MichaelT

Last time I played golf, I almost killed my friend. Or, at least nearly hit him with the golf ball that I hit really hard and it missed his head by maybe 6 inches. I'm not sure what the score was but I think I ended up with 5 beers. This was either late 80's or early 90's.

If it were me, I'd complain, get a discount, buff it out and be done with it. Minor flaws like that don't bother me but I will ask for a discount if it's a new guitar. I have a 2018 Classic with a minor flaw in the binding on the neck, right at the 5th fret. You can't see it unless you look close and it doesn't affect the playability. But, from Sweetwater, that took it from a $2200.00 guitar to a $1700.00 guitar. I would see if they'd give a partial refund for something that minor that can be easily fixed. But, it's your guitar and I wish you luck. If it were a fantastic guitar otherwise, I'd fix that or come up with a cool story to go with the scratch. :D

I like the pricing. $2500.00 for a new Standard and the previous version was $3299.00. They're still expensive but reasonable. I like that they've gone back to what made the Les Paul popular in the first place and it's what a lot of people wanted. On the flipside, there's others who liked all the new changes and options available. I wonder if they'll continue marketing the classic line and the modern lines? I'm curious as to what's different from those and the reissues. I hope to play a few of them over the next few weeks. I'd love to have a Goldtop with humbuckers.

Other than playing music (of course), I play a few different video games on my home computer when not playing music. I've been working in the IT field for 23 years and occasionally troubleshoot computer issues for others or assist in building computers and doing upgrades. I have about 1000 books of various content, fiction, non-fiction and music. I have a stamp collection from when I was a kid in the 70's. I have a lot of LP's and cassettes from the 70's through 90's and I'm working slowly but surely recording those to my PC to preserve them. In the past, I've also taken martial arts classes - Shaolin Do , Ninpo Taijitsu and Tae Kwon Do and earned brown belt in each. I enjoy traveling and have been to most of the US except the Northeast and some of the upper Midwest states. I enjoy watching some documentaries, in addition to a pretty big variety of other TV shows and movies. Mostly I just hang out with my lovely wife, our kids and our friends. Music is a big part of our life and we enjoy playing music together, with friends and going to bars/clubs/concerts as well. Sometimes we like going out, sometimes we just stay home. My kids were in Cub Scouts/Boy Scouts when they were younger and I was a Scout Leader for 8 or 9 years. We enjoy camping occasionally with friends and family.

I can't wait to play the new ones and see how they compare. I'd love to have a Goldtop with humbuckers and a tobacco burst but definitely don't like the light back on the tobacco burst. It's an excuse to go play them though.

That's awesome! Love the Goldtop! As you can see, I like them a lot as well. I'm glad you're happy with it. I'm very happy with my 2017 Goldtop Tribute.

Have fun is the most important part. Having a list of songs you both know is helpful and make sure you both play it in the same key. Have a capo handy in case it's played in a different key. I play mostly lead/electric guitar and I've sat in with multiple bands, open mic/open jam, parties, and just jammed with other bands for fun in addition to my band. I learned most of three sets of songs on stage once by following the singer/guitarist, the bass and having them write down the chords, keys and changes on big posterboards on the back of the PA system. Friday night was a bit rough but the next 3 nights were a lot better. Have fun with it and talk a little about what kind of stuff you're going to do.

The Studio is a fine guitar. The singer in my band has one and it looks nice, plays nice and it's a quality instrument. My 2018 Traditional is probably my favorite live guitar though. I like the Burstbucker 1 and 2 combination in it. I hope you enjoy the new guitar but we still need pictures!

I noticed that on my Tribute as well but it's nothing to be concerned about. A little fret dressing and it's all good.

Yeah, it's supposed to have 9 hole weight relief. It was an American Musical special run Goldtop with P90's Tribute. Locking tuners, slim taper neck, PCB instead of hand wired, came in gig back. But, the guitar itself is so resonant, great sustain and a real pleasure to play. That one and my 2018 Traditional are my "go to" live guitars. They weigh about the same and the Traditional doesn't have weight relief. I think they put real gold in that Goldtop. Tribute is on the left. The 2018 Classic on the right is even heavier at 11 pounds.

