Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: Nitwit on July 23, 2012, 06:26:07 PM
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As title. I originally had my eye on a Gibson Les Paul Traditional with Slimtaper neck and a Teaburst Flame maple top, for well over 6 months now. And I think it's time to finally acquire myself a genuine Gibson.
But after contacting the dealer it turned out the descirption and picture of said guitar was wrong, and it was sadly a "normal" maple top. I'm a sucker for flame tops, I like the flash.
And as such my search continued, and I remembered, didn't Gibson come out with a 2012 Standard earlier this year? That had a 60's neck and Flame Maple Top? And why yes they did. So since I'm a newborn BKP fan. My god these pickups are awesome. And as you fellas are generally really knowledgable and helpfull people, I thought I'd ask you guys.
Partially because I'm not a huge fan of the Burstbuckers and might change em, to BKPs ofcourse, altough I haven't tried em in that particular guitar yet, the drive is currently way too long, and I want some opinions on it before I do that.
So, have any of you tried the 2012 Standard? It looks stunning, but how does it feel?
And yes, I know I should go and try one to get a feel for myself, but as I currently only own and play, what people would refer to as low to mid range quality guitars, I really have no idea what a high quality guitar should feel like, I'm not all that good of a player yet. But I think of the Guitar as an investment.
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I'd like to get myself a proper LP one day, but I have to say I just don't give a damn about flamed tops, and that's an understatement - my dream LP is just plain black (with cream pickguard and binding) and chrome (or even better nickel). Just a regular guitar meant to be played. Oh, and I just don't care if there's a proper Gibson logo on it as long as it plays fine, sounds fine and doesn't cost one arm and two legs...
While we're at it, the best LP I ever played was not a gibbie... OTHO my SG is a gibbie and it's just great despite not being from the approved collectable period.
Just my two cents since you asked for it, now let the real LP guys chime in :mrgreen:
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I love gibsons! The les Paul standard plays great but the sound lacks (I blame burstbuckers). If you are willing to give up aesthetics and a few minor details the LP Studio is absolutely amazing for the money. I love mine, great woods, great sustain and stays in tune really nicely. The bridge pickup isn't too shabby either (BKPs destroy it though).
Also take a look at the carvin CS-6. Absolutely beautiful, fast playing guitar custom built in the USA for the same price as the gibby. Having played one, it's high up on my GAS list. Anyway, they are all great options.
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Get yourself a Japanese Tokai LP and you have some money left for installing BKP's.
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Usually I'm not so caught up in brands myself. But I do want something genuine for a change, I got a LP copy, strat copy(altough that one is from like the 60's so it's awesome) and some copys of other copys.
As for flame tops, well, there are exceptions. I'd love a pure white LP one day. But for translucent finishes I very much prefer something with abit more detail in it.
And I really don't wanna get a guitar I don't like the look of. If it didn't matter I'd just get one of them 1960 Traditional models, they'd be quite abit cheaper too.
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Get yourself a Japanese Tokai LP and you have some money left for installing BKP's.
Yeah, as pointed out in my post, I want something genuine for a change, not saying Tokai is bad, think that old strat I mentioned above is a Tokai, or an Akai, atleast that's what the guy I got it from told me. Ofcourse, he removed the decal many, many years ago so I got no idea how to tell. Not particular playable guitar at the moment though, needs a tuneup. Mostly just the string action beeing too high and the nut is totally shot. Neck looks straight and nice but the string buzz is horrible on the upper frets, I blame that on the nut though. And I'm rambling again.
As for saving money for BKPs, I get a decent monthly paycheck, and got no problems waiting a month with getting some BKPs for the Les Paul. So whether it's a Gibson or a Tokai doesn't matter in that particular department.
BKPs are not that expensive, thankfully.
I love gibsons! The les Paul standard plays great but the sound lacks (I blame burstbuckers). If you are willing to give up aesthetics and a few minor details the LP Studio is absolutely amazing for the money. I love mine, great woods, great sustain and stays in tune really nicely. The bridge pickup isn't too shabby either (BKPs destroy it though).
Also take a look at the carvin CS-6. Absolutely beautiful, fast playing guitar custom built in the USA for the same price as the gibby. Having played one, it's high up on my GAS list. Anyway, they are all great options.
