Not Nick Clegg, although he does seem to be an all-purpose whipping boy nowadays....
No, I refer to our very own Marauder, and it was this thread last month which started another (expensive) ball rolling:
https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=27460.0For some time I've been GAS-ing for a particular guitar (let's face it, I've been GAS-ing for loads of guitars, but this one has been consistently on the "
must buy" list for quite a while)....... a Gibson 1958 Les Paul Jr. Double Cut VOS. I've had a few MIJ doublecut Jrs in the last couple of years - two Edwards and a Tokai - but the Edwards were a bit skinny-necked, the Tokai was a bit too heavy; I felt I had to move upmarket.
But there aren't many examples of this model around, even less in TV White - and it
had to be in TV White! So I resigned myself to being patient.
But then talk of "bi-layer" Rosewood boards on Gibson Custom Shop guitars started alarm bells ringing - surely that was just a step away from Baked Maple...? :? It was time to sh!t or get off the pot, to put it bluntly....
Nothing on eBay in the right colour, nothing at any UK dealers.... but one in stock at Thomann. I emailed them and asked them to weigh it (you know me! :roll:
) and maybe take some photos - if you don't ask, you don't get! They came back to me, all looked good, and with the current state of the Pound to the Euro it was not cheap, but £300 less than the UK price for this model.
So here it is, just arrived! :)
First impressions: It's nice and light for a Gibson, just a few ounces over 7 pounds. The neck is big and chunky, but not the enormous tree truck some reviews had led me to believe. The rosewood board is one of the nicest I've seen on a Gibson (sure beats baked maple!). The finish is surprising, very little of the light ageing I expect on a VOS, very little sinking into the grain, I almost wonder if it's actually the Gloss finish option on this one rather than VOS? And soundwise... acoustically, I've never heard anything quite like it,
very loud and resonant. I've got lots of resonant guitars - I do like them to "ring" - but this one has some presence, real twang on the bass strings but still sounds really
big. I like it. :D
