Terrence Posted March 20 Report Share Posted March 20 Hello All, Has anyone else seen this before, the maple top going below the binding on the cut away? Usually the mahogany meets the binding. It's a Gibson, I have the paperwork. It doesn't bother me, I just was wondering if anyone else has seen this. Thank you for your time. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted March 20 Report Share Posted March 20 Yes. It is anywhere from a minor annoyance to full on rage inducing for guitar players. I don't know why it is that way though I'm sure I've been told. rct Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NighthawkChris Posted March 20 Report Share Posted March 20 @Terrence, this is pretty normal. Wouldn’t worry about it one bit. Only my 94 LP has thick enough binding to cover the maple top. My others are like yours. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Posted March 20 Report Share Posted March 20 Actually I haven't been around that many Gibsons to find something like that but No, I haven't. Yeah, seeing it on the 2nd photo wouldn't bother me either. By the way, IT IS A VERY NICE GUITAR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terrence Posted March 20 Author Report Share Posted March 20 1 hour ago, rct said: Yes. It is anywhere from a minor annoyance to full on rage inducing for guitar players. I don't know why it is that way though I'm sure I've been told. rct Thank you. It's just a cosmetic thing that I didn't notice at first. I was just curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terrence Posted March 20 Author Report Share Posted March 20 58 minutes ago, NighthawkChris said: @Terrence, this is pretty normal. Wouldn’t worry about it one bit. Only my 94 LP has thick enough binding to cover the maple top. My others are like yours. Thank you. I've never seen in before, but's it's reassuring what you said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terrence Posted March 20 Author Report Share Posted March 20 4 minutes ago, Retired said: Actually I haven't been around that many Gibsons to find something like that but No, I haven't. Yeah, seeing it on the 2nd photo wouldn't bother me either. By the way, IT IS A VERY NICE GUITAR. Thank you, I really like the natural finish too. All the best. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrdinaryNimda Posted March 20 Report Share Posted March 20 Nice wood pattern on the first picture, and the guitar is beautiful. This cutaway is interesting. It is probably because the maple top is thicker at the neck, then at the sides farther away, and the binding is uniform height. So, pure geometry. I assume the mahogany below is of the same height all around the guitar. I wouldn't notice it on the second picture, if I had not been told. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farnsbarns Posted March 20 Report Share Posted March 20 Quit simple. Normally the mahogany doesn't meet the binding. There's normally a bit of maple cap showing on all Les Pauls since the 50s except a chunk of time in the 90s when a thicker binding was used. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted March 21 Report Share Posted March 21 Yes, I've seen it plenty of times. Here's a pic of one of my LPs with no binding - you can see the top is shaped thicker down the middle, between the neck joint and the tail end. As has been pointed out, the normal size binding isn't deep enough to cover the exposed edge of the top. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted March 23 Report Share Posted March 23 it is not out of the ordinary. some years, the binding is cut to cover the cap, some years it is not. on my 95,, yes, on my 2002, no. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twang Gang Posted March 25 Report Share Posted March 25 (edited) I have seen it before like the OPs, but I've owned I think 6 Les Pauls (down to one now) and never had that part of the maple cap showing. Either I got gyped on the thickness of the maple or my binding was more precice, I don't know? I have a 2017 Standard now, and there is no maple cap showing and the binding is an even thickness all the way around the top. That's what we love about Gibsons - each one is a little different from all the rest.👍 OK, I take it all back (I seem to be doing that a lot lately). I looked more closely at mine (it's sunnier out today) and it does have a little maple cap showing. It's hard to see and only about 1/16th of an inch: Edited March 26 by Twang Gang correction 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted March 25 Report Share Posted March 25 (edited) There are a lot of images on the web showing that same exposed cap material extending below the binding from several different years, including a some where the cap edge below the binding was stained to match the mahogany. Also quite a few where the binding got taller in the cutaway covering the cap. I am finding that it is a very common feature going back several years.. Oh just found a product shot in the Gibson Archive of a 2016 LP Standard with the same thing... look to the right in the cutout area... Edited March 26 by mihcmac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparquelito Posted March 25 Report Share Posted March 25 That's a brand new Gibson invention, as it turns out. Just be glad that you got the prototype, and for free at that!! 😬 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar God Posted March 25 Report Share Posted March 25 I wouldn't worry. I have a buddy who has one of the new '60's Standard models and it is the same way. I was actually watchin a review video of one of the '50's Standards and the guy said that many people think the smaller cutaway binding is a flaw, but it's not and went on to say that it's historically correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted March 26 Report Share Posted March 26 Well that's something I never knew. I don't know if its like that on mine or not? When I do bother to look at my guitar, it tends to be just the fingerboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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