Cheers for your thoughts. I too would blame the burstbuckers, as noted earlier I'm not a big fan of them. Then there's the weight relief which I've heard nothing but bad things about, but I chose to believe it's all personal preference, and don't make a bad influence on the sound. But as said, if I hate the Pickups if/when I get that Guitar, and it feels and plays nice, I will change them for BKPs. So the sound from a pickup point of view isn't really that important to me. That is my opinion on all guitars, they may sound like shite, but if they play like I'm stroking a womans thigh. Arousing and delightfull. Then I'm happy, very happy.
I've looked at Studios aswell, and sadly, no flame maple top, which is sorta essential, or I'd go with the Traditional which strangely is pretty much the same price as the Studio (Over here). About 160 of your dollars difference or roughly 100 pounds, trad got abit more flash ofcourse.
As for the Carvin, it may be good, but no retailers that carry that brand over here, so shipping and import fees are gonna ruin me. And I do not, in any way trust any airline with the handling of my Guitar. I'd barely trust em with getting a pair of pants shipped in one piece.
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I personally like the weight relief/chambering in my LP Studio.
Great for my back in gigs, help the guitar resonate, absolutely no tonal difference and even if it does cut a bit of sustain there's already loads and it's hardly noticeable or needed. The people complaining about are just purists who don't like change IMO.
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I'm pretty sure in all 2012 Gibson's, they use 2 piece fingerboards. Not sure if that's a red flag for you or not, but it's something you should know.
And as far as the Standard itself, it really just matters what kind of LP you're after. If you want alot of bells and whistles such as the chambering, coil splitting, etc, go for the Standard. If you just want a straight up, no b.s. LP and something that is close to a 1959, get a Standard Plus. I have one, great guitar.
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I'm pretty sure in all 2012 Gibson's, they use 2 piece fingerboards. Not sure if that's a red flag for you or not, but it's something you should know.
And as far as the Standard itself, it really just matters what kind of LP you're after. If you want alot of bells and whistles such as the chambering, coil splitting, etc, go for the Standard. If you just want a straight up, no b.s. LP and something that is close to a 1959, get a Standard Plus. I have one, great guitar.
Well what draws me towards the new Standard is as forementioned alot of times the Flame maple top. And, the Slim Taper neck profile. Other than that, I'm not picky.
Coil splits I don't have any opinion of one way or the other. However, I will say that I like Les Pauls with a Humbucker sound, so I won't use coil splits alot =p
Chambering, don't have any preference on this either, I believe it may have its good and bad sides either way.
2 piece fingerboard? Meh, no biggie, won't hear a difference, and won't see it either, unless you go lookin'.
Now I googled Standard Plus, and well. Are we talking the '08 Standard Plus here? Also, if so. I assume it doesn't have the SlimTaper neck?
I really didn't come up with anything. And well, it's not a Guitar I've seen anywhere available in my country either. So actually getting my hands on one might be abit tricky. As I already noted, I don't trust shipping, nor can justify the cost of insurance to cover it in the event of disaster.
Also, from what I can see the new Standard is currently listed cheaper (atleast on Gibsons site) than the regular 08 Standard.
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I'm sorry, I had a typo there. If the Standard isn't your thing, the Traditional Plus is what you should look for. Sorry.
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Why don't you have a look at one of our custom Lion models that are already built - they come with BKPs already installed , and we're happy to swap to a bucker of choice if you want a different flavour
Like this
(http://www.felineguitars.com/images/Guitars/lion/Lion%20Supreme/Lion%20Supreme%20tigerseye/Lion-Tigereye-1.jpg)
rear view
(http://www.felineguitars.com/images/Guitars/lion/Lion%20Supreme/Lion%20Supreme%20tigerseye/Lion-Tigereye-2.jpg)
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No doubt beatifull guitars there, but I'm afraid it's a tad above my price range. While the price itself ain't that bad for a "custom". I gotta pay a whoppin' 25% tax on imported stuff. Which puts it way up there on the "A man can dream" list.
I'm sorry, I had a typo there. If the Standard isn't your thing, the Traditional Plus is what you should look for. Sorry.
