Guitareal Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 I just bought it. First impressions: - perfect set-up / low action - no buzz - wonderful unique top (see pics below) - great options for tone with the interchangable pickups (bb pros and P94s) - The guitar stums LOUD without even being connected to the amp. - Unbelievable sustain - great fretboard, with really unique inlays' color Maybe most of the above are "standard" for Gibson guitars, it's my first gib so i can't tell. I haven't really spent much time with it yet, so i ll be posting any "new" findings here. It would be great if any other Push-tone owners come by and share some info and ideas. What i will be looking into, when i first get to "know" the guitar, is: - possibility to install pickup rings (i think it would look even better, although seems difficult if not impossible) - install different pickups for extra tone options and mix/match with the ones provided. I am already in close contact with a luthier for this matter. (i 'd like to hear a "dirty fingers" on this baby) Here are some pics, for starters: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clance Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 That looks sweet. And what a cool name. Make sure you try some Iommi Signature pickups! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitareal Posted March 4, 2009 Author Share Posted March 4, 2009 That looks sweet. And what a cool name. Make sure you try some Iommi Signature pickups! Have you tried them? and on which guitar? I am thinking to try the dirty fingers, based on theory/specs and music taste but some alternatives are welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 Copying in my post from another thread Guitareal is on: <snip>------------ Ah... very nice figuring. I've seen 3 of Push Tones in person and pics of yours and in a couple catalogs - it appears Gibson was very consistant with their figured maple wood choices for tops of these guitars. After hearing about some DF disappointments, that worried me, but mine arrived with a gorgeous top. Every one I've seen is nicely figured including yours. And they really took care to setup the guitar up right - my action was very good and the intonation was perfect. Congrats Guitareal. Now, about those extra pups or kits - post back if you find a solution. Gibson gave me the "maybe, check back" put off. <snip>------------ Yes, the sustain is excellent, and the tonal range of the guitar with the included pickups is phenomenal - it goes from clean and quiet, to smooth and jazzy, to down and dirty with ease. BTW, the neck and frets were dressed waaay better than my SG Robot. I'll be watching the thread for updates on additional pup solutions. Thanks Guitareal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clance Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 While I've never played or even seen a push-tone, I have had the pleasure of trying an Epi Iommi Signature with the Iommi USA pickups and they sound AWESOME. One of those and a P94 are going in my next guitar, I'm too happy with my one and only Gibson right now to mod it. But that push-tone presents an interesting solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil325 Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 i like it. first time i've heard of it but it's pretty cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitareal Posted March 5, 2009 Author Share Posted March 5, 2009 OK some more impressions and info for the guitar: - the 50's rounded neck, i have to admit, being owner of an ESP M-II, is far more difficult to get used to. The neck is too thick compared to ESP, thus much more difficult unless you have the palms of Hulk! :P - on the other hand the finish of the neck is perfect, and when you play a powerchord for example you can feel the sound passing though the thick neck, amplifying the overall sound - Clearly for me this guitar is not created for shredding especially in the higher notes down on the neck. The fretboard is glued with the body around the 16th fret and that in combination with the thick neck size makes it practically impossible to play fast after the 17th fret. Other than that, the fretboard looks and feels perfect Concerning the pickup modding / ability to reproduce the specific pickup assebly with other "normal" pickups: Gibson replied to me clearly that they do not undertake the modification of other "normal" pickups to match the push-tone specs. But they proposed that i should talk with a local luthier about this issue. Given that Gibson have no "authorised" luthier in Greece, they proposed a German one. I have been communicating with the german luthier for some days now about this and i feel oblidged to mention here his name and contact info, since he has shown great interest in the issue: Fine Art Dragan Milosevic Stettiner Strasse 20 Gewerbegebiet D 47665 Sonsbeck mail: fineart@t-online.de Telephone +49-2838-97796 +49 (0) 171-6566593 Cell I think we will soon have the first effort "in flesh and bone" of recreating gibson push-tone pick-up assembly to hold and normal pickup. I'll be keeping you updated on the project. If it works, any other push-tone owner interested on this potential of limitless sound/tone options, no matter how far from Germany, could easily obtain the alternative pickups through mail from the above shop! Let's hope this all WORKS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Thanks Guitareal. I'm in. I've sent the guy message of support and purchase interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitareal Posted March 5, 2009 Author Share Posted March 5, 2009 Where do you live BigKahune? any chance of living near or inside Germany??? I ask because the guy may request a sample push-tone pickup in order to recreate it. I checked with the local post office and the cost to send it from Greece to Germany is over 60 euros.... HELP!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Guitareal - I'm in the US. Man, I'd freak sending out a part that can't be replaced. How about detailed photos or maybe some measurement specs can be snagged from Gibson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spindrift Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Hi Guitareal! Nice to see your new guitar! It's really a beauty! You got her MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORE faster than the darkfire!! Enjoy play with her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitareal Posted March 5, 2009 Author Share Posted March 5, 2009 Guitareal - I'm in the US. Man' date=' I'd freak sending out a part that can't be replaced. How about detailed photos or maybe some measurement specs can be snagged from Gibson.