2005 Tokai LSS100 SEB
2009 Fender Baja Classic Player Tele
2007 Rickenbacker 620
2010 Gibson Les Paul 50s Tribute
Ok then, the Gibson review! Please bear in mind that Finbarr Saunders would have a field day with this, and I've mentally inserted my own "fnarrs", "hyucks" and "ooer missuses" as I've been typing it so you don't have to point out the double entendres. They're only single entendres in my mind anyway. Woof woof *beats head with shoe*.
Opening the big brown box left me a bit nonplussed - the gigbag they send with these things is shockingly poor; barely enough zip length to let you get the thing out, and the inside seems to be waterproof - a nice idea, but it feels like incontinence sheeting or nappies or something, which left me feeling a little bit repulsed for some reason.
Anyway, after a bit of a struggle I had it free and examined it closely. The first thing that struck me was the weight; chambered or not, it's still a fairly weighty guitar, and definitely heavier than my LSS100 (though nowhere near the 1980 LS80).
Contrary to the wee card that Gibson quality control have slipped into the bag pocket, the setup wasn't great - a few rattles here and there, but I reckon this'll be down to my shovel hands battling against the 9s it's strung with; I'll put some man strings(tm) on it later.
The good news is that although it'd been to plek hell, it had survived the ordeal relatively intact, with nice round fret profiles (as opposed to the rather sadistic trapezoid profiles my custom shop 339 has). The neck was set almost dead straight, so I dropped the action a fair bit and didn't introduce any new buzzing, which reassured me that it was most likely the string tension than the setup itself.
The satin finish is hit and miss for me. It's sort-of-matt, sort-of-not, and has had me frowning at it more than once. It's not 100% flawless either - there's a tiny bubble on the very bottom edge of the top, but I'm being slightly unfair by even mentioning it here. The faux-binding on the body is well executed, though I had to refer to the stock pics for assurance that the wear isn't supposed to be even; indeed, it's supposed to look slightly played (rather than reliced) so on the leg cutout and over the main part of the upper body there are two patches of light wear. You can see the "arm" wear on the big picture above; It's pretty subtle to be honest so doesn't bother me at all. The neck and back are very lightly coloured and finished; this looks a little anaemic to me, but I only really like darkbacks.
I can't fault the construction. Two piece solid maple cap over a two piece (yes, Diamond, two piece
) mahogany back - the join runs through the control cavity, you can probably see it on the image of the back. Two wings on the headstock edges as usual, but a single piece mahogany neck. The control cavity cover is clear (still a weird choice for me... wondering when people will start filling them with LEDs to show off the contents like a modded PC!) and exposes "proper" pots and caps. The neck inlays - yes, I know you've all been waiting for this - show no sign of filler whatsoever.
Resonance-wise, it's pretty zingy when played acoustically, with a strong vibration when playing an open E and touching the top of the headstock - usually a good sign for me. The attack is slightly toppier than on a standard LP (even a chambered one), which is strange as the maple cap looks to be thinner than on a standard. Still, notes bloom and sustain well all over the neck with no discernible dead spots, which is another plus.
Phew! I need a coffee, so I'll be back in a bit to do the amplified sound bit.
