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1966 G400 Walnut With Oil Finish?


Elias Graves

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This just showed up at GC's website. $399. No other details. Anybody know if its real walnut or stained?

66G400.jpg

 

EG

 

This thread prompted a little research on my part. Here's one comment I found about using Maple for guitar bodies. It would seem a buyer should play several for comparison. Also, the note on pickup changes would be a possible concern.

 

Faded....

 

Walnut:

A darker wood with Ash-like grains, but like mahogany, the density is uniform. It is harder and denser than Mahogany so the tone is brighter, but the open grains make for a complex midrange that seems to be compressed in some frequencies, but dynamic in others. There’s a nasal response to rhythms, while solo notes jump out. It has a lot of advantageous features of the other main guitar woods. It has a snappy attack and solid lows like Ash, but with smooth highs like Mahogany, and textured mids like Alder. The drawbacks are that it’s heavier, and more stubborn in its sound. It doesn’t respond to random pickup changes. The pickups have to be well suited to the guitar. A Walnut body will dictate the tonal signature of the guitar more than the other main woods. A heavy piece will dampen the mids to produce an overly nasal and lifeless sound, so it needs to be light and open grained enough to resonate the main guitar frequencies.

 

Production notes: Again watch for heavy pieces. The extra weight adds nothing good to the sound except perhaps more sustain. But sustain is abundant in Walnut already.

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Actually, I believe the '66 G400 is bevelled a little differently to regular G400s, but I don't think the bevelling is that wide. I noticed the Gibson bridge too, and I think it's definitely photoshopped. The Gibson bridge is quite different to the one Epi uses. Obviously the posts are smaller, but the saddle screws are too. The Gibson bridge is a Gotoh one isn't it?

 

Not that it really matters whether it's photoshopped or not, i'm sure it'll still look great.

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Actually' date=' I believe the '66 G400 is bevelled a little differently to regular G400s, but I don't think the bevelling is that wide. I noticed the Gibson bridge too, and I think it's definitely photoshopped. The Gibson bridge is quite different to the one Epi uses. Obviously the posts are smaller, but the saddle screws are too. The Gibson bridge is a Gotoh one isn't it?

 

Not that it really matters whether it's photoshopped or not, i'm sure it'll still look great. [/quote']

 

No, I have a '66 and my step-sister has a Standard and the beveling is the same. Any differences are slight and unintentional.

 

Gibson uses Ping Works of late. Gotoh only on the more expensive Gibbys.

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I ran this thread on another site and got a lot of photoshop replies. My bet is that MF didn't have a real one yet to photograph.

In general I like the necks a lot better on the Gibsons but walnut is the stuff.

I've been a woodworker for a long time and walnut is easily my favorite wood! Its gorgeous.

Tough to beat at $400 too!

 

EG

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Yup. Its a photoshop. I wouldnt have noticed unless someone had suggested it though. But yeah, the headstock and the neck arent lined up at the nut. Its barely noticable, but the head stock is actually sitting a couple of pixels below the neck. The strings line up though...and that is what was obviously used as a reference point.

 

 

EDIT: If anyone has any doubts, check out the Gibson Faded SG at GC. Look at the wood grains behind the bridge. Its EXACTLY the same as the photoshopped Epi. So there you have it.

 

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Gibson-Faded-SG-Special-Electric-Guitar-102935921-i1149235.gc

 

Hey Gibson, I'm available as a freelance photoshop artist. I'm expensive, but I'm worth it. Hit me up, dog.[angry]

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I ran this thread on another site and got a lot of photoshop replies. My bet is that MF didn't have a real one yet to photograph.

In general I like the necks a lot better on the Gibsons but walnut is the stuff.

I've been a woodworker for a long time and walnut is easily my favorite wood! Its gorgeous.

Tough to beat at $400 too!

 

EG

 

Gibson photographs the guitars, not MF. Since Gibson didn't give them a picture yet, they decided to photoshop some ones they already had. Or, like the Epi LP Classic Custom, they may never give MF a stock photo.

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  • 1 month later...

