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Steve Martin’s character in the Jerk was born a poor black child. It killed me when he found his special purpose.

Well no duh the joint is at the 16th fret. I just didn't have that option with the components I was working with so I made well with what I had, and for a total of about $800 I'm gonna have a nice playing and sounding geetar when it's all done. And really dude you're not the final approval on projects or what is good or not good. .... I'm happy and that's all that counts.

Some people hear a noticeable difference, some don’t. I think it depends on the person and the guitar. I removed the Baggs Element UST from my J45 Standard and thought it made a huge difference. Part of it is that the Tusq saddle wiggles a bit in the slot. I put in a new bone saddle that was a snug fit in the slot and it seemed to make the saddle, bridge and top vibrate as one. If you’re unsure about removing it, you can try it by just removing the saddle, lifting the UST braid out of its slot and pulling/pushing it into the hole in the bridge under the saddle (into the guitar). The wiring clips will keep it from banging around in there and you can put in a new saddle and string it back up. If you decide to remove it permanently, you’ll need to pull the wiring out from the clips (you can feel inside where they are), detaching the battery bag, and removing the preamp and endpin jack. Just be careful removing the endpin jack so you don’t scratch the finish. You can do it, just take your time and use the right tools.

The neck joint was at the 16th fret in 1982 and 1959 so something is wrong. I don’t want to be a **** but I would never approve of what you’ve done here it just isn’t good

You are a lucky soul. 🙂

Looks fine to me considering what needed to be done to keep the fretboard end from imposing on the neck pickup cavity. It's comfortable and nobody is going to see it, unless I decide to pull a Jimi Hendrix and play with my teeth. Plus I've seen some of those PRS neck joints from hell that were done on purpose..... What I did was done out of necessity to fit a 1982 Gibson neck on a 59 spec Les Paul body.......... I'm pleased so far.

You mentioned how you don’t understand why CNCs shape bracing heavier. That was where I realized you are lacking knowledge which I may not be willing to help you with. If interested in learning more, that is an apparent weak spot. The things that I’m wrong about are in your imagination since I didn’t write them

The 1/2 coat is probably the last thing I’d ask about. The neck joint looks horrendous and LPs are supposed to have the neck joint at the 16th fret so I’m not sure what we’re doing here but it’s not right.

Okay, and I know what you are wrong about from my side, so let’s just agree to be wrong together, cheers.

The first coat when spray nitro is a mist coat. I found it helps the subsequent coats from running. i dunno man.... it works for me. lol

These are the kinds of guitars that you do not as much feel you own but have been appointed the caretaker of. I know because I have had a 1942 J50 living with me for something over 12 years now. It is also the instrument where it finally hit home that the guitar you were meant to have will find you. And while I do not want to make you weep, my total investment in this guitar came to $1K less than what a new Historic Collection '42 Banner J45 would run me. But I have always been one lucky S.O.B. when it comes to Gibsons.

I understand what you’re wrong about and why you’re wrong about it but it’s too much work for me to convince you with no incentive

How do you spray 1/2 a coat?

You're fine. But I will tell you something you should know. The guitar is legit and really a great ES. But it is not a Custom Shop guitar. Gibson was intentionally being misleading at the time and we are still having to deal with their marketing shenanigans to this day and will probably forever. First to explain, there was never a Custom Shop in Memphis. So any guitar made in Memphis, including yours is not a Custom Shop guitar. Yes, despite that some have Custom Shop COAs, Custom Shop cases and even say Custom Shop right on the guitar. How can that be? During a few year stretch back when your guitar was made, Gibson marketing decided to market certain Memphis models as "Custom Shop Series" models. This info was obscure in their marketing info and remains obscure to this day. They eventually abandoned this totally misleading marketing deception. But the damage was already done. Note that all Memphis models came with COAs. but there are a few different versions of Memphis COAs. That all said, there was really no reason for Gibson to try to oversell any ES models. They were great guitars in their own right. A big step up from Gibson USA levels. Their top models did rival Nashville Custom Shop quality.

Go under your profile icon, open Images. Click on the image you want to share it should look like this, click the circled link (just fyi, I had trouble uploading this image, so imgur maybe having issues. We’ll see if this one stays up.)

Got the paint tent set up and removed the nut and laid down 2.5 coats of nitro clear. Only 12 more coats to go.

So. when you are in IMGUR and you have your collection of pictures open, click on the image you want. It will open in a new widow with a list of "copy" options on the right. Click on "copy" in the "direct link" line. Then open the Gibson Forum and go to the link you want to add the picture to. Place your cursor where you want the pic to go and "Right click". Click the "paste" option, (not paste as plain text, or any other paste option.) For a split second you will see the direct link alphanumeric text link appear, and then it will be replaced by the image associated with the "direct link". You will then see a pop up message indicating you just pasted an image link that will appear as an image, and the pop up gives you an option to switch this type of "pasting" to just show the link address instead. Ignore or dismiss this pop up. When you click the copy button (direct image link) in IMGUR, it automatically saves the image address into your PC as if you "right clicked" on an image and then clicked "copy"/"copy image"/"copy image address", so you could right click and click paste when and where you wanted to insert the image.

Wow. That’s quite a take. Appreciate the knowledge. Where, and I’m not trying to be difficult, did you get your information on pedals? It seems like it’s pretty extensive.

