01GT eibach

Yeah, but you are in Danville. Things could be much worse ...

From the 2017 pic above those watches appear (hard to see) to have "Swiss Movement" on their faces. For your #1 of 100 watch is there anything on the back that gives any hints about a Swiss pedigree (or anything at all for that matter)? Did you buy it new?

With postings on non-LPC guitars in this Norlin discussion from many years ago, I am still tempted to chime in here (LOL) ... I have a Norlin '79 SG Standard that was made in Kalamazoo. The guitar is fantastic, such that I am tempted to find a late '70s Kalamazoo-made Les Paul.

Mark -- As a Project Manager, I deal with a lot of finance people ... and none of them show the least inkling even close to being a guitar player. So, my CPA friend, I am glad to see you representing your fine community with guitar in hand. And welcome to the forum!!!

During Rob Zombie's set at a pre-COVID Rob Zombie/Marilyn Manson concert in Denver, with seemingly everyone holding up their phones, Rob Zombie said, "Put all your phones down and just watch the concert. It's okay, I'll wait". And he did ... he just stood there with his hands on his hips waiting for the phones to be put down. (He put on a great show, by the way. I was very impressed.)

Mostly, when I listen to the Kinks, I listen to their two live albums released fairly closely to each other but don't overlap any material: The Road and One For The Road. These two albums are a great listen back to back in this order.

The deal was for $999. The $1600 is the normal price.

Musicians Friend sends out their "stupid deal of the day" email to me every day that I invariably open and look at (what a sucker, I know). They very commonly send out only some discounted ukulele, tuner, or a cord set ... nothing ever that interesting or compelling. However, lately they been sending out much more intriguing discounts. The other day, they had the $1600 USA Martin D Ovangkol Dreadnought discounted to $999 (a USA Martin for less than a grand -- 38% off). Today, they have a Line 6 Spider V 60 mk ii amp discounted over 25% to only $220 (the Line 6 Spider V line has amazing functionality). MF is making the "stupid deal of the day" much more compelling ...

My new amp also accepts the G10T transmitter directly. Being cordless is nice, and my new high-end amp is amazing. I have not tried the Yamaha, but that looks very cool.

That really is not true. A VIN is a 17 digit number. Generally the last six numbers are used for the serializing of their builds usually no intelligence built in. The rest of the VIN can indicate make, plant, and possibly engine, but little else. When you put your VIN into a VIN decoder and see every little detail about the car, that comes from the information released by the automaker on the vehicle. and not from within the VIN itself. The makers release this VIN information openly due to the need for info on cars for a myriad of reasons (e.g., insurance, the re-sale market, etc.).

Posting a few of your pics directly. Awesome guitars, and definitely legit. The Chinese fakes ones had screwed up alignment of the pickups, mis-shapened headstocks, and the headstock logo and Ace image way too low (among the other more usual Chinese Les Paul mistakes). The Gibson USA model did not come with a pickguard (unlike the CS one). So likely someone added the pickguard to your guitar (a good addition ... who has ever seen Ace play a Les Paul without a pickguard?)

Your guitar is Gibson USA (not a CS). The three lines started build in Aug/1997. I believe the Gibson-USA line concluded in 2001, and the Epiphone in 2005 (not sure about the CS). The Gibson-USA guitars have the black truss-rod cover, black plastics on back of guitar body (the CS has metal), Grover tuning machines, and Nashville bridge. All three pickups were supposed to be Dimarzio Super Distortions but Dimarzio had capacity problems, so some guitars got other pickups (it is a good idea to make sure you got SDs). They came in a black tolex case with a very cool blue interior and "Ace Frehley" shroud. For the 1997 models, they came with a special limited run t-shirt. For the 1998 models, they came with the "Ace Frehley Power Pack" which included 6 packs of his new Gibson signature strings, an Ace Frehley signature lightning-bolt guitar strap, 2 Gibson Ace Frehley guitar picks, the 1998 Gibson catalog, and a copy of Kiss' 1998 album Psych Circus. This was to be in promotion of with Ace's participation on the 1998 Kiss tour, I believe. Nothing extra came with the 1999+ Gibson USA guitars. http://www.acefrehleylespaul.com/Promo_poster__97a.jpg

Post your pictures to imgur.com for free, then put the picture links in your post. That is much easier. Is your Gibson a Custom Shop?

