John Lennon Les Paul Jr. - Question for Admin...

[emgee]

I recently bought brand new one of the limited edition John Lennon LP Jrs (#20), and since there is a lot of "intended" wear put on the finish of these guitars, I visited another guitar shop near me that also has one of these guitars new for sale to see if the wear on mine is the same as on theirs.

 

One mark, in particular, was very different on each guitar: a 1-inch long gash on the body side, at about where your armpit would be directly over when playing the guitar in a seated position (in other words, direcly above the bridge and on the body side). On the 2 guitars this marking is in very different locations - about 3 inches apart - and the mark is of different size on each guitar.

 

This guitar is supposed to be a "faithful reproduction" of Lennon's guitar. the Gibson website and case candy talks about the pains taken to accurately reproduce that guitar, yet here are 2 examples of that work with very different results. and of course, this is only 1 marking I compared. I'm sure with a detailed examination of both guitars there would be other differences noted.

 

My point is: when I buy a limited edition guitar that is proclaimed to be an exact reproduction of a famed guitar, and I then come across very big differences among guitars within the production run, I realize I can't rely on Gibson's Custom Shop's statements about the authenticity of the guitars I am purchasing. And when I purchase a guitar for collection, like this one, I expect it to be as warranted - an honest reproduction of the original. Now that I know this one is very likely not, I am seriously considering returning it to the GC where I bought it, as what is the point of owning a replica guitar if the replication is not faithful?

 

I am assuming Gibson's CS did, in fact, go through the pains described when replicating this guitar, so am baffled by the resulting variance in production I've noted here. It leaves to me wonder about the 3 other CS guitars I own: a 2004 Jimmy Page LP #1, a 2007 Jimmy Page LP Black Beauty w/ Bigsby, and a 2007 Jimmy page SG1275 double neck. Are these all likely unauthentic representations of the originals as well?

 

[Custom Admin]

every guitar that Gibson makes is hand-crafted, and has been since we opened in 1894. As such, it is extremely common to observe variations in specs like finish color, neck profile, and the tone of pickups among other things. Signature guitars are no exception to these conditions.

 

Let me give you a personal example. When we did the Eric Clapton 335 a year or two ago, we sold that guitar with an aged case. I was the person who aged every single one of those cases. I hand-sprayed the stencils, and used hand-sanders, files, and various and sundry other tools to effect the aging. While there were a few "signature" markings that i tried my best to get in the same locations on every case, i can guarantee that no two cases had EXACTLY the same markings. it is simply impossible to do when the work is being done by human beings. i have never heard of anyone having issues with these variances in the cases.

 

So, my point is that we do our absolute best to replicate history, both in our normal production models as well as our Signature line. Are there variations from guitar to guitar? of course...it's inherent in anything that is hand-crafted. I am confident that what you are seeing will not affect the collectible value of your guitar one iota.

[modern image]

i'm curious as to how your sample compared to the actual lennon guitar fares?

 

i never was a fan of these guitars being as i read the aging process can easily come off on the metal parts.

the only ones i thought were interesting were the j. page. think there were 25 where he actually had to play them and

ok them. that would be a point of interest. having the person play the guitars. otherwise i guess to have a guitar with the exact specs

would be good, but it's always different wood in any case. (pick up winding variances), etc.