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I love the new green color. The little les Paul and SG are slick!! 😍

 

As for melody makers, I'd put my 64 DC up against every telecaster ever made in terms of sound and playability and comfort and quality.

 

The old melody makers were fine I guess, I sure gigged with quite a few guys that made great use of them, I used them and had no complaints other than being a little light and not feeling like much of a guitar at all.

 

I mean that stuff they had out, 5, 6 years ago maybe? Melody Maker Explorers and Melody Maker this and that. They were crap. First time I hustled into Philly Summer to see them I went to a favorite dealer guy from down south, and he had what I expected, a booth full of them. Every one was surprisingly bad, even for 5 or 600 bucks. The MM Explorer laying on it's back was not as tall as a packa smokes, and the area was what? 25% smaller or something like that? Gert bigass neck glued to it, like a shovel. Horrible wood with dull white house paint smeared on with a brush. Awful. The MM SG thing might as well have been a Steinberger there was so little effort put into the body of that thing, it barely held the pickups. He had three MM LPs that were all equally dreadful, just maybe not as bad as the other two. He was enthusiastic of course, I expected that, and yes the booth was loaded with young fellas anxious to buy something that said Gibson on the pointy end, not realizing they could just buy the headstock and have the same thing. Two years later he still had most of them and was fire saleing them just to get rid of 'em. He also had an in-store thing where he was selling one at super discount and throwing in another one for half that discount price. When yer retailers are doing that, something ain't right.

 

Our local guy at the time got halfa dozen or 10 of them in his truckload and only hung them for a short time. Took them off the wall and used them in the lessons rooms, he'd sell them to the lessons kids for cheap, kid gets a "Gibson" and parents are happy.

 

Looks like we are back for another round, which is fine. I do think the lesson has been learned in the past. The bottom end can not in any way support your bread and butter when your bread and butter is 2k and up guitars, today probably 2.5k is more like it. Mars Music was not that long ago, they should remember how that went for them. More guitar players walked out of our Mars because there wasn't a decent gigging guitar in the store than went in for an on-sale 199 dollar Squire or Epiphone.

 

The Green Classic is a beaut, I will have to look at those in person.

 

rct

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Huh..

 

Was just looking at some of the details and they now specify an average weight of the body... If anyone is interested :)

 

LP Trad

Weight Relief: None

Average Weight (body only): 6 lbs

 

LP Classic

Weight Relief: 9 Hole

Average Weight (body only): 5 lbs. 14.4 oz

 

LP Standard HP

Weight Relief: Ultra-Modern

Average Weight (body only): 4lbs. 6.7oz

 

LP Studio

Weight Relief: Ultra-Modern

Average Weight (body only): 4lbs. 6.7oz

 

LP Faded

Weight Relief: Ultra Modern

Average Weight (body only): 4lbs. 6.7oz

 

LP Tribute

Weight Relief: 9 hole

Average Weight (body only): 5 lbs. 14 oz

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Huh..

 

Was just looking at some of the details and they now specify an average weight of the body...

 

LP Trad

Weight Relief: None

Average Weight (body only): 6 lbs

 

LP Classic

Weight Relief: 9 Hole

Average Weight (body only): 5 lbs. 14.4 oz

 

LP Standard HP

Weight Relief: Ultra-Modern

Average Weight (body only): 4lbs. 6.7oz

 

LP Studio

Weight Relief: Ultra-Modern

Average Weight (body only): 4lbs. 6.7oz

 

LP Faded

Weight Relief: Ultra Modern

Average Weight (body only): 4lbs. 6.7oz

 

LP Tribute

Weight Relief: 9 hole

Average Weight (body only): 5 lbs. 14 oz

 

I'll bet you One American Greenback to your British Pounds Quid Stirling Fiver that a year from now eBay and Reverb will be chock full of "UNDER 6 POUNDS!!!!" Les Pauls and we'll be answering Average Weight questions all day.

 

rct

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LP Trad

Weight Relief: None

Average Weight (body only): 6 lbs

 

LP Classic

Weight Relief: 9 Hole

Average Weight (body only): 5 lbs. 14.4 oz

 

LP Tribute

Weight Relief: 9 hole

Average Weight (body only): 5 lbs. 14 oz

From this we can calculate that, nowadays, the 9-hole weight-relief practice saves, on average, a grand total of roughly 2oz per body-blank.

 

Erm...OK....

Erm...that makes perfect sense......

 

blink.gif

 

Pip.

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I embrace the low price tag, believe me. I'm well aware of what makes a guitar, so cheaper materials don't bother me. It's putting them together. No grain filler, so no finish to even speak of. Most of the cheap-o guitars have paint you wouldn't even want on yer coffee table or backyard deck railings. Mismatching of proportions, like they took a bunch of raw SG neck blanks and glued them into bodies that are just not substantial enough to pair well with the neck, too thin or too small area-wise, or both.

 

There are scwheet sub 700 dollar guitars out there, and I enjoy them just as much as the expensive ones. They just aren't made by Gibson, and every time I enthusiastically go into the guitar show to try out these new budget friendly Gibsons I am greatly disappointed. It's like somebody else made them.

 

rct

 

Yeah, I'm with you on that. I don't mean to offend anyone who has a good affordable Gibson, but I have not been impressed with their lower end. I bought a LP 60s Tribute for Christmas and it was awful. The back and sides might as well have been unfinished, and the fret ends were razor sharp (every one). It was on par with a $199 Epiphone in terms of build quality. All the higher-end Gibsons I've owned have been superb. I think they need to let Epiphone have the low-mid end and reserve the Gibson logo for the ones that meet higher standards.

