I've just recently acquired a 'new' 2009 57 historic goldtop which I'm loving.
I tried out a 58 as well but although it sounded every bit as good the top was just a bit too plain for my liking and the dye had leached into the binding of the neck in a very nasty looking way. So I passed on that one and got the goldtop instead - and saved myself a few hundred dollars at the same time!
Looking at all these nice 59's in this thread can someone explain to me how flames in the so-called 'bookmatched' tops hardly ever match up?
I'd have thought that, if these are made by splitting a piece of maple down the middle and then opening them up as you would a book, the grain would line up along the joint. But that doesn't seem to be the case. And I think that would bug me if I'd paid top dollar for a guitar like that. There are a couple of photos here where the flames almost match up on either side of the joint but most seem not to do that.
Is there some reason for this? I know that every piece of timber will be different but, if any given top is made from one piece of maple then I'd expect the grain patterns to line up.....