Ah yes the Trad Plus. Heh, it's non existent. I've looked everywhere for that thing with a slimtaper, save eBay. Really can't trace one up whatsoever.
Now, I got no issue with the new standard, it's exactly what I'm looking for on paper. But could use some non biased thoughts on it.
While yes, it does have stuff I don't need. It doesn't have stuff I don't want either. Don't have to use the coil taps if I don't wanna =p
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Out of curiosity though, how does the Trad Pro play. Can you compare it with the 2012 Standard?
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My 2 cents, buy second hand, current retail on a LP standard in the UK is £2K, and i saw guitarists review for the 2012 Strat standard which has pegged the price at £1400. I'm nearly certain these were coming in around the thousand mark as recently as 2 years ago. maybe they incremented the price up gradually and i just didn't notice, as opposed to Gibsons ridiculous price hike of a few years back, but i just don't think either of these guitars is worth that much money.. not new. no. And yes i'm going to pick at gibsons quality control, but am STILL seeing inlays with mucho filler, bad binding jobs etc etc.
buy second hand, save money. I know you want to buy the real deal, but it genuinely doesn't mean a better sound.
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Where do you live? Feline guitars are in london so you won't have to pay import fees if you live in England. And if you live in America.... Carvin are based there so again, you won't have to pay import fees.
Anyway, ive actually also found Gibson quality control to be rather good apart from one grounding issue.
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I've got my feelers out for something 2nd hand aswell. Nothing of interest has popped up, nothing but the 50's rounded neck profile that is.
Also. Oh, thought I noted my particular location earlier.
I happen to be Norwegian.
And it's not as much fee as a tax really, and then a tax on that tax, seriously.
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Ah - yes - Norway is outside the EEC and does suffer with taxes on imported goods - that 's a real shame.
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have you tried a 50's rounded neck? before i bought my first Les Paul, i always assumed i would prefer the slim 60's neck, but when i tried the two together i much preferred the 50's neck. unless you get one of the '58 reissues, it's not a huge neck.
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Yeah, the difference ain't huge, but I feel it's easier to grip and faster to play a slimmer neck, short fingers and whatnot.
Might try both back to back, when I do take a stroll down for a purchase.
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I tried a Les Paul Classic belonging to PhilKing, and that had a thin neck - it was verging on shred-tastic (not a word I realise). You can sometimes see them quite cheap 2nd hand and they have quite nice finishes.
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If you want an opinion on a LP Standard, I'd would sum it up by saying it's not the LP everyone knows and loves. It just has too many things different, and the weight relieving really takes away from the "LP-ness" in my book. I'd rather go find, for example, a Trad that has a low weight. Also, if you do go Gibson, you need to try alot of them out. Their QC is down the drain, so maybe 1 or 2 out of every 10 are worth owning. Faulty hardware and electronics, poor fretting, binding, finishing, etc. are all problems Gibson has right now.
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Awww, well. Sadly there's no big warehouse of Guitars anywhere around here, so trying out alot of them is gonna be hard, they pretty much only got one guitar of any type in the shop, and the rest are packed away in a storage somewhere.
But I'll make some calls around and see how willing they are to pack up a few extras.
Thus far on the list I got the New standard and the Classic Plus I'd like to try out. While the Classic Plus I can find may only have the 50's rounded neck, atleast I'll get to compare em.
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Are you worried about big necks?
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If you want an opinion on a LP Standard, I'd would sum it up by saying it's not the LP everyone knows and loves. It just has too many things different, and the weight relieving really takes away from the "LP-ness" in my book. I'd rather go find, for example, a Trad that has a low weight. Also, if you do go Gibson, you need to try alot of them out. Their QC is down the drain, so maybe 1 or 2 out of every 10 are worth owning. Faulty hardware and electronics, poor fretting, binding, finishing, etc. are all problems Gibson has right now.
2 out of 10! That's a bit if an overstatement. I have owned multiple gibsons and the QC has always been almost flawless. Only really minor flaws occasionally... I would say 2 out of 3 are worth owning.
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I find my short stubby fingers don't typically agree with them. But I've played some big necks I like too though. I'm open, but really gotta compare them next to eachother in the end regardless. Which is why I listed the Classic.