[/quote'] I have already done that... OK we'll figure something out, for the time being we expect from the luthier in Germany news on some replies he expects from Gibson (what parts Gibson can provide and what else needs to be made by the luthier from scratch). I 'll keep you posted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitareal Posted March 5, 2009 Author Share Posted March 5, 2009 Hi Guitareal! Nice to see your new guitar! It's really a beauty! You got her MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORE faster than the darkfire!! Enjoy play with her. Hey!!!! spindrift why don't you join us??? One of the 1000 Push-tone units (really) limited run is calling your name. Great axe, many different tone options (especially if we manage to recreate gibson's pickup assebly to fit ANY pup) and 1000 euros less than the.... ehm... what was her name... oh yeah... Dark Fire keep in touch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spindrift Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 1000 Push-tone...And on time please... Not like DarkFire indeed. I'm not even sure to receive her one day lol. but your Push-Tone is really impressive. Welcome to the Les Paul Owners. Best regards Spindrift Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 I've added a non-invasive tremolo bar to my LP Push Tone. It's called a "Les Trem", by StewMac. http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges,_tailpieces/Electric_guitar_tremolos/Les_Trem_Stop-Tailpiece_Tremolo.html No routing, holes, screws or physical changes required. Very easy to install yourself. It's a very fine piece of hardware and works perfectly. Now I've got a locking roller bridge with intonation tuning ordered to replace Gibson's Tune-o-matic intonation adjusting saddle bridge. A roller bridge works much better with a tremolo. http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges,_tailpieces/Electric_guitar,_Tune-o-matic_bridges/Locking_Roller_Bridge.html I chose the Les Trem because it's a much smaller foot print (then say a Bigsby or Stetsbar), leaving more of the beautifully figured flamed maple top showing. It also looks a lot like vintage Gibson tremolos from 60s, like the one on my 65 Melody Maker. Even though there are some great pics of Guitareal's LP Push Tone, I thought you might like to see some pics of the Push Tone with the Les Trem installed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitareal Posted March 8, 2009 Author Share Posted March 8, 2009 Thanks for sharing. It looks great on the push-tone, like the guitar was built to match this trem. What do you lose in sustain with this trem installed? Is there audible difference? GREAT flame top by the way!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elessar820 Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 Have you tried them? and on which guitar? I am thinking to try the dirty fingers' date=' based on theory/specs and music taste but some alternatives are welcome![/quote'] Unless all you are going to be using it for is heavy distortion, it's not that great. I had one in my BFG for a little while and it was too harsh sounding otherwise. That's just my opinion though. EDIT: How is the Les Trem working for you? I was thinking of trying one out, but I haven't heard to many good things about them. How well does it return to pitch? How far can you push it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 The Les Trem - I also put in a locking roller bridge with intonation adjustment that fit the Gibson bridge mounts. First off, this Les Trem is made better than previous models - heavy, tight - nothing lose and no rattles. No significant loss of sustain - there must be a bit, but I couldn't distingush - the LP has monster sustain and that hasn't noticably changed. I really like the adjustable length of the arm. And it works great as a traditional tremolo - small inflections, and can go more than half a step. However, regarding returning to pitch: if you're bending more that a half-step or going metal style, it definitely is not as good as a Bigsby or Floyd Rose, or even the original Gibson trem on my 65 Gibson - they can go big steps and return to pitch. The pitch return issue is probably due to the small and non-invasive design (which includes a hinge). But my major concern is having a small footprint and no screws, drilling or routing. I've used a number of different types of trem over the years, so I'm used to handling them. Like an old lock you have to jiggle the key a certain way to open - I've learned (for my particular Les Trem) the certain jiggle the arm needs to come back to pitch. Something you wouldn't put up with unless you wanted the small footprint and non-invasiveness the Les Trem gives you. I'm happy with it, but if your looking for a trem the can do big bends and return to pitch and you have no design contraints, I would not recommend the Les Trem. Geez, I hope that's clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitareal Posted March 8, 2009 Author Share Posted March 8, 2009 Unless all you are going to be using it for is heavy distortion' date=' it's not that great. I had one in my BFG for a little while and it was too harsh sounding otherwise. That's just my opinion though. [/quote'] Are you talking abou the "iomi sig." or the "dirty fingers"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elessar820 Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Dirty Fingers. It sounded great for heavy stuff, but it doesn't clean up very well. I like hot pickups. There are a bunch that have a pretty decent clean sound, but I know the Dirty Fingers, like most hot pickups, wasn't designed to play clean. Also I don't think it would be too hard to make a rig for a different pickup if you had the right connectors and some materials to make the mounting plates. You may have to change the one for the guitar, but it shouldn't be too hard if you didn't mind those and the connectors on the stock pickups to ones you could get your hands on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitareal Posted March 11, 2009 Author Share Posted March 11, 2009 Great News on the alternative pickup options for the Push-Tone ! FineArt from Germany has communicated with Gibson and will receive a gibson push-tone from Gibson ER Berlin, to use it for measurements and recreate a prototype of the pickup assembly. I have also asked the guy to have a look at the guitar in order to research the feasibility of installing pickup rings (long shot though) Stay around for updates! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boston004681 Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 That looks sweet. And what a cool name. Make sure you try some Iommi Signature pickups! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitareal Posted March 31, 2009 Author Share Posted March 31, 2009 news flash! FineArt has already obtained a Push-Tone guitar and spare parts from Gibson, proceeded to measurements and is now ready to re-produce the pickup assembly for any alternative pickup (as long as it fits Les Paul standards) I have already ordered a Tony Iommy sig. pickup and still exploring my options for more alternative pickups. It's so cool that us, the Push-Tone owners, are now able to use / interchange any pickup combination in the market for the ultimate sound! Anyone interested please contact Fine Art as soon as possible, as the guys there expect some demand in order to proceed to mass implementation: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Sweet! I sent an email for prices and shipping. thanks Guitareal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitareal Posted April 1, 2009 Author Share Posted April 1, 2009 So Mike which pickups are you planning to get ? I go for Iommi's and maybe 496R for neck. I try to hold myself as i want to buy any pickup in the market if this thing works... Also i am wondering where all the other Push-Tone owners are? Are we the only ones??? (actually Dragan from FineArt bought one recently, so this makes us 3 :) ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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