Author Topic: New Gibsons :ANGER: (Read 11802 times)

indysmith · « **Reply #15 on:** January 23, 2006, 04:20:02 PM »

I think the digital les paul will be a flop. most guitarists are right old traditionalists when it comes to gear! - why do we want a digital les paul??

Speaking of modernising gear, i have a £1000 bet with my mother that the AXL Thin amp thingy will fail, and by 2010 they're going to be out of business and out of production. NOBODY wants a flat, solid state combo amp - it's a guarenteed win for me, but she seems convinced that thin amps are gonna be the next big thing in guitarland :?

sambo · « **Reply #16 on:** January 23, 2006, 04:22:07 PM »

£1000 bet on an amp!!! your parents must be doing alrite!

anyway never heard of those axl things but then again i havent heard of much. how much/what are they exactly?

tewboss · « **Reply #17 on:** January 23, 2006, 04:31:49 PM »

Quote from: The amazing Phil

I gotta admit, I don't mind the "Menace" ones, they're pretty cool I think

The thing is they look like a copy of what ESP done with the Eclipse having a modern take on the Les Paul. When it comes down to it, the Menace is just a Studio with different hardware and a gimic fretboard and headstock inlay.

Now I thought the Voodoo looked nice. It was something different to what anybody else was doing, although I realise it wouldn't have appealed to some people.

carlaz · « **Reply #18 on:** January 23, 2006, 05:32:43 PM »

Quote from: indysmith

I think the digital les paul will be a flop. most guitarists are right old traditionalists when it comes to gear! - why do we want a digital les paul??

I think it will be a flop while it's USD 4000! After all, the digital LP is just a regular LP plus that hex pickup and all the whizbang stuff. And that's some very expensive digital whizbang! ;)

If it came way down in price, then they might have something. Some kind of technology like this is bound to eventually find a place in studio recording, at least.

willo · « **Reply #19 on:** January 23, 2006, 07:15:33 PM »

Quote from: indysmith

Speaking of modernising gear, i have a £1000 bet with my mother that the AXL Thin amp thingy will fail, and by 2010 they're going to be out of business and out of production. NOBODY wants a flat, solid state combo amp - it's a guarenteed win for me, but she seems convinced that thin amps are gonna be the next big thing in guitarland :?

Why wouldn't they be? Here's my problem - I live in the attic of a house, practice often in my room save for the odd audition/rehearsal. I can't drive, so getting my JCM8002x12 around town is a pain in the arse. A serious pain - especially when you don't have any parents to drive you around. And getting it up and down 2 flights of stairs is a pain in the arse, coupled with the fact that it's sheer size is faintly ridiculous for bedroom practising. Now, a thin amp that I could carry around in a bag to a gig would be a godsend.

And it's not just that. Tokyo is a commerce captial of the world, and the living space in inner-city areas is often incredibly small. Couple that with the fact that Japan is still kinda guitar crazy, and it wouldn't be a huge surprise if something like the AXL took off there. And if it did, then the whole design of 'thin amps' would presumably therefore be around for quite a while.

I'm just speculating, but I can see a market for something like the AXL. Modern consumerism is veering heavily towards smaller being best. Realistically, the major concern with something like the AXL is tone - and it's price point being so low means it's not being targeted at the only people who would realistically be critical of tone - the self-styled 'tone hounds' who would casually drop £2000 on a Matchless. Those people would never even look at a £100 amp, so its not like they would be losing their business. The people who would look at an AXL are people who need a small amp (which it is), a portable amp (which it is), or something cheap (which it also is). So it satisfies all the criteria upon which it is being marketed.

sambo · « **Reply #20 on:** January 23, 2006, 07:28:17 PM »

go willo, its about time that bloody indy (richard) smith was taught a lesson. :P

i actually agree with you completely and like you said the only worry is tone. has anyone actually played one of thes "axl's" or knows what they sound like???

_tom_ · « **Reply #21 on:** January 23, 2006, 07:46:20 PM »

The AXL's sound really thin according to some reviews I read. Maybe a thin cab=thin tone? I have no idea really but just guessing.

I also hate these new Gibsons. Look soo cr@p and sell-outy.

blue · « **Reply #22 on:** January 23, 2006, 09:07:16 PM »

reading the profiles on the gibson site, the new les pauls appear to be hollow bodies, which in my experience can do great things for tone. there's at least one of them i'd be interested in. it's obvioous they're not going to appeal to traditionalists, ie most guitarists, but at least they're trying something a little different. if they appeal to some, then they're a relative success. i give credit to gibson for keeping the blueshawk in production, i doubt that it's an enormous seller, but it has a niche and they're willing to fill it (as it happens, it's a great wee guitar). one or two of these new models might well do the same.
from a pickup point of view, and this is a pickup forum :lol: i like the translucent smoky bobbins, kinda funky.

indysmith · « **Reply #23 on:** January 23, 2006, 10:24:09 PM »

the only concern with an AXL is the lack of tone? what else do you want an amp for?! whilst you can get some nice little regular-shaped combo amps that sound good, i think that nobody is going to be buying something that sounds lke arse just because its thin.
The smaller=better philosophy may be catching on with most technology, but with guitar amps i don't see it happenning - (just about) all guitarists think older=better when it comes to amps. Hell, we're still using valves!

sambo · « **Reply #24 on:** January 23, 2006, 10:46:01 PM »

yer i see what you mean, but think about all the people who can't afford a decent valve amp or even a normal half-decent transistor one??? im talking about beginners and people who arent willing to pay hundreds and hundreds of pounds. how much did you say it was? £100? if so i think that's superb for the money! ok, so it's not gonna meet the needs of experienced players who invest more in their equipment but i doubt the tone will be horrifically bad to who the amp's aimed at.

anyway i dont know much about the amp itself but it doesnt sound like a bad thing to me at all. the thing is you have to think about other peoples tastes and requirements when it comes to guitar playing: new players, old players, country players, metal players, serious players, players who just play for a laugh e.t.c e.t.c. its so easy to dismiss a piece of equipment as "bad" just because it doesnt suit you.

carlaz · « **Reply #25 on:** January 24, 2006, 10:46:37 AM »

One can't lose sight of the whole "right tool for the job" thing. I could have the most wonderful all-tube tone-monster amp in the world right now, and I'd just never play it. My place is too small, I have to keep things compact and quiet -- it just wouldn't work!

cdwillis · « **Reply #26 on:** January 27, 2006, 05:44:09 PM »

Seriously don't we have enough different versions of the Les Paul and SG? Same with the Stratocaster. Maybe Gibson should try to design something new. :lol:

indysmith · « **Reply #27 on:** January 27, 2006, 05:49:23 PM »

Quote from: cdwillis

Seriously don't we have enough different versions of the Les Paul and SG? Same with the Stratocaster. Maybe Gibson should try to design something new. :lol:

Haha but whenever Gibson tries something new, it never works, nobody wants a new-design Gibson, because Gibson in most people's minds =vintage. Contemporary is not what its good at. Gibson has bought out so many companies, maybe it should have one of these experimenting with new designs. Keep the brand "Gibson" for the classics?