One of my favorites:

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Gibson J-185 EC
Solid spruce top, arched flamed maple back and sides.
Ebony fingerboard with mother-of-pearl inlays.
Ebony "moustache" bridge.
Gold kidney tuners.
Abalone rosette inlay.

The camera just can't do the flamed maple justice on this one. This guitar plays so bright and is full of volume.

And here's a fairly uncommon 12 string version to compliment it.

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Gibson J-185 12 String.
I love the classic Maltese Cross inlays.

That is super efficient space-wise. I like it.

At my previous house my wife was always complaining about guitar cases on the floor everywhere. So when we bought our current house, one of my first projects was to install this custom built-in. The big drawer at the bottom is perfect for strings, accessories, and such.

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Sweet! I love single coils on an SG! Throw up a pic or two. We need more guitar porn.

Well, those are cool, but I kinda meant throw up a couple of pics of your SG with the P90s.

Fender Play is offering 3 months free access during the pandemic:
https://www.fender.com/play

Yes indeed. How to tune, hold the guitar, notes on the neck, etc. It is geared toward new players, but there is also a library of songs with lessons and tabs.

This one could not be more different from the jumbos I posted previously. This is a small L00, parlor-sized body. Rather than the beautiful blonde maple, it's a dark bubinga (an exotic from central Africa, similar to rosewood in sonic characteristics). Unlike the warm, bright voice of the jumbos, this one has a dry, throaty growl. It's perfect for minor blues progressions. This one usually sets in a stand right next to my desk, ready at a moment's notice.

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Nice score! I like the factory trapeze tailpiece on the Gibsons of that era. I finally got around to installing a Bigsby on my SG this past winter.

BTW, what year is that Custom Shop LP of yours?

Gibson was really putting out some of their best work in the early-mid 2000s.

Yeah, a proper set up makes a lot of difference. I think most Gibsons leave the factory with the nut height a little high, so you have room to dial it in to preference.

I was just watching Ricky Skaggs on the Grand Ole Opry stream. For the last five weeks they have been streaming Saturday night performances on YouTube. It's just the performers (socially distanced on stage) in front of the empty auditorium. There have been some pretty good shows so far.

I tend to agree with that. Of course, it will depend on the type of music you are into. For example, if all you are into is thrash, go ahead and start with an electric. If you are more of a generalist, I think the acoustic is the way to go; however there are some trade offs. Electrics typically ship with lighter gauge strings. This means that the pain in your fingers (there will be pain) as you develop calluses will be less severe, but you also will tend to develop some sloppy technique as a result. It is much easier to transition from acoustic to electric than vice versa.

Of the guitars that you listed, I think I would go with the Epiphone Hummingbird. Epiphone has a long, storied history as a guitar maker. They used to be Gibson’s biggest competitor, until they were acquired by them. Nowadays, they primarily offer Chinese built versions of Gibson’s own models. A Gibson Hummingbird will set you back thousands. The Epi version is going to be well above the grade of the really cheap entry guitars. It’s more $ up front, but you’ll be buying yourself an upgrade step in the usual progression of guitar acquisition if you do stick with it.

The Hummingbird is a dreadnought, which is the most common size. I personally like the extremes, the jumbos and the parlors, but you can’t go wrong with a dreadnought as your first.

The Epiphone EL-00 Pro is their version of the small bodied Gibson I posted here:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/pinside-guitar-players-and-guitar-stuff-needs-more-vid/page/4#post-5603555

Once, Hendrix was asked how it felt to be the world's greatest guitarist, he replied "I don't know. Go ask Rory Gallagher."

I’ve taken a cue from CrazyLevi’s vintage SG acquisition (sounds and looks great, btw). I have an old Gibson on the way. Maybe I’m just more superstitious than he is, but I just can’t repeat his self described ‘noob’ act of posting pictures before it arrives (After all, what if the headstock broke in transport?!? Oh, the humanity!) All I’ll say at this point is Eisenhower era and P-90. It should be here in a couple of days.

So, I was just digging out my 18 year old copy of "50 Years of the Gibson Les Paul" and found a much older artifact. I have somehow managed to keep this bumper sticker for 39 years.

