Your opinion on the Emmons Legrandes

Daniel McKee · Post by **Daniel McKee** » 21 Jul 2012 11:00 pm

I have heard a couple of these in person and was very impressed with what I heard and even though I really like Shobuds I wanna know more about the emmons LL2 and the one before that the Legrande I tried a pushpull once and also liked it a lot but I found a lot of info on them its the later emmons guitars I cant find much on so tell me why you like your emmons LL2 or legrande are these guitars good in your opinion just tell me a little about them.

Daniel McKee · Post by **Daniel McKee** » 22 Jul 2012 2:30 am

I should have mentioned the three also I want to hear from some lashley legrande three players also.

David Nugent · Post by **David Nugent** » 22 Jul 2012 4:44 am

The first run Legrande (commonly refered to as the "SKH", (short key head)) is in many players opinion the best sounding of the 'Legrande' series. I have at one time owned examples of all but the 'III' and I tend to agree with that opinion.

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 22 Jul 2012 6:02 am

I like the LeGrande II with the 14 hole bellcranks.

Tony Glassman · Post by **Tony Glassman** » 22 Jul 2012 8:18 am

Erv Niehaus wrote:I like the LeGrande II with the 14 hole bellcranks.

I love mine

Hook Moore · Post by **Hook Moore** » 22 Jul 2012 8:29 am

I've had all those Emmons models mentioned, including Emmons push pull and Short key head guitars. I have a 2009 Legrande II right now, they are STILL great guitars.
Hook

Bent Romnes · Post by **Bent Romnes** » 22 Jul 2012 8:45 am

Daniel,
A good friend of mine, Peewee Charles is a recording artist and touring steel player. He played a LG III from 2002- 2011 He told me that this was the best recording guitar he has ever had. IMHO, that means a lot. I have had the opportunity to listen to this guitar on many occasions and also compare to another known brand. The Emmons sounds great and has a marked difference in tone compared to the other brand.

Billy Knowles · Post by **Billy Knowles** » 22 Jul 2012 9:11 am

I love them all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jerry Roller · Post by **Jerry Roller** » 22 Jul 2012 10:06 am

What Billy Knowles said!!!

Jerry

Bent Romnes · Post by **Bent Romnes** » 22 Jul 2012 10:38 am

Billy, I agree, that sums it up.

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 22 Jul 2012 11:16 am

I will chime in to say that I have owned 4 guitars of the LeGrande series including 2 SKH models. My current one is a Lashley LeGrande with 9p/8k, and the 4-hole bellcranks and Emmons single coil pickups wound to 17.5k. Since I don't have the others here anymore, I can't compare them to each other, but I do enjoy the sound of the Lashley and it's a fully loaded guitar.

That said, I still prefer the sound of my Push-pulls, of which I own five. To me, they have the classic Emmons sound that represents the brand. But of the current herd of all-pull guitars on the market, the LeGrande series is the most representative in vibe, feel, and tone of what the seekers of the Emmons experience are looking for.

Billy Knowles · Post by **Billy Knowles** » 22 Jul 2012 12:44 pm

I almost always agree with Brother Herb

Tim Tyner · Post by **Tim Tyner** » 22 Jul 2012 2:18 pm

I always agree with Billy when it comes to Emmons guitars.I sure love mine.

Daniel McKee · Post by **Daniel McKee** » 22 Jul 2012 3:21 pm

I know a lot of people say the two sounds better than the three because of the compensator on the three for cabinet drop whats your opinion on this.

Glenn Thompson · Post by **Glenn Thompson** » 22 Jul 2012 5:12 pm

Thanks to Billy Knowles, I am now the proud owner of a new black LeGrande III! It plays and sounds great. I have previously had a P/P and a LeGrande and they were good guitars as well. After many years of playing in all kinds of venues, I can say they're very durable. And Billy is a very nice and knowledgeable guy to deal with, setting my pedals exactly as I wanted.

Larry Gerdeman · Post by **Larry Gerdeman** » 22 Jul 2012 5:37 pm

I have owned a LLIII, I just sold a LeGrande SKH, I have a LeGrande II and a push pull. I liked them all. I wouldn't want to play anything else. I'm with Herb I like the push pull the best. But the legrande II is a very good sounding guitar.

Daniel McKee · Post by **Daniel McKee** » 22 Jul 2012 7:20 pm

I know these are two very different guitars the pushpull and later all pull emmons guitars but which of the later ones really in your opinion has the best sound and has that emmons sound closest to a push pull.

Larry Gerdeman · Post by **Larry Gerdeman** » 22 Jul 2012 7:30 pm

The short keyhead LeGrande is probably the closest to the pushpull as far as tone goes.

Daniel McKee · Post by **Daniel McKee** » 22 Jul 2012 8:12 pm

Ive gotta say that the LL2 I have heard sounded amazing I have never heard the skh other than in a video.Are the emmons legrandes and twos good mechanically.

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 22 Jul 2012 9:07 pm

Daniel
Really, all guitars are individuals and sound different from each other in various ways. Density of the wood planks, the torque of the screws holding the metal components to the cabinet, the brand and age of the strings (whether nickel or stainless, for example), the pickups on the guitar, and more.

I've had PP's that sounded radically different from each other, and I've heard LeGrandes that sounded different from each other, even within the same vintage.

So asking which guitar operates best, sounds best, etc. is really an unanswerable question. All the LeGrandes basically can operate the same and be setup to perform the same. The tone of each individual guitar can vary because of the factors I listed above and more.

One important factor not discussed but factors into a picker's decision is actually a visual one; namely, do you visualize yourself, in your mind's eye, behind an Emmons guitar? If so, that's the brand you will find yourself returning to time and time again.

Like me. I've owned and professionally played Fenders, Sho~Buds, Marlens, Mullen, and Star guitars. I keep returning to the Emmons Original (the so-called "push-pull") because of its sound, its familiarity, and its vibe. Good Lord willing and the creek don't rise, it's the guitar upon which I'll be picking my way into the sunset of my years.

Per Berner · Post by **Per Berner** » 22 Jul 2012 10:36 pm

I owned a D-10 Legrande II for about five years, until I got my Hybrid Zum. Here's my opinions, for what they're worth:

1. Sounds really good
2. Looks really good
4. Plays well, stays in tune and feels precise.
3. The vertical knee lever was awkward and uncomfortable to use.
4. The little e-clips that fix the rods to the bellcranks are very annoying. You'll need a big stash of them if your'e going to change things around. They will fly across the room and you will never find them.
5. The way the cross shafts are mounted in the aprons, spring loaded and near impossible to get out, is NOT a good idea.

Daniel McKee · Post by **Daniel McKee** » 23 Jul 2012 1:33 pm

what about the LL3 and LL2 I know a lot of people still prefer the two any comments on that.

Daniel McKee · Post by **Daniel McKee** » 23 Jul 2012 4:47 pm

what do the legrandes and legrande twos weigh and also what would a push pull weigh on average.

Jake L · Post by **Jake L** » 23 Jul 2012 5:36 pm

I just shipped my LeGrande out today. It weighs 68.8 pounds in the case with about 5 pounds of that being packaging. You can't go wrong with a LeGrande. I have played a LLIII for the past 9 months on the road and have loved every second of sitting behind that guitar.

Daniel McKee · Post by **Daniel McKee** » 23 Jul 2012 5:42 pm

I know there are guitars out there that weigh less than that but thats actually less than what I expected.

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Your opinion on the Emmons Legrandes

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