cody78

Got to disagree with you on that one. The first album I got by Aerosmith was Get a Grip, a year or two after it came out in around 1994/1995. I was 10 or 11 then so maybe it's a generation thing, but I love that album. Pump was the next one I bought and I love that too. I didn't even know at the time they were from the 70's! I eventually got Toys in the Attic (my favourite Aerosmith album) and discovered the rest of their catalogue. I also love Draw the Line and Night in the Ruts. The only album they never should have released is Just Push Play. Truly awful album. Generally I like all Aerosmith albums.

Yeah, I've seen. He posted in a Gibson archtop group I'm in on Facebook! I commented 'very nice playing' on his video. Didn't expect him on there at all!

I first saw Hot Club of Cowtown on Jools Holland in 2003. A truly excellent trio and Whit is a superb guitar player. They came to Leeds (near where I live) here in the UK the other month, but sadly I missed them. One day I hope to see them live and maybe get to chat to Whit about guitar. Continental Stomp (2003) is probably my favourite album by them. Check out Ida Red from that recording.

I agree with jdgm. It's a great shame they have ignored archtops completely. At least Henry did introduce a lot of rarer models (such as the Tal Farlow and ES 5) back into the line up in the 90's. Having said that, the SG's and Les Paul's do look very nice, but can they please go back to the large headstock on the '61 SG's? Also, the new Epiphone LP and SG headstock I cannot get used to. My whole lifetime Epi have had the clipped headstock on LP's & SG's and changing it now it a bit like changing the Gibson headstock...wrong! It looks ok though, just preferred the clipped one.

I must admit, I'm a bit sad to see the normal headstock for Epi LP's and SG's go. I always liked it. Unless they changed to a Gibson one it all seems a bit pointless to me. The new headstock is an old Epi design and the clipped ear headstock was an old Epi design, so really they have just replaced one old design for another. The new headstock looks more at home on semis and hollows in my opinion. It would have been nice to at least keep an option for the old headstock. The new guitars do look nice though.

Well yes, it could be that too

If you are a true rockin' guitar player everything is cranked on 10 and your tinnitus rolls off the trebles naturally for you. 'My guitar is buzzing and my amp is buzzing'...no, it's just the endless ringing in your ears

Re: J-15's There is nothing wrong with J-15's, they are brilliant guitars and hold up against some of the higher priced models. I'm 35 years old (not 16) and bought one a couple of years back. Acoustic wise I also own a J-185 and a Dove and the J-15 is up there with both of them. I bought the J-15 last by the way.

You have the same L5CESN as me...great choice you made. Mine is a 2015 Custom Crimson one, what year is yours? Here's mine from the NGD thread I posted back in 2015. Scroll to the top to see pictures. http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/125885-l-5-ces-ngd/page__p__1714712__hl__cody78+l5ces__fromsearch__1#entry1714712

Incredibly beautiful guitar and all the photos are great. L5's are truly wonderful instruments. I'm sure you will enjoy it.

My first guitar was passed down from my sister around 1991 when I was 7 and it was a BM Classico classical guitar. She had only learnt a few beginner tunes and lost interest. I took lessons at school for a year or so, but they were not teaching me the things I wanted. I wanted to learn things like Mr. Brownstone, but instead I was given Mary Had a Little Lamb. After a break of a couple of years, I started lessons in the first year of high school. Again I was presented with songs I didn't want to learn, such as Wonderwall. I got my first electric aged 12 which was an Epiphone LP100 in honeyburst and went on from there. My first breakthrough came by learning the rhythm parts for Guns N Roses' Civil War the same year. I still have both guitars. I love the Epiphone and despite amassing many other guitars, that LP100 is still one of my favourites.

Some of the Norlin models I love the look of. I always wanted a Les Paul Artisan and a natural 3 pickup LP Custom from that era. What about the cool Spotlight Special and amazing looking 'The Les Paul'. In terms of Les Paul's a lot of snobs didn't like that they started using 3 piece caps around that time (as well as the pancake body already mentioned), but sound wise could anyone really tell the difference? I have a book somewhere that says 3 piece tops don't sound any different to 2 piece. There were also a things like the depth of the carved top being different from the originals. SG wise the shape changed and bevelling was wrong compared to the 60's models. Can't say I've ever tried a Norlin Gibson, but I imagine there are many great ones. This one looks amazing to me...

Yes, I wonder why that is? I don't know much about Lee Malia, but in pictures I've seen I like that he plays his signature Epiphone's live. I sometimes find it strange when musicians have signature models but don't play them. I have a Gibson Kirk Douglas SG Custom in my collection from 2013, but I don't recall seeing him play it much (if at all) since having the honour of a signature model. I'm not a fan of The Roots, but I always wanted a late 60's Custom so when I saw his model was coming out back then I had to get it, despite the fact I'd never heard of him. I'd still like an original walnut Custom from the late 60's though.

Very very very nice, both the Epihone and Gibson I must buy (or at least try) an RD someday. Glad you are enjoying both of them.

