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'81 Gibson Sonex


kevin134

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They were kinda popular in the early 80's.... The GC in Hollywood had quite a few, and some of them were going for around $300 to $400 out the door. I tried one and if I can remember it felt similar to my Gibby LP junior, but with a really gnarly crisp sound to it.

 

For the price it's a so-so guitar, but at the time you could get into a LP custom for a little over a grand, so most like me saved the extra $700 to get into a custom.

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WHATEVER YOU DO. DON`T BUY IT!!!!

First on the old forum I relayed a story of how my brother wanted to buy one when they first came out and the owner of the store told him they were crap and not to buy it. And he didn`t. Where to start?? A bolt on neck. Body not made out of wood!! Does not stay in tune. Many more reasons not to buy one.

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Now don't get offended, but it's been revealed that Sonex guitars were/are of plywood, cheaply made, some people like 'em some don't. Kinda like the L6S's they made...I had one for a while (L6S), I liked mine, kinda wish I didn't get rid of it.

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The Sonex is a cool guitar and an interesting example of Gibson being a little ahead of their time.

The body of the sonex is made of some sort of resin material not wood. They were a bit ahead of the conservation curve there. If you are a "green thinking" guitarist, owning a sonex is making a statement about deforestation.

 

Politics aside Its a good player. very representative of the gibson of the early 80's. Not exactly a "Golden" period for them. Think of it as a single cut melody maker with a slightly beefier body. the bolt on neck feels and plays like a Gibson. The pickups and all electronics mounted to the one piece drop in faceplate is a nod to Fender but when you plug one of these in, its all Gibson! Good hot signal on either the neck or bridge pickup

 

Having everything mounted on the faceplate makes electronic modification a snap if you are a tinkerer, Do not sand off the finish as you will not find wood grain under there!.

 

I've been wanting to add one to my collection. They used to sell cheaper than they do now because it was not a huge seller for gibson and didnt take long to be discontinued. You gotta hand it to them for trying though! Lately there has been renewed interest in this guitar as a period piece.

 

It will play and it will play well, Undoubtedly, being a Gibson, it will at least hold its value.

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