Flyer91 Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 I received my new Les Paul Custom Shop in Antique Natural Quilt, and I'm really glad I got this guitar. It only needed a slight tweak to reduce the neck relief from ~.018 to .011". The action was/is sitting at just under 1.5mm on the bass E, and just under 1mm treble E. No buzzes, and perfect intonation, with harmonics clearly ringing out at all the proper places on the fretboard. Capo'ed at the third fret, there is about .005" under each string at the first fret, so I'm happy with the nut work. It was the easiest/fastest basic setup I've ever done. It was a bit of pins and needles because I only paid $2180 for it delivered. The shop was asking what I felt was a good price at $2500, so I offered $2400, and they accepted .... but called back a bit later to say they couldn't locate the case candy, pick guard nor the COA that they had pictured in their ad. So I initially cancelled, and then thought better of it ... and called back to see if they would accept an offer of $2000 without the extras. They agreed if I would send a MO, or would need to charge $2080 if I put it on my CC. I opted for the CC, because I had never done business with them before (Groove City Guitars, in St. Paul, Mn.) and even though they offer a no questions asked return, I wanted to use my CC as back-up, and we did the deal. I got a voice mail from them on Wed. saying they had located all the missing items and COA! So I called them back, thinking they might now want the additional $320 they had discounted when they thought it was all lost, but they let me have it all for $100. Anyway, it all made me a bit apprehensive ... but as it turned out, it was all as advertised, the registration went without a hitch, and this LP looks and sounds amazing, so I'll certainly do business with them at Groove City Guitars again ..... with no worries. Here are some pic's of it ....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Autumn Light&Shade Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Hi Flyer91, Congrats on yor new guitar A beautiful guitar. The finish really compliments the quilt cap, simply stunning . It's great that the case candy was found too Enjoy rocking that baby :) kind regards, Emma :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Very good deal and it looks just great! Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparquelito Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Wow. Amazing craftsmanship on that guitar! Good job by you, getting such a sweet deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajay Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 I like everything about it, except I like a top that looks fancy. Yours is kinda' plain........NOT! I love that guitar. I love the fancy binding too. Almost too pretty to play, but I would play it anyway. AWESOME GUITAR! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny V Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Fantastic looking LP at a great price. Well done. Kenny V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the dog Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 that's a beauty....good for you...happy new guitar day.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyer91 Posted July 5, 2015 Author Share Posted July 5, 2015 Thanks for the kind, and encouraging comments everyone. Out of a fairly meager collection of guitars, I only have a few that are in the same price range/level as this one, and my other sub $1K guitars (many of which are actually closer to $500) are so good ... that I don't normally buy at this level (most of my limited posts to this forum are over on the Epi side). But under the circumstances ... I was really reluctant to pass on it, and I'm pretty happy that I didn't. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueblooded Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 Very nice deal on that Flyer! How do you like the Richlite fretboard? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyer91 Posted July 5, 2015 Author Share Posted July 5, 2015 Well, I was't sure about it after reading some really negative reviews. But then I found a thread by people that had actually tried it in comparison to their ebony fretboard guitars, and the comments were generally positive, with one fellow posting about people not accepting change/new things. He said ..... "How many blues players does it take to screw in a light bulb" ...... Answer: 20 ... 1 to put in the new bulb and 19 to stand around arguing why the old bulb was better"! :) I really need more time before I can comment in any qualified way ... but so far, yeah .... feels pretty much like my ebony fretboards ...... but doesn't need maintenance. ;) The guitar sounds amazing through an Egnater half stack Tourmaster 4100 head on it's matching T412A cab with Celestion 30 vintage black labels. But I can only compare it to my Epi LPs and an Agile AL-3200 LP copy. I do have a Gretsch G6136T-LTV White Falcon, but that's a hollow body, and my other premium guitars are mostly from the enemy ....... Fender US Strats and Teles, so I'm not able to do a real LP side by side comparison. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueblooded Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 Well, I was't sure about it after reading some really negative reviews. But then I found a thread by people that had actually tried it in comparison to their ebony fretboard guitars, and the comments were generally positive, with one fellow posting about people not accepting change/new things. I ask because I have a 2011 Midtown Custom with the Richlite board and absolutely LOVE IT! Have had many guitars with ebony too and I think if I had to list the pro's and con's and even take into consideration actual playing feel of Richlite vs. ebony, Richlite would win. That said, there still is that desire to have a premium guitar made with natural materials. I can understand why most would prefer Gibson use ebony on a custom shop LP Custom. Anyway, enjoy it and I am sure you will love the Richlite board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyer91 Posted July 5, 2015 Author Share Posted July 5, 2015 I ask because I have a 2011 Midtown Custom with the Richlite board and absolutely LOVE IT! Have had many