2 out of 10! That's a bit if an overstatement. I have owned multiple gibsons and the QC has always been almost flawless. Only really minor flaws occasionally... I would say 2 out of 3 are worth owning.
Define minor please =p
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I find my short stubby fingers don't typically agree with them. But I've played some big necks I like too though. I'm open, but really gotta compare them next to eachother in the end regardless. Which is why I listed the Classic.
2 out of 10! That's a bit if an overstatement. I have owned multiple gibsons and the QC has always been almost flawless. Only really minor flaws occasionally... I would say 2 out of 3 are worth owning.
Define minor please =p
An occasional ding on the headstock (could be the shops fault) or poorly set up or whatnot. Really nothing that should really bother anyone.
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Minor dings doesn't bother me at all. :D
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If you want an opinion on a LP Standard, I'd would sum it up by saying it's not the LP everyone knows and loves. It just has too many things different, and the weight relieving really takes away from the "LP-ness" in my book. I'd rather go find, for example, a Trad that has a low weight. Also, if you do go Gibson, you need to try alot of them out. Their QC is down the drain, so maybe 1 or 2 out of every 10 are worth owning. Faulty hardware and electronics, poor fretting, binding, finishing, etc. are all problems Gibson has right now.
2 out of 10! That's a bit if an overstatement. I have owned multiple gibsons and the QC has always been almost flawless. Only really minor flaws occasionally... I would say 2 out of 3 are worth owning.
Have you ever closely looked for the imperfections? There's always something there nowadays with the guitars they make. Granted most of the time it has nothing to do with the guitar's sound or playability, but I personally just don't want my guitar having cr@ppy binding, or sloppy fret work. I think it shows that Gibson does not care about the quality of instrument their customer is getting, that they rush guitars out so they make more profit. That might be acceptable to some, but I certainly don't.
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I thought Gibson were using the Plek machine for setups now, although I'm not sure if that applies to all US models?
I agree that their quality control isn't as good as, say, PRS or even Fender, but I think they're better than they were back in the '90s. They always have that thing where you can feel a bit of a "ridge" along the edge of the binding, but it's never bothered me.
That said, the last few Gibsons I've actually bought have been Custom Shop ones (I don't mean that to sound like I'm Richie Rich! :lol: ) so I haven't actually tried many recent production models.
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Also, if you do go Gibson, you need to try alot of them out. Their QC is down the drain, so maybe 1 or 2 out of every 10 are worth owning. Faulty hardware and electronics, poor fretting, binding, finishing, etc. are all problems Gibson has right now.
2 out of 10! That's a bit if an overstatement. I have owned multiple gibsons and the QC has always been almost flawless. Only really minor flaws occasionally... I would say 2 out of 3 are worth owning.
Don't know if it has anything to do with the country, but here in France 2 out of 10 is already quite optimistic for recent builds - about 9 out of 10 of the new Gibbies I played these past 3 years either had a major flaw or was just a plain lemon, and only two were really great. One of them was a 2500€ custom shop SG (great but still slightly overpriced IMHO), and the other, surprisingly, is a friend's 2008 Trad Gold Top - but it's probably more of an (happy) accident than anything else as none of the other trads I tried comes close to it.
@OP : I don't know what the second hand market is like in your country, but so far the best "bang for the bucks" (if you're a player I mean) gibbies I met were norlinn area ones - they do have a bad rep and can indeed be pretty bad so never (and I really mean never) buy one without trying it first, but there are a few hidden gems that you can get for a very decent price (1000€ or less).
My (other) 2 cents...
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If you want an opinion on a LP Standard, I'd would sum it up by saying it's not the LP everyone knows and loves. It just has too many things different, and the weight relieving really takes away from the "LP-ness" in my book. I'd rather go find, for example, a Trad that has a low weight. Also, if you do go Gibson, you need to try alot of them out. Their QC is down the drain, so maybe 1 or 2 out of every 10 are worth owning. Faulty hardware and electronics, poor fretting, binding, finishing, etc. are all problems Gibson has right now.
2 out of 10! That's a bit if an overstatement. I have owned multiple gibsons and the QC has always been almost flawless. Only really minor flaws occasionally... I would say 2 out of 3 are worth owning.
