truetone6 Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 I bought this guitar used at my local guitar center yesterday.I have a couple of questions: what is the finish color? Trans Amber? What is the grade of this maple top? AA or AAA? Thanks for any help. I found this in the used section at my local GC today. The pickups were changed to Bare Knucle pickups Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moparguy Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 I bought this guitar used at my local guitar center yesterday.I have a couple of questions: what is the finish color? Trans Amber? What is the grade of this maple top? AA or AAA? Thanks for any help. I found this in the used section at my local GC today. The pickups were changed to Bare Knucle pickups I could be wrong, but that's probably a AAA top, very nice flame job, looks pretty fast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 Maybe a Honeyburst? Edit - Nope. Trans Amber seems right. Looks pretty AAA ish to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 Congrats on your great purchase! This is for sure a Translucent Amber finish, but I am not sure if it is an AA or AAA maple top. It looks very much like AAA to me, but as they do classify tops before finishing, I have been surprised several times in the past. This one looks VERY nice indeed. (one for each A lol) Have fun - I do have, too with my Honey Burst Std 2012. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 Nice! It's trans amber, I have a Classic that color. The top is the number of As anyone would care to give it. Gibson may call it AAA, Paul Reed could call it A or AAAAA. It is entirely up to the namer of the top, that is, the seller. There is no flame grading standard that is used, so call it whatever you want. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 I think everyone is right in that it's a AAA Trans-Amber. As rct and others mention the grading is just one person's viewpoint at that time and some tops are quite clearly mis-graded (and it can happen in both up- or down-grade directions). There might, however, be something written in the p'up cavities which will answer both of your questions categorically. HB means Honey Burst. TA would be Trans-Amber. LPPP means Les Paul Premium Plus (top) : i.e. AAA; LPP would mean Les Paul Plus (top) : i.e. AA. FWIW AAA is the highest official grading for wood. Anything described as being AAAA or AAAAA (as I've seen occasionally on an advertised Gibson) or up to 10A's (PRS) is purely down to the salespeople. I believe Gibson stopped officially naming higher than AAA a few years back. The higher designations were only ever used for spectacular flame or quilt tops on the more exotic models such as the Supreme. Very sweet looking guitar, BTW. Love Trans-Amber! P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bongoscot Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 For 2012 the claim was that all the '12 standards except the solid colors (Gold Top, Black) were AAA. For '13 they put a AA top on the same guitar for the same price and jacked up the price on the AAA calling it a premium something or another. It is a Trans Amber. I spent a whole lot of time staring at pictures of those before deciding on my honeyburst, believe me it was a tough choice. Nice guitar! I am totally in love with mine. I think my wife is a little jealous of her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Farnsbarns Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 I have to say I disagree with the consensus here. I believe AAA tops should have flame right to the edges with no gaps. Unless the picture is misleading me it looks like the flame washes out at the edges in the lower bout, making it AA grade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truetone6 Posted July 19, 2013 Author Share Posted July 19, 2013 Thanks for the posts! I sent an email to Gibson asking for information on my guitar and they sent me this email: Hello , The serial number 107020*** appears consistent with the serial number used on a 2012 Les Paul Standard model which had trans amber finish and a AAA top. Thanks. Best Regards, Bob Burns Gibson Customer Service 1-800-4GIBSON service@gibson.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truetone6 Posted August 16, 2013 Author Share Posted August 16, 2013 Is "Trans Amber "short for Transparent Amber? or Translucent Amber? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted August 16, 2013 Share Posted August 16, 2013 Is "Trans Amber "short for Transparent Amber? or Translucent Amber? There are some colors called Translucent abbreviated Trans- as well as those named Transparent. I don't know if there is a very difference. To my knowledge, in both cases the dye is dissolved in the nitrocellulose finish, other than with stained or opaque finishes. In cases of stained finishes pigments are brought to the wooden surface and coated with a transparent finish, or for an opaque finish the pigments are dispersed in the finish and thus hide the wood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Sutherland Posted August 16, 2013 Share Posted August 16, 2013 I bought this guitar used at my local guitar center yesterday.I have a couple of questions: what is the finish color? Trans Amber? What is the grade of this maple top? AA or AAA? Thanks for any help. I found this in the used section at my local GC today. The pickups were changed to Bare Knucle pickups That is such a beautiful guitar, I was just looking at the 2013 Standard on Sweetwater in this color... wish they made the Traditional Plus in TransAmber... Happy NGD! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eracer_Team Posted August 16, 2013 Share Posted August 16, 2013 I think there are a few bugs in your naming convention Is "Trans Amber "short for Transparent Amber? or Translucent Amber? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted August 16, 2013 Share Posted August 16, 2013 I think there are a few bugs in your naming convention Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaicho8888 Posted August 16, 2013 Share Posted August 16, 2013 Yep! That's sure is pretty! You posted it on MLP, so I guess you decided to keep it! your MLP posting BTW, I've never seen any written measure of standard from Gibson on what the ratings mean. So, I don't know how anyone outside of Gibson can identify what grade it is. It's one of Gibson's secret to be able to adjust the rate AA, AAA, or AAA. I only know $$, $$$, $$$$, and more $'s! More flexibility for Gibson to up their pricing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted August 17, 2013 Share Posted August 17, 2013 Yep! That's sure is pretty! You posted it on MLP, so I guess you decided to keep it! your MLP posting BTW, I've never seen any written measure of standard from Gibson on what the ratings mean. So, I don't know how anyone outside of Gibson can identify what grade it is. It's one of Gibson's secret to be able to adjust the rate AA, AAA, or AAA. I only know $$, $$$, $$$$, and more $'s! More flexibility for Gibson to up their pricing? As far as I know the timber is rated before carving and finishing. So there might appear unexpected things sometimes, and since there are no more official factory seconds since the mid-1980s, they just charge a few bucks less for some items such as my Std 2012 HB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaicho8888 Posted August 17, 2013 Share Posted August 17, 2013 As far as I know the timber is rated before carving and finishing. So there might appear unexpected things sometimes, and since there are no more official factory seconds since the mid-1980s, they just charge a few bucks less for some items such as my Std 2012 HB. I presume Gibson rates maple tops before and after final polishing (as it should be). My question is what constitute an AA, AAA, or an AAAA. Can anybody tell me what an AA, AAA, or an AAAA should look like? Understandably, there is a criteria that Gibson uses to determine their ratings. Obviously, that determines the dollar value of the product. Perhaps rating guidelines are not disclosed to avoid customer disputes. For example, with a published criteria, a customer can say "I paid for a premium plus but this looks more like the lower rated AA." It's true, you don't have to buy it. However, knowing the criteria, gives the customer a bargaining tool; thus I can understand Gibson's hesitancy in revealing their method of rating. Don't you think the ratings are definitely a marketing tool to sell their product? I suppose the majority of us buy more with their eyes than with their ears... I do too, sometimes, LOL. OK, enough said...back to practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
665 Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 Beautiful guitar. I have to say that is probably my favorite normal production color for the LP standard. Nice choice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ant7629 Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 Beautiful guitar. Love that top. That looks like a Custom case. Is that what the 2012 LPs ship with now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truetone6 Posted August 25, 2013 Author Share Posted August 25, 2013 Thanks so much for the posts! The guitar really looks much better in real life than in my flash photos above. Here is a photos taken with natural light to give you a better idea what this top really look like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truetone6 Posted August 25, 2013 Author Share Posted August 25, 2013 I like the way the single line of grain runs from top to bottom on either side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truetone6 Posted August 25, 2013 Author Share Posted August 25, 2013 I bought this guitar used so I don't know if this is the original case or a replacement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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