LP Black Beauty

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searcher

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I'm not entirely sure if this is the right forum, since it really covers all the brands. Essentially I've always loved the Gibson Black Beauty aesthetically, and having done some research even with the limited knowledge I have it seems quite plausible the Japanese replicas, whether by Tokai or Greco or whatnot are as good if not better than the originals themselves, not to mention far cheaper.

I prefer the 3 pickup model, which seems a lot rarer on eBay. But I have found:
http://cgi.ebay.com/BURNY-80S-LP-CU...itu=UCI&otn=4&ps=63&clkid=7683580399452769449
To me this seems good, but knowing little about the individual models perhaps you can tell me if this is really what I want. Are there better black beauties made by Tokai or Greco? From the research I have done it seems that the short tenon this one has is quite bad thing. An alternative might be the Tokai Black Beauty posted in the images section of the main page.

So essentially my question boils down to: Are the better alternatives to this guitar (not more than 1300 US$), and if so, am I going to see them on eBay or elsewhere on the net anytime soon?
 
if you want a Burny, I would recommend the earlier RLC with the correct diamond head stock inlay :wink:

I had one in completely original condition & is now sold.
I believe mine had the VH-4 pickups, and it was probably better than a Gibby :lol: :p

here's one that recently sold on evilBay but not origial ..........
http://cgi.ebay.com/BURNY-LP-CUSTOM-3-PICKUP-GIBSON-57-CLASSICS_W0QQitemZ220522183912QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar?hash=item3358257ce8

Find one that's between 8.5 lb. to 9.0 lb. range; mine was 8 lb. 14 oz. and it was perfect :D

RLC31.jpg



RLC32.jpg



RLC33.jpg
 
But do Burny make the best black beauty? I read that they are not the most collectible but are nevertheless the "best", and seem to be cheaper than Tokai/Greco as well. Will they fit the Bigsby tremolo that typically goes with the LPC?

And how is the model you had better than the one in my eBay link apart from correct headstock inlay?

Thank you very much for your reply.
 
To be honest, I don't think there is much in way of difference between a split-diamond headstock Burny LPC and a lightning-bolt headstock Burny LPC. From what I have seen, the earlier models (split-diamond) have a darker rosewood fretboard and often come with earlier pickups than VH-4s.

But I am not expert :lol:
 
searcher said:
But do Burny make the best black beauty? I read that they are not the most collectible but are nevertheless the "best", and seem to be cheaper than Tokai/Greco as well. Will they fit the Bigsby tremolo that typically goes with the LPC?

And how is the model you had better than the one in my eBay link apart from correct headstock inlay?

Thank you very much for your reply.

there is no "best" :wink:
 
Mono said:
To be honest, I don't think there is much in way of difference between a split-diamond headstock Burny LPC and a lightning-bolt headstock Burny LPC. From what I have seen, the earlier models (split-diamond) have a darker rosewood fretboard and often come with earlier pickups than VH-4s.

But I am not expert :lol:

I prefer the diamond inlay over the lightning bolt inlay only because the diamond inlay looks more correct; no other reason

I prefer the pickups (VH-4) generally found in the diamond inlay examples over the pickups (second gen VH-1) generally found in the later lightning bolt inlay examples

there you go; it's all about personal preference ..............
 
I thought the earlier 3pu burnys had L8000. At least that's what seems to be in mine. Diamond inlay.
Wonderful guitar.
 
the model likely started with a different pickup, possibly the L8000 but the pups in my example had the hallmarks of the VH-4 pups ...........

mine likely wasn't one of the earlier examples; possibly a middle to later time frame one ......
 

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