DestructorsKillMusic1982 Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Possibly a dumb question, but what's the difference between the LP Special and the LP Special SL? I never have been able to find out what the SL stood for, it seems usually the SL's tend to be a natural walnut or light faded cherry color, don't know if that has anything to do with it. Also, anyone know what the 180 in Sonex 180 stood for? Perhaps a 180 degree change from what Gibson had been making guitarwise at the time? With the multiphonic body, bolt-on neck, full face pickguard, etc. Come to think of it, if that's the case then they should rename their new revolution the Firebird X-180...Or maybe just a reference to 1980, the 1st production year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franzi Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 The SL? Interesting model! The SL is one of the few guitars ever made by Gibson that are not covered by the nitro lacquer which we have traditionally been using ever from the mandolins coming from the workshop of Orville Gibson. A little excerpt from our archive: SL means "sans lacquer" (without lacquer). "The UV-cured poly finishes are essentially a base coat and clear coat. The SL finish also reduces the finishing process from six to eleven days for lacquer down to five hours from white wood to a final dry finish. This significant time savings allowed Gibson to price the two models under $1,000. "There are no lacquer guitars produced anywhere in that price range," Brown says. The UV-cured, soft poly finishes also require little or no buffing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketman Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Interesting question on the Sonex. I have a Sonex Custom but it's from 1981. The Standard was replaced in 1981 by the Sonex Artist (see here for more information). Since the Artist didn't have a number associated with it I assume that the 180 stood for 1980. The Sonex was named as one of Gibson's 5 Freakiest Guitar Designs of the ’70s and ’80s. I love mine.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry-Again Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 Interesting question on the Sonex. I have a Sonex Custom but it's from 1981. The Standard was replaced in 1981 by the Sonex Artist (see here for more information). Since the Artist didn't have a number associated with it I assume that the 180 stood for 1980. The Sonex was named as one of Gibson's 5 Freakiest Guitar Designs of the ’70s and ’80s. I love mine.. I have a 1981 Sonex 180 custom as well. Pics are on my other post here http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/63943-gibson-sonex-180-custom/ I have no Idea what the 180 meant either. My guess would be that the Sonex brand were released for sale possibly January of 1980? 1/80? My Sonex is my favorite guitar by far since I got it back from repair. If I HAD to sell all my guitars except one, It would be my Sonex. I also have an 03 Gibson SG Faded with the ebony neck and crescent moon inlays. Its as nice as the Sonex to play and WAY lighter, but the Factory pickups dont touch the sound or sustain of the old zebra Dirty Fingers. I have a pic of my SG on a diff post here. http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/20587-2002-faded-sg-or-explorer-with-cresent-moon-inlay/ I'd love to see some pics of your Sonex too. too bad the deluxes got the Sonex brand "high output" pickups and crappy pots from what i've heard, and play nothing like the customs do. And the artist had active pickups with phase switches and coil taps and all sorts of crazy stuff. I'd hate to try and rewire one of those, or to foot the bill of a qualified tech to work on one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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