how to get that one <sigh>

I just bought the axe, but my overall impression is of a solid guitar and I must agree with Mr. King, it is Les Paul's big brother... I actually could have gotten a bunch of used Les Pauls for the price... (used I could have gotten one for $650 US and had enough for a Godin which I've been lusting...but this was worth it...it has everything I want...including an attitude!

My guitar is a "Standard" which I believe isn't made any more. I bought it secondhand in 1989. According to the headstock serial number, it was built in the first year of production 1981. According to advertisements from the time, it should have a rosewood neck but mine is quite clearly ebony. The Standard differs from the "Custom" by having dot inlays, no varitone, less multiple binding, and no gold hardware. It is cherry in colour. The pickups are PAFs and the tuners are "crank" tuners where little levers pop out of the tuners to act as cranks when restringing. Very nifty. It came in a durable, hardshell case with red plush lining. The build quality is very high. At the time I bought it, I had just bought a Les Paul Standard which was woeful in comparison: very cheap and nasty while this guitar is quality throughout. It has all the features I could reasonably want on a guitar to extract excellent guitar tones.

I play mainly blues and sixties to seventies rock. This guitar is ideal for these styles. It is however such a rich and powerful guitar that it is very important to match it with the right amp and speakers. In my opinion, it needs at least 50 watts and a couple of 12 inch speakers. Except on the lead pickup, it sounds muddy and indistinct through a Pro Junior or a Peavey Classic 30. It sounded very close to BB King "Live and Well" through a Peavey Classic 50 2x12. This guitar can do anything a Les Paul Standard can do with more class, more range and more subtlety with greater upper fret access and comfort. Because of the size of neck and frets, it is (surprise, surprise) an ideal blues guitar for BB and Freddie King or early and Cream era Clapton. Its sound is however very refined and so I use a Les Paul Special for more raucous playing where I want a cruder style of breakup. I don't miss the Varitone at all.

This guitar is in immaculate condition. I had it checked over a few years ago by a tech and it required no more than routine maintenance. It has never let me down.

This guitar would stand exactly what it was designed for - blues gigging. In my opinion it's as durable as any high class instrument.

Never dealt with Gibson.

I've been playing for fifteen years and own a reissue strat, tele and the Les Paul Special. They are all easier to play in that their unique sounds are much more accessible. It isn't difficult to get a fantastic sound out of this guitar, it's just much easier to get a saturated sound out of it. It needs restraint and reasonable technique to get the best out of it. I struggle. In summary, I love this guitar and would never sell it. I foolishly sold my Peavey Classic 50 and hadn't really been able to play this guitar enjoyably since until I bought a Fender Prosonic: a very classy amp for a very classy guitar. My only regret is that I didn't take it with me when I met BB King backstage in 1989 and get it signed. Frankly, it was a little overwhelming for a little, white, middle class fella from remote New Zealand to meet someone whose records I'd spent my adolescence trying to track down. There was also the problem of our accents. He misheard "o" for "r" and so I treasure a postcard inscribed to "Geroff" (Geoff).

1993 Gibson Lucille in Cherry, semi-hollowbody with no sound holes
Body:Laminated maple, Maple center block Neck/Profile
Fingerboard/Inlay Ebony/Pearl block Scale/Nut Width 24 3/4"/1 11/16"
Binding Multi-ply top and headstock , single-ply fingerboard and back Bridge/Tailpiece Tune-o-matic/TP-6
Hardware Gold Pickups 490R Alnico magnet humbucker 490T Alnico magnet humbucker
Controls Two volume, two tone, three-way switch, six-position Varitone, stereo/mono jacks Finish Cherry
Lots of featurs for a guitar!

The six position Varitone gives you a wide range of "voices," from big and full to almost acoustic and bell-like. Multiply this with the standard 3 position switch and you have, like 18 potential settings, each of which can be toned-around for some god-awful amount of variation. So much fun to play with it hurts.
This guitar is a hint clearer that my Les Paul Studio, note for note.
The neck is pretty chunky and the frets are huge. Super easy to play. Not as fast as my Studio, but not noticably different.
The sound is rich, very rich. Put on a BB King tune, and you can find his sound, even if you can't play like him.
You can dirty it up pretty well, and jazz it up too. Not a shredders guitar, because of the neck and hefty weight of the body, but an incredible blast to play. Very hard to put down. The notes intonate all over the board -- you don't have to be technically "perfect"; it's a very forgiving guitar. This is a great guitar if you're a big bender and slider -- you can really finesse the sounds and make it cry and sing. I don't know that any guitar deserves a perfect 10 for sound, but it sounds fantastic.

A work of darned art! Got it used, but in perfect condition. Not a scratch. Built like a brick house, heavy and sturdy. This guitar really has no flaws in the build. Tremendously nice job on the fretts and neck. The cherry is very pretty with hints of the wood underneath. The binding is very well done. If there is something wrong with it, I can't find it.

Darned thing could stand a nuclear detonation. Problem is, it's almost too nice to take out of home. It's just that nice. I've seen others that I thought were built poorly, but this one should be framed. If I gigged, I think you could gig without a backup, but then that would be poor planning, wouldn't it?

N/A

Just love this guitar! Bought it right after I bought my Studio, and their like big brother and little brother (Lucille is obviously the big brother). It's a big guitar, heavy, but worth the heft. If it were stolen, I'd probably need therapy. I could replace my Studio, but the Lucille is unique. I haven't seen another quite like it. I know I could not replace it for what I got this one for.
The favorite feature is probably the Varitone. Takes the guitar to a whole new level of cool.
I know these list for less than the 335. I honestly don't know why. I think this guitar is much cooler and has more sounds. However, I can't afford a new one; If you can, look into it. It's a whole lot of guitar for the money.

The most important thing is an advanced electronics ton control to modify your tone.

All i am going to say is: this guitar has tonal qualities not found in an electric guitar you can buy. This is the best electric guitar you can buy. The only comparisons are archtops (super 400, etc.)

They did an awesome job on the finish, it looks great.

This guitar will last forever (if the owner isn't a crackhead)

Gibson is always friendly

I have been playing for a long time. This guitar stands out from any other in tone. If it were stolen or lost, i would buy 2 more.

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.

N/A

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.