so here's my new custom shop gibbo,
58 custom quote, stinger on the back of the headstock, 59 neck(?) and flame top not plaintop!
That is simply darling Ghosty.
Custom shop goodness and a nice price I reckon (I expect a discount was arranged :wink: )
I'd love one of those but TBH at my level of ability an ordinary sunburst/gold top standard would be more than enough for me.
I'd put on a cowboy hat and pretend to be Dickey Betts. :)
Cheers,
Neil.
i've got my violin bow at the ready!
yep, i got it cheap, but i'd have still been able to buy a couple of speedys for that! I have an aged 57 on the way as well, it's going to be amazing, but expensive!
If you fancy a Goldtop on the cheap you could try one of theseOriginally Posted by Neil.C
http://www.thomann.de/gb/gibson_les_...n_gold_top.htm
Clearly I don't listen to my own advice as this is the 3rd 'cheapo' Gibson to join my little hareem. Mine arrived last week and for a nadge over £600 I'm very impressed. For me the nut is cut too high (it's within tolerance on Gibson's standard plek setup, but if you're as hamfisted as I am its not too difficult to bend open position chords and notes sharp) and the 'worn' Goldtop finish isn't really a 'proper' Goldtop. That said a few guys on the mylespaul forum have had enough success using t-cut, patience and elbow grease on these for me to plan to have a crack first time I re-string it.
Also, the fact that its 'only' a studio may count against it in some quarters (mine included usually!) but the fact that you can see the edge of the maple cap around the sides of the body looks pretty close to the body binding of a standard from more than a yard or two away.
I was concerned that the 50's neck would be way too clubby having never played one before but to be honest I'm hard pushed to tell the difference by feel between this and my 60s necked '06 Standard.
Still, cheapest you've been able to pick up a Gibson Goldtop for a long long time (I'd originally ordered the P90 version of the 60s tribute GT, but after waiting 4 months for it to turn up I spotted this Thomann 'exclusive', cancelled the order for that and got one with proper humbuckers instead. cheaper and quicker too!)
*edit* forgot to add...... It's chambered, which may or may not be desirable for you. It's damn light, not much heavier than my LP special. Also, the fretboard was dry and pretty unappealing looking when it arrived, but a quick dab with some lemon oil while I was adjusting the bridge height (also set too high for my liking on arrival) and now it looks more than presentable. Clearly not Gibson's finest output and not comparable to the Custom Shop stuff by a long way. But £600, for a Gibson LP Goldtop. What's not to like :)
Thanks for posting that Crazy.
I must admit I have looked at those. They look fantastic VFM.
I like the humbuckers too as I have a P90 in my Junior.
TBH I am not sure if I am keen on the worn look though as I like my stuff to be nice and damage them myself or let my youngest son do it :lol:
Any chance of posting some nice pics of yours at different angles so I can get an idea of the worn look?
The pics at Thomann don't look real.
I think the chambering is a good idea personally, years ago I had a LP Custom that was as heavy as lead.
I may end up posting a WTT for a Les Paul in exchange for a watch and see what appears. I have a b&P Bond SMP auto around here that is doing nothing.
Other than that my birthday is in October. :D
Cheers,
Neil.
I know what you mean about the Thomann pics!
I'll try and take some pics of mine at some point. But in the mean time look at this
http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/gibs...done-pics.html
Worn in this case isn't like the Fender 'road-worn' type stuff, there are no battle scars or anything. Its just basically not a polished finish. I'm sure Gibson's 'worn' is just marketing speak for 'cheaper, non-buffed finish'
The look the guy in the link above has managed would do me just fine......
Grrr.......
Guitars are worse for my wallet than watches! After searching out that link for you for the polished goldtop I stumbled across this
http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/gibs...oneyburst.html
I want (no, make that need) one of these now too
Thanks for that.I know what you mean about the Thomann pics!
I'll try and take some pics of mine at some point. But in the mean time look at this
http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/gibs...done-pics.html
Worn in this case isn't like the Fender 'road-worn' type stuff, there are no battle scars or anything. Its just basically not a polished finish. I'm sure Gibson's 'worn' is just marketing speak for 'cheaper, non-buffed finish'
The look the guy in the link above has managed would do me just fine......
