Black Dog Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 If you were going to get a LP Custom what options would you pick and why? -Maple top vs mahogany -rosewood vs ebony vs richlite fingerboard -custombuckers vs '57s vs 490s vs 498s vs burstbuckers vs other boutique pickups -weight relieved vs solid Oh, and it's going to be black and gold with 3 pickups and a Bigsby. Did I forget anything? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 I have a LP Custom. I've posted the pics enough times, think you must have seen them. All mahogany - I like it! Is the sound darker? Not really if you goose your amp top end. Ebony fretboard - my favourite. Mine has P90s. I'd love a black 50s reissue with the 'staple' pickup too. And it is (supposedly) non-relieved, i.e. solid mahogany. Weighs enough. Bigsby? Nice but not necessary. [thumbup] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Dog Posted March 22, 2018 Author Share Posted March 22, 2018 I have a LP Custom. I've posted the pics enough times, think you must have seen them. All mahogany - I like it! Is the sound darker? Not really if you goose your amp top end. Ebony fretboard - my favourite. Mine has P90s. I'd love a black 50s reissue with the 'staple' pickup too. And it is (supposedly) non-relieved, i.e. solid mahogany. Weighs enough. Bigsby? Nice but not necessary. Thanks for the reply. I think I'm going to go with a fairly traditional/historic '50s configuration with a mahogany top and no weight relief. I would like the ebony but I'm not sure how much more that will cost compared to the richlite. I'll find out soon, they're going to quote it for me both ways. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pin Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 If you were going to get a LP Custom what options would you pick and why? -Maple top vs mahogany (MAPLE) -rosewood vs ebony vs richlite fingerboard (EBONY) -custombuckers vs '57s vs 490s vs 498s vs burstbuckers vs other boutique pickups (Boutique) -weight relieved vs solid (Solid) Oh, and it's going to be black and gold with 3 pickups and a Bigsby. Yuck, yuck, yuck!(to the Bigsby and three pick ups) Did I forget anything? Answers in Bold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Dog Posted March 22, 2018 Author Share Posted March 22, 2018 Black Dog, on 21 March 2018 - 09:20 AM, said: If you were going to get a LP Custom what options would you pick and why? -Maple top vs mahogany (MAPLE) -rosewood vs ebony vs richlite fingerboard (EBONY) -custombuckers vs '57s vs 490s vs 498s vs burstbuckers vs other boutique pickups (Boutique) -weight relieved vs solid (Solid) Oh, and it's going to be black and gold with 3 pickups and a Bigsby. Yuck, yuck, yuck!(to the Bigsby and three pick ups) Did I forget anything? Answers in Bold Yeah, it seems like Bigsby's and the 3 pickups are a love 'em or hate 'em kind of thing. I kinda like them, obviously. Thanks for the reply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 Are you talking / asking about a Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul Custom which you are going to be able to special-order, Black Dog? Very Cool if that is the case! In your shoes and with the p'ups and Bigsby not up for discussion I would go for solid mahogany and ebony with CustomBuckers. A bit like this one, in fact; In my shoes I'd go for an R4 BB with the Staple P-90 in the neck position and none of that warble-making nonsense added......but it's your shoes that have the diamonds on their soles. Pip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Dog Posted March 22, 2018 Author Share Posted March 22, 2018 Are you talking / asking about a Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul Custom which you are going to be able to special-order, Black Dog? Very Cool if that is the case! In your shoes and with the p'ups and Bigsby not up for discussion I would go for solid mahogany and ebony with CustomBuckers. A bit like this one, in fact; In my shoes I'd go for an R4 BB with the Staple P-90 in the neck position and none of that warble-making nonsense added......but it's your shoes that have the diamonds on their soles. Pip. Yep, it's a Custom Shop special order (Made to measure). I'm having it quoted a couple different ways. I would like the Ebony fret board but that may end up being an expensive option, we'll see. In spite of the way it may seem, I do have a budget. The only carbon on my soles is whatever is mixed in the dirt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 I'll look forward to seeing how your guitar plans progress, BlackDog. You must be very excited at the prospect! I don't really understand the situation with the (lack of) use of ebony at the Custom Shop. Use of 'modern' Braz. Rosewood, of course, has been (effectively) banned for decades now and even regular rosewood must now be CITES certificated but, surprisingly perhaps, ebony is not on the prohibited list. Gibson DID have some stockpiled and supplies are consequently very limited but it is possible for anyone to buy ebony fret-board blanks from most timber merchants so why does Gibson have such difficulty in obtaining them? You can buy 'planed-one-side' ebony blanks for around $20 per 'board and even Stew-Mac advertises pre-slotted & finished ebony 'boards for $50. In any event; I know that Richlite is a particularly divisive issue and, in a perfect world, I'd be far happier myself for 'my' BB to have an ebony 'board but as a finger-board material per se Richlite is (IMO) wonderful. It's as smooth as ebony and in a blind test feels identical. If the ebony plan is impractical then Richlite is hardly a poor substitute. Best of luck in whichever direction the project ultimately heads! Pip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pin Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 In any event; I know that Richlite is a particularly divisive issue and, in a perfect world, I'd be far happier myself for 'my' BB to have an ebony 'board but as a finger-board material per se Richlite is (IMO) wonderful. It's as smooth as ebony and in a blind test feels identical. If the ebony plan is impractical then Richlite is hardly a poor substitute. Pip. Arrrrgh! I'm going to have to have a lie down now after that Pippy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Dog Posted March 23, 2018 Author Share