Interesting Talk on 50's Bursts

[IanHenry]

Phil Harris is a collector and something of an authority on the Classic 50's Les Paul's.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WRPCNXsJAw

 

 

Ian

[badbluesplayer]

Interesting description of the differences between the '58's thru '60's.

[kidblast]

nice post. this guy knows stuff I was not aware of..

[Riffster]

Great video.

 

He makes those guitars sing.

[surfpup]

Nice. In addition to being technically informative he gives a great lesson in bending, vibrato and dynamics too. Tasty player.

[Rabs]

I sold a guitar to a guy who knows Phil... He has apparently seen and approved of the guitar :D

[Black Dog]

very cool video.

[LarryUK]

When I start hearing that a 59 'moves more air' or 'it's aggressive' I turn off. I can't stand Bul**hit. Every guitar is different because no two pieces of wood are the same. Then there is where it is stored and used. How the wood has dried over the decades. It all affects the tone. But when I hear some of the stuff I just listened to, I can't have it. Just like people buying a £6k guitar and changing the pickups. Why? The difference most pickups make can be dialled out on the amp.

How the guitars were built back then would make a massive difference to each guitar. I should imagine that 58/9 there isn't much difference and the 60 has a thinner neck. The new ones that they charge gazillions for don't even have hand made necks. Sorry for ranting.

[Guest Farnsbarns]

When I start hearing that a 59 'moves more air' or 'it's aggressive' I turn off. I can't stand Bul**hit. Every guitar is different because no two pieces of wood are the same. Then there is where it is stored and used. How the wood has dried over the decades. It all affects the tone. But when I hear some of the stuff I just listened to, I can't have it. Just like people buying a £6k guitar and changing the pickups. Why? The difference most pickups make can be dialled out on the amp.

How the guitars were built back then would make a massive difference to each guitar. I should imagine that 58/9 there isn't much difference and the 60 has a thinner neck. The new ones that they charge gazillions for don't even have hand made necks. Sorry for ranting.

 

I met him at the he Birmingham guitar show when I was there with Rabs a few years back. He knows his stuff and showed the lesser neck angle on a 58 Vs a 59. He's owned a lot of them and is rather considered an expert, even by the megarich and megafamous owners. Of course they're all different, he's talking about tendancies, not absolutes.

 

When generalising it is true to say a shallower neck angle and more neck mass will result in a warmer (less aggressive?) tone.

 

He didn't say a 59 moves more air. He said has a more aggressive sound and therefore you grab one when "you wanna move some air". You've chosen to misunderstand what was obviously a colloquial style.

 

On the plus side, you have managed to make a post which doesn't draw the subject towards politics so that's positive.

 

Edit, it wasn't Birmingham now I think about it. I was somewhere in the SE. A GG track if I remember right.

[Beerad12]

That's a cool video. It's pretty cool that he has a 58,59,and 60 to compare to each other. Since I'll never own those guitars I'd settle for just making it to those birthday years! Haha.