TBH if they are just a semi matt type finish I can live with that, it's all that fake relic'ing that you see in some models (Strats mainly) that puts me off.
I wouldn't be brave enough to have a go at a new guitar with polishing compound.
Cheers,
Neil.
I saw that thread and commented. :)Grrr.......
Guitars are worse for my wallet than watches! After searching out that link for you for the polished goldtop I stumbled across this
http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/gibs...oneyburst.html
I want (no, make that need) one of these now too
I've recently joined MLP and am Neil(UK) over there. You can always spot my dog avatar. :wink:
For the price those tributes are fantastic VFM and far cheaper than most watches.
Go on treat yourself. :D
Cheers,
Neil.
get yourself the fender polish kit, the swirl and haze remover will buff up anything with some elbow grease. i did a load of roadworn strats, and they came out exactly like a vintage strat!
well worth it, or buy a custom shop i suppose!
I did wonder if that was the same Neil!I saw that thread and commented. :)Grrr.......
Guitars are worse for my wallet than watches! After searching out that link for you for the polished goldtop I stumbled across this
http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/gibs...oneyburst.html
I want (no, make that need) one of these now too
I've recently joined MLP and am Neil(UK) over there. You can always spot my dog avatar. :wink:
For the price those tributes are fantastic VFM and far cheaper than most watches.
Go on treat yourself. :D
I do really fancy a honey burst as well, but am begining to think I need to start a one in, one out policy, as 12 Les Paul's could possibly be considered excessive for a guitarist of my limited ability.....
Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk
Blimey 12!
I'm a pretty crap guitarist just getting back into it after a very long lay off but I like looking at them. :lol:
If you ever want to trade a Les Paul for a watch let me know. :)
Cheers,
Neil.
To be fair, only 4 of them are Gibson's. But then the rest are vintage Japanese 'lawsuit' copies that are in pretty much every respect equal to or better than the real thing.....
Sure there are some pictures of most of them somewhere a few pages back in this thread.
I think if there are any new watches or guitars on the immediate horizon some of the current stock will have to be sacrificed....
Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk
All this guitar talk has got me looking at the PRS SE range, serious VFM and some lovely designs. Anyone got any experience with them?
Cheers,
Gary
Funny how a bit of chat gets your juices up isn't it Gary?
Korean version of the PRS, some very reasonable prices. Don't like those pointy headstocks though.
Plenty of reviews here...
http://www.musicradar.com/search?search ... ncedSearch
Although you can now get a US made Les Paul tribute for the same money. :wink:
Cheers,
Neil.
Yeah I wish you lot would pipe down about bleedin guitars, I've already got 6 of 'em and no money for another but still I'm looking :roll:
Read some of the reviews and seen some vids on youtube but just wanted to know if anyone here had/has one. I value first hand accounts far more than magazine reviews though.
Tbh I'm not bothered about where a guitar is made Neil. I've got a couple of Korean made guitars and my Japanese made Tokai and I've no problem with the build quality etc, in fact the Tokai is far better built the rubbish CBS were churning out in the early 80's.
Anyway this PRS SE in particular has caught my eye.
Cheers,
Gary
Definitely, although of course everyone has a different view on something as personal as a guitar.
I'm all for the romance and the look personally. :D Although my Ovation is Korean. It was OK until I melted the battery in it. :roll:
Certainly looks quality.
Anyway this PRS SE in particular has caught my eye.
I assume a hollow body ? Sort of a cross between a LP special and a Ricky?
That's cat's eye slash is very Ricky-ish. So much nicer than an f hole IMO.
Those Korean PRS certainly seem to have pretty universal praise, I doubt you'd go wrong buying one. :)
I am still fancying this......
Silly cheap money really and I should buy it but I have the three already and they take up a lot of room unlike watches. :|
Cheers,
Neil.
Do it :lol:[I am still fancying this......
Silly cheap money really and I should buy it but I have the three already and they take up a lot of room unlike watches. :|
Mine will get its first proper run out at band practice tonight. Looking forward to giving it a pounding (ooh errr!)
I know, I know. :lol:
I only play (if you can call it that) indoors and I have such a lot of "stuff".....