I can't speak for the 2018 Tribute but my 2017 Tribute Goldtop (with P90's) is one of my favorite guitars. It has the 9 hole weight relief but still weighs in at around 9 pounds. It sounds great unplugged and plugged in and was a fantastic buy. It's the one that sits next to my couch to be played any time and tends to be brought to band practice and gigs more than the others. I've heard great things about the 2018 line as well but I haven't played one myself. Buy it if you get a good price on it.

It's your guitar and you can do what you want. Personally, I wouldn't. I'd play with the volume and tone controls on the guitar and on the amp and see about dialing in the right sound, particularly since you've said that they all sound the same. In any case, keep the original stuff just in case you want to sell it some day.

I have a 2017 Tribute Goldtop and absolutely love that guitar. It plays as well as my Standard, Traditional and Classic and sounds amazing. They're great guitars for the money and without all the frills. It's the guitar that sits on the stand next to the couch for me to pick up and play and is also one that goes with me to band rehearsals and gigs. The only thing I don't like about it is that I wish it had a hardshell case instead of a padded gig bag.

The latest update to my P90 guitars. Mini on the left, 2017 Tribute in middle, 2018 Classic on the right.

In or around 1971 or 1972, I was taking piano lessons. I wasn't really taking to it as much as my parents would have liked and grew up watching Hee Haw on TV and listening to Johnny Cash, Roy Clark, Buck Owens, Glen Campbell and others play guitar. My parents didn't listen to rock at the time and much of my exposure to guitar was country. I mentioned that I wanted to play guitar but after spending all that money on a piano and paying for piano lessons from second grade to fifth grade, they didn't want to hear it. They weren't going to buy me a guitar and weren't going to let me take lessons. The music store was across the square from my dad's clothing store, and I'd often walk over there. They had a student guitar there for $19.95 and I saved my allowance, did extra chores and gathered money for a while. I walked over there one day, handed the man $19.95 and told him I wanted to buy the guitar. I can't remember what price he told me, because I didn't know about sales tax. He saw what I had, saw that it was a combination of coins and paper money and sold it to me for exactly $19.95. This was spring of 1977. He threw in a book to learn from and I had guitar classes in our Jr. High music course. It was only a few weeks but it was chords and notes. I learned the basics of "I Walk The Line" by Johnny Cash. Christmas of 1978, my Grandma bought me a nylon string guitar and I played it a bit more than the other one, since the strings hurt my fingers less. Christmas of 1979, my aunt bought me an electric guitar and amp. It was a Sears or Service Merchandise SG copy guitar and a little amp. I played it loudly and poorly for some time. Fast forward to summer of 1981 and my parents finally decided that they were tired of hearing me not play as well as I could and figured out I wasn't going to give up after four years. They chose to let me take lessons. I got a better guitar for Christmas of 1981, because the strings were at least a mile and a half off the fretboard and my teacher told my parents that it was necessary to upgrade if I was going to get any better. 1982, I started playing in a band, upgrading my amp to a 70's Fender Twin Reverb, then upgrading guitars, pickups, etc. In 1983 I started teaching guitar at the same store where I was taking lessons, taking over for two guitar teachers at 17 years old. I got my first Gibson (1981 Gibson "The V") in 1984 and a few more guitars, more amps, bands, teaching, gigging, touring, Musicians Institute and a few decades later, I'm still playing guitar. My parents stressed to me that if they were going to pay for lessons, that I'd learn how to play everything, not just rock. And, although I'm more proficient in rock, metal and blues, I did learn to play many different styles, including some country, classical and a little jazz. Country, blues, southern rock, classic rock, hard rock/metal were all early influences. My parents would be glad to know their money wasn't wasted and I'm still playing 41 years later. The old guitars and amps are long gone, except an old Dixon V I got in 1983 and my Gibson V I got in 1984.

