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sok66

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  1. "There's a sucker born every minute" ~ PT Barnum
  2. The neck binding on my '19 R8 has heavy bleed like that. I've had it since the early Fall 2020 and I don't really see an evidence of it diminishing. It's not a big deal to me, the guitar is outsatanding otherwise.
  3. I recall being very pleased back then that Gibson reissued the dot with a stop tail. I'd been clamoring for years that they change back to that early configuration.
  4. 1981 was indeed the first year Gibson reissued the 335 with a stop tailpiece and dot fingerboard. Seemed like they had the '61 era slim taper neck. Not particularly rare, but nice guitars none the less. Red was more typical than other colors. Not sure what the production percentage was vs other colors.
  5. Frankly, the only way to resolve all this is to move production back to Kalamazoo.
  6. Making it more confusing, all component parts for the 335 are made in Memphis, then some are shipped to Nashville for final assembly. Side by side a Memphis '59RI, for example, may be indistinguishable from a Nashville other than what's written on the label inside, and the price of course. As has been the case with 335s since they were first released to the public in the late 50s, there is significant variability from one to another. It pays to handle & play them before you buy.
  7. Bruce is one of my old northwest Indiana homeboys, went to work for Gibson in the mid-60's. Became President of Norlin Gibson in the early 80s. A fabulous player, Les Paul referred to hm as his "illegitimate son". Not true, of course. His son, Bruce Jr. is Fender's artist relations guy in Nashville. Not sure where Bruce Sr. is these days.
  8. Norlin era Gibsons became notorious for poor quality builds, and some pretty obvious cost cutting. That being said, many were fine guitars. His Norlin 335 never slowed Larry Carlton down a bit.
  9. It's an ES350T, the "cheap" version of the Byrdland. Same specs but less ornate and with a maple ply top. I had one in the late 60s, another great one I foolishly traded off. Edit to add that the one he's playing has an unusual feature in the "scroll" or "tail" at the end of the fingerboard. These were usually only found on ebony board models.
  10. In other words, it's doing what the original '50s goldtops did. Enjoy, it is gaining mojo with each new crack.
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