Josh James 5 Posted June 16, 2010 Report Share Posted June 16, 2010 Well, got her today and she is a beauty! She was born January 26 1993 in Nashville. Pics coming tonight as soon as I figure out what is the matter with my camera. This thing looks like it has never-ever been gigged, no buckle rash, just the missing L on the "Model" on the headstock and some binding crackle on the fretboard a bit. OK, gonna go take some pics and then I'll tell you how she plays. Thanks to everyone who helped me score this guitar...I'm proud to be a member of the Gibson family! J Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mcmurray 10 Posted June 16, 2010 Report Share Posted June 16, 2010 You made a good choice Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Josh James 5 Posted June 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 Ok, lets see if this works Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Josh James 5 Posted June 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 Here is some more, sorry not so great pics.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Josh James 5 Posted June 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 First impressions on the playing. The pups are really hot and drove my 30 watt into break up with the volume a quarter of the way up, the amp volume that is. Using any kind of OD pedals kind of made a non-musical distorted mush. The neck is great and plays fast, but the low e slot on the nut isn't big enough for the 10's that he had on them when shipped. Put her on the scale and she weighs 9.9 LBs on the dot...so a nice chunk of wood right? So, right off the bat I'm looking for replacing the stock pups, but maybe if I used a different amp or adjusted some things on the pedals and guitar volume etc. Thanks again to everyone that was kind of enough to give me a helping hand making sure it wasn't a knock off. None of you "know me from Adam" , but you still helped me out and I appreciate it. Any comments on the pup replacement would be appreciated! J Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AlanC 4 Posted June 17, 2010 Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 I'd play it for awhile before I replaced the pick ups. Les Paul pickups are usually great and once you play around with the amp and pedals for awhile I'm sure that you will get the sound you want. For me I love the Les Paul sound but in some cases the extent of the distortion on smaller amps needs to be backed off a little. I have replaced pickups in a couple of my guitars (not LP's) but only after playing them for about 6 months and finding that just I couldn't get the sound I wanted through the amp. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pippy 1,552 Posted June 17, 2010 Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 Many congratulations on the LP. I'm sure you'll give it the attention it deserves! I'm a very big fan of Vintage Sunburst on a plain-top LP. I'd play it for awhile before I replaced the pick ups. I strongly agree with that advice. Just try rolling back the Vol and Tone knobs on the guitar for starters! My VSB LP is a '1960 Classic' and most folks will say right off that the stock ceramic p-ups suck big-time. This simply isn't true. All it took was a couple of hours sitting down adjusting the guitar and amp controls to find out the range of tones available and now I can dial-in what people consider to be a more 'classic' Les Paul tone in a couple of seconds. Another '1960 Classic' I have has had its p-ups swapped for a pair of Seymour Duncans and I wish whoever did it had left well alone. They are terrible in a back-to-back comparison IMHO (and if there's anyone out there who wants to swap please get in touch!). Take your time and find out exactly what your guitar and amp can do before you spend money (perhaps) unneccessarily. I don't know what you've been used to playing previously but as it's your first Les Paul then your ears may need to become accustomed to the new sounds to be found lurking therein... Happy playing! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DeVeeWee 4 Posted June 17, 2010 Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 Very nice guitar and I love that finish! Is it a '50's or a '60's neck you have there? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Josh James 5 Posted June 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 I believe that it is a 60's neck, not sure though? Yeah, I'm going to play around with it a bit more before I introduce it to the gig arsenal. I have a goldtop bfg which was my first Les Paul and I have a 03 mexi strat that I put texas specials and a grease bucket tone knob in. Yea, I wasn't dialing in the sound I'm use to at all, but I only messed around for an hour or so. I have a ton of OD boxes for different flavors Keeley Blues Driver, OCD, TS-9, Boss Flanger and a Line 6 Tap Trem. I think maybe it would be easier to dial in my sound on my Deville because of the huge headroom? Thanks for the compliments, really is pretty good shape for a 17 year old. J Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Josh James 5 Posted June 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 NO..there is not a picture of a strat above my lester...lol J Quote Link to post Share on other sites
swleary 53 Posted June 17, 2010 Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 Very nice LP, love the finish ...play it like you own it Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gibson4life 1 Posted June 17, 2010 Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 Good Choice Congrats Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BigKahune 454 Posted June 17, 2010 Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 Glad to hear she arrived safe and sound. She looks beautiful. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Josh James 5 Posted June 18, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2010 Ok, so I jacked the treble up almost all the way on my amp. Then adjusted my Od pedal's levels as well as guitar volume and now these pups are screamin! I did have to adjust the truss rod because the neck was bowing a bit and that alleviated the string buzz for the most part as well as adjusting the action. I did pick up a few different packs of 11's, some power slinky's and the dr pure blues and Gibson vintage reissue strings. J Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pippy 1,552 Posted June 18, 2010 Report Share Posted June 18, 2010 Ok' date=' so I jacked the treble up almost all the way on my amp. J[/quote'] That's what I have. Treble 10, Mid 0, Bass 0, and control everything, tone-wise, from the guitar. Seems to work just fine with my amp. Mind you, recently I tried the same settings on a few Marshall set-ups (two combo's and a half-stack) and my tone was incredibly crap! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pete1 0 Posted June 18, 2010 Report Share Posted June 18, 2010 nice les paul.I have vintage sunburst 1997 standard too.luv em.enjoy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
StijnV 52 Posted June 18, 2010 Report Share Posted June 18, 2010 The guitar should have the a 50s neck, and the 490R and 498T installed. Kind regards, Stijn Vergeest Gibson Europe Customer Service 00800-4GIBSON1 00800-44427661 www.gibson.com service.europe@gibson.com Quote Link to post Share on other sites
deepblue 6 Posted June 18, 2010 Report Share Posted June 18, 2010 Beautiful guitar!..It reminds me of a Lester that Ace Frehley used to play. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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