Posted March 23, 2018 In my shoes I'd go for an R4 BB with the Staple P-90 in the neck position... Pip. I wasn't really considering P90's but here is an interesting video comparing the P90s and 'buckers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5OA_Rbcb_c Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cody78 Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 I'd go with the '57 Reissue Les Paul Custom 3 pickup Bigsby option. That is mainly to do with the fact I have one and love it Bought it in 2011, but it was made in 2009. The prices have rocketed since I got mine - I got it for £3699, but I saw one without the Bigsby on Thomann's site for over £6,000 the other week. Sounds like that is the one you would be most pleased with. I can tell you, you will love it too if/ when you get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Farnsbarns Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 I'd go with the '57 Reissue Les Paul Custom 3 pickup Bigsby option. That is mainly to do with the fact I have one and love it Bought it in 2011, but it was made in 2009. The prices have rocketed since I got mine - I got it for £3699, but I saw one without the Bigsby on Thomann's site for over £6,000 the other week. Sounds like that is the one you would be most pleased with. I can tell you, you will love it too if/ when you get it. Part of the difference in price may be the shift from being a USA production line model to a custom shop model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Dog Posted April 2, 2018 Author Share Posted April 2, 2018 I'd go with the '57 Reissue Les Paul Custom 3 pickup Bigsby option. That is mainly to do with the fact I have one and love it Bought it in 2011, but it was made in 2009. The prices have rocketed since I got mine - I got it for £3699, but I saw one without the Bigsby on Thomann's site for over £6,000 the other week. Sounds like that is the one you would be most pleased with. I can tell you, you will love it too if/ when you get it. That's basically what I want, but with a '60's neck, hence the reason for the special order. Glad to hear that you like yours. Hopefully i'll be just as happy with my own soon. The process is slow. Oh, just curious about something. I've been wondering how they ground these. Have you ever noticed in what direction your ground wire heads out of the control cavity? Not that it really matters, I have just been wondering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cody78 Posted April 2, 2018 Share Posted April 2, 2018 Part of the difference in price may be the shift from being a USA production line model to a custom shop model. The one I have is a Custom Shop model and came with the black certificate folder, tags and CS case. It has the inked on serial number on the back of the headstock. To my knowledge Gibson USA never made a '57 reissue after the custom shop started in the early 90's? Maybe the one I saw at Thomann was a made to measure one that increases the price, but they didn't have the m2m programme when I bought mine. That's basically what I want, but with a '60's neck, hence the reason for the special order. Glad to hear that you like yours. Hopefully i'll be just as happy with my own soon. The process is slow. Oh, just curious about something. I've been wondering how they ground these. Have you ever noticed in what direction your ground wire heads out of the control cavity? Not that it really matters, I have just been wondering. I've never opened up the control cavity on mine and I left the wiring as it is. I know some people like to change the wiring of the pickups on 3 pickup Customs, but I was always happy to keep it authentic to the originals. I guess I could open it up and have a look though at some point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Dog Posted May 1, 2018 Author Share Posted May 1, 2018 OK, so after going back and forth with various options, in the end it's become clear that what I want is a '57 reissue with a R0 neck profile and the Bigsby, so that's it. Order placed today so now the waiting begins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-28 Posted May 3, 2018 Share Posted May 3, 2018 OK, so after going back and forth with various options, in the end it's become clear that what I want is a '57 reissue with a R0 neck profile and the Bigsby, so that's it. Order placed today so now the waiting begins. How much did you get for the kidney? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Dog Posted May 4, 2018 Author Share Posted May 4, 2018 How much did you get for the kidney? I've managed to do it with all my body parts intact!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NighthawkChris Posted May 4, 2018 Share Posted May 4, 2018 In any event; I know that Richlite is a particularly divisive issue and, in a perfect world, I'd be far happier myself for 'my' BB to have an ebony 'board but as a finger-board material per se Richlite is (IMO) wonderful. It's as smooth as ebony and in a blind test feels identical. If the ebony plan is impractical then Richlite is hardly a poor substitute. I agree with you on this as my 2015 Custom Shop LP has Richlite, and this guitar is absolutely perfect. I know some people think that Custom Shop money should buy an ebony fretboard, but I have had no regrets thus far paying Custom Shop money for a Richlite fretboard. I believe in the end, an ebony fretboard will only provide some cosmetic benefit to the player as whatever effect the fretboard material has on the tone, this is anyone's guess. I'm not about to pull out the microphones and do some scientific experiment to determine how the sound waves are modified when the fretboard material changes. Giving the ear test, I cannot tell the difference whatsoever. Never have I heard a guitar and said "Hey, that must be a rosewood fretboard making that tone..." Now, would I prefer to have ebony... I suppose it would be a nice feature, but it factors very little in my decision whether the guitar is good enough to buy or not. Didn't want to get too off topic as I know black dog is looking for his new Custom Shop acquisition and I wish him best of luck with his new beauty! Just wanted to add in my comments on the fretboard material discussion. It (Richlite) looks nice, and it does the job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.