Gibson Little Lucille
| Gibson Little Lucille | |
|---|---|
 Gibson Little Lucille, color Ebony |
|
| General | |
| Type | Electric guitar |
| Manufacturer | Gibson ; United States |
| production | 1999-2005 |
| Construction and materials | |
| Scale length | 25.5 inches (648 mm) |
| Body | Solid body made of poplar with maple - ceiling and milled f-holes |
| neck | Set-in neck made of mahogany |
| Fingerboard | Rosewood , 22 frets |
| Mechanics | 3 × left, 3 × right; capsuled |
| Footbridge / bridge | Two-piece bridge: Tune-O-Matic with individual saddles and TP6 - tailpiece with finetuners |
| Pickups and Electronics | |
| Pickups |
2 × P-90 - single coils |
| Tone control | passive
|
The Gibson Little Lucille is an electric guitar model that was built from 1999 to 2005 by the American musical instrument manufacturer Gibson . The Little Lucille is a semi-solid electric guitar with two large hollow chambers in the body that serve as a sound box. The model has two electromagnetic pickups on or in the ceiling as well as two sound holes in f- shape . The Little Lucille is a sister model of the Gibson Blueshawk electric guitar model and differs from it in the shape of the suspension of the guitar strings . The name of the guitar model is borrowed from the larger model Gibson Lucille , the signature guitar of blues guitarist B. B. King .
construction
The body of the Gibson Little Lucille consists of a bottom part made of poplar wood with hollow-milled chambers and a flat top made of maple wood with a double F-hole . The top is surrounded by a strip of plastic, which is color-coordinated with the cream-colored pickups. The set-in into the cabinet, also cream bordered neck from mahogany carries a fingerboard made of rosewood with diamond-shaped "diamond" inlays.
In contrast to the sister model Blueshawk , the lower ends of the strings of the Little Lucille are not passed through the body and attached to the back of the instrument, but are hung from a TP6 tailpiece on the instrument top. This is equipped with fine tuners that allow guitarists to quickly retune the guitar while playing. This equipment was adopted from the Gibson Lucille model . As a bridge to Gibson serves Tune-O-Matic Bridge .
The two pickups of the Little Lucille are specially developed Einzelspuler ( English : single coil ) of the 1948 developed by Gibson type P-90 , referred to here as Blues P-90, with an additional magnetic coil that is not the tone conversion, but the suppression of disturbing background noise by interfering with the magnetic field ( " dummy coil").
Like the Lucille and Gibson Blueshawk models, the Little Lucille has a special tone control: a potentiometer with an additional push-button function ( “push-pull potentiometer”) can be used to activate a sound circuit that allows certain frequency spectra of the sound to be thinned out. This sound switching is controlled by a further rotary control with six switching phases ( Varitone sound switching).
Models
The "Little Lucille" was intended as a limited edition model that was only built in Nashville in 2000 and only in the Ebony (black) paintwork . After the "Gibson Custom Shop" opened in Memphis, the model in demand was built there between 2002 and 2005 and offered in Ebony (black), Blues Burst (a variant of the Sunburst finish in shades of blue) and Wine Red (wine red) .
The visible metal parts of the "Little Lucille" are gold-plated , the tuning mechanisms come from the manufacturer Grover. Unlike the Gibson Blueshawk, which was supplied with a carrying case ( gigbag ) as standard, the Little Lucille received a Gibson guitar case as a standard accessory.
Naming
The Gibson Little Lucille, like the Blueshawk, was developed primarily for blues, country music and rock 'n' roll . In the official Gibson catalog, the Gibson Little Lucille was advertised by BB King, whose suggestions and requests were implemented in the model construction, which is why he also acted as the namesake.
The Little Lucille is only by name, less construction-wise, the smaller sister of BB King's special model of the Gibson ES-355 , Lucille . The main differences are the shape and size of the body and the F-holes; the clearest similarities are the Tune-O-Matic bridge with TP6 tailpiece and fine tuners as well as the six-stage Varitone sound circuit.
The model name Little Lucille comes from BB King's Gibson ES-355 electric guitar, which he christened “Lucille” for educational reasons: as a reminder never to risk your life lightly again. Because at the beginning of his career BB King often played in pubs that were heated by the open fire of metal barrels filled with gasoline. At one gig, two men were fighting over a woman named Lucille. During this scuffle, the heating barrel was knocked over and the place began to burn. After escaping outdoors, BB King realized that he had forgotten his guitar on stage. With the use of life and limb, he saved them from the burning building. Since then he has nicknamed his guitars "Lucille", which is supposed to keep him from doing life-threatening stupid things.
Technical criticism
The Little Lucille, produced between 1999 and 2006, was praised by the specialist critics:
“BB King [...] was so enthusiastic about the sound of this guitar (meaning the Gibson Blueshawk), which allows clear Fender elements to flow into the Gibson sound, that the step to work with Gibson was quickly taken, this Little Lucille as a result! The Blueshawk, which has only been adapted to BB King's ideas in a few characteristics, is a very versatile guitar, but its blues sound is outstanding, which cannot be achieved by most guitars today. Rough, biting sounds, which come best when the amplifier itself is slightly distorting, are the domain of Little Lucille and Mr. King knew that very well! "
Collector's item
Due to the limited production time, so few copies of the “Little Lucille” exist worldwide that the instrument has become a sought-after rarity in recent years, which is now being traded for around $ 2,000 in the USA . In France, at the beginning of September 2012, a copy signed by the namesake BB King was auctioned for 2,600 euros , and in May 2013 in Germany an unsigned copy that was in mint condition for 1,555 euros.
literature
- Heinz Rebellius : Gibson Little Lucille. In: Guitar & Bass . October 1999, pp. 96-98. P. 98.
Web links
- Fan page for the Gibson Little Lucille and the Gibson Blueshawk ( Memento from November 23, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
- Guitar Eureka: Gibson Little Lucille. Photos and description in English of the "Gibson Little Lucille", which is now being sold as a sought-after rarity for $ 2,000.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Gibson: Customer Service Team: Little Lucille from 1999. ( Memento from January 24, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) anyone have info on little lucille guitar.
- ^ Gibson, press information: BB King embraces Gibson's 'Little Lucille' .
- ↑ BB King: Lucille Speaks. November 16, 2011, accessed January 30, 2020 .
- ^ Heinz Rebellius: Gibson Little Lucille. In: Guitar & Bass . October 1999, pp. 96-98
- ^ Guitar Eureka: Gibson Little Lucille. Photos and description in English of the "Gibson Little Lucille".
- ↑ Gibson Little Lucille - Made in USA - including original case