N G D - 2012 Gibson - Lots of pics

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domct203

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Just delivered, 2012 Gibson Les Paul Signature "T".
http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/Les-Paul/Gibson-USA/Les-Paul-Signature-T.aspx

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The one I bought was the one that Sweetwater used for their Photo Shoot & they sent me the pictures!

Enjoy!

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She plays awesome, the neck feels very very similar to my '73 Custom.

I can't wait to plug it into the Roadster and wail!

Dom
 
awesome! looking forward to hearing how it sounds through your rig
 
I had a chance to put her through a practice yesterday. This guitar plays like butter! The neck is very fast, and very comfortable. The body really resonates well making it fun to play unplugged too.

I love everything about this guitar, but I'm not to impressed with the '57 Classic p'ups. They're somewhat honkey & brittle, and can get muddy in Modern High Gain. I guess this may be from the Alnico II magnets. I'm going to give it some more tweaking though, and next week I'll bring the MKV to practice to see how she sounds there.

Overall, this guitar is a pleasure to play and will help me keep the "miles" down on the '73. That guitar has already been re-fretted once, and is now getting ready to be dressed & leveled.

Yea, I play the crap out of that one!

Dom
 
To follow up on my initial impressions......

This is an awesome guitar. She plays wonderfully, and the '57 Classic/Classic+ p'up combo is really growing on me now that I have tweaked the guitar & amp together.

The guitar has a great vocal quality that is not too overbearing, with a "snappy" top end. The bottom end is a bit mushy but I would suspect that is from the pickups. After the holidays I think I'll try some Bill & Becky Lawrence L500's.

The '60's neck profile is extremly fast and comfortable. It's a little thinner then my '73, but not by much. The frets are dressed very well, the intonation was spot on out of the box & little by little I've tweaked the neck & bridge to rival the action on my '73.

Construction and fit/finish is about as good as it gets. The guitar acousticly resonates very well, and is a pleasure to play unplugged in a quiet room. Sustain is on par with the '73, and the guitar overall holds pitch well.

Overall I'm extremely happy with this guitar, to the point that I am considering selling one of my others (but never the '73!) to thin the herd.

BTW- My bad on the date, I thought the "Signature T" series was for 2013, but it is actually for 2012 (the guitar was built 10/29/12). I'll edit the original post to remove some of the confusion :)

Dom
 
Absolutely beautiful guitar,man.That figure and color.Everytime I look at your pics I go pick one up so I can play.I'm a lefty,and when I was starting out in the 60,s,all the bursts looked some kid did em with three rattlecans.I had an ES-125 that played great but looked cheap.Sweetwater always sends me e-mails.They called me one day and said they knew I was looking at a Recto-verb and they had sent me some info.I started looking thru the catalog and saw the new bursts.Iced Tea,tobacco,all of em.I fell in love.I found a Heritage AAA plus,reminds me of yours.I'm waiting till after the 1st,see what the tax rates are,then I'll pull the trigger on it.Great guitar,man.Hope it plays as good as it looks.Congrats..............
 
domct203 said:
......... The bottom end is a bit mushy but I would suspect that is from the pickups. After the holidays I think I'll try some Bill & Becky Lawrence L500's........

Swapped the p'ups yesterday. Here is a few quick pics I took.

The Stock Gibson wiring:
StkWiring_zps28dcb02e.jpg


Bill Lawrence L500's going in:
L500-R_zps8f4b4413.jpg

L500-XL_zps35d37ab9.jpg


Re-wired with 50's style tone pot wiring and Sprague Vitamin Q PIO's:
BLwiring_zps22bd914d.jpg


I love how the maroon housing of the p'ups match the guitar's color. It really breaks up the cream nicely:
BLL500s_zpsfc35f579.jpg


Before the swap I had a nasty grounding buzz when I took my hands off the strings/bridge. It is completly gone now :wink:

Dom
 
Man I am really digging this Axe. Highly recommended! The guitar sounded and played great out of the box, but now that I have made her mine with Bill Lawrence P'ups & Callaham ABR Bridge and Tailpiece she is the perfect guitar to fill-in for my old #1!

Here they are, Ol' School Norlin & Modern Gibby.

"Big Al" (after my Dad RIP) on the left, "Marie" (after my Mom) on the right.

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BTW, I was corrected about the older Custom's age. The guitar is most likely a '74 or '75 not a '73 as the "White" Custom was not released until '74. It has a short tenon & serial # sticker like the '75's, but a mahogany neck like the '74's, most likely made late '74 or very early '75.

Dom
 
Nice axe. They are making one for 2013 as a left handed version. I'm curious to try one out but I'd be crazy to think I'm going to find one locally. There's a 2012 Les Paul Standard that is at the local GC and I've played it a little and it's calling to me to bring it home. I'm more a a fan of the classic humbucker sound (or someone told me I would be) but I can't imagine spending 2k on the guiltar and needing to change the pickups. Maybe I'd be better with the standard. What are your thoughts on the two instruments. How would you say they differ?

I learned the basics of guitar on a crappy Epi Les Paul 100 and have since turned into a Strat guy mostly because they had lefty models readily available. I'm a fan of the thinner 60's neck based on playing the standard. Curious to hear your thoughts if you are familiar with the 2012 standards.
Thanks
 
I didn't need to change P'ups, the 57 Classic & 57 Classic + P'ups were very good actually, just a bit mushy in the low end for me & my rig. As far as the Bridge & Tailpiece swap, I always wanted to try the Callaham setup & I'm glad I did. While it is not a night & day difference the change in clarity & sustain is certainly noticable.

As I said in my previous post, this guitar was great right out of the (case) box.

I really don't have any experience with the new Standards. I say if the guitar feels, plays & sounds good to you get it!

Dom
 
Thanks for the prompt reply Dom. I hear what you are saying. If I buy a strat I buy it with the understanding that the pickups will need to be changed. I justify it by saying, "it's 1/2 the price of a les paul so...". I know at the end of the day they are different instruments; as much as I change the strat, it will never sound like and LP and vice versa.

There are subtle differences between the signature T and Standard models on paper. The signature T is the one that seems to cater to what I typically play. I would love to have the luxury of a side by side comparison to say which one feels better. As a lefty, it's rarely an option. Come to think of it, I've only had it once with my first strat purchase and ironically it's still my #1 (after changing out the pickups).

I'll have to find some of my wife's things that she's not using that I can sell on ebay to pay for it. I'm certainly not selling any of my gear...I need that stuff.
 
I will say this about the guitar-

It took a long time to find a guitar that played & sounded like my '74 LPC. I've played (& owned) alot of them too (Carvin, Ibanez, ESP, Epi, Schecter, PRS) this one works well for me to be my main axe for a while.

Don't misunderstand, there has not been one guitar that I have tried that plays/sounds exactly like my #1. They just don't make 'em like that anymore...... :( but the Sig T is very, very similar, and just as comfortable to play.

IMHO the feel/tone/playability of 40 yo Maple Topped Solid Mahogany & Ebony can not be replicated. That guitar is so smooth it almost plays itself! I needed a guitar to keep the miles down on the Ol' Norlin, and this one fits the bill nicely.

Good luck with your tone-quest, I don't think you could go wrong with either model.

Dom
 

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