Let me know how you feel about the LP when you have given it a decent thrashing. :)
Cheers,
Neil.
Just so people don't think I am taking over the thread with chat I've just taken a couple of pics of my '89 three tone US standard Strat that I bought new.
On posting I realise these look awful.
Why are the straight edges like the frets etc dot/dashy?
Anyone know?
Cheers,
Neil.
Because your photo is a compressed JPEG file Neil. If the guitars were perfectly vertical you probably wouldn't notice but because they're at a slight angle it's accentuated.
Cheers,
Gary
Thanks Gary.
How would I go about getting a decent pic then?
I have to make the size smaller for the forum....or do I?
Cheers,
Neil.
It depends on the software you're using to resize your pics Neil, as a rule I resize my web images to 800 pixels wide if it's a landscape or 600 pixels wide if it's portrait. Oh and when you save the file pick the highest quality setting (usually 12) if your software gives you the option.
Cheers,
Gary
Damn it, just found this PRS SE semi hollow demo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6Rb7CTY ... re=related
He's a big lad but he can certainly play. Love the clean tone of the guitar.
Cheers,
Gary
OK right.
The software I use is rather basic, it allows a bit of adjustment, (light, dark etc) which I never use but only a couple of resizing options. No quality settings.
The other alternative would be to download as is to photobucket and let them resize it but I expect that would be worse.
Cheers,
Neil.
I use photobucket to resize my images Neil and find they're plenty good enough for the web imho. Why not try it on one of your Stat pics and see if there's a difference.
Cheers,
Gary
Thanks Gary. I'll give that a try
I was resizing them on the camera software before uploading to Photobucket as it takes a much longer time to upload otherwise.
Can't do the Strat pics again unfortunately as the original file size has been altered. :(
I'll try again at a later date.
Thanks again.
Cheers,
Neil.
Neil,
Thrashed the GT to within an inch of its life Thursday night. Have to say I was very impressed. It actually felt played in already which I was surprised by, I think its the lack of body and neck binding as much as anything. Neck felt lovely (and the fretboard after my lemon oiling) and the sound was just what I want from a Les Paul (I'm terrible at describing sounds, but it does the LP growl that I want well, with a good dose of nastiness). I think its the pickups in these studios. I swapped out the burstbuckerIIs in my Standard for some Seymours (tried Screamin Demons then ended up with a Custom 5 in the bridge and a '59 in the neck) as the Gibson pups were too 'nice' and polite, but these 495R thingys sound great to me.
Weight wise its not fly away light to strap on, but not stupidly heavy either. certainly one of my lighter LPs.
All in all, for a shade over 600 quid I don't think you can go wrong if you're in the market for a Les Paul. I'm seriously considering picking up the Honeyburst one too, just cos I don't really have a nice plain top LP. My Orville standard is far too close to Clownburst for my liking, but again it sounds and feels awesome so its not going anywhere for a while.
I'll try and take some photos of the new GT soon, but really, just get one!
Blimey, I didn't realize they were such small guitars :wink: I bet he started out on the banjo. :)
Victory!I use photobucket to resize my images Neil and find they're plenty good enough for the web imho. Why not try it on one of your Stat pics and see if there's a difference.
Cheers,
Gary
Took another pic and resized it using PB.
Far better result. Strings and frets actually look straight. :lol:
Cheers Gary :)
Cheers,
Neil.
Thanks for letting me know your opinion in a real life setting. Sounds the business.Neil,
Thrashed the GT to within an inch of its life Thursday night. Have to say I was very impressed. It actually felt played in already which I was surprised by, I think its the lack of body and neck binding as much as anything. Neck felt lovely (and the fretboard after my lemon oiling) and the sound was just what I want from a Les Paul (I'm terrible at describing sounds, but it does the LP growl that I want well, with a good dose of nastiness). I think its the pickups in these studios. I swapped out the burstbuckerIIs in my Standard for some Seymours (tried Screamin Demons then ended up with a Custom 5 in the bridge and a '59 in the neck) as the Gibson pups were too 'nice' and polite, but these 495R thingys sound great to me.
Weight wise its not fly away light to strap on, but not stupidly heavy either. certainly one of my lighter LPs.