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Dio had left the group by then. ('Rising' is probably my favorite Rainbow album, but I don't think they did much of that live anyway, and in any case, I was too young to catch that tour.) Joe Lynn Turner was no slouch, though.

I saw them at the Alan B. Shepard Civic Center, commonly know as 'The Dome.' It was a Buckminster Fuller Geodesic dome, and not very large. It was named after Shepard because he and most of the Mercury astronauts lived in Virginia Beach while they trained at NASA Langley for the Mercury Program. Long before I was going to shows, The Stones and Hendrix had graced that stage. Later, I saw Alcatrazz, and a year or so later saw Rising Force there.

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Not metallic. It's a burst.

It's a '59, and it's here!

but...









It's not a guitar.

Oh man, are my neighbors going to be pissed at me while I work out Battle of Evermore. I mean, what's the point of having a dog-ear P-90 on your mandolin if you are not going to play LOUD!!!

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'hobbit rock' LOL

They range from roughly $1500 to $2500 full retail. It's a damn site less than a '59 Les Paul would set you back!

Yeah, it’s definitely stock. It’s an EM-150. Gibson made them from 1936-71. The early ones had the old ‘Charlie Christian’ pickup.

Last Summer I was at the Outlaw Festival and saw Lucas Nelson, both with POTR and during his old man’s set, just ripping it up on an old Melody Maker. That guitar has some punch!

If anyone was going to do that it would have been Tiny Moore. He was a western swing instrumentalist who played with the Texas Playboys. His signature mandolin was a Gibson EM-150. Moore dropped the doubled pairs, and went from eight strings to four. He played it like it was a small electric guitar. In ‘62 Bigsby (yeah that Bigsby) made him a custom rig, but sadly without a tremolo.

I haven't played this one in some time, not sure why. It was probably the dead-ass strings on it. So, I just strung it up with some NOS Brite Wires. I hit the fretboard with a little conditioner and gave it a quick polish. It cleaned up nice. I plugged it into my little GA-5 and instantly remembered what I love about this guitar: a nice fast neck and tone to die for. Gibson ES-335 in Beale Street Blue:

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Speaking of Beale Street, if you get to Memphis, the Gibson factory there is worth a visit. I think it's the only one of the three that is open to the public.

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The 335 was the first semi-hollowbody. It’s got a big plank of solid maple through the center, so sustain is good. The hollow sides add to the tone. It’s way heavier than it looks. Mine is what they were calling a ‘reissue’ at the time it came out. It has ‘57 PAF humbuckers. Alex Lifeson played a 335 at times (although I don’t really think of Rush as metal). Chuck Berry, Clapton, Warren Haynes, Alvin Lee, Dave Grohl all played 335s or variants. You can definitely get dirty with it, but the body was probably too big for the classic metal era. You can’t sling it around like a Jackson or ESP.

Thanks, guys. It looks even better in person. The blue ones are pretty hard to find. They've only done a couple of very limited runs of them over the years. I bought mine new in early 2006 (the serial indicates a 2005 build date). I toured the Memphis factory a couple months later and took that picture of the blue one getting finished. It was the only one on the factory floor at the time.

Mine has the 60s slim profile neck, which I've come to really like. I took me a little while to adjust to it, though. Both my SG and Les Paul have the 50s profile (some call it the tree trunk). The larger radius never bothered me, maybe because I play a lot of acoustic. Switching to the slim 335 took a little adjustment, but it really is a sweet, fast player.

Overall, the ES 335 is probably the most versatile electric Gibson makes. It can range from a rich, clean tone full of soul to a screaming howl at will. Really, the only downside is size and weight.

That couldn't be further from the truth. I'm a big fan of Al DiMeola, Return to Forever, Mahavishnu, Shadowfax, etc. etc. I love me some 70s fusion. I just saw Chick Corea last Fall.

I would have thought it was heavier, but I just checked. Both my Les Paul and my 335 weigh in at 8.2 lbs. each.

Mines a Studio. It's just a solid mahogany body without the maple top. It does have Burstbuckers, though.

