Fried okra
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A little flash from my stash. My 1978 Strings & Things '58/'59 Les Paul reissue. This one was originally owned and purchased by Mick Dycus, a local six string slinger in the Memphis area and still plays in the band The Memphis Yahoos. I have a couple pictures of Mick playing this Les Paul in the late '70s. (See below)
There were only a very small run of these made (approximately 24 according to Chris) and are known as the first Reissues. Chris Lovell, is a friend of mine and owner of Strings & Things In Memphis, TN (now closed). Strings & Things was the place back in the day. I'm still in touch with Chris, as he still lives in Memphis.
Enjoy. :salude And please feel free to post more S&T info, pics, etc....
Here is a write up from our own Mike Slubowski in Vintage Guitar Magazine:
Strings and Things Les Paul
Many articles have been written about how guitarists and dealers in the mid/late 1970s and early ’80s were asking Gibson to build a Les Paul that more closely conformed to ’59 specs. The following is not an attempt to rehash any of them, but rather to provide an overview of some of these “pre-’59 reissue” guitars with some narrative and details of their construction and features based on the author’s experience in collecting and playing these guitars. It’s ironic that, at a time in which Gibson was going through great strife with declining sales and profit margins, rivalries between the new Nashville plant and the Kalamazoo plant, and the downsizing and eventual closure of the Kalamazoo plant by 1984, the company was able to experiment and respond to requests for guitars that more closely emulated the beloved Les Paul Standard of 1959 – even though some of these attempts were way off the mark!
Chris Lovell, owner of Strings and Things in Memphis, placed a custom order for some Les Pauls in the mid ’70s that more closely approximated the original Les Paul Standard specs, including a narrower headstock, narrow binding in the cutaway, deeper carve top, etc. Approximately 28 guitars were made for Chris’ store between 1975 and 1978. The author of this article does not own a Strings and Things model because, in hunting for one, there does not appear to be any single set of definitive specifications or identifying features to authenticate a Strings and Things Les Paul. Some of the guitars advertised as Strings and Things models have different serial number formats, one-piece necks vs. three-piece necks, different bridges, narrow or wide binding in the cutaway, etc.
The only way to authenticate a Strings and Things reissue would be to find one that comes with a certificate or invoice from Strings and Things during the 1975-’78 time period. It continues to be an intriguing yet elusive quest for the Holy Grail.
Mick Dycus and his newly purchased S & T Les Paul
There were only a very small run of these made (approximately 24 according to Chris) and are known as the first Reissues. Chris Lovell, is a friend of mine and owner of Strings & Things In Memphis, TN (now closed). Strings & Things was the place back in the day. I'm still in touch with Chris, as he still lives in Memphis.
Enjoy. :salude And please feel free to post more S&T info, pics, etc....
Here is a write up from our own Mike Slubowski in Vintage Guitar Magazine:
Strings and Things Les Paul
Many articles have been written about how guitarists and dealers in the mid/late 1970s and early ’80s were asking Gibson to build a Les Paul that more closely conformed to ’59 specs. The following is not an attempt to rehash any of them, but rather to provide an overview of some of these “pre-’59 reissue” guitars with some narrative and details of their construction and features based on the author’s experience in collecting and playing these guitars. It’s ironic that, at a time in which Gibson was going through great strife with declining sales and profit margins, rivalries between the new Nashville plant and the Kalamazoo plant, and the downsizing and eventual closure of the Kalamazoo plant by 1984, the company was able to experiment and respond to requests for guitars that more closely emulated the beloved Les Paul Standard of 1959 – even though some of these attempts were way off the mark!
Chris Lovell, owner of Strings and Things in Memphis, placed a custom order for some Les Pauls in the mid ’70s that more closely approximated the original Les Paul Standard specs, including a narrower headstock, narrow binding in the cutaway, deeper carve top, etc. Approximately 28 guitars were made for Chris’ store between 1975 and 1978. The author of this article does not own a Strings and Things model because, in hunting for one, there does not appear to be any single set of definitive specifications or identifying features to authenticate a Strings and Things Les Paul. Some of the guitars advertised as Strings and Things models have different serial number formats, one-piece necks vs. three-piece necks, different bridges, narrow or wide binding in the cutaway, etc.
The only way to authenticate a Strings and Things reissue would be to find one that comes with a certificate or invoice from Strings and Things during the 1975-’78 time period. It continues to be an intriguing yet elusive quest for the Holy Grail.
Mick Dycus and his newly purchased S & T Les Paul
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