Black Dog Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 Well, after a 6 month wait, it's finally here. It's a '57 Custom M2M with a RO neck and a 6-way pickup selector switch. It's my version of a Jimmy Page Custom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Bill Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 Good god is that sweet!!! Must be nice to be wealthy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly campbell Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 Sweet guitar..congratulations Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karloff Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 thats a beaut ! Black Les Pauls are classy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPguitarman Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 Beautiful Guitar. Love the gold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Dog Posted October 31, 2018 Author Share Posted October 31, 2018 I used to think that the Black Beauty Customs were just a bit too flashy but, obviously, it's a look that's grown on me. I especially like it with the Bigsby. The 6-way switch is super cool. I think every 3 pickup guitar needs more than 3 options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drog Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 Beautiful guitar, congrats! Enjoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hall Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 Well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanHenry Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 Wow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 That looks incredible!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 OH yes [thumbup] ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tx-ogre Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 Very nice. Congrats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 Very VERY Classy! A couple of questions if I may? What 'board did you elect to go with and how, exactly, does the 6-position switch work its wonders? Pip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Dog Posted November 1, 2018 Author Share Posted November 1, 2018 Very VERY Classy! A couple of questions if I may? What 'board did you elect to go with and how, exactly, does the 6-position switch work its wonders? Pip. Hi Pip. When i was first considering this, I was trying to think of ways to save a little money, so I considered Richlite. But, in the end I just went with a straight up '57 RI historic with the ebony board. It's a really nice dark board. Looks great. The Freeway 6-position switch is great. It toggles up and down with the standard 3 positions but, it also toggles left and right (2 positions) so you get basically a left and right bank of three positions each. There are many ways you can wire it, depending on how many pickups and what type of pickup wiring you have. On this guitar, these are PAF single wire pups so there's no coil splitting or anything else. I have it wired so that the left bank is the traditional neck, neck/bridge, and bridge. The right bank is neck/middle, middle, and middle/bridge. Neck and bridge volume pots are standard. What would be the neck tone pot is the middle pickup volume pot and the traditional bridge tone pot is a master tone pot. So you get more choices for the middle pickup, plus you retain all three "standard" options and whenever you have the middle pickup selected, you can dial in just how much volume you want. Way better then the standard wiring. What was a little weird was that Gibson refused to do the switch. They would never say why but I/we think that it was getting a little too close to the Jimmy Page signature model they made back in '08. So Wildwood did the wiring for me. We did have a little surprise. The new switch was just a little shorter than the standard switchcraft switch. It apparently fits Gibson USA guitars but the cavity on the Custom was no quite as deep so they had to route it just a little deeper to get it in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHTom Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 FIRST..........OH MY!!!! Second........what a cool way to do the switching/knobs. Sounds like a great bunch of tone options. Third.......enjoy that beauty!!! NHTom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 ...in the end I just went with a straight up '57 RI historic with the ebony board. It's a really nice dark board... The Freeway 6-position switch is great. It toggles up and down with the standard 3 positions but, it also toggles left and right (2 positions) so you get basically a left and right bank of three positions each... Thanks very much for the answers, Black Dog. I remembered you were considering the Richlite option but am not surprised you elected to go down the ebony route in this instance. I like Richlite - quite a lot actually - but here ebony was, IMO, the right way to go. The Freeway - as NH Tom has already mentioned - sounds like a very flexible arrangement. Too much to cope with for a "Bear of Little Brain", perhaps, but I'd be interested to try it out nonetheless. Heartiest congrats again! Pip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveFord Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 That's beautiful and Richlite would have been a YUGE mistake on that guitar. Have you put it on a scale yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Dog Posted November 1, 2018 Author Share Posted November 1, 2018 That's beautiful and Richlite would have been a YUGE mistake on that guitar. Have you put it on a scale yet? i just weighed it. Comes in at 9.8 lbs. This baby's got back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveFord Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 I thought it looked rather substantial. I'm sure you've got a wide strap for it already. Really a classy instrument, enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 I know you have some other really cool LPs. How does this compare soundwise? How are you liking the bigsby? I’m a bigsby user myself and I love it. There are a couple tricks to them but they work great when set up well. I’ve opened this page several times and the photo is just as stunning every time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Dog Posted November 2, 2018 Author Share Posted November 2, 2018 I know you have some other really cool LPs. How does this compare soundwise? How are you liking the bigsby? I'm a bigsby user myself and I love it. There are a couple tricks to them but they work great when set up well. I've opened this page several times and the photo is just as stunning every time Thanks for the compliments. I agree, it really is a beautiful guitar. Well, I have three historic LPs. The R7 (really a R0 with a gold top, since it has a R0 neck) and the R0 are nearly identical. They have the same pickups, Wildwood spec PAFs. They both feel, play and sound very similar. The '57 also has a R0 neck and the same WW spec PAFs. Even though its a single piece, solid mahognay body, I think it also sounds very similar. Some people say that the mahogany has a slightly darker tone, but I'm not hearing it. However, obviously with the middle pickup you can get lots of other cool tones. So far, I like the combination of the middle with the bridge or neck. It adds a nice rich, beefier tone but not too dark unless you crank it up. But if your going for a little of the "woman tone" with the neck pup, adding the middle at higher volume does sound good. I like the Bigsby. I've had them on other guitars. I've heard people talk about tuning stability problems but I've never experienced that. Of course, I've only had this one for 2 days so I'll need a little more time to tell but so far so good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marky Forrest Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Wow x 10! Congratulations, Black Dog! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Very nice! Congrats on that Beauty! Play it like you stole it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01GT eibach Posted November 3, 2018 Share Posted November 3, 2018 I even like the table it is on ... Wow. Nice guitar... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twang Gang Posted November 6, 2018 Share Posted November 6, 2018 Wow, beautiful guitar and I really admire your idea for the wiring of the 3 Pups. The stock wiring for a 3 pickup set-up never made all that much sense to me (like not really taking advantage of having 3). I think your idea is the best I've heard for really utilizing the system. Sort of funny that stodgy ol Gibson couldn't quite bring themselves to wire the switch, but as you say may have had something to do with other models. Congratulations on a really nice guitar and enjoy playing it [thumbup] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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