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Making the Gibson Les Paul Custom Shop 2021 even better!!

TM1

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Jun 27, 2003
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8,349
How about Custom Buckers with A2, A4 and A5. end this A3 thing.
Gibson is in the business of manufacturing guitars. Even though it says Custom Shop, they really just make better versions of their regular production models. Back in the Kalamazoo days they would actually make you almost anything you wanted!
 

El Gringo

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Apr 8, 2015
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Gibson is in the business of manufacturing guitars. Even though it says Custom Shop, they really just make better versions of their regular production models. Back in the Kalamazoo days they would actually make you almost anything you wanted!
Gibson Custom will build you what you want going thru a Gibson Custom Authentic dealer like the Music zoo for instance and all it takes is the $ .They do a fantastic job as I have one M2M and 2 more on the way shortly and I couldn't have been any more happier!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

Morgan24

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Nov 1, 2020
Messages
138
Gibson Custom will build you what you want going thru a Gibson Custom Authentic dealer like the Music zoo for instance and all it takes is the $ .They do a fantastic job as I have one M2M and 2 more on the way shortly and I couldn't have been any more happier!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That is great news. Can they make me a Les Paul with real nitro, no plastic? Vintage correct ABR-1 bridge? Glue the neck and body together before they put on the fretboard, so they can see what they are doing, insuring a tight fit, instead of doing it blindfolded? Doyle Coils Tru-Clones or Wizz Premium PAF instead of the CustomBuckers? Real brazilian without a 8000-10000$ ridiculous price increase. Can they do that🤣
 

El Gringo

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That is great news. Can they make me a Les Paul with real nitro, no plastic? Vintage correct ABR-1 bridge? Glue the neck and body together before they put on the fretboard, so they can see what they are doing, insuring a tight fit, instead of doing it blindfolded? Doyle Coils Tru-Clones or Wizz Premium PAF instead of the CustomBuckers? Real brazilian without a 8000-10000$ ridiculous price increase. Can they do that🤣
That's not asking for a lot now is it ? So am I to take it that you are more of a critic than a fan of Gibson Custom ? From the features that you are seeking maybe a Gil Yaron is the way for you to go ?
 

Morgan24

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That's not asking for a lot now is it ? So am I to take it that you are more of a critic than a fan of Gibson Custom ? From the features that you are seeking maybe a Gil Yaron is the way for you to go ?
No sadly I am a huge Les Paul fan but at the same time a "critic" fan of Gibson Custom Shop.
I am also amazed that the Custom Shop make such an obvious stupid mistake as putting the fretboard on the neck before gluing it to the body. It might be easier and a way to cut corners, but it makes it impossible to see how the neck is glued to the body. If I could change only one thing on my Custom Shop Les Paul 59, that would be it!! I have no idea how the neck is glued to the body, and no else knows it either, cause no one has never ever seen it!!
 

El Gringo

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No sadly I am a huge Les Paul fan but at the same time a "critic" fan of Gibson Custom Shop.
I am also amazed that the Custom Shop make such an obvious stupid mistake as putting the fretboard on the neck before gluing it to the body. It might be easier and a way to cut corners, but it makes it impossible to see how the neck is glued to the body. If I could change only one thing on my Custom Shop Les Paul 59, that would be it!! I have no idea how the neck is glued to the body, and no else knows it either, cause no one has never ever seen it!!
Humor me and please tell me why this matters about the fingerboard being glued on after the neck ?
 

renderit

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Jan 19, 2009
Messages
10,951
Humor me and please tell me why this matters about the fingerboard being glued on after the neck ?
'Cause you might trap sounds in there during assembliage which cay'nt excape and they cancel or accent the acuwal notesess youse are playin'!

Come on Man! Yer supposed to know this stuff!

