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What's the difference between 59 VOS and 59 Reissue?


Ren

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Reissues have less "vintage" detail to the overal feel of the guitar' date=' than the the VOS, which are made 100% like the old, late '50s LPs, which makes me wonder why, a regular RI is a bout $2,000 more than the VOS?=D> [/quote']

OK, let me make this perfectly clear. A Gibson Les Paul reissue and a VOS is the exact same guitar. They are both Vintage Original Spec. The only difference is one looks brand new (high gloss) and the other does not look brand new (VOS). It was a poor decision to call the aged look VOS because it causes confusion.

 

The price difference between a high gloss and aged looking (VOS) reissue is not $2,000, it's $300...and that's just the labor involved in buffing the guitar. There are no other differences.

 

The price difference between a '58 and '59 Les Paul reissue (whether they're gloss or VOS) is around $2,000. That's because the '58 reissue has a plain maple top and the '59 reissue has a flame maple top. Other than that, the '59 reissue should weigh a little less and have a thinner neck than the '58 reissue. Other than that, they are the same guitar.

 

Historic reissues are not 100% like the originals. In fact, there are many differences and truth be told, Gibson will never make an exact copy of those old '50s Les Pauls. First off, they cant - those '50s LPs had Brazilian rosewood fretboards. Brazilian rosewood is an endangered species and Gibson has stated they will never use it again.

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THAT'S a little glimpse into the great mind that drives the NeoCon Empire....

That child safety part was great. ;)

I want to join this NeoCon Empire. Where do I sign up? O:)

 

You polish' date=' clean' date=' and care for your guitars too good for that to happen.[/quote'']

I don't polish them. I only cleaned the R8 and R9 once when I first got both guitars. Truth be told, the only cleaning I do is wipe the neck down when grime starts to build up and only when I replace strings do I clean the pickup covers, bridge & tailpiece...and even that isn't really a cleaning. It's more of a quick pass with a cotton cloth. When I'm not playing a guitar or taking pictures of it, it sits in its case. I don't display them when not in use.

 

Cheers Neo!

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The price difference between a high gloss and aged looking (VOS) reissue is not $2' date='000, it's $300...and that's just the labor involved in buffing the guitar.[/quote']

 

No it's simpler than that. They ship VOS's more often then not. So if you want a gloss Historic it's likely to have been a special order and that will raise the price. It's highly unlikely that twenty minutes of buffing the body relates to a couple of hundred dollars difference; so I doubt it's labor costs.

 

Besides there seem to be steps they take for the VOS that they dont' do for the gloss. They won't be releasing any details on how they do the VOS finish, so we can only guess. I did see a hint on the Gibson site that the VOS involves wet-sanding. Video tours show the other guitars going to the buffing stations right "off the gun," in other words after spraying and drying without wet sanding first (that would account for the shiny but still orange-peeled finish on the neck of my 339). I'd suspect from what I know about hobby woodworking finishes that they wet sand to level out the orangepeel then buff it with only a coarse grit compound on the buffers.

 

A VOS guitar definitely has a sheen to it so it was rubbed out after spraying, it's not like they left off a step, just that they do it differently.

 

I don't like the idea of the VOS but when I handle one, they're awfully nice.

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Other than that' date=' the '59 reissue should weigh a little less and have a thinner neck than the '58 reissue.[/quote']

 

I'm thoroughly enjoying all this stuff-and-confusion but couldn't quite get the above statement. Surely any of the RI's can be heavier/lighter than any other as it all depends on the weight of the individual lump of (solid) mahogany from which the body has been cut? The hardware is identical and the weight of the Maple Cap varies hardly at all.

 

I remember seeing on the forum, some nine months ago or so, a picture of a series of body blanks with their weight parameters marked on the box. Does Gibson use heavier blanks for the '58s and lighter blanks for the '60s? Or did you mean that because of the 'neck shaving' the earlier guitars should be heavier?

 

By way of a bit of mindless trivia; from 'T B O T 'Burst' book :

 

1958's range from 3925g - 4265g ( 4 instrument sample)

1959's range from 3674g - 4411g (19 instrument sample)

1960's range from 3804g - 4222g ( 5 instrument sample)

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Pippy, you're absolutely right.

A '58 can weigh less than a '59 but as a general rule of thumb, the '59 and '60 reissues are lighter.

That's one of the things you pay for in addition to the flame top...a lighter body.

 

They say this is somewhere inside Gibson's Custom Shop. Weight requirements for each guitar.

GibsonLPWeights.jpg

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The price difference between a high gloss and aged looking (VOS) reissue is not $2,000, it's $300...and that's just the labor involved in buffing the guitar. There are no other differences.
I meant, the difference in price between the, regular RIs, and the VOS (1960 LP reissue; $8,504 - 1960 VOS; $5,174). And as far as "Aging", I've done it on a few guitars, and let me tell you, other than doing wheather checking? it's not really all that "labor intensive", now I'm not saying it's easy, but easier than most people think.
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I meant' date=' the difference in price between the, regular RIs, and the VOS (1960 LP reissue; $8,504 - 1960 VOS; $5,174).[/quote']

;) ](*,)](*,)

It's the same guitar. The 1960 historic reissue and the 1960 historic reissue VOS is the same guitar.

 

Where did you pull that price off of, gibson.com? Because gibson.com lists a 1960 VOS for $8,033.

http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/Les-Paul/Gibson-Custom/1960-Les-Paul-Standard-VOS.aspx

 

That's not the actual price of the guitar. The actual sticker price of this guitar is $5,700 right now.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Gibson-1960-Les-Paul-Standard-VOS-Electric-Guitar-517985-i1149815.gc

 

If you want a 1960 historic reissue but don't want it to look slightly aged, it's an additional $300.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Gibson-Custom-1960-Les-Paul-Reissue-Electric-Guitar-517835-i1149677.gc

 

I don't see why this is so hard of a concept. The 1960 historic reissue and the 1960 historic reissue VOS is the same guitar.

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