KL Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 Can anyone tell me how Historic Collection guitars differ from 'standard' Gibsons? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J185-4Me Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 They have 'Historic Collection' stickers on the back of the headstock. :- Well, okay, that may be a little cynical, but it's not far off the mark. Some Historic Collection guitars actually had a combination of features that were supposed to "capture" the historicity of a particular model in a particular moment in time. For many of the models, as I recall, the historic elements were a combination of aesthetics, materials and construction details; for others, it was pretty much the decal and a price tag that set the guitar apart. I recall the "Historic Collection" J-185s, for example, and they were no different than reg'lar ol' J-185s of the same time. Possibly they had the more correct thin back braces, as opposed to the big fat back braces of the time -- maybe, maybe not. Fred (the cynic) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilliangirl Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 I don't know. How's that for an honest answer?? :- What I do know is that my Historic Collection J185 has a relatively dark colored spruce top, which I think has something to do with a vintaged aged look (intentionally done for that purpose I've been told). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rar Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 They have 'Historic Collection' stickers on the back of the headstock. +1 This isn't cynical at all -- that's all there is to it. For awhile, all the standard "classic" models (as opposed to "modern" LCs and whatnot) got these decals, except when they ran out of them. -- Bob R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KL Posted March 22, 2010 Author Share Posted March 22, 2010 Thanks. That's pretty much what I thought but wasn't sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KL Posted March 22, 2010 Author Share Posted March 22, 2010 What I do know is that my Historic Collection J185 has a relatively dark colored spruce top' date=' which I think has something to do with a vintaged aged look (intentionally done for that purpose I've been told).[/quote'] Got any pics please Karen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rar Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 Thanks. That's pretty much what I thought but wasn't sure. Our pleasure. We like to do what we can to undo the Gibson marketeers' obfuscation. There surely is a lot of it! -- Bob R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rambler Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 -- that's all there is to it Almost true, Bob, but note quite. The "Historical" label got applied not only to std J45s/J185s, and the very unhistorical Blues Kings, but also to some good quality period repros, notably the Advanced Jumbos and, especially, the Original Jumbos, which is as nice a piece as Gibson has made of late. Go figure. J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J185-4Me Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 Just don't get us started on that whole "Authentic vs Historic" Hummingbird thing! (There's a reason the old Forums kept crashing.....) Fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rar Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 Almost true' date=' Bob, but note quite. The "Historical" label got applied not only to std J45s/J185s, and the very unhistorical Blues Kings, but also to some good quality period repros, notably the Advanced Jumbos and, especially, the Original Jumbos, which is as nice a piece as Gibson has made of late. Go figure. J [/quote'] Thanks for the clarification. By "standard" I just meant "non-custom" -- there's only room for one decal back there. There are certainly some limited production models (like the OJs -- I'm a fan of those too) included, as well as standard production models (J-45s, AJs, etc). I'm curious what you mean by saying that the OJs and AJs are "period repros" in some sense that the J-45s and J-185s aren't, tho'. I know they were marketed as based on specific models from the past, but I don't really see how a 2004 AJ is all that much closer to a '37 AJ than, say, a 2004 J-45 is to a '50s J-45. The 2004s are both Ren's designs, based on/inspired by the old ones, and he deserves credit for them. -- Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rambler Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 "I'm curious what you mean by saying that the OJs and AJs are "period repros" in some sense that the J-45s and J-185s aren't" You've got me there, Bob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rar Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 "I'm curious what you mean by saying that the OJs and AJs are "period repros" in some sense that the J-45s and J-185s aren't" You've got me there' date=' Bob. [/quote'] It's pretty subjective where to draw the line of these things, isn't it? It does seem like they were trying harder with some models than others, but any line short of the Legend series winds up being kinda fuzzy. -- Bob R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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