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Honeyburst Reissues - when were they made?

renderit

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Jan 19, 2009
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You sure that is not Iced Tea?

35662706253_332bc9c2c3_3k.jpg
 

vintage58

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Honeyburst Reissues - when were they made?
As far as I know, Honeyburst has never been offered as a finish on any of the Custom Shop/Historic Collection Les Paul reissues. I do, however, remember it being a fairly common finish on Gibson USA's "Les Paul Classic" line of guitars.
 

matt173844

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Jan 30, 2023
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As far as I know, Honeyburst has never been offered as a finish on any of the Custom Shop/Historic Collection Les Paul reissues. I do, however, remember it being a fairly common finish on Gibson USA's "Les Paul Classic" line of guitars.
Thanks. Looks like royal tea burst is the closest thing?
 

renderit

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Love the grain and the "center patch flame" on that lower one!

Very unique.
 

vintage58

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Thanks. Looks like royal tea burst is the closest thing?
Of the Les Paul reissue finishes that Gibson Custom currently offers, Royal Teaburst would definitely be in the ballpark, color-wise, of the guitar that you originally posted.

As regards Les Paul reissues from previous years of production — for many years, some of the more common Custom Shop / Historic Collection finishes have been as follows. From darkest to lightest (or, alternately, from least faded to most faded): Faded Tobacco (and, more recently, Bourbon Burst), Washed Cherry, Iced Tea, Sunrise Tea Burst, and Lemon Burst. The guitar that you posted looks much more like Iced Tea than any of the rest of these.

Another thing to take into consideration when it comes to Les Paul reissue finish names is this: On one hand, you have what guitar players informally call these finishes. But then on the other hand, you have the actual Gibson finish names that Gibson formally designated. As a result, when sunburst colors are discussed on guitar forums like this one, a lot of times people will just refer to a particular shade of sunburst with their own adjectives. But bear in mind that such references are arbitrary. For example, sometimes you'll hear someone refer to a "teaburst" reissue or a "lemon drop" reissue. And I'm sure there are tons of other arbitrary descriptors that people use when referring to one shade of sunburst or another. The thing to bear in mind, though, is that those terms are totally separate from Gibson's actual finish names. So, to use them interchangeably with formal Gibson finish names tends to further confuse things, IMO.
 

bursty

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Dec 25, 2012
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Love the grain and the "center patch flame" on that lower one!

Very unique.

yes, the top on this one is quite nice.
I call this one my 'plain' top but the flame does cover the entire top. It's a subtle flame but it's there.
My favorite things about the top are the annual ring feature (because it is mostly flat sawn) and the mineral streaking; best one is under the pick guard.
Both guitars in that post are from the same factory and both share the same factory finish color which is designated HB aka Honey Burst :)


MLSN5.jpg
 

matt173844

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Jan 30, 2023
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. So, to use them interchangeably with formal Gibson finish names tends to further confuse things, IMO.
ok thank you for this! I’ve noticed general descriptions rather than official names as well. What confuses things even more is inconsistent lighting in pictures. The same finish can look totally different indoors under artificial light and outdoors.
 

dnabbet2

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May 31, 2017
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As far as I know, Honeyburst has never been offered as a finish on any of the Custom Shop/Historic Collection Les Paul reissues. I do, however, remember it being a fairly common finish on Gibson USA's "Les Paul Classic" line of guitars.
Some Standard 80s came in honeyburst. If you consider them reissues. My avatar's one.
 
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