All in all, for a shade over 600 quid I don't think you can go wrong if you're in the market for a Les Paul. I'm seriously considering picking up the Honeyburst one too, just cos I don't really have a nice plain top LP. My Orville standard is far too close to Clownburst for my liking, but again it sounds and feels awesome so its not going anywhere for a while.
I'll try and take some photos of the new GT soon, but really, just get one!
I've had a bit of a spend up recently but one of these is definitely on my agenda.
I do love a GT.
Thanks again. :)
Cheers,
Neil.
I'll play:
Very nice collection. :)
Let's have some info though.
What is your Olympic white Strat. 60's reissue? MIM? MIA? Can't see the bridge properly.
What about the LP's?
Cheers,
Neil.
That, and probably because the method used to resize them is perhaps not as good as it might be.Because your photo is a compressed JPEG file Neil. If the guitars were perfectly vertical you probably wouldn't notice but because they're at a slight angle it's accentuated.
Strat is MIA 2007 standard
Vox is made in England ac30 top boost
Desert burst LP is a 2008 stanard
Gold top is a 57 custom shop reissue :)
Got a few more not pictured, will have to get round to photographing them :)
Nice, nice, nice.
I think that Strat looks great. I am really a maple neck man but I've seen a 60's reissue (R/N) in sonic blue that has really taken my fancy.
I bet that Vox has a lovely sound. :)
The LP's are superlative of course.
If you have any more let's see them.
Cheers,
Neil.
Just realised I've been chatting away here and not actually shown any pics of my guitars. So to make amends here's my little lot, nothing posh or expensive but I love 'em :)
First off my first decent electric a Tokai Springy Sound bought second hand in around 1983, I think it was a year old when I bought it off a friend. Unfortunately he de-badged it and decided that he wanted a humbucker neck pick up. I've replaced the pickups, scratch plate, pickup covers etc. Still my favourite guitar after all these years, I just love the sound this makes.
The guy I bought the Tokai from sold it to fund a Gordon Smith GS-1 which I got to play and was very impressed with. Many, many years later I bought myself one from a guy in Cardiff. This one dates from around the mid eighties and is simply a joy to play with a lovely flat and broad neck. Considering its simplicity (one of the things I really like about it) the range of tones you can get is impressive.
Next up my G&L Assat Classic Tribute. Always fancied a Tele but they were always out of my price range, then I stumbled across G&L guitars. For those that don't know the L stands for Leo (as in Fender) who founded G&L in the late 70's along with George Fullerton (the G bit). Leo continued improving his classic models pretty much up until his death in 1991. The Tribute range are made in Korea rather than Fender Avenue in Fullerton, California, so are considerably cheaper but very put together guitars. I'm probably going to get a 3 saddle bridge for this at some point to give it a vintage vibe.
A couple of impulse buys next, first one is a Shine SIL510. Bought this off ebay a few years ago, it got good reviews, has an impressive spec (Grover tuners etc) and I didn't have a semi hollow guitar at the time, what more excuses do I need to buy :D. It played well out of the box but a little fine tuning and fiddling to meet my requirements has revealed a very playable and versatile guitar, great for blues and jazz.
The last of my electrics a Cort M600, bought of RLT couple of years ago now I guess. A pure impulse buy but I'm happy to say I lucked out with this. Extremely well finished guitar, good spec and very playable with a neck not too dissimilar to the GS-1. It's also got a good range of tones.
Finally my one and only acoustic, a Suzuki F-100 made by the Suzuki Violin Company in Japan and bought second hand in the mid 80's. I don't know anything about this tbh but when I bought it it was a lot nicer to play than some Ovations I compared it to in the shop.
So there you go, my little cheap guitar collection. You'd think after 30 years of playing I'd be pretty good by now but alas I'm not
Cheers,
Gary
P.S. Sorry about the rubbish pics and dust etc, I'm off to mow the lawn now, honest :lol:
Lovely Gordon Smith!
My guitar teacher had one, this was when I was about 10, and I've wanted once since.
I will invest one day, especially as I've never heard a thing said against them.
I'll take some pics of my collection in a mo.
Right then, here's my ever growing collection!
My pride and joy first of all - A 1989 Gibson SG '61 Re-issue.