Have you ever closely looked for the imperfections? There's always something there nowadays with the guitars they make. Granted most of the time it has nothing to do with the guitar's sound or playability, but I personally just don't want my guitar having cr@ppy binding, or sloppy fret work. I think it shows that Gibson does not care about the quality of instrument their customer is getting, that they rush guitars out so they make more profit. That might be acceptable to some, but I certainly don't.
Honestly, im usually very picky.
The worst problems I've had were grounding problems or small dings.
It may just be luck or that the shop that I buy from stocks good ones on display (I always buy from display), but I've had very few problems with gibsons. I agree that you MUST try out a guitar before you buy it.
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@OP : I don't know what the second hand market is like in your country, but so far the best "bang for the bucks" (if you're a player I mean) gibbies I met were norlinn area ones - they do have a bad rep and can indeed be pretty bad so never (and I really mean never) buy one without trying it first, but there are a few hidden gems that you can get for a very decent price (1000€ or less).
My (other) 2 cents...
The 2nd hand market is decent, but for the known "brands" you rarely come across one for much less than it would cost new. Most people seem interested in getting the full amount they originally payed for it when they sell it. They seem to be clinging to the whole "It's been played, so it's more valuable" concept.
Once in a while you come across one that's listed at a couple hundred bucks lower than the original list price. But they usually contain sentences like "Neck/Headstock broke, but fixed it at this guy in an alley behind the supermarket" in the ad.
I've heard both good and bad things about the Norlin Era guitars, really can't speak for any of it without trying one.
But sadly, they don't come cheap either. You know, the whole "It's been played, so it's more valuable" concept above?
Replace it with the all time classic "It's old, so it's more valuable". Rarely see a Gibson Les Paul from the 90's and back for less than 2000 pounds.
Which is abit sad, as I quite prefer a Guitar that shows some age.
I always try before I buy, so that's not gonna be an issue. If I just knew what to keep my feelers out for when perusing the body, neck, finish and electrics. But I'm getting good stuff from you guys on that department currently =)
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Personally I have found when grabbing an off the shelf new Gibson LP, at various stores to try out pedals or amps etc, I have found that the weight relieved newer standards sound pretty raspy and brittle.
The traditional (non-weight relief) models sound better IMO, but I didn't like the feel of the somewhat tall frets on the last one I remember playing.
As for the neck thing, the 60's neck I find flimsy, but then again I feel that way whenever I pick up most modern style guitars, and find they go out of tune too quickly as well.
When it comes to LP's having owned a few in my time, I have found that you really only get what you pay for, but it is also very easy to get ripped off or pay too much for their higher end variants if you don't do your research properly in the first place but then again the same goes for the lower end range as well.
As for cheaper stuff like the Epiphone range, and other brands, again you still will only get what you pay for. Some of these guitars are made out of cheap nasty wood (but some are quite good too such as the supreme models) and the tone, build quality, and feel of the guitar will reflect that but you can only compare them with your own experiences with previous/other guitars over time.
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The 2nd hand market is decent, but for the known "brands" you rarely come across one for much less than it would cost new. Most people seem interested in getting the full amount they originally payed for it when they sell it. They seem to be clinging to the whole "It's been played, so it's more valuable" concept.
Ok, I see. Nothing much to hope then :(
I've heard both good and bad things about the Norlin Era guitars,
And I've played both quite cool guitars and utter lemons from that period. One of them (a 1974 or 75 SG standard) was just so f**d up it was a joke amongst us. My own 1980 SG is just fine and I recently tried a 1976 Deluxe that was well, perhaps not "great" but still a really good LP - and it was selling for 1200€ (I whish I could have bought it).
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So thx for all your replies here, fellas, truly helpfull.
I'm gonna make a call to my nearest guitar dealer this week and see if they can get some Classic Plus and new Standards ready for me. (Might not actually be able to get down there for the next two weeks though to try em)
However, done some more research on the Standard, not sure if it applies to the Classic Plus. But, the PCB board the pots and pickups go into really baffled me. Not a big issue, but given the choice I wouldn't have one in there. (Guess Gibson has done this for a while, don't judge me!)