$499 in 2004 for a U.S. built Gibson Les Paul with the same Burstbucker pickups as the standard (later ones shipped with the 498/490 combo).

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That was a lot of TV dinners!

I've got a couple of recording projects in mind. I wanted something other than keyboards to hold down the low end, so enter the new-to-me 2005 SG Bass!

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It's in really nice condition, like it barely got played. The finish is beautiful. It plays super fast, and the tone is expansive. As a guitar player, I'm really comfortable with the short scale neck.

Double threat, SG style!

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No. It's a 2000 faded special that I bought new and have hot-rodded a bit. I pulled the open 490s and replaced them with the P94s seen in the photo. The Bigsby is aftermarket, too.

I have a late 90s Squire Fat Tele that I've always thought played very nicely, but the electrics were crap. I took one of the 490s from the SG pictured above and put that in the neck position. Then I replaced the single coil at the bridge with a genuine Fender Custom Shop Texas Special that I scored cheap on eBay. I also rewired all of the pots. That sleeper Tele is now a screamer. It's one of the hottest passive pickup combos I've ever heard.

Backyardace, did you ever get your Positive Grid Spark smart amp? If so, give us a review!

The swirl is stunning. Is it a smooth surface, or does it have texture/layers. Tell us about the fretboard inlays.

I prefer the dark neck (rosewood?) with the green pickups. Upper left corner.

You are all clearly blind!!! My opinion should clearly carry more weight in this purely subjective exercise!

Rant aside, of the final four, I’d probably go with the maple and green. I don’t care much for the custom inlay pattern, and the neon magenta pickups induce painful flashbacks of the ‘80s.

You have that beautiful green-swirl body. That should be the center of attention. That’s why I originally went with the rosewood dot neck and color matched green pickups. You want those elements to disappear. I feel like the other feature options just compete with what should be the primary focus: the color dipped guitar body.

Whatever way you go, I really appreciate your sharing your process here. That was a bold move, to take a guitar that you have owned for so long and risk the plunge. Well done!

I pulled the muscle in my left ring finger today, and fear I may be out of commission for a bit. It really sucks, because I just started learning the fiddle intro for Old Crow Medicine Show's Wagon Wheel on mandolin. Mobility isn't too bad, but anything on the first or second string is pretty painful.

On the bass front, I'd been doing a Steve Harris deep dive. I have been working on Innocent Exile, Phantom of the Opera, Wrathchild, and Number of the Beast.

I will take the opportunity to add a couple of pics of the latest acquisition. This one isn't mine (although I do play it when she isn't looking). My wife picked up the ukulele over the summer. She is the daughter of a music teacher, one of her under-graduate degrees is in music, and is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist. Not surprisingly, she outgrew the cheap starter uke that she bought in a hot minute. So, I got her this upgrade:

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Fender Fullerton Jazzmaster ukelele. I really like the neck profile. It sounds good acoustically, and has some nice flair with a little chorus on electric.

You gave me grief about “hobbit rock”, but all the while this was under your roof?!? At least my ‘59 has a p-90! But in all seriousness, I’d like to know more about that A-? series Gibson mandolin. Is there a story there?

Also, props for the Alfred E. Neuman, and the BA in English from Clemson (maybe not in that order, but they both encourage critical thinking).

I've been into modeling for years. A MacBook Pro and one audio interface is a lot less clutter! I've had every version of Guitar Rig since the beginning. I was really thinking it was abandon-ware, but Native Instruments surprised me and released v6 this year.

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Billy Strings is great! Check out Molly Tuttle, too. She’s another bluegrass phenom, but has some crossover stuff, too.

From a couple of years ago. This video shows off her incredible right hand technique:

This is from this year. You got to love a bluegrass picker who will cover a Rancid song!

It's not on your chart, but Joe Lynn Turner (Rainbow) went on to join Deep Purple.

Anybody here play a Huss & Dalton? Once the pandemic thing subsides I thought I would make my first foray into the world of boutique luthier built guitars.

I love those GA-5 Goldtone Les Paul Jr. Amps! The circuitry is virtually identical to the tweed Fender Champ. Gibson offered a very brief reissue in the early 2000s, a hand wired, made in USA, boutique tube amp.

