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2010 - 50th anniversary 1959

Tim Plains

By Tim Plains
in The Gibson Lounge

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Tim Plains

Tim Plains

Posted
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This is a question to the Gibson staff here at the forums - why are you guys still making 50th anniversary '59 reissues in 2010? That makes absolutely no sense. 1959 was a magical year for Gibson; everybody knows that but please, let's move on. What's next - the 52nd anniversary 1959 Les Paul?

 

Here are two COAs that surfaced on another forum.

 

201050thR9.png

 

59Scotch_97.jpg

 

Here's the link to one of the guitars.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Gibson-Custom-Historic-50th-Anniv-59-Les-Paul-Gloss-/260635179570?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Guitar&hash=item3caf113a32#ht_14381wt_1139

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Thundergod

Thundergod

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But... if it's a 2010 then it's not a 50 ann. 59 reissue. It's a 51 ann 59 reissue. :-

 

I heard the 53annyversary 59 reissue will be huge and a collectors item!

 

But of course then there's the possibility of a 59 annyversary 59 reissue. That must be awesome!

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Tim Plains

Tim Plains

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^ do you mean how many 50th R9s were there? 500 official 50ths that came with a gold COA; these were only Heritage Cherry or Darkburst. Then there were about 10 limited colours that came with a black COA, as above, that said "50th anniversary" on it - only 25 of each colour made. So, around 750 50th R9s were made in 2009; not including the Page, Gibbons, Bloomfield, and regular 2009 VOS R9s. All in all, probably 2,500 - 3,000 R9s were made in 2009.

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Riverside

Riverside

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^ do you mean how many 50th R9s were there? 500 official 50ths that came with a gold COA; these were only Heritage Cherry or Darkburst. Then there were about 10 limited colours that came with a black COA' date=' as above, that said "50th anniversary" on it - only 25 of each colour made. So, around 750 50th R9s were made in 2009; not including the Page, Gibbons, Bloomfield, and regular 2009 VOS R9s. All in all, probably 2,500 - 3,000 R9s were made in 2009.[/quote']

 

Well, that, but also how many different R9 models - 5, 10, 20? Does the same go for the other reissues?

 

It seems that it would be hard to figure out which one to want.

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jamman

jamman

Posted
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Also, remember all the colors that were limited runs of 59 pcs. that did not have a 50th. Anniversary on the C.O.A. but were sold and are still being advertised for sale as 50th.Anniversary models. Example "Rustburst" and another color available from S. A. / I got my "RustBurst" from the Gibson traveling

exhibition Truck. Direct from Gibson. I'm sure i'm not the only one who felt slighted.

I've seen some 1960 reissue's already, that are in different colors being sold as 50th. Ann.models with serial #'s higher than 500. they are next.

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Tim Plains

Tim Plains

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River, there's only one R9 and the only option is gloss or VOS (new or old looking). Same goes for the other Rs. You may get exceptions here and there - like R8s are all plain top since 2003 but the 2008 50th R8s had flame tops and some R8s also make it out with mild flame tops.

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Riverside

Riverside

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River' date=' there's only one R9 and the only option is gloss or VOS (new or old looking). Same goes for the other Rs. You may get exceptions here and there - like R8s are all plain top since 2003 but the 2008 50th R8s had flame tops and some R8s also make it out with mild flame tops.[/quote']

 

Well, I'm still just a little confused about the reissues, as I see things for sale (R0's for example) that say "v2", "v3" etc.

 

I suspect that the marketing machine is trying really hard to keep folks in the $6k loop by dangling ever more desirable "differences"...

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Riverside

Riverside

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Its all about supply and demand' date=' most buyers I would suspect being those looking to make a few bucks and purchase these gtr's and then resale on ebay etc...[/quote']

 

That's all good, but I'm still trying to figure out which one is which.

 

Is there one that faithfully duplicates the original, or are there a bunch that just kind of get close?

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Tim Plains

Tim Plains

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They still sell a 2008 Standard. It's made in 2010. I think the date is part of the model name' date=' rather than an indication of the date of manufacture. Confusing.[/quote']

The Standard changed half way through 2008; that's when Gibson added all the new stuff. These are called 2008 Standards to differentiate them from the Standards from previous years because they're not the same guitar.

 

Well' date=' I'm still just a little confused about the reissues, as I see things for sale (R0's for example) that say "v2", "v3" etc.[/quote']

It's the same guitar. An R9 with a slimmer neck is an R0.

 

R0 V1 - an R9 with an R0's serial number. 2 colour choices.

R0 V2 - they slimmed the neck down but it's still thicker than a typical R0 neck. 2 different colour choices.

R0 V3 - proper R0 neck, reflector knobs, double ring tuners. 2 different colour choices.

That's it.

 

All historic reissues are the exact same guitar. The only things that vary are the neck sizes, pickups and finishes...and sometimes the bridge.

 

R2 - P-90s, trapezoid bridge, fat neck, gold finish.

R4 - same as the R2 but they lost the trapezoid and gave it a wrap-around bridge.

R6 - same as R4 but has an ABR-1.

R7 - same as R6 but has Burstbucker pickups.

R8 - same as R7 but has a plain top burst finish, usually slightly slimmer neck.

R9 - same as R8 but with a flame top and slightly slimmer neck.

R0 - same as R9 with a slightly slimmer neck, reflector knobs, double ring tuners.

 

R5s - are sort of a mutt and they're new. They're a blend between the R4, R6, R7, R8, and I think they have their own neck shape. Not sure about that since they're not offered in Canada last time I checked. So, you can get a plain top burst with P-90s and ABR-1...or plain or gold top with humbuckers and no ABR-1.

 

The G0 is a Guitar Center exclusive. It's an R0 with a plain top and unique GC serial number.

 

Black Beauty Customs are also the same except they have an ebony fretboard, fancy binding/headstock and no maple cap (it's mahogany). The two regular historic Customs are the R4BB and R7BB. R4BB - neck pickup is a staple V pickup (just a hotter P-90, I believe) and a regular P-90 for the bridge pickup. These have the ABR-1. The R7BB is the same but with Burstbuckers. For 2010, they released a 50th anniversary 1960 Custom. It's a regular R7BB but with a slimmer neck and the body/top is all one piece.

 

That about covers it. Make sense?

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Tim Plains

Tim Plains

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Is there one that faithfully duplicates the original' date=' or are there a bunch that just kind of get close?[/quote']

None are exact and never will be. If you want exact, have a replica built or buy a Gibson R and pay a place like Historic Makovers the extra $2,500 to convert it to historic specs...but then you still have to replace the little things like plastics, tuner keys, caps, etc. Seems like a lot of money but when you're done, you have a burst.

 

Gibson make small changes every couple of years but the new ones (2009 & 2010) are the closest looking ones. If you were to look at a 2009 and a 1993 R9, you probably couldn't tell much difference. It's really the small things like different inlays, tuner placement, TRC placement, bridge placement, etc.

 

Spec wise, the most accurate is the few they made in 2001 - 2003 because they have Brazilian rosewood but the smaller things (as above) are not as accurate.

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