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2018 Gibson Les Paul Standard 1957 "Wildwood" COA by Rick Gembar

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MacFangus

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I received an email last night from a guy who insists that my guitar is a 2008 model, not 2018. I know... This is what happens when you post a Les Paul guitar on CL. Here is our exchange:

"Heads up … your Les Paul is NOT a 2018 model. It was made in 2008, not 2018. If you look at the COA, it was signed by Rick Gembar, and he left Gibson around 2013-2014. He was not employed by Gibson in 2018. If you call Gibson’s customer service number and give them the serial number, they’ll confirm for you that the guitar was made in 2008."

My reply:
No, it is a 2018 1957 Wildwood Spec model, 1 of 2 made. There is a Wildwood video of it posted on YouTube.

"Saw the video last night. It doesn’t mention or say what year that guitar is at all. Trust me … call Gibson and they will confirm it for you. It’s very well could be a “Wildwood Spec” guitar, but it’s not from 2018 … it’s from 2008. Either way, doesn’t matter to me because I’m not buying it. But I can tell you with all certainty that that guitar was made in 2008, and not 2018. Do yourself a favor and call Gibson customer care at 1-800-4GIBSON."

Reply:
I spoke with Gibson... Quote; "His information is incorrect. Rick Gembar was employed at Gibson in 2018. Unfortunately, we have to deal with self-appointed experts on a daily basis."

Continued...
It is not a 2008 LP. You should know this by looking at the rolled-edge binding, finished frets, PG spacing and vintage spec fret sizing. These production points were once referred to as "True Historic" which did not exist in 2008. If Gibson and Wildwood say it is a 2018 model, it is a 2018 model. I'll do more digging... Sharing our conversation with the Gibson guitar community may help.

Thoughts?

My guitar...

COA
Screen Shot 2021-06-29 at 11.28.31 AM.png
 
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corpse

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4,876
He meant well I am sure. I look at CL a couple times a week- I find some desirable stuff- but the rants people put up. Yowza. Switch to decaf. But you have to know your stuff. That was definitely micro in the scheme of things.
I wouldn't put CS LP's on CL. Just saying. It invites too much...stuff.
 

MacFangus

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Oct 10, 2016
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He meant well I am sure. I look at CL a couple times a week- I find some desirable stuff- but the rants people put up. Yowza. Switch to decaf. But you have to know your stuff. That was definitely micro in the scheme of things.
I wouldn't put CS LP's on CL. Just saying. It invites too much...stuff.
I'll remove it. Thanks!
 

clearmudd

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Rick Gembar was fired in June 2017..........doesn't mean that they quit using the COA's because Rick was gone. I'm sure there are a lot of COA's with Ricks name on them issued long after Mr. Gembar left the building. Just Google Rick Gembar and a link to a LPF thread will show up.
 

MacFangus

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Rick Gembar was fired in June 2017..........doesn't mean that they quit using the COA's because Rick was gone. I'm sure there are a lot of COA's with Ricks name on them issued long after Mr. Gembar left the building. Just Google Rick Gembar and a link to a LPF thread will show up.
To reiterate, Gibson told me that Rick Gembar was still employed in 2018.
 
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MacFangus

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It's an awesome '57. It's actually not "heavily antiqued". Maybe the tailpiece, but that shined-up after a few wipe-downs. It's bluer than what you see in the video too, which I like. It's going to turn green-ish as it ages, which is fine by me. If it sells, it sells... I don't need to unload it, but there are some parts that I'd like to get for my Challenger.
 

DANELECTRO

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This is what happens when a guitar manufacturer duplicates serial numbers. Gibson caused confusion after duplicating serial numbers back in the 1960’s, so you wouldn’t think they wouldn’t do it again, but here we are.

It was probably twenty years ago here on this forum that I suggested Gibson should continue to use the X XXXX serial number format on the back of the Historic headstock in order to be vintage correct, but also stamp a unique never-before-used serial number inside of the control cavity so that every guitar has a unique identifying number.

Instead, Gibson duplicates the serial numbers of the Historic Reissue guitars every 10 years. Since 2003, there have been tens of thousands of duplicated serial numbers, and the only way to tell the guitars apart ifrom each other is to know the features that are different between the decades of production (plastics, inlays, COA’s, etc.). Serial numbers that were used on the first year Historics (1993) were reused in 2003, and again 2013. In another twos years, they’ll be reusing serial numbers for a 4th time (actually the 5th time if they happen to coincide with original 1950’s burst serial numbers..
 

El Gringo

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5,657
This is what happens when a guitar manufacturer duplicates serial numbers. Gibson caused confusion after duplicating serial numbers back in the 1960’s, so you wouldn’t think they wouldn’t do it again, but here we are.

It was probably twenty years ago here on this forum that I suggested Gibson should continue to use the X XXXX serial number format on the back of the Historic headstock in order to be vintage correct, but also stamp a unique never-before-used serial number inside of the control cavity so that every guitar has a unique identifying number.

Instead, Gibson duplicates the serial numbers of the Historic Reissue guitars every 10 years. Since 2003, there have been tens of thousands of duplicated serial numbers, and the only way to tell the guitars apart ifrom each other is to know the features that are different between the decades of production (plastics, inlays, COA’s, etc.). Serial numbers that were used on the first year Historics (1993) were reused in 2003, and again 2013. In another twos years, they’ll be reusing serial numbers for a 4th time (actually the 5th time if they happen to coincide with original 1950’s burst serial numbers..
That is actually a very good idea about the control cavity , which is an out of the way spot that rarely gets poked around in and is a discrete place for and identification # . This makes to much sense !
 

MacFangus

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Joined
Oct 10, 2016
Messages
143
This is what happens when a guitar manufacturer duplicates serial numbers. Gibson caused confusion after duplicating serial numbers back in the 1960’s, so you wouldn’t think they wouldn’t do it again, but here we are.

It was probably twenty years ago here on this forum that I suggested Gibson should continue to use the X XXXX serial number format on the back of the Historic headstock in order to be vintage correct, but also stamp a unique never-before-used serial number inside of the control cavity so that every guitar has a unique identifying number.

Instead, Gibson duplicates the serial numbers of the Historic Reissue guitars every 10 years. Since 2003, there have been tens of thousands of duplicated serial numbers, and the only way to tell the guitars apart ifrom each other is to know the features that are different between the decades of production (plastics, inlays, COA’s, etc.). Serial numbers that were used on the first year Historics (1993) were reused in 2003, and again 2013. In another twos years, they’ll be reusing serial numbers for a 4th time (actually the 5th time if they happen to coincide with original 1950’s burst serial numbers..
If mine were not a Wildwood spec '57, I may have given his comment some attention. The only "top" colors I recall in 2008 were gold top and black top.
 

MikeSlub

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I think this thread has outlived its useful life. The guitar is cool, Rick's signature on COAs went beyond the time he was running Gibson Custom, it's a legitimate Historic, etc. etc.
 
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