56 R.I. gold top

[Sinner 13]

so I recently got one of these in a trade.

just a couple questions.

first, all of these I have seen have grover tuners, mine has Klusen Deluxe's.

second, it is stamped "Limited edition" on the headstock, the ser # is gone and it is stamped USED under the finish.

third, I have seen that a lot of these have poly finishes(I may be mistaken).

this one has the unmistakable aroma of nitro and the finish is starting to spider.

plays awesome, sound great,

any light on the subject is appreciated.

[amx05462]

used usually means a factory second or a return. probably why the klusons. i put them on mine too. had grovers. didnt look right. mine does not say used or limited edition. however it was a return to the guitar shop tone controls were junk. ive completely re wired and replaced the pots and caps with gibson parts. 033 caps. sounds much better than when i bought it.

[animalfarm]

so I recently got one of these in a trade.

 

it is stamped "Limited edition" on the headstock, the ser # is gone and

it is stamped USED under the finish.

I have seen that a lot of these have poly finishes(I may be mistaken).

this one has the unmistakable aroma of nitro and the finish is starting to spider

.

plays awesome, sound great,

any light on the subject is appreciated.

 

First, I agree with AMX - it's a Factory Second (Had boo-boo, returned to factory,

repaired - hopefully), then sent out into the world to find it's new owner.

 

"Used" instruments are not first-quality for a reason and may have expensive structural

issues or significant finish (repaired???) problems.The whole point of stamping "Used" is

to get around a warranty or sell a significant finish flaw.

 

This probably explains the "spidering" you see in the finish, but the "Nitro" smell

you describe is puzzling. EPI uses POLY, GIBSON uses Nitro. We ARE talking EPI???

 

Either way, as long as it's a good, solid player and you picked it up as trade

(I hope you got the good end of the deal!), who cares about the spidering?

YES, I, too, LOVE a NEW SHINY Guitar, but for the right price/trade I'll take a Git

with a little "Mojo" already built in!

 

Do you have the ability to post PICS?

[i Can Tuna Guitar]

Fact: Genuine Epiphone factory seconds have "2ND" stamped on the back of the headstock, the serial number is NOT obliterated, the guitar is fully covered under the warranty for defects that affect playability.

 

Fact: Guitars stamped "USED" are factory rejects/repaired items that are NOT covered by the warranty.

[Whitmore Willy]

Fact: Genuine Epiphone factory seconds have "2ND" stamped on the back of the headstock, the serial number is NOT obliterated, the guitar is fully covered under the warranty for defects that affect playability.

 

Fact: Guitars stamped "USED" are factory rejects/repaired items that are NOT covered by the warranty.

 

Correct!

 

I do believe that I was originally a factory second. I think I now fall into the Used category.

 

Willy

[stumblinman]

I thought I read somewhere on the interweb that guitars stamped USED were warranty returns that were sold in bulk lots to be repaired and sold by other distributors not in the normal chain of distributors. Maybe that was a guitar I looked at on eBay that discussed it.

[BillyGibson]

I thought I read somewhere on the interweb that guitars stamped USED were warranty returns that were sold in bulk lots to be repaired and sold by other distributors not in the normal chain of distributors. Maybe that was a guitar I looked at on eBay that discussed it.

 

Correct. There's an outfit in Tennessee -MIRC, that buys broken/damaged, etc guitars and rebuilds them. Here's a link - http://www.mircweb.com/

Some are cosmetic repairs. Others are broken headstocks, fretboard lifts, split top. They sell them only to music dealers for about 25% of the list (not street)

price. i.e., Epi Std. LP List is about $900. You can buy it new at Guitar Center for $479. MIRC will be about $300. The dealer pays this and then has to mark it up

in order to make a profit. So they are not making very much. They also don't relly know what repair was made. It could be cosmetic, or it could have been major.

They are also not covered by any warranty. For the price difference, I'd stick with new from an a store you know. Or by a real used (not stamped used) from craigslist.

[markerdown]

You know, I just purchased one of these 56GT Ltd editions from MF for $399. Nowhere on the back of the headstock does it say limited edition on mine. Not that it matters

 

I did pick up a Slash LP clearly stamped 2nd with the ser# intact and warranty coverage. I can't see why it's a second, it plays great

[Sinner 13]

Thanks for the info!

regardless of all of the above, it plays great, and sounds awesome, so I am happy with it.

As was stated above it is stamped with a LIMITED EDITION mark in gold at the base of the headstock on the back, and has the pearl inlay Epi logo on the front.

I have never seen a poly finish spider before(first time for every thing though). so there for given the tell tale smell along with that I assume it's a nitro finish.

Also the truss rod cover carries the Gibson name, not sure it matters.

[Sinner 13]

PICS!

in all her glory....

inlay with finish cracks.

LE Stamp.

Top Back Headstock.

[markerdown]

Meh, cosmetics. It nothin's busted, she plays the way ya like and is comfortable to play, she's a keeper

[Johnny Z]

I have a '98 Version with the "limited edition" logo in the back of the peghead. I think they only used that on the Korean models, like mine and not on the Chinese models. Another difference between the two is the tuners, which I think are fake Kluson on mine and fake Grover's on the Chinese models. My ivory tuners came lose after a while and with a drop of super glue on each at the post and knob they are set for life, and tune very well now. I really like this guitar and bought it as a back up for my other LP. In fact I liked it so much it became my favorite stage guitar. Who needs to pull out a $3000 LP to play a $200 gig?

 

This guitar has given me great service. It's a keeper.

[brianh]

Who needs to pull out a $3000 LP to play a $200 gig?

Brilliant.

 

[Ricochet]

Stamped "used" + no visually discerning defects + Smelling of nitro. = Respray

[Sinner 13]

I have a '98 Version with the "limited edition" logo in the back of the peghead. I think they only used that on the Korean models, like mine and not on the Chinese models. Another difference between the two is the tuners, which I think are fake Kluson on mine and fake Grover's on the Chinese models. My ivory tuners came lose after a while and with a drop of super glue on each at the post and knob they are set for life, and tune very well now. I really like this guitar and bought it as a back up for my other LP. In fact I liked it so much it became my favorite stage guitar. Who needs to pull out a $3000 LP to play a $200 gig?

 

This guitar has given me great service. It's a keeper.

sweet,

Looking at the pics again it looks like the first letter in the SN# is U possibly,

and since they stopped this in the late 90's it gives me a little more background,

Again, thanks for all the great info.

 

 

[Dagwood]

I'm about to pick one of these up this next week. My local shop had a "Trade UP" event and one of these babies came in. I'm pretty good friends with the owner/manager of the shop and asked if he'd keep an eye out for a Soapy/Gold Top. The Klusen's and Ltd Stamp on the Headstock are a bonus in my book. I'm way stoked.

 

I just have to wait a few days....something about waiting for a few day on the trades coming IN to the shop. Either way I can't wait to bring Miss Goldie Home. :)

 

I'll repost when I get her with some pics too.