Yes -- but we cannot guarantee weight due to the nature of wood. Best way to get to 8 lbs on an LPC is to request an ultra light mahogany back (an uncharge) and fully chamber it as you said. Good luck and thanks for the question!
I don't know much about the development of the "Super '74s" as we call them but this is what one website has to say: "Both pickups are wound with 42 AWG wire and measure approximately 7.4k to 7.6k ohms, and both are wax potted to prevent microphonic squeal at high volume levels.made with genuine Alnico 3 magnets, just like many Gibson humbuckers of the early to mid '70s." That would be pre-Tarback era. Personally I would have gone with Alnico V, but can't go wrong with III. Thanks for the questions.
I would definitely reach out to Gibson Customer Service with photos/serial number/proof of purchase. I am not completely sure if they are covered under warranty but they would be best suited to assist you. Separately, there is the issue of not having exact replacement parts available aftermarket. We are working on this but it is slow going as many of these True Historic parts, especially the knobs, are painstakingly created with the original butyrate formula and the historic gold paint applied to the back. That means supply chain is slow to progress to the point where we have enough aftermarket inventory. But we are working on it! Thanks for the excellent question.
Beautiful instruments and congratulations! As I said before, I truly believe it does not get better than these in our current range. We are building them as long as we can continue to get good quality *sustainable* White Limba, but I'm not sure how far out that will take us. I am planning on buying a set myself but please don't tell my wife that.Hi Matt,
first of all I want to congratulate the whole Gibson team for the current Korina run which reached a new level in terms of historical accuracy!
The day I picked up my white Guard Explorer I spontaneously picked up a V as well and I couldn't be happier with my purchase in every aspect.
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My first question is regarding the heel joint of the V. I compared the one from the current run to my 2001 59 reissue and noticed that the 59 has a steeper and longer transition to the neck.
Is there any historical reason behind this difference? The earlier 90s 58 reissues also have a shorter joint.
Here's a photo to compare both (left the 59 from 2001 and right the 2021 model)
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My second question is whether there's any possibility to purchase a trapezoid V-case for my older model. Unfortunately it came with a black art & historic case which isn't as great as the historical one.
Thanks a lot and Merry Christmas to you and your family
Even better -- the neck was scanned from the original guitar. So what you're feeling is the same neck as on Knopfler's. Yes a bit thinner than the R8 spec of .9/1.0" and more like a current R9. The website didn't say that at the time for some reason, but that's what it is! Thanks for the question.
Means a lot! Thank you sir. -Mat
Yes and no -- it would still be long tenon but the heel itself is connected differently. I would not advise shaving down a standard heel joint to get the Axcess effect. Thanks, Mat
Are you looking at a Memphis Historic or a current Custom Shop Historic? Below is a vintage compared to a current CS...it looks pretty darn good to me other than the angle presented -- optical illusion but the pick guard of the reissue does indeed stretch to the edge of the binding.
Man that color looks so good on those! I would assume it is an opaque metallic that was color-matched to SB. And because the Epi lacquer is polyurethane instead of Gibson's nitrocellulose, chances are even if it was gold underneath a transparent cherry, no amount of playing or aging will reveal it.Regarding the recent Sparkling Burgundy offerings from Gibson (SG Special) and Epiphone (looking at the current Riviera): are they gold under the red? As they age and wear, will gold show through?
Personally, I would love that and would influence my decision to purchase either one.
TIA.
This is a tough one to answer. What we're doing now is essentially a continuation of the True Historic models from 2015. Upgrading the wiring harness to what they are now was definitely an improvement in versatility and accuracy to originals. Outside of that, a new top carve reference and new neck profiles, not a lot has changed other than available colors and a few aesthetic things like the vintage-style Gibson logo, LP silkscreen and placement, etc. Hope that answers your question! I definitely believe the Murphy Lab lacquer was a big step forward as well, obviously.
Hi Matt; I bought a`63 ES-335TDC from Music Zoo and it arrived right after the Custom Shop reopened in May of 2020. I think it had been built before March 2020 and just set aside with the Covid delay. I had one of the 2014 Memphis made `63 ES-335's and sold it pretty soon after receiving the `64. The `64 is just amazing!! I've been around long enough to remember my friends' 335's in the Sixties and a number of them loaned me theirs back then. Anyway, the new ones are damn near perfect and I love it! I did replace the nylon(?) saddles with brass. Not sure where you all got that Nylon, but it's pretty crappy and no way close to the old saddle material. and I replaced the Custombuckers with a set of Gibson Pat.#'s from 1965! I will put this guitar up next to any old one! It's that good it is & I've owned a few 335's over the last 50+ years! I'm so glad you all finally got the colour right! And I put a set of Vintage black reflector knobs on it as the new Reflectors just don't look right. But, all in all the new 335's are a joy to play and to look at! The neck shape is right there!! Thanks Matt!! Regards; Don Butler/Toneman, Inc.