Don't MAKE me revoke yer card!
 

rickruz88

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Apr 6, 2020
Messages
59
I think once they are able to make the nitro with less plasticizer, and finally perfect 50's top top carve, the guitars will feel and look much better overall. To Gibson's credit, I believe part of the reason they are forced to use so much plasticizer in their nitrocellulose formulation, is to avoid warranty claims from buyers that would invariably bitch and complain that the paint on their guitars is cracking and sinking into the finish. Perhaps they can offer the more authentic nitro on certain runs of guitars with a disclaimer similar to what PRS does on its Private Stock guitars, clearly informing the buyer that the finish WILL crack and sink into the grain as well as fade over time.
 

El Gringo

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'Cause you might trap sounds in there during assembliage which cay'nt excape and they cancel or accent the acuwal notesess youse are playin'!

Come on Man! Yer supposed to know this stuff!

Don't MAKE me revoke yer card!
Oh Cmon man I was wanting him to say that and explain it to me and now you deprived me of that .
 

El Gringo

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I think once they are able to make the nitro with less plasticizer, and finally perfect 50's top top carve, the guitars will feel and look much better overall. To Gibson's credit, I believe part of the reason they are forced to use so much plasticizer in their nitrocellulose formulation, is to avoid warranty claims from buyers that would invariably bitch and complain that the paint on their guitars is cracking and sinking into the finish. Perhaps they can offer the more authentic nitro on certain runs of guitars with a disclaimer similar to what PRS does on its Private Stock guitars, clearly informing the buyer that the finish WILL crack and sink into the grain as well as fade over time.
I get where you are coming from but I don't see Gibson getting rid of the plasticiser for the exact reasons you mentioned above .
 

rickruz88

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Apr 6, 2020
Messages
59
I get where you are coming from but I don't see Gibson getting rid of the plasticiser for the exact reasons you mentioned above .

I agree that it will never happen on any kind of production line guitars. But I can see possibly being offered as an option on M2M guitars.
 

Morgan24

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Nov 1, 2020
Messages
138
Humor me and please tell me why this matters about the fingerboard being glued on after the neck ?
Hello El Gringo. It is through a guy called Florian Jaeger who does makeovers on Custom Shop Les Paul 59. He repaints them with real nitro and he even change the fretboard to brazilian. When he change the fretboard, he very often has to reglue the neck, because when he takes the fretboard of, he can see it sits wrong in the neck pocket. This is because Gibson Custom Shop cant see the neck fit when they glue it because the fretboard is in the way. It is not rocket science and there is a reason Gibson never used this way of gluing the neck to the body before, even though it is much easier!! It is a bad shortcut and a mistake. You cant see anything!! This is just one picture from a forum member when he sent the guitar to Florian.
 
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Morgan24

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Nov 1, 2020
Messages
138
As you can see there is a gab between the top and the neck. Due to this the fretboard only rest on the top and has no contact with the neck. This results in bad tone and less sustain especially playing high notes. It also makes it difficult to make a good string adjustment on the guitar. This is bacause instead of a fall away from the twelve fret the fret goes upwards due to a wrong neck angle.
 

AA00475Bassman

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Apr 26, 2016
Messages
3,769
Hello El Gringo. It is through a guy called Florian Jaeger who does makeovers on Custom Shop Les Paul 59. He repaints them with real nitro and he even change the fretboard to brazilian. When he change the fretboard, he very often has to reglue the neck, because when he takes the fretboard of, he can see it sits wrong in the neck pocket. This is because Gibson Custom Shop cant see the neck fit because the fretboard is in the way. It is not rocket science and there is a reason Gibson never used this way of gluing the neck to the body before, even though it is much easier!! It is a bad shortcut and a mistake. You cant see anything!! This is just one picture from a forum member when he sent the guitar to Florian.
Sounds like Forum Kool-Aid , hardly doubt you could A, B compare & find any remote possibility of improvement! after Florian neckplasty !
 