guitars with ebony too and I think if I had to list the pro's and con's and even take into consideration actual playing feel of Richlite vs. ebony, Richlite would win. That said, there still is that desire to have a premium guitar made with natural materials. I can understand why most would prefer Gibson use ebony on a custom shop LP Custom. Anyway, enjoy it and I am sure you will love the Richlite board. I can certainly understand that desire too, and in all honesty if the same deal was offered with either, I'd have opted for ebony myself. But not 'necessarily' for the same reason as those other 19 blues players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arlum Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 You Sir should be proud. That is one absolutely beautiful Les Paul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertAndersson Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 That is one stunning guitar! I have a Custom, so I expect that you will love that extra sustain and playability, just like I do. 490R/498T? //Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zentar Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 What pickups are those? I don't think I've seen wood like that anywhere. Even the mahogany on the back is select. At least I assume it's mahogany. Looks too nice for mahogany. That custom Gibson inlaid headstock wit gold tuners in addition to the select wood is something most people never see in person. As far as the richlite. I've seen Gibson use that material on some very expensive guitars very recently so it must be the favorite goto modern fretboard raw material. Somebody at Gibson must have noticed something because richlite isn't the only choice they had to choose from. A fretboard has to hold the frets perfectly in place for decades. I have not seen baked maple or pseudo rosewood used on very expensive guitars even though those two materials look great. It's the richlite Gibson goes to. The fact that they used richlite in some high dollar LPs I saw lately makes me think it holds frets as well as the ebony which can hold frets in place a hundred years. It also has to wear at an identical rate to the mother of pearl inlays so that you don't end up with inlays that sit higher than the fretboard material after a couple of years of hard playing. Whatever Gibson uses has to work very well to get chosen on custom designs. Gibson may think richlite is superior to ebony in function. Richlite is there for a reason. Look at how many wood species are never used for fretboards because of the demands placed on them.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
american cheez Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 beautiful guitar! better send it to me immediately for safe-keeping. i won't charge you much, and i'll see to it that it's played. zentar, if you're diggin out the fretboard in a couple of years, you must have gorilla fingers! a decade of constant use i could see. but a couple years? holy smokes man! with a grip like that you'd end up putting calluses in places where they shouldn't be..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MojoMike Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 That is one outstanding example of a Les Paul! Rock on! Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyer91 Posted July 5, 2015 Author Share Posted July 5, 2015 Thanks for the additional positive comments guys, I appreciate the "vote of confidence" on this purchase. :) Yes ...the pups are a 490R at the neck and a 498T at the bridge. They sound great, and as I'm experimenting with different amp settings, I can see this guitar is not limited to any one genre at all. It can be bluesy, country staccato picked, or growl depending on where/how I set the channels on my amp, and which one I send it through. I have one of the Fender '63 reverb tanks, and it surfs as well as any of my Fenders. I'm admittedly still in the honeymoon stage, but so far I'm very impressed with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 What pickups are those? I don't think I've seen wood like that anywhere. Even the mahogany on the back is select. At least I assume it's mahogany. Looks too nice for mahogany. That custom Gibson inlaid headstock wit gold tuners in addition to the select wood is something most people never see in person. As far as the richlite. I've seen Gibson use that material on some very expensive guitars very recently so it must be the favorite goto modern fretboard raw material. Somebody at Gibson must have noticed something because richlite isn't the only choice they had to choose from. A fretboard has to hold the frets perfectly in place for decades. I have not seen baked maple or pseudo rosewood used on very expensive guitars even though those two materials look great. It's the richlite Gibson goes to. The fact that they used richlite in some high dollar LPs I saw lately makes me think it holds frets as well as the ebony which can hold frets in place a hundred years. It also has to wear at an identical rate to the mother of pearl inlays so that you don't end up with inlays that sit higher than the fretboard material after a couple of years of hard playing. Whatever Gibson uses has to work very well to get chosen on custom designs. Gibson may think richlite is superior to ebony in function. Richlite is there for a reason. Look at how many wood species are never used for fretboards because of the demands placed on them.. If you only knew.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 Congratulations! Beautiful guitar! The back looks almost like British Honduran mahogany. Enjoy it with good health! Cheers... Bence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pesh Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 Gorgeous! Congratulations and HNGD! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvercrow Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 Wow- that top "pops"! I've rarely see anything that "three dimensional" during all my years of guitar oogling! Enjoy, you fortunate guy! Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golden Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 Nice LP, good luck with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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