Your concept seems to be a sound idea. I am not super familiar with the Invader SH8, but it is super affordable and well reviewed. The Gibson 496R/500T ceramic pickups do heavy very well, and also clean up nicely for not-so-heavy things. Additionally, they are very well balanced between the neck and bridge position. I have them in a SG, and they kill. Although ... the 496T/500T idea is a good bit more money than your proposed SH8 Invader idea. Anyway, just an idea.

Brian -- I know something about those guitars. There were three flavors: a limited edition of 300 Custom Shop, a Gibson USA, and an Epiphone. These guitars were all very cool. This is one of the few signature guitars to be made in all three lines. Additionally, there was a significant fraudulent line out of China too. Give me some info on what you got (model and year) preferably with some pics of it (of the headstock especially, front and back), and we will hook you up on what case candy you should have. Additionally, we can likely authenticate as real or not. Let us know, bro.

San Francisco ... Van Ness Avenue. I am originally a Marin County boy so I know that store well. Very cool.

Here he is with his signature. Cool SG without a doubt.

I was not the individual that made the original "not blind" comment that was taken offense to ... However, in all fairness, I believe the comment was made in "extreme emphasis/clarity" that the guitar had numerous tell-tale signs of being non-Gibson, as opposed to it being a belittling comment directed to you personally. I really do. I appreciate very much the fact that you posted these pics and asked the question here, and hope you feel comfortable enough to start additional Gibson-related threads in the future. Thanks again. 😀

It is really a big mix made up of: There are certain signature models that are purchased by the fan-base: the Jimmy Page Dragon/Mirror telecasters, the Hendrix Strats, etc. That is, find me a buyer for either of these guitars that is not a huge Zep or Hendrix fan, respectively ... probably not too many. Then there is the total opposite side of the spectrum where it is the guitar's features that really drive purchases. I think most buyers of the Kirk Douglas signature SGs buy it because those are seriously cool SGs, and most buyers of the recent Joan Jett 339 signature considered it far more because of the guitar's features than due to Joan Jett. The original Les Pauls which were signature models in this category, too, as these guitars became legendary because of the guitars themselves and not Les Paul himself. That being said ... I do think that most "signature guitars" sales are a combination of guitar features and the artist endorsement. For instance, all of the Slash, Joe Perry, and Alex Lifeson Les Pauls were not specifically purchased by GnR, Aerosmith, and Rush fanatics, I do not think. The specific features that are in those guitars are what have the guitarist initially considering the purchase. However, I do think the artist's signature does provide a certain "stamp of approval" and perceived coolness to the purchaser that allows Gibson and Fender to charge more for the guitar than they could without it. Another good example is the Kurt Cobain Fender Jaguar that is likely sold based right down the middle between the features and coolness of the guitar but also within Nirvana's overall extended fan-ship. I also believe that on the Fender side, Fender has a lot more "tone chasers" than on the Gibson side where purchasers are buying more due to artist tone than anything: SRV, John Mayer, Clapton, Gilmour, Knopfler, Eric Johnson, Blackmore, etc. That being said, most of these aforementioned tone-chasing models admittedly ALSO have significant and unique features that make them -- without a doubt -- attract guitarists seeking out these features without any concern for the signature name whatsoever.

Yeah. And we are going to tell the poor soul that it is a fake!😁

I am not the biggest fan of goldtops, but - Ledboots - your guitar is making me a believer. Wow, very nice! Where were you where the store had 5 of the only 50 made? Los Angeles or some other big city?

The way I look at it is that you gotta spend your money on something. Why not a guitar ?

Nice use of vibrato, bends, and slides .

Just thinking about how much string gets cut off when putting new strings on, there is almost no perceivable way that is not long enough for any regular guitar application -- for any brand. I use D 'Addario, but Ernie Ball makes great strings.

There are the people that will buy multiple CS R guitars ((historic reissues), and that is wayyyy out of my stratosphere. I feel very happy and privileged just to own a couple very nice regular-Gibson Les Pauls with binding, trap fb markers and a HSC. THEN ... there is this level of collecting which -- to me -- might as well be on the moon.