I bought this a number of years ago, in the way all the best guitars are bought - when you go in for a pack of strings and a plectrum and come out with a guitar!
It's got its fair share of battle wounds, but is in overall lovely condition. The finish and the action is so superior to SG's of today.
This one is a USA Standard Fender Stratocaster. 2008 model which I picked up in the States brand new for a bargain price. It worked out about £400 with a hard flight case thrown in aswell. A great example of a perfect guitar.
Another bargain here - A 1981 Gibson Sonex Deluxe. I found this one lurking in the back of the Sound on Sound Magazine reader ads. It was quite a distance away, so I took a gamble and bought without seeing it and got a friend to collect it. Turned out to be a great move though. The action is superb and the tones are very versatile. I love the cream and black humbuckers and the vintage gibson logo the most though.
This is an Ibanez Artcore. A fairly basic model, but not to be knocked. The colour is a very metallic grey. When you look closely you can see sparkles of green and purple. Some of you may know what i'm on about when I say its just like Aston Martin Quantam Silver!
Another Ibanez - a base model bass! I got this when I was bout 15/16 I think. It was part of a Bass guitar starter pack.
One day I will have a more prestigeous bass in my collection. I often lust over Rickenbackers and Vigiers.
However, this is without doubt, the finest bass for playing slap bass I have ever come across! Also, I love the transparent candy red!
Finally, My Crafter Lite Acoustic.
I bought this to take to University. It was cheap and cheerful and from a small independent music shop in Devon. More the sort of place you'd buy a Kazoo than a guitar.
However, Its turned out to be magnificent. It plays and sounds just as well as many circa £1000 Taylors or Guilds I have played, and its forever being complemented for its tone and playability.
I would instantly recommend this to anyone for the price. I think its the Seiko Diver of the guitar world.
My grail guitar is a Lowden F35 cutaway. A simply magnificent acoustic hand made in Ireland.
I also have a Maton 12 string and a few other classic electrics on the WTB list. (a Tele and Les Paul amongst them).
I've had a couple of new arrivals on the guitar front lately, must confess to being less into watches and more into 6 stringed things these days
First up, a Harmony Stella from about 1971. These are solid Birch and were cheap and cheerful, mass producued guitars in their time. Parlour sized, great sound for slide-
Next up was my Birthday present to myself, a Martin 00016 GT. A Mahogany back and sides, Spruce top lovely thing. Very much enjoying this one at the moment.
Both sadly underplayed!
What is that?
Ricky type slash and neck markers, Gibbo type stoptail and a S/C and humbucker.
Quite a mix.
Cheers,
Neil.
that's a charvel surfcaster!
I must admit I did think of that ghosty, I seem to remember them in a variety of old Fender colours like surf green with those lipsticks.
An unusual retro style away from their more usual pointers.
I trust you are enjoying your LP? :D
Cheers,
Neil.
Almost! Its actually a Jackson SC1 Surfcaster from the late 90's, Charvel stopped production in '95.
I picked it up NOS from Germany in 2003, and have barely touched it, sadly my career as a rockstar never quick kicked off due to indifference.
Unless I make a compelling case for why I need a guitar I never use, I think Mrs Snoopdong might insist to finds its way to the 'Bay...
I started learning to play a few years ago using an electro-acoustic Westfield. It didn't make the best sound in the world and the action was pretty high but you don't tend to notice these things when you have no basis for comparison.
Anyway, Last Christmas I decided to treat myself to something good and I ordered a Martin D-15M all the way from Florida.
Made from Mahogony, with rosewood fingerboard, bone nut and saddle with ebony pins. It's not the best guitar in this thread but It's a far better guitar than I will ever need :D
That does look lovely. :)
Cheers,
Neil.
Thanks Neil. I've been trying to look after it but I still managed to put the first tiny ding in the back a week or so ago. It was always going to happen I suppose.
Finally got round to uploading a picture of my Tele, an ebay find from a local seller. From memory, its a lite Ash American Standard, late 90's I think:
Lovely Tony.
I love the look of an ash bodied Tele.
I am still looking for a nice LP but I've had no trade offers on my watches.
Everything but an LP really. :lol:
Cheers,
Neil.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
