SteveFord Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 (edited) This weekend is the last mighty thrust and then I'm afraid I've run dry for a bit. I had one of these years ago and it was a really nice guitar. I stupidly sold it (to a fellow who dropped by this forum a while ago) to buy some stereo gear which I was buying back from a fellow because when he turned the stereo amps on they shut down his house! That's not gonna work... So, the financial aspect of the Stolen Les Paul Classic has been resolved and I've been looking at this one for months and finally came to an agreement with the seller last night. It's a 2013 special run for Musician's Friend, ebony fretboard, this fellow played it a bit and didn't even pull the protective plastic off the pick guard. This isn't a faded, this model is a gloss finish, a really nice instrument. Light and fun to play, I really enjoyed the one I had and kept wondering if another would pop up. Well, one finally did. Try as I might, I could NOT get him to part with that stylin' zebra print rug. That just screams rug burns on my butt so it probably has some sentimental value to the owner. One more guitar will be in transit on Tuesday and then that's it for the foreseeable future. Edited September 5, 2020 by SteveFord Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 54 minutes ago, SteveFord said: This weekend is the last mighty thrust and then I'm afraid I've run dry for a bit. I had one of these years ago and it was a really nice guitar. I stupidly sold it (to a fellow who dropped by this forum a while ago) to buy some stereo gear which I was buying back from a fellow because when he turned the stereo amps on they shut down his house! That's not gonna work... So, the financial aspect of the Stolen Les Paul Classic has been resolved and I've been looking at this one for months and finally came to an agreement with the seller last night. It's a 2013 special run for Musician's Friend, ebony fretboard, this fellow played it a bit and didn't even pull the protective plastic off the pick guard. This isn't a faded, this model is a gloss finish, a really nice instrument. Light and fun to play, I really enjoyed the one I had and kept wondering if another would pop up. Well, one finally did. Try as I might, I could NOT get him to part with that stylin' zebra print rug. That just screams rug burns on my butt so it probably has some sentimental value to the owner. One more guitar will be in transit on Tuesday and then that's it for the foreseeable future. You rule the guitar world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveFord Posted September 5, 2020 Author Share Posted September 5, 2020 I don't know about that, just making up for decades of sloth. That seems to come naturally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 How does this one stack up against the others? Anyone else ever notice how different various tv yellow finishes from Gibson are? Some are really translucent and lighter and some are really opaque and yellow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveFord Posted September 5, 2020 Author Share Posted September 5, 2020 In person it'll be a shade or two lighter. It's not here yet but I've had the same model. Compared to the carved top Les Pauls the sound is really underwhelming, you'd really have to work with the amp settings to make it sound decent. Think Ventures or Beach Boys or something if you just plug it in to whatever your normal settings are. Kind of bright twangy and then dark twangy and hit the center position and you'll have wimpy twanging going on. Neck profile is a little stouter than the Classic, thinner than that Standard. To me it's just about the perfect neck profile which is probably why I like this model so much. I'd have to have a rosewood fretboard model to compare it with but I think the ebony gives it a little more snap to the sound or perhaps just makes it brighter. The light weight makes it a really good watch football on the couch guitar. You can't do that with a Flying V or 335 or whatever. Probably 2 pounds heavier than an SG, 3 - 4 pounds lighter than the carved top ones. When I had my first one I had a faded double cutaway Special, an SG Classic and the yellow Special. The faded sounded best, then the SG and then the yellow one. I got ticked off at the way the faded paint just disappeared around the tone knobs (!) on the faded and I hated the neck on the Classic so all 3 went out the door. It's not in the same league as the carved top ones but I like it nonetheless. Don't think you can get a Special and it'll rival the more expensive ones because it won't. The other ones will eat it for lunch. Gibson recently put out a Special with the tune-a-matic tailpiece which is a must for me but it has a golf bag type case and it was just kind of plain looking. For an extra two bills I got the ebony, a color I don't have, a neck profile I really like and a hardshell case so take my pennies and make me happy! It fills a niche and I'll play it a LOT. That's about the most honest review I can give you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 Thanks for the info Steve. Your description of the sound does make me wonder how much could be improved by changing the pots to 500K. That ebony fretboard looks really nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 50 minutes ago, SteveFord said: Gibson recently put out a Special with the tune-a-matic tailpiece which is a must for me but it has a golf bag type case and it was just kind of plain looking. For an extra two bills I got the ebony, a color I don't have, a neck profile I really like and a hardshell case so take my pennies and make me happy! It fills a niche and I'll play it a LOT. That's about the most honest review I can give you. 1st: Glad you have the stolen guitar matter in hand. Thats a fine guitar in prospect there. Personally, I adore ebony boards. That ticks lots of other boxes too. Hope you dont wait too long Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveFord Posted September 5, 2020 Author Share Posted September 5, 2020 I will have to pop off the control plate to take a look when it shows. https://www.stewmac.com/kits-and-projects/electronic-kits/wiring-kits/premium-wiring-kit-for-gibson-les-paul-special.html That stolen guitar, what a weird thing. I still have the box, nobody ever asked to collect it. This one is coming FedEx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 That’s more than you need to spend unless you want to replace the switch and jack. I believe the Gibson will come stock with the same Switchcraft switch and jack. I’ve bought from the art of tone on eBay and he has CTS pots in 5% tolerance and will ship it with orange drop caps. The stewmac ones are 10% which is still good for pots Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tx-ogre Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 Very nice. Gotta love an ebony fretboard and P-90s. Congrats. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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