rickruz88

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Apr 6, 2020
Messages
59
Hello El Gringo. It is through a guy called Florian Jaeger who does makeovers on Custom Shop Les Paul 59. He repaints them with real nitro and he even change the fretboard to brazilian. When he change the fretboard, he very often has to reglue the neck, because when he takes the fretboard of, he can see it sits wrong in the neck pocket. This is because Gibson Custom Shop cant see the neck fit when they glue it because the fretboard is in the way. It is not rocket science and there is a reason Gibson never used this way of gluing the neck to the body before, even though it is much easier!! It is a bad shortcut and a mistake. You cant see anything!! This is just one picture from a forum member when he sent the guitar to Florian.
I agree with you 100%. However, at the end of the day a custom shop Les Paul is not truly a "Custom Shop" guitar. It's a production line guitar with more historically correct features, simply made as efficiently as possible to satisfy the most amount of people while at the same time making as much profit as the market will allow. To get this level of detail, only places like HM and FJ (and the like) are willing to take the extra time to do it the "right" way because they are true artisans and their respective reputations depends on this level of detail which 99.9% of others will not take the time to do because it is more time consuming and cuts into the bottom line.

Gibson could make it this way, but it would be too inefficient, given the thousands of historic guitars which their factory shits out every year. Like others have said, it's likely not going to make any difference to the sound, and it won't allow them to sell their guitars for more money simply because of this production method. So why do it? Gibson is a business, which like all businesses, strives to make as much profit as possible. There is no shame in this. It is what it is.
 
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El Gringo

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5,657
Hello El Gringo. It is through a guy called Florian Jaeger who does makeovers on Custom Shop Les Paul 59. He repaints them with real nitro and he even change the fretboard to brazilian. When he change the fretboard, he very often has to reglue the neck, because when he takes the fretboard of, he can see it sits wrong in the neck pocket. This is because Gibson Custom Shop cant see the neck fit when they glue it because the fretboard is in the way. It is not rocket science and there is a reason Gibson never used this way of gluing the neck to the body before, even though it is much easier!! It is a bad shortcut and a mistake. You cant see anything!! This is just one picture from a forum member when he sent the guitar to Florian.
I know who Florian Jaeger is very well from his work that he does as he is a counterpart to Historic Makeovers . It is hard for me to grasp how one individual knows better than the actually builder does of said product . I did see your photo above that you kindly posted and I have seen this image before as well . Now on all of my 6 historic's at Home ( 2 more on the way ) and I have to tell you that my Historic R9's and R8's sustain like crazy and you would be amazed at they way the wood vibrates and sings as well . I just have to respectfully disagree with you 100% as my action on my guitars is super low and they intonate and tune perfectly and the sustain and vibration is real and felt all the way up and down the neck and on the body as well . It is completely over the top of my head how one buys a Historic Les Paul and then has it stripped down and rebuilt and then winds up spending twice as much to rebuild the same instrument that was already built ? I mean far be it from me to disparage anyone's desires but for me this is over the top . I was going to write with the exception of having a Brazilian Board installed , but while I am on that subject in ripping out the Indian board for the Brazilian -look at the damage that occurs to the surrounding area of the headstock when having a nut replaced ? I totally get the concept of people wanting to have the "perfect " guitar but this just seems so extreme ! I remember back in 1992 at my local mom and pop shop which is long gone and having the same conversation with the store manager who was very wise and the reason why we were having the conversation was about a mineral fleck on a Les Paul Sunburst and I mentioned about having the instrument sent back to Gibson to have the top replaced ( gasp ) and this gent who was maybe 5-7 years older than I said to me " why don't you just buy another Les Paul ? " This wisdom so many years ago seems so vital and relevant to this day for me . I have been playing and enjoying Gibson Les Paul's for over 45 years and they are as perfect today for me as the first time I plugged in so long ago in another galaxy far far away .
 

