Elev8 what?

Gibson is now making pickups with Alnico 8 magnets. It's called the ELEV8. On the flip side, there are no markings / etchings / labels to say it's a Gibson pickup. Let's say, someone's selling you one in the after-market, how would you know it's a Gibson pickup? That someone could have bought a nameless cheapo from Ali Express for all you know & passing it off as an ELEV8. The unthinkable would be Gibson buying these from Ali Express & installing them into Gibson guitars & getting away with it. Let's all clap for Gibson 👏

Pics: Gibson

Humbucking Jr

As usual, a little late to the Gibson developments. Not motivated to check Gibsons out since the dealer here only inventorize selected models. This humbucking LP Jr is definitely my thing; single humbucker, hard tail, solid colour... I'm definitely one of those estranged ones who dislike gaudy tops so don't talk to me about flames & quilts; not interested. Another turn off - burst finishes in any iterations. 

Pic: Gibson

Victory baritone

The Victory adventure continues, this time, the Gibson camp gave it a baritone iteration (28"). We all know a Les Paul baritone won't be much of a hit because it won't sell. How about a baritone SG? That would make the neck dive worse & it won't sell either. Gibson is smart to have the Victory as leverage for contemporary ideas. It's arguably very un-Gibson, shape-wise, in the catalog & leans more into the modern double cutaway design that modern players can relate to; Jackson, Fender, Ibanez et al sport a similar outline.

Pic: Gibson

25.5" = Long Scale?

This is a Gibson Les Paul Custom. We've seen many LP Customs before but this one sports a 25.5" scale length. Gibson is doing well by confusing us with its long scale reference. In the Gibson universe, 25.5" is a long scale length because the instruments are predominantly 24.75". So does this mean the Jackson, ESP, Charvel, Fender & Ibanez fans are actually playing long scaled instruments?

I have no idea if the Gibson employee who documented this actually plays guitar. Do we need a 25.5" scale length to employ drop tunings? Does a 25.5" facilitate better drop tunings? If that's the case, those extended scale length & baritone measurements that go well beyond 25.5" - are they way better for this application or does string gauge help offset scale length issues when it comes to drop tunings? Geez...

Pics: Gibson

G-jerseys

We know what's going on in that part of the world now & Gibson is cashing in by churning out football related merchandize. 

Goodbye, mid-year...

Pic: Gibson

Victory FR

Gibson wants you to know that its Victory model is now available with a Floyd Rose bridge (& locking nut). Will this iteration be able to compete against the super-shredder type guitars by Jackson, ESP, Ibanez et al? The way I see it, it's still rooting for the Gibson heritage - glossed neck, heavy, absence of single coils... Other brands won't be intimidated, to say the least.

Pic: GMusic

Studio trouble

Gibson now has the Studio version of the Double Trouble Les Paul (USD1,599). The initial version was a Standard, this time round, things get more affordable as the Studio version has no binding & it comes with a soft case. Be informed that modern weight relief (aka generous chambering) is a feature of this guitar.

Pic: Gibson

Explorer @ Davis GMC

A virtually unplayed / NOS Gibson Explorer '76 ($3K) is now available at Davis GMC. I believe it's a one-off acquisition. The current Explorer price is $3.8K...

 

Price watch (103)

Just to be clear, the objective of doing this is to give fellow gear enthusiasts a heads up when they are dealing with certain individuals who offer certain instruments at a certain price under the impression of perceived value. Take this Fender Modern Player Tele for instance. Just because it's a Fender & it's discontinued, doesn't mean it should sell for a fortune. It's a case by case consideration at best. Yes, the Modern Player Series had been discontinued but these were made in China. I've nothing against the Chinese Modern Player Series - I own three. These instruments were not even $800 when they debuted. An asking price in excess of $2k is a scalper's valuation.