Anyways, thx again, and sorry for the needless bump. I shall be back with a NGD announcement and some Pickup choice related questions soon, depending on how this goes.
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Sounds good, keep us updated!
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So thx for all your replies here, fellas, truly helpfull.
I'm gonna make a call to my nearest guitar dealer this week and see if they can get some Classic Plus and new Standards ready for me. (Might not actually be able to get down there for the next two weeks though to try em)
However, done some more research on the Standard, not sure if it applies to the Classic Plus. But, the PCB board the pots and pickups go into really baffled me. Not a big issue, but given the choice I wouldn't have one in there. (Guess Gibson has done this for a while, don't judge me!)
Anyways, thx again, and sorry for the needless bump. I shall be back with a NGD announcement and some Pickup choice related questions soon, depending on how this goes.
PCBs are real pains if you have a problem as you can't find where it is coming from easily and replacing pickups doesn't with in the same way as standard soldering. I suggest that when you replace pots and pickups you should take it to a pro tech and get them to rip it out and install new 500k pots wired normally.
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So thx for all your replies here, fellas, truly helpfull.
I'm gonna make a call to my nearest guitar dealer this week and see if they can get some Classic Plus and new Standards ready for me. (Might not actually be able to get down there for the next two weeks though to try em)
However, done some more research on the Standard, not sure if it applies to the Classic Plus. But, the PCB board the pots and pickups go into really baffled me. Not a big issue, but given the choice I wouldn't have one in there. (Guess Gibson has done this for a while, don't judge me!)
Anyways, thx again, and sorry for the needless bump. I shall be back with a NGD announcement and some Pickup choice related questions soon, depending on how this goes.
PCBs are real pains if you have a problem as you can't find where it is coming from easily and replacing pickups doesn't with in the same way as standard soldering. I suggest that when you replace pots and pickups you should take it to a pro tech and get them to rip it out and install new 500k pots wired normally.
Well, if a problem arises I'll pull em out myself. I've got a degree in electronics, so I do know my way around a PCB board, pots, capacitors and such in general. Having a tech do it would cost me a buttload when I'm technically qualified to do it myself. (Not that it's hard)
From what I can tell looking at a rather cr@ppy picture of the PCB board, all that has to be done with replacing the pickups should be taking the old ones out, pushing or soldering the new ones into a connector depending on what kind of connector it is and just plug it in there. Now, I haven't seen one of Gibsons PCB boards in person.
Wasn't thinking I'd replace the pots in the guitar though, don't really see the need to as I'm asuming they're good enough, guitar is gonna cost me 1800$ after all.
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So thx for all your replies here, fellas, truly helpfull.
I'm gonna make a call to my nearest guitar dealer this week and see if they can get some Classic Plus and new Standards ready for me. (Might not actually be able to get down there for the next two weeks though to try em)
However, done some more research on the Standard, not sure if it applies to the Classic Plus. But, the PCB board the pots and pickups go into really baffled me. Not a big issue, but given the choice I wouldn't have one in there. (Guess Gibson has done this for a while, don't judge me!)
Anyways, thx again, and sorry for the needless bump. I shall be back with a NGD announcement and some Pickup choice related questions soon, depending on how this goes.
PCBs are real pains if you have a problem as you can't find where it is coming from easily and replacing pickups doesn't with in the same way as standard soldering. I suggest that when you replace pots and pickups you should take it to a pro tech and get them to rip it out and install new 500k pots wired normally.
Well, if a problem arises I'll pull em out myself. I've got a degree in electronics, so I do know my way around a PCB board, pots, capacitors and such in general. Having a tech do it would cost me a buttload when I'm technically qualified to do it myself. (Not that it's hard)
From what I can tell looking at a rather cr@ppy picture of the PCB board, all that has to be done with replacing the pickups should be taking the old ones out, pushing or soldering the new ones into a connector depending on what kind of connector it is and just plug it in there. Now, I haven't seen one of Gibsons PCB boards in person.
Wasn't thinking I'd replace the pots in the guitar though, don't really see the need to as I'm asuming they're good enough, guitar is gonna cost me 1800$ after all.