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The old melody makers were fine I guess, I sure gigged with quite a few guys that made great use of them, I used them and had no complaints other than being a little light and not feeling like much of a guitar at all.

 

I mean that stuff they had out, 5, 6 years ago maybe? Melody Maker Explorers and Melody Maker this and that. They were crap. First time I hustled into Philly Summer to see them I went to a favorite dealer guy from down south, and he had what I expected, a booth full of them. Every one was surprisingly bad, even for 5 or 600 bucks. The MM Explorer laying on it's back was not as tall as a packa smokes, and the area was what? 25% smaller or something like that? Gert bigass neck glued to it, like a shovel. Horrible wood with dull white house paint smeared on with a brush. Awful. The MM SG thing might as well have been a Steinberger there was so little effort put into the body of that thing, it barely held the pickups. He had three MM LPs that were all equally dreadful, just maybe not as bad as the other two. He was enthusiastic of course, I expected that, and yes the booth was loaded with young fellas anxious to buy something that said Gibson on the pointy end, not realizing they could just buy the headstock and have the same thing. Two years later he still had most of them and was fire saleing them just to get rid of 'em. He also had an in-store thing where he was selling one at super discount and throwing in another one for half that discount price. When yer retailers are doing that, something ain't right.

 

Our local guy at the time got halfa dozen or 10 of them in his truckload and only hung them for a short time. Took them off the wall and used them in the lessons rooms, he'd sell them to the lessons kids for cheap, kid gets a "Gibson" and parents are happy.

 

Looks like we are back for another round, which is fine. I do think the lesson has been learned in the past. The bottom end can not in any way support your bread and butter when your bread and butter is 2k and up guitars, today probably 2.5k is more like it. Mars Music was not that long ago, they should remember how that went for them. More guitar players walked out of our Mars because there wasn't a decent gigging guitar in the store than went in for an on-sale 199 dollar Squire or Epiphone.

 

The Green Classic is a beaut, I will have to look at those in person.

 

rct

 

Oh I couldn't disagree more.

32f1c784-42c5-47a4-aec3-f232f6ac4f8e_zpsf15bde34.jpg

 

The year was 2011 and the price was $299. I ended up with two of them and they are fine guitars. The finishes are standard satin finishes. Nothing paint brushy about them. I like the white the best. There's nothing sub par about the woods. The body and finger board are maple and the neck is mahogany. The necks are no wider than the one on my 2010 Les Paul. The SG in particular is a pretty faithful reproduction of the 67 MM with the exception of the electronics. If I have a complaint it's the humbuckers. These were designed for rock kids so I get why they did it but I want little single coils in my melody makers.

 

 

 

 

I have always been a bit of a bottum feeder with a taste for the oddballs so I guess none of this is too shocking. Of the dozen or so Gibsons I have owned lately there has only been one time that I have paid more than $1000 for one. Most of them like my 2008 SG special and my 2010 Paw Power Les Paul have cost less than $600. With their satin finishes and low price point they have turned out the be the ones I reach for far more often than the shinny, fancy ones.

 

The fact that Gibson successfully and regularly makes guitars in the USA for less than $1000 has always impressed me. Last time I checked Fender didn't make anything in the USA that you could get out of the store with for under $1000 which is nuts when you consider how little it costs to make a Tele. G&L, Music Man, Rickenbacker, PRS... Are any of them making a guitar in the USA for less than $1000? I would be shocked and impressed if they did.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Green Classic is a beaut, I will have to look at those in person.

 

rct

 

Ohhhhh you are so right abut those![thumbup] I'm gonna look at the HP but if I buy one I might get beat to death with a frying pan.. [crying][scared]

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I am attracted by the Firebird HP, but for spec rather than looks (though I do like the embossed chrome truss rod cover).

 

But I'm a bit wary of the 495 pups. This seems a bit rich for me!

ResistanceDC: 14280.00 Ohms 25250.00 Ohms

 

But if the price dropped sub £1,000.... :rolleyes:

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Oh I couldn't disagree more...

 

Party on bro. Somebody uses them, somebody has success with them, it just isn't me. It is You! If we were in a band I'd borrow one and have a blast and you would use my junky tele and it would be a hoot.

 

The fact that Gibson successfully and regularly makes guitars in the USA for less than $1000 has always impressed me. Last time I checked Fender didn't make anything in the USA that you could get out of the store with for under $1000 which is nuts when you consider how little it costs to make a Tele...

 

Go visit the factory and you'll be amazed that Fedner gets any guitar out the door no matter what the price.

 

rct

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Gibson have got some Amazon exclusives to complement this fine selection, too.

 

2017 Les Paul Classic in Wine Red:

71Pi84XK03L._SL1500_.jpg

 

2017 Les Paul Classic in Ebony:

71Evv28ggdL._SL1500_.jpg

 

2017 Les Paul Classic in Tobacco Burst with plus top:

71ZqXsBGQvL._SL1500_.jpg

 

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I always get the impression you are more of a Fender guy than a Gibson guy?

 

I don't think a guitar player should be without both. If I can only take one it will be one or the other, I'll take the other next time. I usually take one of each out for a night of high octane beer fueled Classic Arena Rock riffage and molten, steaming gobs of shred. If I can only have one it would be a Fedner. If only two, a Fender and a Marteen.

 

My tele goes in the box with me at the end.

 

rct

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