Same seller but now a Gibson. Once again, riding on brand name & discontinued status, this asking price is unfounded to say the least. The Gibson Tribute Series, back in the day, was the more affordable version of the Studio range. The Studio remains to be Gibson's most affordable range to date. The Tribute was more affordable than the Studio because the manufacturer subtracted some finishing processes that added costs to its upper tier range. An obvious exclusion was the final lacquer overcoat. The current LP Studio lists for $2,399 (35 Guitar Avenue) & that's very close to this used Tribute which is at least 5 years old.

At the end of the day, it's your money. If you don't mind paying caviar prices for cod roe - it's your money.

Modern Morten

Was expecting an outright signature model but Mark Morten opted for a tweaked LP Modern with a quilt top. He's definitely not the first to utilize a Les Paul for heavy music but's it's good to know there are still players out there who embrace the Les Paul for its sheer thumping bottom end.

Pic: Gibson

P - doom

I'm sure there are many of us here who own a guitar (or guitars) that influences what you play due to its inherent tone. I bought the above LP '50s Tribute for cheap. It was in an un-loved condition. There were marked areas on the body that displayed surface wear & tarnish beyond what a bottle of guitar polish & revival fluid could do. The good thing is, the previous owner wasn't much of a lead player so there were virtually no fret wear to be seen, just oxidized frets. I stopped making efforts to revive the guitar to manifest visual appeal, just accepting it for what it is. 

This is my go-to guitar for super fuzzy doom tones. It seems that the default P-90s were conceived for this inclinations & it's definitely the pickups that respond well to my RAT pedal.

A quick re-string before play. Darco this time. 

Roots tone

Sent this to Beez for pickups installation yesterday. Had been playing it all morning. It's my Grassroots G-SG. Obviously a Gibson SG copy but it's darn affordable.

Someone sold me these Gibson 57 classic pickups for cheap. I had forgotten about these pickups as these were kept inside the pocket of one of my guitar bags which had deteriorated over time. Was about to throw away the bag last weekend when I found these. I dislike Gibson pickups, especially the neck model; they sound muddy as heck at high gain settings. I decided to swap out the default G-SG pickups as they sound below expectations especially when I have lots of distortion dialled in. These remind me of those cheap Ibanez GIO pickups; next to lifeless. Told myself I got nothing to lose by putting Gibson pickups in there. 

Surprisingly, these sound impressive. Even the neck humbucker did well, lots of definition in both clean & driven settings. These would sound interesting in split mode for sure but the 2-conductor wiring means there's no chance to hear that happen.

Olympia 10 - 46 for this guitar.

Gib-Sunday - MM edition

I'm very happy playing a lesser known guitar. It's a firm indicator of not yielding to trends. This Gibson Melody Maker is a good example. Nobody would be motivated to spend good money on an estranged guitar with a missing tail piece; the reason it was listed for sale.

The usual let's re-string before playing routine. Not a Roto fan, this was purchased when Swee Lee had discounts for them. They are currently OK, unlike previous episodes of rust spots & oxidation even when purchased new.

SG week

Had been an SG week. I just prefer the playability & tone of the SG over the Les Paul but on some days, I love listening to the deeper distorted tones of the latter. Yes, the SG is plagued by that notorious neck dive but things remain playable if you get the hang of it. Dreaming of a single pickup SG because on most days, I only need one pickup. Someone suggested buying a modified pickguard but that doesn't address the 4-knobs situation. Really, I need only one knob 😅

Wishing everyone a good week ahead.

Classic Saturday

Was at Beez's earlier today to get the 3-way toggle switch replaced. That's right, for no apparent reason(s), it stopped working. When it was removed from the guitar, we couldn't see any signs of corrosion / oxidation that affected its good life. Still perplexed as to what really happened. The rest of the electronics were working just fine.

Should have avoided travel to town today as many roads were closed & traffic routes diverted due to the F1 race. The authorities said this annual event helps boost the economy the benefits of which should be re-distributed to the people, yes? But heck no. So who did this benefit, really?