I just got one of these shipped to me from Music123. It had a chipped headstock, so I had to send it back. But, here's the deal on the guitar: It is solid walnut, not stained mahogany. It also doesn't have a "natural oil" finish, it is a nice glossy Poly coat like on the Heritage Cherry. The one I got was WAY lighter in color than the photo, or any other piece of walnut I've ever seen. It seriously looked closer to an Ash color, but definitely was walnut grain. I know each piece of wood is different, so I'm not sure what others will look like.

 

A few disappointing things I noticed were several visible glue drips underneath the poly coat from where they glued up the boards for the body. They really should have been sanded out before putting the clear on. BAD craftsmanship. Other than that the guitar looked beautiful.

 

Also, the neck/headstock were not one solid piece of wood. I've never owned a G-400 before and am not sure if this is the case with all of them, but there is a glue seam at the headstock - clearly 2 pieces of wood. I had expected the neck and headstock to be the same piece of wood - the only 2 piece neck/headstock combo I have seen is on a cheap First Act guitar that I own. I'm sure it's so they can use the wood more efficiently in production - it is a relatively inexpensive guitar.

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I just got one of these shipped to me from Music123. It had a chipped headstock' date=' so I had to send it back. But, here's the deal on the guitar: It is solid walnut, not stained mahogany. It also doesn't have a "natural oil" finish, it is a nice glossy Poly coat like on the Heritage Cherry. The one I got was WAY lighter in color than the photo, or any other piece of walnut I've ever seen. It seriously looked closer to an Ash color, but definitely was walnut grain. I know each piece of wood is different, so I'm not sure what others will look like.

 

A few disappointing things I noticed were several visible glue drips underneath the poly coat from where they glued up the boards for the body. They really should have been sanded out before putting the clear on. BAD craftsmanship. Other than that the guitar looked beautiful.

 

Also, the neck/headstock were not one solid piece of wood. I've never owned a G-400 before and am not sure if this is the case with all of them, but there is a glue seam at the headstock - clearly 2 pieces of wood. I had expected the neck and headstock to be the same piece of wood - the only 2 piece neck/headstock combo I have seen is on a cheap First Act guitar that I own. I'm sure it's so they can use the wood more efficiently in production - it is a relatively inexpensive guitar.

 

[/quote']

 

I have a feeling that MF and the others are sending out scratched and dented items at regular prices hoping that the customer will accept them.. Their scratch 'n dent items page seems to have disappeared. MF sent me a Cordoba classical guitar with a dent and crack in the finish. No more 'net purchases from them for me.

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I can't see a guitar at that low a price being solid walnut,it's most likely a veneer as solid walnut is pretty pricey.I paid over $350 in the early 80s for an unfinished walnut Strat body so I imagine it would be much more now.A lot of companies mislead people by saying "solid wood"walnut which isn't a lie but you'll find that the "solid wood "is basswood or poplar etc. and the walnut is a 1/8 or thinner veneer.I'd be very suspicious.

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I can't see a guitar at that low a price being solid walnut' date='it's most likely a veneer as solid walnut is pretty pricey.I paid over $350 in the early 80s for an unfinished walnut Strat body so I imagine it would be much more now.A lot of companies mislead people by saying "solid wood"walnut which isn't a lie but you'll find that the "solid wood "is basswood or poplar etc. and the walnut is a 1/8 or thinner veneer.I'd be very suspicious.[/quote']

 

Na, Walnut isn't THAT expensive anymore. More than say, ash or alder, but not as much as "exotic" woods. (Figured Walnut IS expensive though...)

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The Epi 1966 g-400 is definitely solid walnut. Building furniture is a hobby of mine and I know my woods. I suspect the KIND of Walnut they use in this model might be cheaper. Like I mentioned, the color was really light, closer to an ash, not the almost chocolate-brown you get in most Walnut wood. But the grain definitely looked like walnut. Solid walnut glued up from several pieces - the glue joints were very visible on the edges.

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Fadedepi said a mouthful earlier in the thread.

 

Get your hands on it before buying. Listen to it through an amp.

I'm not against a good deal, or any web store in particular, but

CAUTION is the word when dealing online.

Having a piece show up and not being happy with it seems to be a bit more prevalent these days.

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