Tim Plains Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 Hi, I'm buying a VOS in the next few months. I'm leaning towards the '58 because it's substantially less money. My question is - to people that have purchased the '59 or '60 - are the jumbos and the flamed top honestly worth the extra cash, or in hindsight, would you have rather bought the '58 VOS? Much appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
71Darkhorse Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 Hey there Tim, I brought a new 59 VOS a few months back. I was fortunate enough to have the choice of four 59's and four 58's to choose from, as the store had just received it's shipment. I can't remember the differance in the fret sizes between both models, but i can tell you string bends on mine are a dream cause of the jumbo frets. What i do remember is that i noticed the 59 had a slightly thicker neck than that of the 58 (which is already quite thick) which suited my large hands and playing style. There's no right or wrong / good or bad on this issue; just preferance. So far as 'flame' goes, it's important to note that the origional late 50's Les Paul Standard tops were really quite plain. There was no demand for big flamy 'monster tops' back then, so little consideration was given to the asthetics of the timber. Origional examples of flame tops are really quite rare. It's for this reason that i specifically didn't choose the guitar with the biggest flame i could find because i wanted my guitar to look like an authentic 59. Isn't that what the whole 'VOS' thing is about? Playing, sounding and LOOKING like an original? With this in mind, I ended up buying a nicely aged Ice Tea 59 with a mild flame. It looks cool and has character in spades (and tone!). I think the main reason the 59 is so much more expensive is because of the current demand for big flame. If this is whats most important, you can find more flame on some non custom shop models than you can on the 58 VOS for alot less money if you look around. I personally believe that monster tops will eventually loose favour as Gibson strives to emulate EXACT specifications of the guitars of the 50's era. It's really just a preferance though Tim. We all know that all guitars can be differant from one another and that all guitars are not created equal. This is particularly relevant to custom shop guitar c Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Plains Posted February 16, 2008 Author Share Posted February 16, 2008 You're right, they're not all made the same. It does really comes down to the sound of each individual guitar. I posted the same question on the LPF and somebody said that both 58s and 59s have jumbo same frets. I'll have to verify that for myself. So, the only difference would then be the carved top. It's a tough one because I really, really like both but I won't be buying one of each. I don't need eight Gibsons...seven yes...but eight is too much! I'll post pics when I buy one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
71Darkhorse Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 Hey Tim, It's a tough one mate; like choosing a bride . . . HA! I asked the same question to the dudes in my local music store over the weekend. They reckon that the 59's have a certain 'mojo' that the 58's don't. He did say that this could simply be because he has a psychological preconceived bias though! He also reckons that the 'best of the best' timber selections (asthetically and tonally) get set aside for the 59, which does make sense considering the price point huh? End of the day mate, it all comes down to each individual guitar; just cause it's a 59, doesn't mean it's better. There will be a (58 or 59) which will just call to you . . . . . Good luck! Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flamed Froggy Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Neck is thicker on 58 model than on 59 model and the 60's is the very thin. As you can see on Beauty of the burst book there were flames on original LP but it's true that most of them were plain. On original 58 frets are small but on reissue fret are the same on 58, 59 and 60. IMO if 59 and 60 are more expensive is because of demand. It's true that a flamed mapple is expensive but it's not the main reason. Most people love flames and they think that authentic appearence is not the most important thing. Nowadays, reissues before 2000s are more expensive than new models because they have monster flame top, I saw a 94 reissue at $8000 on Vault Guitars web site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorrus Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 The necks are not all the same. I have a 59 er R9 Vos with a medium neck and a friend om mine has a 58 R8 with a slim neck that's just slightly thicker than a 60's neck. So in my opinion they are not all the same . We compared our Les pauls and they sound allmost the same. My R9 gives a bit rounder tone, but they both sound beautifull to my ears, so ( again my personal opinion ) its a lot off money for the flame . Point is, you buy what you think its best, so you won't regret it later. You forget about the money, but you keep on loving youre reissue Tim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silverbursted Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Hey Tim, you still have that empty slot on your new case. I really like the workmanship on your case. It really got me thinking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silverbursted Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Excuse me for butting in, but I would like to ask a newbie question...what do you mean by R8 and R9? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimeJ Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 Hi' date=' I'm buying a VOS in the next few months. I'm leaning towards the '58 because it's substantially less money. My question is - to people that have purchased the '59 or '60 - are the jumbos and the flamed top honestly worth the extra cash, or in hindsight, would you have rather bought the '58 VOS? Much appreciated![/quote'] TimA - What did you get and where's the pics.........J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Plains Posted February 19, 2008 Author Share Posted February 19, 2008 Nothing yet, my guitar funds are still on life support, but I have decided that I will be buying a R8. I love the '59 flamed tops, but not for two grand. I'd rather buy a R8 AND another guitar for that much $$...don't worry, I'll post pics :P New guy I mean Silverbursted: R8 is 1958 Reissue, R9 is 1959 Reissue, R0 is 1960 Reissue. And actually, no, I do not have an empty slot. I have six Gibsons, one Strat and one A&L acoustic; I don't mention those other two because they're not Gibsons. I think what I'll have to do this time around is build five slots with no storage bin on the top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silverbursted Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 Tim, thanks for clearing up the number convention for me. Now it makes sense "R"=Reissue and the number is the last digit of the original issue year. Just curious, do you play professionally? That is quite an awsome collection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Plains Posted February 19, 2008 Author Share Posted February 19, 2008 Why thank you! I'm not a pro, nor do I pretend to be one. Just obsessed, I guess - like many others. I'm an average player I suppose. It all began with the silverburst. I had my Strat for the longest time and bought a SG Special in '05. When I picked up that silverburst, all hell broke loose. I've almost satisfied my crave - for buying anyways - but not playing...I'll never satisfy that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flamed Froggy Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 The necks are not all the same.I have a 59 er R9 Vos with a medium neck and a friend om mine has a 58 R8 with a slim neck that's just slightly thicker than a 60's neck. So in my opinion they are not all the same . We compared our Les pauls and they sound allmost the same. My R9 gives a bit rounder tone' date=' but they both sound beautifull to my ears, so ( again my personal opinion ) its a lot off money for the flame . Point is, you buy what you think its best, so you won't regret it later. You forget about the money, but you keep on loving youre reissue Tim.[/quote'] Maybe current reissues are not so accurate because original LP had a thick neck in '58, a medium in '59 and a slim in 60. For each year, during first weeks you can have old specifications that's why first '59 models have small frets and thick neck, and first '60 models have a medium neck. Unfortunatly, I never played, nor saw some original models but as you can read in Beauty of the burst book thicker necks are on 58 models and thinner are on 60 models. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPCollector Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 The original Bursts and the current reissues have their necks done by hand. So,"generally", the '58 is larger than the '59 and the 60 is the smaller neck....but these are done by hand so sometimes there are inconsistancies between the years intended sizes. Basically, it has always been like this. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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