Morgan24

Active member
Joined
Nov 1, 2020
Messages
138
I know who Florian Jaeger is very well from his work that he does as he is a counterpart to Historic Makeovers . It is hard for me to grasp how one individual knows better than the actually builder does of said product . I did see your photo above that you kindly posted and I have seen this image before as well . Now on all of my 6 historic's at Home ( 2 more on the way ) and I have to tell you that my Historic R9's and R8's sustain like crazy and you would be amazed at they way the wood vibrates and sings as well . I just have to respectfully disagree with you 100% as my action on my guitars is super low and they intonate and tune perfectly and the sustain and vibration is real and felt all the way up and down the neck and on the body as well . It is completely over the top of my head how one buys a Historic Les Paul and then has it stripped down and rebuilt and then winds up spending twice as much to rebuild the same instrument that was already built ? I mean far be it from me to disparage anyone's desires but for me this is over the top . I was going to write with the exception of having a Brazilian Board installed , but while I am on that subject in ripping out the Indian board for the Brazilian -look at the damage that occurs to the surrounding area of the headstock when having a nut replaced ? I totally get the concept of people wanting to have the "perfect " guitar but this just seems so extreme ! I remember back in 1992 at my local mom and pop shop which is long gone and having the same conversation with the store manager who was very wise and the reason why we were having the conversation was about a mineral fleck on a Les Paul Sunburst and I mentioned about having the instrument sent back to Gibson to have the top replaced ( gasp ) and this gent who was maybe 5-7 years older than I said to me " why don't you just buy another Les Paul ? " This wisdom so many years ago seems so vital and relevant to this day for me . I have been playing and enjoying Gibson Les Paul's for over 45 years and they are as perfect today for me as the first time I plugged in so long ago in another galaxy far far away .

I know who Florian Jaeger is very well from his work that he does as he is a counterpart to Historic Makeovers . It is hard for me to grasp how one individual knows better than the actually builder does of said product . I did see your photo above that you kindly posted and I have seen this image before as well . Now on all of my 6 historic's at Home ( 2 more on the way ) and I have to tell you that my Historic R9's and R8's sustain like crazy and you would be amazed at they way the wood vibrates and sings as well . I just have to respectfully disagree with you 100% as my action on my guitars is super low and they intonate and tune perfectly and the sustain and vibration is real and felt all the way up and down the neck and on the body as well . It is completely over the top of my head how one buys a Historic Les Paul and then has it stripped down and rebuilt and then winds up spending twice as much to rebuild the same instrument that was already built ? I mean far be it from me to disparage anyone's desires but for me this is over the top . I was going to write with the exception of having a Brazilian Board installed , but while I am on that subject in ripping out the Indian board for the Brazilian -look at the damage that occurs to the surrounding area of the headstock when having a nut replaced ? I totally get the concept of people wanting to have the "perfect " guitar but this just seems so extreme ! I remember back in 1992 at my local mom and pop shop which is long gone and having the same conversation with the store manager who was very wise and the reason why we were having the conversation was about a mineral fleck on a Les Paul Sunburst and I mentioned about having the instrument sent back to Gibson to have the top replaced ( gasp ) and this gent who was maybe 5-7 years older than I said to me " why don't you just buy another Les Paul ? " This wisdom so many years ago seems so vital and relevant to this day for me . I have been playing and enjoying Gibson Les Paul's for over 45 years and they are as perfect today for me as the first time I plugged in so long ago in another galaxy far far away .
Your missing the point. It has to do with the fact, that if the fretboard was installed after the neck assembly, like they always done. The problem you see in the photo would not occur, or at least it would not pass quality control. It is a problem they cant see anything while gluing the neck to the body. You have to pay Jaeger 800€ to fix this problem. I dont know how often this mistake occurs on the Custom Shop Les Paul, but I know it would not happend at all, if they did it right. I am going to write and ask Jaeger and hopefully he will reply how often he sees this issue.
 

renderit

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Jan 19, 2009
Messages
10,951
Boy does this raise questions with me...

IF Gibson glued the fretboard PRIOR to setting the neck in the body HOW THE HELL could the above picture be correct?

I am calling bullshit.

The gap would be UNDER THE HEEL. Not on the top.

I.E. the fingerboard would have been glued to the section that is lower. Then when set the gap would have been UNDER the whole neck.

If anything the above picture points out the opposite happened. The fingerboard was glued on AFTER the neck was set.
 
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