The pots are pretty decent but the the volume pots are 300k. All I recommend is that if you get the Holy Diver replace the pots with 500k pots.
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So thx for all your replies here, fellas, truly helpfull.
I'm gonna make a call to my nearest guitar dealer this week and see if they can get some Classic Plus and new Standards ready for me. (Might not actually be able to get down there for the next two weeks though to try em)
However, done some more research on the Standard, not sure if it applies to the Classic Plus. But, the PCB board the pots and pickups go into really baffled me. Not a big issue, but given the choice I wouldn't have one in there. (Guess Gibson has done this for a while, don't judge me!)
Anyways, thx again, and sorry for the needless bump. I shall be back with a NGD announcement and some Pickup choice related questions soon, depending on how this goes.
PCBs are real pains if you have a problem as you can't find where it is coming from easily and replacing pickups doesn't with in the same way as standard soldering. I suggest that when you replace pots and pickups you should take it to a pro tech and get them to rip it out and install new 500k pots wired normally.
Well, if a problem arises I'll pull em out myself. I've got a degree in electronics, so I do know my way around a PCB board, pots, capacitors and such in general. Having a tech do it would cost me a buttload when I'm technically qualified to do it myself. (Not that it's hard)
From what I can tell looking at a rather cr@ppy picture of the PCB board, all that has to be done with replacing the pickups should be taking the old ones out, pushing or soldering the new ones into a connector depending on what kind of connector it is and just plug it in there. Now, I haven't seen one of Gibsons PCB boards in person.
Wasn't thinking I'd replace the pots in the guitar though, don't really see the need to as I'm asuming they're good enough, guitar is gonna cost me 1800$ after all.
The pots are pretty decent but the the volume pots are 300k. All I recommend is that if you get the Holy Diver replace the pots with 500k pots.
Well, haven't decided on a set of pickups yet. But I'm leaning towards Nailbomb bridge and Emerald neck atm. If at all compatable with each other, might change the neck to Holydiver or the bridge to something slightly less hotter. But that's a discussion for another time.
300k pots. Uhm, Don't really like the sound of that. But, whatever it is I chose to go with I'll try it out with the pots as they are, if I hate it I'll get some new pots and rewire the beauty. (Last I checked no Push/pull BKP pots, so gotta get em post buy anyways) That said, I will most likely change those pots, thx =)
Ofcourse, all this might be irrelevant if I go with the Classic Plus (Unless they too got that darn PCB, checked can't find any info on that, guessing they're wired normal) But I really like the sound of a 60s style asymmetrical neck which is on the Standard.
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So thx for all your replies here, fellas, truly helpfull.
I'm gonna make a call to my nearest guitar dealer this week and see if they can get some Classic Plus and new Standards ready for me. (Might not actually be able to get down there for the next two weeks though to try em)
However, done some more research on the Standard, not sure if it applies to the Classic Plus. But, the PCB board the pots and pickups go into really baffled me. Not a big issue, but given the choice I wouldn't have one in there. (Guess Gibson has done this for a while, don't judge me!)
Anyways, thx again, and sorry for the needless bump. I shall be back with a NGD announcement and some Pickup choice related questions soon, depending on how this goes.
PCBs are real pains if you have a problem as you can't find where it is coming from easily and replacing pickups doesn't with in the same way as standard soldering. I suggest that when you replace pots and pickups you should take it to a pro tech and get them to rip it out and install new 500k pots wired normally.
Well, if a problem arises I'll pull em out myself. I've got a degree in electronics, so I do know my way around a PCB board, pots, capacitors and such in general. Having a tech do it would cost me a buttload when I'm technically qualified to do it myself. (Not that it's hard)
From what I can tell looking at a rather cr@ppy picture of the PCB board, all that has to be done with replacing the pickups should be taking the old ones out, pushing or soldering the new ones into a connector depending on what kind of connector it is and just plug it in there. Now, I haven't seen one of Gibsons PCB boards in person.
Wasn't thinking I'd replace the pots in the guitar though, don't really see the need to as I'm asuming they're good enough, guitar is gonna cost me 1800$ after all.
The pots are pretty decent but the the volume pots are 300k. All I recommend is that if you get the Holy Diver replace the pots with 500k pots.