Test the tubes and tube sockets. Also, check all of the capacitors. On a vintage model like that, be sure to upgrade to a grounded power cord. It is so basic, I'm sure a tech can have it sorted quickly.

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No frills, pure tone.

Levi, I bet your Silverburst has Burstbucker Pros, but it could possibly be Burstbucker Type 1 & 2. If it has the 60s slim tapered neck it will be a fast, clean player. Many people call the 50s neck profile 'the tree trunk.' My Les Paul has the Burstbucker Pros and 50s neck, while my ES-335 has the 60s neck and 57s. The two feel very different when playing. I don't mind the thicker 50s neck, but then I play a lot of acoustic, too. I'd say the 57s are just a little hotter, but still a warm tone, while the Burstbuckers have a brighter, cleaner treble.

They are different. The 498/490 combo was what the Les Paul standards were shipping with up until around 2001-2002. Then they switched to the Burstbuckers, which were an attempt at recreating the classic PAF sound.

The 498/490 combo is hotter. My SG came with those, but I ended up switching over to some P94s. I wanted the single coil punch on that one.

Levi, How's the neck feel on the new one compared to your Custom Shop LP?

I love some P-90s! Nice score!

That last sentence had me grinning. SGs definitely evoke a certain primal something.

I’m a Gibson guy, but the Midtown wasn’t really on my radar. Nice looking guitar! So it’s a flat-top semi-hollow body? Which pickups?

I’m glad you are getting back to gigging. Live music has been the biggest absence for me in the last year.

Looks good. How do the three Etch A Sketches factor in?

I like the SG Jr. with a single P90 hanging on the back wall.

Rather than 70s disco era, that guitar really reminds me of a the 60s Danelectro vibe. I’ve never played a Reverend, but you report this one plays well. If it speaks to you, go for it. It definitely makes a statement!

That said, did you plug in that SG Jr.? They are surprisingly versatile, going from a nice clean tone to screaming scalded monkey! It’s all in the tone and volume. It’s not a guitar to set at 10 and forget. 500K pots, too.

If the studio's Pro Tools Macs were crashing that frequently, the problem was not with the platform, but with those who configured the Macs. The first rule of thumb for Pro Tools (and Avid, too), is that it does not play well with others. You want a dedicated Mac that is kept lean and clean.

Logic Pro is a mature platform worthy of consideration. Even Apple's free GarageBand application is pretty feature rich. A few years back, Trent Reznor released a Nine Inch Nails track as a GarageBand file.

I have a Bigsby B5 with the Vibramate adapter on my SG. Intonation and tuning are rock solid stable. One advantage of this setup is that is 100% reversible. I think you just have to manage your expectations. You are just not going to achieve the massive dive bombs capable with a locking nut set up, but I’ve found that my Gibson stays true with some pretty aggressive tremolo. That’s fine with me. I’m not trying to be another Dimebag.

Faraday cage?

Those capo ads are hilarious. I guess I’ve never noticed them before because I’ve had the same Shubb for decades.

I believe beelzeboob is a public school music teacher, maybe hit him up for some ideas?

It's been a while since I posted in this thread. I've had a Gibson Custom Shop F-Style mandolin on order for two years now. I've been more than a little bummed out about the wait.

A week ago I came across a smoking deal on a Fender Kingman bass for a couple of hundred off list, straight from Fender. That has boosted my spirits some! It sounds good acoustically, but also has a Fishman preamp with tuner, frequency, and phase controls. It's something a little off the beaten path to keep things interesting while I wait on my mandolin.

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A minor is a lot easier to play than A for a new player. I think my first three open chords were E minor, A minor, and C major. @RonSS, if you’ve got G, C, and D major down, there are literally hundreds of songs to play!

This came out at the end of January. Had anyone snagged one before the first batch sold out?

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Gibson 57 Classics are wound to the exact specs of the original PAF. I have them in my ES335 and love the tone.

I love an SG with P-90s! Is the pickguard a one-off custom?

The Gibson will have nitrocellulose lacquer and the Epi will likely have polyurethane. Us purists will tell you there is a difference, but you really need to do an A-B comparison with the actual guitars.