Golden morning

Waking up on a Sunday morning feeling depressed - guitar was the answer. A quick re-string, fretboard conditioning & tinkering with pickup height did it for me. 

Folks, it's important you have something to fall back on when feeling down. Intoxication & suicide are never the answers to life's challenges. Get help if need be, never do something that would jeopordize others.

Here's the situation - I'm currently on contract employment. My employment days are usually lesser than my unemployment days so every opportunity for me is gold. My current employer did not disclose some terms of the employment, if they did, I would have walked away for sure. Then again, this is my final employment opportunity for the year. It will end at the end of this month, after which, I will be unemployed till 2024 when the next contract opportunity becomes available again. As such, I dread Sunday, as it is my final rest day of the week before the rot begins again. Hope this gives a better understanding as to why buying a new guitar won't happen any time soon for me. When everyone goes away at the end of the year with their bonuses in hand, I have nothing. December is a very miserable month for me. 

Hello October 👋

Not quite 70s

Gibson has officially released a 'new' model yesterday - the Les Paul Deluxe 70s re-issue. This was leaked somewhere in cyberspace towards the close of 2020 so it's no surprise then that it's in regular production now. There's a re-curring theme here if you noticed, Gibson seems to favour the '70s' tag in the mean time. Last year they did the Flying V version & this year, the LP - both missing the 70s details to qualify them as true re-issues. The immediate visual 'wrong' here is the headstock; 70s LP models sport the wider version & this one is as Standard as it gets. They got the headstock of the Flying V version wrong last year so... 🙄 There are also the absence of the thumb bleeder indicators for the control knobs & the sandwiched body construction, among others. Whatever, Gibson.

Gibson priced this 70s model to match the current 50s / 60s LP Standards so rightfully, when it gets here, it should cost as much as the 50s / 60s models listed domestically (TBC). It spells bad news for the 2015 model which is currently listing for more & we know the 2015 specs, yes? It makes selling any 2015 Gibson very difficult, even in the after-market. I'm not advocating for a clearance price for the 2015 to happen because as it is, they are indeed (selected colours) clearing for a good price (Hot deals: $2,561.30 currently out of stock / B-Stock: $3,366.28). 

I see the re-emergence of the LP Deluxe, in any iteration, as a positive move by Gibson. The mini humbucker is a good alternative to the standard humbucker & P90 voicings. If there's any good in this revival, it's the pickups. Ardent fans find this 70s version a little worrying because it's not an accurate take on a bona fide 70s model. Looks like Gibson took the best details of the LP Deluxe in its respective era (namely late 60s - mid-70s) & came up with this mishmash which turned out pleasant to say the least. We are watching you, Gibson. Your deceptive ways are glaring (but forgivable). 

Pics: Gibson

Price watch (13)

 

After-market item, seller is asking for $2,200. It's a Gibson Les Paul Deluxe 2015. We know that 2015 is a very difficult year for Gibson with that altered Les Paul script at the headstock & the Tronical auto-tune device that plagues the credibility of the instrument's brand name. Nut material is metal. 

Owning a 2015 Gibson is equally very difficult for sellers, there are no fortifying features in the instrument to leverage attraction. The Tronical is the ultimate bane in the instrument. Buyers will stay well away from a 2015 unless there's substantial price reductions with the instrument in very good condition. Can this particular model sell for that asking price?

Unfortunately, these issues here are compounding reasons why we shouldn't pay more than $2K for this guitar:

1. Checking at headstock. These might look like chipped edges but they are definitely checking marks. 'Bubbles' would develop underneath the finish causing these to happen. Over time, these will weaken the top coat resulting in minor cracks. Chipping off will follow suit.
2. Tuners installation. So you decided to do away with the abominable Tronical contraption & equip this guitar with Gibson's Deluxe, Kluson type set. Look at how these were installed; only one screw is used to hold each peg in place & the alignment is all messed up. Tuner-related, re-look at Pic 1, see how long the head shafts are? Do you think these were the suitable ones to begin with?
3. Chips. More of what you do not wish to see / pay for. Also look at that strap button - original? Hmm...

Dear Gibson 2015 owners, if there's anyone remotely interested in your instrument, please pay close attention to them. More importantly, swallow your pride & accept a 50% consideration in terms of price. Do not propagate the belief that 2015 instruments are collectibles, they are bumps in the manufacturer's retail goodwill & Tronical would tell you Gibson owes them money & had to drag their bums to court for payment (Disclaimer: Issue might have been settled already). Also, the Tronicals would become slow charging over time & they die off faster when in use. I'm not putting anyone down for selling a 2015 Gibson for sky high prices, they have their reasons for doing so. Anyway, Swee Lee is clearing the 2015 Deluxe for $2,561 (look under Hot Deals). 

Wishing everyone a good weekend ahead 😎

Clean

This was unplanned, I wanted to play the acoustic. However, I have not really played this clean since the day I got it. So it was plugged into a clean setting throughout. Not very inspiring. The mini humbuckers do not possess the thumping tone of the full-sized counterparts. They lack bass. The midrange & treble were more audible but this isn't something you'd want to hear coming from a clean tone. Even the average acoustic guitar, unplugged, has more depth than these pickups. 

I love these pickups for overdrive & hard distortion. The lower frequency's less prominence helped with single note definition. As such, you won't hear the Clapton-esque woman tone much. Also, it's good for those brash sounding black metal numbers ala Darkthrone. I have no plans to swap these pickups out in the mean time. 

New guard

Nothing major here, just a new pickguard for my LP Deluxe. It's the Allparts version because ironically, the Gibson version has a misaligned screw hole (near the neck pickup). 😶

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. 

Flawed gold

The account for my mismanaged gear expenditure last month must include this guitar. This is a Gibson LP Deluxe, the only one in the entire Swee Lee inventory in gold top finish. When the second swing of the Swee Lee Katong sale kicked in, the 40% discount was too good to pass so it went home with me after an unusual bout of second thoughts. Why was this the case? The instrument in question was a flawed piece not due to careless human handling but prolonged storage. No further discounts were offered, it's a take-it-or-leave-it decision for an as-is unit. I simply couldn't let this one go. More details to come.

Happy March, everyone. Once again, stay vigilant & virus-free. 😎