roadhog96

I dig the Beach Boys Surfin music, always have so I know we're your coming from. Glad everything worked out OK for you.

Alright listen up, here's a tip you'll thank me for when the time comes to have to clean those new pots and it will happen trust me. Position all 4 of those pots so that the opening on the the side of the pot body is facing the F hole. All you have to do is heat up the plastic spray tube that comes with the contact cleaner using a hair dryer and put a gentle bend in it. Now you'll be able to insert the spray tube for the contact cleaner through the F hole and clean all the pots without having to remove them. I stuff some paper towel into the F hole to absorb any excess contact cleaner that might run out. I also covered the body of the guitar with a towel just in case the tube falls out of the spray head to avoid getting any on the finish. I found it works best to do this with the guitar lying flat down on a table. A couple good shots of cleaner and immediately rotate the pot shafts back and fourth through there entire range of motion. In this position the carbon track and wiper get complete coverage from the contact cleaner. It would be best to do all four then repeat the procedure starting with the first one again and do a second cleaning. I've had to do a second cleaning more than once to eliminate any crackle so now I just do it as a precaution. Deoxit 5 does a nice job at cleaning, it also has a lube in it as well. If you've already installed the new wiring harness you can still reposition the pots by removing the knobs, loosen the shaft nut and twist the shaft with one hand while reaching in through the F hole with one finger and rotate it in the direction till ithe opening ts facing the F hole then snug up the nut. Helps if you have one of those small inspection mirrors. Go for it.

The is what you need, been there and done it.

Nashville models are made closer to the original specs and cost a good deal more. They are not 100% correct but closer than the Memphis models. They are both made with the same type of construction and wood. Nothing wrong with Memphis guitars now days, the workmanship is very good. If your looking for a guitar that resembles an original 50 or 60 335 then you pay more for an Historic Nashville made guitar.

Where on earth did you find this neck camparrison illustration. I've never seen one.

I believe it is called Classic White, sort of a yellowish look to it. Very nice looking guitar. The first 68 Custom I tried had the 50's style (base ball) neck and after trying the GC version had to have it because of the 60's slim taper neck. There is a huge difference between them both. This was the only deciding factor between the two, all other features are identical. It is by far the best deal Gibson has to offer today.

OK, here is a couple of links to check these babies out. I bought the figured top, the only difference between the two are the tops and the price. I thought the Figured was a better deal even though the quilt top is killer looking. OH, and the Figured top has a 60's slim taper neck and the quilt top has a 50's round profile neck. I liked the 60's neck better after trying both neck profiles. Other than the neck and top it's hard to justify the huge difference between the two I think. After I bought it the price jumped up $600.00, that was close. http://www.guitarcenter.com/Gibson-Custom-Shop-1968-Les-Paul-Custom-Flame-Top-Electric-Guitar-104328513-i1372734.gc http://www.guitarcenter.com/Gibson-Custom-Shop-1968-Les-Paul-Custom-5A-Quilt-Top-Electric-Guitar-517642-i1149523.gc

Mark, congrats on your new guitar. I heard a Casino in action once and it sounded incredible, a decent choice. I can't really add to much that hasn't already been mentioned, you have some very good info here. I do agree with everything that's been said, the type of material and thickness of a pick does more to the tone than most would ever realize. I'm not formiliar with the scale length of the Casino, but if it's like a 335, then one thing you will notice is that the 1st and 6th strings have a tendency to want to roll off the edges of the finger board. A little practice in developing a different playing technique will help. The reason is, the 335 and Les Paul guitars have a 24 3/4" scale vs. say a Fender Strat which has a 25.5" scale. What this means is it takes less effort to bend strings on the short scale and it takes less string tension to tune the string. Some people use a heavier string on these guitars for that reason also. The heavier string will allow lower action because of the higher tension. The occilation pattern of the string is less and allows for lower action without fret buzz and less prone to rolling off the fingerboard. Heavier strings will increase tone, more resonance. I'm experimenting with my 335 and LP now myself. I'm using 10-46 now but I'm planning on trying a set of 10-52. The reason is what I mentioned ,roll off and tone. I tried a set of 9-46, (light on top /heavy on bottom) on my Strat and could not believe how balanced they sounded. I maintained the ability to bend strings like crazy, kept the sharp piercing tone of the 9's and gained much more bottom end with the heavier bass strings. I was also able to lower the action . So a set of 10-52 (light on top/heavy on bottm) would do much the same on the 335 and LP. It's all about what works and sounds good to you, experiment and have fun. One other thing I'd like to mention is what you use to tune a guitar can make a world of difference also. I'm a ferm believer after years of using a digital tuner and comparing the difference between a strob tuner. They are very expensive but they do work, ask anyone who has changed over. A digital tuner can not come close enough to get it right. Strob tuners are 30 times more accurate and are the only device that can set the intonation properly, a digital can not do it accurate enough. You can hear the difference, they are much faster than a digital. Have you ever heard about the dreaded G string curse, have you experinced the 3rd string tuning that never sounds right, always the first to be out of tune, well the strob will eliminate this problem.