Tim Lerch - 4 Vintage Gibson Archtops with different pickups.

I thought it might be interesting to place these 4 beautiful guitars side by side to hear the subtle differences in the various pickups. Which one do you like the best?

[KS-pjrk]

For me a toss-up between the Rhythm Chief and the Loller. Lovely playing as always, Tim.

[Achaseu]

For me, you can't beat the Rhythm Chief equipped guitar. So clear and sweet.

[RandyScottGuitar]

L7 Rhythm Chief. Thanks so much for the chance to hear them all.

[motorbikeray]

Great finding a new video from you. Welcome back! The '59 Gibson's L7C Lollar JS pickups is my choice, though all four pickups sounded great to me.

[nnight]

For some reason the vintage p90s had a really percussive sound to them that I loved.

[davel]

we missed you Tim! amazing touch per usual

[GlennInLaguna]

Wow, what a collection. Congratulations on acquiring those guitars. In the perfect hands also, great playing, they sound great.

[wmrustycox]

Nice collection of guitars.. all sound great. Thanx for the side by side test....

[Jordan_Thomas]

Tim you could fall through a clothesline and make it sound good. That said I did enjoy the added clarity of the alnico pole humbucking p90. I've been hunting for a 'player grade' es-350 for some time now. One day!!

[timmartin]

If I had a choice... I would never be able to make up my mind! They are all great in their own way.

[larryg.overton]

Just seeing this now. You were right, Tim, it is an interesting side-by-side comparison. First off, I must say that they all sound good in your hands. However, I'm not generally a humbucker guy (though I've never tried a Johnny Smith floating style), so that wouldn't be my first choice. And though that DeArmond sounds really good, I really like P-90s.
BTW, I have a custom made tele style that has a P-90 in the neck paired with a vintage style Tele bridge pickup. It also is made of solid mahogany, a mash-up of sorts of Fender/Gibson (FIbson?), or maybe that's more Gibson/Fender (Gender?).
But I digress. My choice for "best" would be the ES-350 with the vintage P-90. It is clear and articulate, but at the same time has just a hint of hair, which is what I would expect of a P-90.

[Uuur]

I picked up the 2nd L-7 but I'm obsessed with the L-7 (Chris Flory's sound), all of them are great.

[morecheesemt]

I like the DeArmond, but all sound great; amazing playing too! Thank you!

[prairiesmokeliederman]

The Fralin P90 and the DeArmond Rhythm Chief are my faves.

[kevinberthoud]

Thx Tim!! Really nice playing. All sound great. Im a bit more partial to the DeArmand.

[TN-D]

The sunburst on that ‘47 ES350P is stellar, but they all sounded great. Maybe the ‘51 L7C by a whisker.

[piotrbalmusic]

Incredible guitars and you play just fantastic 👏

[johnlebarton]

I would be happy to accept the 4th place finisher, no questions asked.

[AGoogleUser-hfzg]

I don't know why but the ES350 sounds the best to me. I know that it shouldn't be but it just is!

[Kilgore]

They all sound fantastic, though different. Of course it doesn't hurt having a master like Tim Lerch playing them. The deArmond is the most acoustic-sounding, but I prefer the P90s. The vintage P90 is a bit warmer, but I really like the clarity of the Fralin. The humbucker is my least favourite, which is strange because I'm normally a humbucker guy.