They usually will say Pearloid Acrylic. There are a few models which do use MOP but I'm not certain which. They'll probably ask for years and serial numbers. You could always email Gibson support and they should be able to tell you: Gibson Customer Service Email the Customer Service team at service@gibson.com You can also reach us by phone In the USA: 1-800-4GIBSON (1-800-444-2766) In Europe: 00+800-4GIBSON1 (00+800-444-2766-1) In China: 1-800-820-8841

Thank you for the compliments as well. The 2018 Classic has no weight relief but I've played some that weren't nearly as heavy. I think a lot of them are between 9 and 10 pounds. I agree about the 1956 Les Pauls. I wanted one for a while and got the Tribute first and it turned out to be a fantastic guitar. The Classic is almost like an R6 and I just had to have it for its sound and feel. And, the discount I got for that guitar from Sweetwater made it very desirable as well. I considered putting period correct volume/tone knobs, pointers, truss rod cover and tuners on it. It's a really nice sounding guitar with the band and really cuts through. The clean sound is fantastic out of those P90's. It'll definitely cause some shoulder ache after a few hours.

Beautiful guitars. I've seen them before and love seeing them again. Thanks for sharing!

Might as well have it all! We didn't mention truss rod covers or "poker chip" yet though. Oh, wait, I just did. Oh crap.

My guitars, left to right: 2018 Classic - No weight relief - brute at 11 pounds, sounds killer, I feel it after a few hours of playing with the band. 2017 Standard - Ultra modern weight relief - I think 8.5 pounds or something like that. Sounds killer. 2018 Traditional - No weight relief - I think it's around 9 pounds - amazing sound. 2017 Tribute - 9 hole weight relief - 9 pounds, sounds killer unplugged or plugged in. I don't think weight relief is as much an issue as people claim. I haven't noticed any major differences in sound or sustain other than the pickups in the guitars. The 9 hole weight relief Tribute with P90s sounds very similar to the non-weight relieved Classic with P90s. It could be that I'm almost 53 and stood for too many years in front of Marshall/Randall stacks. :)

Nibs, U2, and trolls all in one thread. So, in my post above ^ pickguards on or off?

I'm pretty sure it's 9 hole, which is what my 2017 Tribute has in it. And, even at that, it's still 9 pounds. I agree that a "budget guitar" should be under $1000.00, even if a Gibson. I would think that since they're making the necks, fretboards and trapezoid fret markers anyway, it wouldn't be that much more of an expense. But, I guess if it sells or doesn't sell, they'll rethink things next year, or not. My Tribute is on the right and it plays every bit as well as the other three and sounds just as good. In fact, it's even louder and better sounding when not plugged into an amp than the other three. The things that made my Tribute what it was in 2017 was what made me buy it. The things on the 2019 Tribute are what would make me not buy it. Not that it matters much in the larger scheme of things.

I don't know that anyone from Gibson will or won't read this but I'm going to have to agree with a lot that you said. I absolutely love my 2017 Goldtop Tribute with P90's. It has the 9 hole weight relief but still comes in at about 9 pounds and has an amazing sound with and without an amp. Other Tributes I've played have been really nice as well. I always wanted the mother of pearl inlay for the Gibson logo but I was ok without that, the binding, the glossy finish and all that. I have that stuff on my Standard, Traditional and Classic but the Tribute was a great guitar for the money. Now I'm not so sure. I agree that I don't like the dot inlays. It's like they took the lower end faded series and combined it with the Tribute and increased the price? That's crazy. People are fussing about the new Standard as well with all the electronics. I'm not a fan of the new 2019 Flying V either. I'm guessing that they already had these planned a year or two ago and went with them but I disagree with a few of their choices. The tobacco sunburst Traditional is nice, at least.

I certainly can't speak for all but the ones in my 2017 Tribute and the ones in my 2018 Classic sound VERY similar. I'd be hard pressed to tell the differences in the pickups alone.

Crossfire - Stevie Ray Vaughan - playing it in the band.