Flawed gold (2)

Remember the Gibson LP Deluxe I purchased from the recent Swee Lee Katong sale? So here's the flaw - finish checking. That's right folks, it's a brand new, unplayed guitar kept away untouched till the clearance happened. If it's a relic job, this would be ace. However, since it's not, it is considered as a damaged affair. There is actually nothing wrong with the instrument, even the wood is in perfect condition. A finish checking means the paint job under the gloss coating cracked due to temperature changes. If you are bothered by this condition, it's a definite deal breaker.

Even the binding had begun its undoing plus a cracked pickguard - all these when the instrument was unboxed. And I still bought it! The pickguard issue could have been avoided if the factory hands had been a little generous when tightening it during assembly. It should not be over-tightened & given the opportunity to 'breathe' when subjected to temperature changes which would definitely happen as the instrument travelled across continents & kept away in storage thereafter. Given the checking issue, the cracked pickguard was the least of my worries; it's replaceable. 

That's right, a plain truss rod cover for this one as well.

I managed to add felt cushions for the strap buttons to prevent the glossed body surface from reacting with the metal parts. I don't see why this was not considered at the factory.

After a quick fretboard conditioning & re-stringing, goldie here proved to be one of the most appealing LPs in my books. If this guitar was kept longer in storage, it would have died a negligent death, which would be a very sad affair. The fact that the clearance happened, it was fated to be taken out & live out its remaining life with a deserving owner & that would be me, I guess. I agreed to buy this one because: 1) It was clearing for a good price 2) Whatever happened to the guitar was not due to any mishandling. The only human oversight here was that it was inventorized & forgotten. I was told, this is the only one here & the LP Deluxe models that came after it were the awful robot tuner, 3-knob models. 

The neck profile is unique. It's neither a slim taper 60s type nor a fat, 50s version; this is the initial attraction. Those default mini humbuckers are also likeable for folks who shred & engage in high octane rock/ metal. If they were conceived to sound vintage then I don't hear that coming from my set up. Then again, my setup does not facilitate that kind of tone manifestation. Regardless of the flaws, I like this one from the start.