Good points made. I'm surprised he hasn't been kicked off the forum yet. I'm sure a lot of his posts go against forum rules? That's a shame about it being pushed back. From your original post I got the impression you already had a Gibson RD and were getting an Epi also to do a comparison? I think I may have read your original post wrong, but all good! I'd never heard of Lee Malia until I saw the LP Artisan they did. I still don't think I've heard any of his playing!

Going back to the original topic, how do you find the Gibson RD you mentioned Megafrog? I've never tried one myself, but was always interested in the look of them. The only unusual shaped guitars I have tried/ or own is a Gibson Firebird V which I bought a couple of years ago and many years ago a guy I knew had an Explorer which he let me test out. I like the Firebird because it feels so different to other guitars and has unique tone with the mini humbuckers. I imagine the RD would be along the same lines in feeling and sounding very unique. I must try one someday, either Epi or Gibson.

The thing I don't get is if he hates Epiphone's so much, why does he spend so much time posting in this forum? It's not even a rational argument he has for his dislike of Epiphone. Most good guitarists could find a (Chinese) Epiphone that they like. I'd love to hear him play guitar...I bet he sucks big time

Yes, good point about his tribute His posts do annoy me, but I must learn to ignore him.

Dude, some might say a Gibson Les Paul Tribute is just a cheapo Gibson that is not a proper Les Paul. Oh wait, you own one of those. You put binding on it to make it look like a real Les Paul, so why not buy a 'proper' Gibson? Could it be you can't afford one? Guess what, Gibson Les Paul Tributes are never going to be collectors items, so why mock people who like Epiphone guitars? Megafrog, congrats on guitar number 100! Hope you enjoy the RD. I loved the look of his Epi LP Artisan.

Like CB, none of my SG's have suffered from neck dive either (I own a couple of the same SG's as him - Gibson SG Custom Kirk Douglas and an SG Original). I've never owned an Epi SG so can't comment on them, but I have an Epiphone Thunderbird bass in my collection which does neck dive a little bit. Doesn't bother me at all and I think it's a really nice bass - used it on some recordings recently and sounded great.

England vs America? Oh dear Both countries have good points and both have bad. I'm English, but don't feel the need to start posting dumb comments here about either country. Back to the guitar. Interesting someone mentioned the grain on original bursts not being perfect sometimes. Those guitars were never seen as Gibson's top of the line models back in the 50's and not quite as much care was put into them as many would believe. For example, look at the positions of the silk screens on the headstocks back then and you'll see some were way off. Wood chosen could be average or spectacular in terms of figure and/ or blemishes. It's only collectors who turned them into the holy grail of guitars. Yes bursts were great, but at the time archtops like the L5 were still considered Gibson's flagship models.

I was going to say Searcy has been posting some cool rare Gibson models in his Gibson of the day thread (a lot of which I think look great), but sadly the N-225 here just looks all wrong to me. That said, it probably plays and sounds really good and would be worth testing out. I'm sure I saw some natural versions of these which looked much more appealing. The black one reminds me of that pinstripe Les Paul they did a while back. EDIT: Ah, here's one in natural which I would consider buying for $799 if I was in the market for one.

Ha! I didn't realise he meant no binding on the f-holes. On my laptop it looked like there was lacquer missing near the edges of one of them...think it must be the photo/ angle I was looking at. Anyway ES 175's never have bound f-holes, therefore, definitely not an issue. My 175 looks just the same too.

On archtops, to my knowledge, Gibson never finish under the 'neck pocket' as you call it - the section underneath the end of the fretboard. I do feel you are being overly picky, however, the unfinished sections around the f-holes does seem bad as I've never seen that before with the lacquer missing...also the cracking on the binding seems unusual too. The other things you mention usually happen over time anyway, so I wouldn't worry. So long as it sounds great and feels great don't stress about it. It's still a beautiful guitar. Remember, nitro finishes do have a tendency to split/ crack over time (as seen in your picture of the headstock logo/ thistle and also the neck/ body join). Check out some pictures of old Gibson archtops from the 60's or before and you will see nitro cracking all over the place and other signs of wear. It's gonna happen to most guitars one day, so embrace it. I myself bought an L5CES last year and was horrified to see some finish cracking appear down the back of the neck within the first 6 months. Now I realise, it's just one of those things that can sometimes happen. The guitar is still a fantastic instrument, it's just the bummer of a nitro finish! Some people love it, though I would rather the instrument remains flawless personally. What can you do? I have an Epiphone Broadway which is not finished with nitro and it is perfect in terms of no signs of age/ cracking...but the tone is only probably 3/10th's as good as the L5. The Epi is still a good guitar though, despite the difference in tone.

My Studio in the middle of my LP Special and LP Junior. Had the Studio from new when I got it back in 1998 and it still is a pleasure to play. I've gigged it numerous times, but looked after it so it still looks fairly mint except for marks on the back. Mine had a 50's rounded neck which I love and sounds sweet to this day. They really are great guitars. It was my first Gibson, so has a very special place in my collection.