L6-S - Under The Radar

[vic108]

Picked this up a few weeks ago.....

Well, it's not original pups but the pups in there sound GREAT(490/498). I got the solid covers to go on those pups later maybe...?

Plus the MID knob brings out some WONDERFUL tones.

The MAPLE neck is a treat too...

Very underated indeed!

 

[thebadger]

cool guitar, I had one at one time. It actually was my first "real" guitar. I wish I had not gotten rid of it. I was the same style as yours but it still had the bill lawerence pickups.

 

[vic108]

Yah, seems like alot of them didn't survive with the original pups - pity.

 

[WheelchairBandit]

Carlos Santana thought they were pretty cool at one time.He cut a couple of albums with them before moving to a Yamaha SG-2000,mainly because Gibson wouldn't play ball on a Santana signiture model (Yamaha made one for him).

WB.

 

[refin]

A friend of mine,who is a stupid good player and singer,bought a sunburst one back in the '70s when they first came out...he played through a Fender Super Six,and the tones were amazing (did I mention that he was/is stupid good?).

 

[bobbya]

...I had a cool cherry Sunburst L6-S with a rosewood neck. Had a SD pickup in the bridge pos.--Not every position was useful, but was a fun, playable guitar that had a KILLER lead tone but was ass for rhythm...I really didn't like the 6-way switch--perhaps if it was in a Varitone style with a toggle it would have been better, but would be in the "too many buttons" zone...Don't miss it that much, but have finally learned my lesson about selling guitars...

 

[Leña_Costoso]

Mine!

Needs a refret, and I've slowly been mending the extra screw holes, but its a keeper!~

Note the Schaller roller bridge put on to replace the crumbling harmonica bridge. That works out pretty well in practice!

 

[vic108]

Wow!

The Schaller roller bridge looks like it was a pretty close fit!

Looks better too!

 

[bongo122819]

I have a Blonde '76 L6-S that I just love. My experience is the opposite of some, I think it is fabulous for rhythm playing. The low notes are very clear and punchy. Yea, it can be overly warm/bassy with some amps and not all 6 positions are useful, but the 2,3, 4 & 5 are unique-it has a voice all its own. I'm not a maple fretboard person, I'd play this axe more with a Rosewood board.
Maybe you L6-s fans can explain the wide swing in prices on ebay recently for the Blondes and the Blacks - I've seen both going for over a Grand !!! Then similar ones for $5-600 range !! any guesses as to why ???

 

[rockandroller]

L6-S came in two distinctly different flavors:

L-6 S - single sharp cutaway maple body, black pickguard, maple neck, 24 fret maple fingerboard with pearl block
inlay, tunable bridge/stop tailpiece, blackface peghead, 3 per side tuners, chrome hardware, 2 covered humbucker
pickups, 2 volume/1 tone controls, rotary switch. Available in Cherry and Natural finishes. Mfd. 1973 to 1980.



L-6 S Deluxe - similar to L-6 S, except has bolt-on maple neck, pearl dot fingerboard inlay, strings through anchoring,
volume/tone control, 3 position switch. Mfd. 1975 to 1980.

.. and i seem to remember some other permutations too! (like the set neck with string-thru body, etc)

BTW, the L6-S is still one of my favorite guitars OF ALL TIME

 

[Litcrit]

I've had a few L6-S's in my time. I think they came with stock low/wide frets which in combo with the maple board, makes them a bit tough to play if you're used to jumbo's on a rosewood board. Every "stock" one I've ever seen had the low frets. Other than the fret issues, the light weight and good upper fret access make them a fun guitar.
The maple body and ceramic pups = a BRIGHT guitar! It will definitely cut through. If I could find one with a good refret for the right price, I'd bite.

 

[bongo122819]

litcrit calls this a "bright" guitar but my experience with 2 that I owned is ..."not bright enough"...
Mine have been very warm sounding without high end sparkle - not what you would expect from this totally Maple Axe. That's the biggest drawback-not bright enough. Has anyone had experience with replacing the pups with something brighter?

 

[dcooper]

deluxe with set neck string thru sounds great

 

[Leña_Costoso]

WHAT???? You have ANOTHER one???

FWIW, I bought Dcoop's L6s and gave it just a little TLC.

Aw man, that one's different, but sweet too.

Hey Dennis, if you want the 6way and volume + mid controls, let me know. I've learned a few things workin' on this circuit, mostly how to tweak it. The mid control is DA BOMB, and frankly, I dont use the treble control on mine.

 

[Dave G]

My brother had one a long time ago. I remeber that the fretboard width was very narrow at the nut. Can't remember much else about it.

 

[georgeshep]

I love it. Great great piece of wood!

 

[dcooper]

WHAT???? You have ANOTHER one???

FWIW, I bought Dcoop's L6s and gave it just a little TLC.

Aw man, that one's different, but sweet too.

Hey Dennis, if you want the 6way and volume + mid controls, let me know. I've learned a few things workin' on this circuit, mostly how to tweak it. The mid control is DA BOMB, and frankly, I dont use the treble control on mine.

you did a beautiful job on m old l6-s custom, just great,
one reason I sold it was I really like the sound of the deluxe I still have with the strings thru better, and all my les pauls.

your work was really good though