Well, haven't decided on a set of pickups yet. But I'm leaning towards Nailbomb bridge and Emerald neck atm. If at all compatable with each other, might change the neck to Holydiver or the bridge to something slightly less hotter. But that's a discussion for another time.
300k pots. Uhm, Don't really like the sound of that. But, whatever it is I chose to go with I'll try it out with the pots as they are, if I hate it I'll get some new pots and rewire the beauty. (Last I checked no Push/pull BKP pots, so gotta get em post buy anyways) That said, I will most likely change those pots, thx =)
Ofcourse, all this might be irrelevant if I go with the Classic Plus (Unless they too got that darn PCB, checked can't find any info on that, guessing they're wired normal) But I really like the sound of a 60s style asymmetrical neck which is on the Standard.
Oh, I said that badly the STANDARD has 500k pots. Most others (including the classic plus) have 300k volume pots.
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So thx for all your replies here, fellas, truly helpfull.
I'm gonna make a call to my nearest guitar dealer this week and see if they can get some Classic Plus and new Standards ready for me. (Might not actually be able to get down there for the next two weeks though to try em)
However, done some more research on the Standard, not sure if it applies to the Classic Plus. But, the PCB board the pots and pickups go into really baffled me. Not a big issue, but given the choice I wouldn't have one in there. (Guess Gibson has done this for a while, don't judge me!)
Anyways, thx again, and sorry for the needless bump. I shall be back with a NGD announcement and some Pickup choice related questions soon, depending on how this goes.
PCBs are real pains if you have a problem as you can't find where it is coming from easily and replacing pickups doesn't with in the same way as standard soldering. I suggest that when you replace pots and pickups you should take it to a pro tech and get them to rip it out and install new 500k pots wired normally.
Well, if a problem arises I'll pull em out myself. I've got a degree in electronics, so I do know my way around a PCB board, pots, capacitors and such in general. Having a tech do it would cost me a buttload when I'm technically qualified to do it myself. (Not that it's hard)
From what I can tell looking at a rather cr@ppy picture of the PCB board, all that has to be done with replacing the pickups should be taking the old ones out, pushing or soldering the new ones into a connector depending on what kind of connector it is and just plug it in there. Now, I haven't seen one of Gibsons PCB boards in person.
Wasn't thinking I'd replace the pots in the guitar though, don't really see the need to as I'm asuming they're good enough, guitar is gonna cost me 1800$ after all.
The pots are pretty decent but the the volume pots are 300k. All I recommend is that if you get the Holy Diver replace the pots with 500k pots.
Well, haven't decided on a set of pickups yet. But I'm leaning towards Nailbomb bridge and Emerald neck atm. If at all compatable with each other, might change the neck to Holydiver or the bridge to something slightly less hotter. But that's a discussion for another time.
300k pots. Uhm, Don't really like the sound of that. But, whatever it is I chose to go with I'll try it out with the pots as they are, if I hate it I'll get some new pots and rewire the beauty. (Last I checked no Push/pull BKP pots, so gotta get em post buy anyways) That said, I will most likely change those pots, thx =)
Ofcourse, all this might be irrelevant if I go with the Classic Plus (Unless they too got that darn PCB, checked can't find any info on that, guessing they're wired normal) But I really like the sound of a 60s style asymmetrical neck which is on the Standard.
Oh, I said that badly the STANDARD has 500k pots. Most others (including the classic plus) have 300k volume pots.
Aah. Allrighty then. Cheers =)
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If you want an opinion on a LP Standard, I'd would sum it up by saying it's not the LP everyone knows and loves. It just has too many things different, and the weight relieving really takes away from the "LP-ness" in my book. I'd rather go find, for example, a Trad that has a low weight. Also, if you do go Gibson, you need to try alot of them out. Their QC is down the drain, so maybe 1 or 2 out of every 10 are worth owning. Faulty hardware and electronics, poor fretting, binding, finishing, etc. are all problems Gibson has right now.
Traditionals are weight relieved. Standards are fully chambered. The only LPs that are guaranteed not to be weight relieved are VOS models.
That said, the 2012 LP is closer to the classic LPs than the 2008 was.