Appreciate the response! In my possession is a memphis reissue from 2016/17. Are you saying the pickguards and/or body size are different on current Nashville reissues?
Thanks for the reply. Tarback/superhumbuckers were first introduced in 1973. They were used in 73 sg standards and Sg customs and I believe 1973 es 335s but sgs for sure. They came in 2 versions a high output version and a low output version. It was the high output version that came after 1974. The high output version was first used in the L6. The low output versions were the first and introduced in 1973 they were designed by Bill Lawrence in 1972 . If you look at the Gibson catalog for 1973 and you look at the listed specs for Sg standard and custom it says brand new superhumbucking pickups and I have seen many 73 and 74 sg standards and customs for sale with factory tarbacks . The low output veriosn had a short Ceramic magnet and cane as a calibrated set . The neck had an output between 5k and 5 2k and the bridge was between 7.3k and 7.6k. The higher output version that came later were 16k in both positions. The low output veriosm were also used in the the 74 L5s. Interestingly the 1974 les paul custom did not have superhumbuckers it had T tops . So it seems strange that the 74 custom reissues had a pickup called superhumbuckers its also my understanding that the 68 custom humbucker used in the 68 LPC reissues are based on a set of T tops owned by Edwin Wilson. Although the 68 custombuckers have A2 mags and not A5 but many late 60s and very early 70s t tops have been found with A2 Mags and not the standard A5 although most were probably A5. Throbak cloned a set of T tops from 1970 that had A2 Mags so perhaps the set Edwim had were A2 as well . Thanks again and happy new year.
All the components, starting in 2019. New 500K vintage taper pots, Paper In Oil caps, unpotted Custombuckers.
Awesome! Thanks Don!
Yes we did a ground-up overhaul on the Historic ES models when we moved them back to Nashville. The rim shape, top and back profile (original press plates were recut), neck profiles, heel, the headstock crown was corrected, True Historic parts, and yes pickguard shape. The reason you are seeing variation in screw placement on the pickguards and distance to the cutaway is the neck set/angle. Its placement varies on all ES and archtop models. It is possible that the pickguards in '64 were a small fraction wider than what we're using now. And yes we took away that bridge pickup gap because of quality concerns. But I will compare the print to the scans and see if any tweaks are necessary.Appreciate the response! In my possession is a memphis reissue from 2016/17. Are you saying the pickguards and/or body size are different on current Nashville reissues?
So far I've only been able to get 2 reissue owners to send me bout sizes, a 2016 63ri, and a 2020 61ri es335 to compare to my 2016 64ri. All measured exactly 15.875". The 1964 in my hands measures 16.25" wide, and the 65 about 1/8th inch less. The reason I even tried measuring is because the reissue looked noticeably smaller to the eye than the 64 and I thought it might be an optical illusion. I'm sure I'll get some more measurements soon to further confirm, but at least with this small sample it seems like they're noticeably smaller. I'm not even sure the vintage 64 would fit in the 64 reissues case! Maybe I'll give it a shot for fun lol.
For the pickguard, my 2016's looks exactly like this brand new one on Wildwood right now. Biggest spot to look is the area after the neck pickup / mounting screw and then after the bridge pickup, the differences should be discernible vs the vintage examples I pulled from es335.org.
New Wildwood reissue:
It's worth noting none are totally identical, but you can still see how they're pretty different. Spitballing here but did Gibson make a conscious effort to reshape / size them so that there wouldn't be any gap by the bridge pickup as that might make uninformed new buyers think there's a defect? That makes sense on a production model one I guess, though with a reissue ehhh. But even if that's the case I would think the gap could be removed and the neck pickup side could be made accurate to get best of both worlds in a future iteration. Actually holding the reissue pickguard vs vintage vs a mojoaxe replica in my hand, the differences are a bit more noticeable. I thought I'd be able to just throw on the vintage / mojoaxe replica onto the 64 reissue but it's no where near fitting. One thing you can't really tell from the photo's is the actual bracket position is pretty far off as well which further exacerbates the issue. That's at least solvable because you can just mount the little threaded square under the pickguard wherever it's needed if you have a fresh one made but the screw hole is obviously a point that can't be adjusted. If Gibson made a revised more accurate pickguard that still fixed the bridge gap but at least got the neck pickup side correct I'd buy one in a heart beat! Since no other vintage replica's will fit as-is
To be honest the pickguard thing isn't that big of a deal imo, that should be pretty easy for Gibson to fix if you wanted to, but the actual body size discrepancy was pretty surprising to me. Certainly not what I was expecting when I checked! Even weirder that my 2012 ES330 59ri is closer to accurate at about 16" exactly.
Anyways, appreciate the transparency and replies here!
Ah! I've owned a few "20th Anniversary" 1974 LPCs over the years but I've never seen a tarback in one...only Patent Number decals...that's why I was confused. Thank you for the explanation. It's kind of like the post above -- "which example are you referencing"? So many variations and anomalies that it's dizzying. Next time I see Edwin I'll ask him for the details!