Price watch (98)

The most affordable Gibson Les Paul, the LP Studio, is available here. Let's put things in perspective, price-wise:

• 35 Guitar Ave (S'pore): SGD2,450
• Gibson official website: USD1,599 (SGD2,054)
• Music Bliss (M'sia): MYR7.890 (SGD2,388)

The last time I did this, I got put down by an individual (somewhere in a country whose cowboy president is currently going round with revised tax rates if you wish to trade with his country) who alleged that I was not objective in view of the exchange rate & existing taxes in place. That said individual highlighted the fact that we imposed a 9% tax on American guitars which is already a chronic figure when crying foul of price hikes. The last time I checked, our 9% GST covers all non-exclusive products, not just American guitars. 

I'm not trying to imply anything, just showing you folks what prices are like. Custom duties, exchange rates & dealer mark-ups are the expected considerations before we start to whimper at the figures today. These days, if you are in Malaysia, it's a good time to be buying Gibson instruments. Ironically, not too long ago, we see Malaysians coming here to buy Gibson stuff. How times have changed, rather quickly, mind you.

Pic: GIbson

Price watch (95): BFG edition

Pic: Sweetwater

Greetings, folks. This is not another issue for contention but an attempt to understand the after-market climate & it's price related. I'm sure you've come across the Gibson Les Paul BFG before. It's that bare-bones LP which received a generous number of plaudits & disdain, depending on which camp you are from. The LP BFG used to be available at Swee Lee & listed for $1.5K +/- before further iterations were made available along the way with the accompanying price variations. 

I cam across a couple of BFG listings in the after-market recently which offered food for thought when it comes to pricing discontinued products. The first listing depicted above shows a $1K asking price. I personally find this a fair proposition as the guitar is in a well-played condition & it comes with a hard case of similar condition.

The other listing is a little confusing (it depicted other BFG models) & the asking price is way more. There is no way to assess if this figure is a deserving asking price for the guitar as no actual pictures were included (maybe seller can provide to you personally upon request). 

How much does a BFG go for these days? The politically correct answer is - it depends on demand & supply forces. Do we peg the price according to after-market listings which are not from this country (I currently know of one store here listing their pre-owned products using this formula)? No because the demand-supply conditions are different there compared to local circumstances which I believe is fair application here. So it all boils down to value perception; the seller lists the guitar for that amount which he thinks is deserving. We need not agree to the amount because our perception of value is different as a buyer. 

Of course, there's this arguably false consideration that all discontinued products should command a hefty price tag due to its scarcity. Then again, we need to return to the demand-supply understanding; the final price of the guitar is what had been agreed by both the buyer (demand) & seller (supply) & not a virtual strict adherence to scarcity.  

Gibson Singapore ...

This is taken off the Gibson Singapore FB wall. Apparently, there is a unifying banner in cyberdom to fortify the Gibson name in this country. What used to be a simple distributorship under Swee Lee is now a band of commercial entities distributing the various Gibson brands. Sad to say that none of the stores listed here has a full or near catalog-worthy line up of guitars on offer so certain segments of the guitar community are not being attended to. I'm calling out Cristofori as being the worst on this list in terms of product availability. I would reserve further comments in the hope that the good people at Cristofori might be suffering from delayed shipment & other unforeseen circumstances that are threatening their distributorship goodwill. Hopefully.

Mustaine LP

Gibson & Dave Mustaine have a Les Paul going. It's a compromise between what Mustaine wants (eg. 24 frets) & Gibson maintaining its traditional LP appeal. Is this necessary? By all means, no. Mustaine is not one who is seen & associated with a single cutaway design. There are however parties taking this opportunity to push sales & it's all understood from a commercial point of view. Signature models are not my thing so this is just news to me 😅

Pics: wolf patrick_jones

Special '25

So this is how a Gibson LP Special looks like now. Nothing too different from the predecessors not too long ago & there's a return to the wrap over bridge which might be a hit / miss with some of us, especially the intonation purists. Not aware if there's a strong call for the Special to feature non-standard size humbuckers but that's the spec this 2025. There's a bridge P90 version if you are keen. My experience with these mini humbuckers - be prepared to embrace the brightness. Rather excessive.

Pics: Gibson