I thought your post was okay, but yeah, it did sound like you were implying that unlike Taylor, Gibson has a bunch of master luthiers patiently carving away at each individual brace for 100s of standard guitars a day. Sorry, if I came off touchy. I get now you were only talking about the true hand-built uber high-end customs. I’m not in the market for any of those, and I hope the folks that are paying those prices for Taylor’s are savvy enough to know what they should compare to. Our 914 12-fret would be the closest to that sort of instrument. It competes with the Keb-Mo. The no frills, standard build, Gibson L00 12-fret (also machined) was more expensive than the used 912 Taylor that sported AAA grade woods, and frankly, it showed in the tones. Believe me, I really thought the Gibby would win. There are a few other intangibles with Taylor, like we appreciate their environmental efforts, and that they are still owned by Taylor and his buddies and the employees. We kinda dig that sort of hippy vibe, even if it is second hand. Also, I’m not sure where you are getting the info that CNC cuts heavy or is less accurate than hand shaping. CNCs can be programmed down to microns. It’s the same tech that is used in robotic neurosurgery, and you know they are not going to let those machines cut any more than they have to 😄. Not sure if guitars need that kind of accuracy, but there is no reason the lasers can’t be dialed in to account for the stock being loaded, and again, humans are still doing the final building, so they are going to catch anything that doesn’t pass the specs.

I didn’t see “ direct link” as an option. https://imgur.com/a/rSkJNWs I hit return….nothing……

Cheap Sunglasses - ZZ Top

Haha, I could have been in the shop buying my classical version of your steel string the same day, lol. I was just a kid, walked in, said I wanted a guitar and I had 85 bucks, and the guy handed me the Yamaha. I had no clue there was even a difference between the fret boards. So here I had these tiny little hands and that giant, flat 2 inch wide neck. God, I hated barre chords, lol. Re: playing pain, a couple things. Yeah, it hurts some working the callouses back up, but if the pain persists long after you stop playing, you might consider if you have a nickel allergy, they can pop up in later years. I forgot I had one until I started playing again, and thought, oh crap, I’m dead in the water. Then some kind soul here suggested the Ddarrio XS coated Phosphor Bronze strings. Total life saver. Even if you don’t have an allergy, the coating still helps make the strings slicker. I don’t mind the tone, which is good because I don’t have a choice. but my wife likes them just because she finds them easier to play. We use 12s pretty much. Re: the slides, they make different sizes, you just need to find one that fits. Also, slide can work better with a touch higher action, so don’t get too hung up on it being you if it’s not working so well. You may just need another guitar to play slide on😄

P Dawg. I was sorta careful to not inject any of my personal opinions into my post and just mentioned a couple things which I understand to be factual. Your reply gives me the feeling that you interpreted my post as bashing Taylor which is not my intention. I probably left a bit too much unsaid since I don’t want to be too wordy In no way did I suggest that the cheapest and most expensive version of a given Taylor model sound exactly the same. I said they use the exact same CNC milled bracing which is a fact. I obviously understand that using a different wood for the top etc will result in sonic differences and no two pieces of wood are completely identical. Again the point remains true that you get the exact same guitar with different materials and aesthetics at any price range I made no comparison to Gibson or any other mass manufacturer You either missed the point or are incorrect about the bracing. Loading a piece of wood into the CNC is not the same as what I described. I didn’t describe the whole process because I’m not a traditional luthier and I’m not trying to teach you how to be one. Hand carved bracing by a master luthier is objectively superior to mass produced CNC milled bracing in all ways except efficiency and profitability. A traditional luthier is going to progressively carve away at the bracing until he has the least amount of material possible which still offers the necessary amount of reinforcement. This produces a more resonant sound board. A CNC machine is going to invariably make every single piece a bit heavier than it needs to be to account for variables in materials Hopefully we can understand these facts without implying that Taylor guitars are “bad” or sound bad. Of course I realize the vast majority of Gibson and Martin parts are machine made. However Gibson and Martin have custom shops, where when you spend big money, you get a whole different level of craftsmanship. With Taylor you spend big money and you get the same guitar pumped out of the same machines with special materials and aesthetics

So, because I'm a giver and all, I made you your own custom avatar. I call it, "fortyearspickn". You're welcome. 😗

PrarieDog, I have to say we both have the same philosophy about acoustic instrument construction. Using the best, most efficient methods helps to keep models affordable, relatively speaking. Inflation has hit guitars like everything else. Despite mechanization and modern production techniques, quality acoustic guitars still have a lot of hand made input. When I read stories by veteran well known guitarists who bought some of their rarities way back when, I sigh when reading that they paid a couple of hundred dollars or Quid for a vintage guitar that would be valued at $25,000 or higher today. Making guitars is surely not an easy business to be in because so many aspects have to be very carefully watched to maintain a profit margin. I'm seeing a certain brand now based in Scottsdale, AZ trying direct marketing to customers which surely makes their dealers smile. I think they are realizing artificially battered "relics" don't quite have the same buyer appeal that real classics with honest patina, have. I hope they are like Crypto currencies, maybe collected in the future for their novelty value and being questioned as a "what were they thinking?" fad. I'll salute Gibson once again for re-issuing "classics" and not getting too caught up in the make it look old no matter what it takes phenomenon. I'd be just as happy with a 1964 ES-335 reissue as an original because playing a $50,000 guitar makes me a little nervous. In 50 years, that re-issue will have some genuine patina of its own and is likely to climb in value just like the originals that inspired it. I screen copied one of Martin's Facebook ads because it shows the elaborate bracing in their guitars. Doesn't matter if some pieces were entirely machine milled, the focus should be on a extreme degree of bracing making this look like an elephant could stand on it without breaking it. (please don't try that with your pet Elephant!)