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Why did you buy a collector's choice guitar?

LeonC

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 30, 2002
Messages
799
I imagine there is a wide variety of reasons.

I imagine some people were looking for a copy of a specific guitar and hoped their CC would be close. Probably some just like the idea of getting a LP that's speced like an old one and/or looks and feels "worn in." Some folks probably really like some of the music that was recorded with the original or the artist that is most associated with a particular guitar. Probably some got to play one or hear one and something about it just really worked for them, so they bought it. I think a few CC owners own the original guitar and wanted one as kind of a backup, yes? And probably 50 other reasons I can't think of.
 

Wambemando

New member
Joined
May 4, 2018
Messages
21
Because Gibson had so many unsold they decided to restamp and sell them for less than half the original price in an attempt to get out of the hole.
 

Tim Plains

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Aug 1, 2013
Messages
795
I bought a used Shanks only because the price was right ($4,200 US shipped) and I liked the top. Good guitar but I didn't feel it was any better than my regular Rs and think Gibson needs to do a much better job with their in-house aging, particularly the neck binding. I later sold it and broke even.

The notion of buying a CC or artist run because the guitar it mimics is lost with me. Buy a guitar because you like how it sounds, feels, and looks. Not because Gibson used a different serial number and fooled you into feeling closer to a famous guitar player.
 

LeonC

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Joined
Aug 30, 2002
Messages
799
So.. where are you going with this thread? :hmm

I'm not out to prove anything, if that's what you're asking. I'm just curious.

I own two CCs that I'm crazy about and have no axe to grind, so to speak, regarding CCs or CC owners or even Gibson. It's a straight up question. You don't have to answer it if you don't want to.
 

MeHereNow

Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2009
Messages
677
I'm not out to prove anything, if that's what you're asking. I'm just curious.

I own two CCs that I'm crazy about and have no axe to grind, so to speak, regarding CCs or CC owners or even Gibson. It's a straight up question. You don't have to answer it if you don't want to.

Not what i meant to do, i just wondered why you asked the question, then answered it yourself and "could think of 50 more reasons".
So it made the thread/question a bit obsolete to my opinion.
Hope you get the answers you're looking for though! :salude
 

LeonC

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 30, 2002
Messages
799
Not what i meant to do, i just wondered why you asked the question, then answered it yourself and "could think of 50 more reasons".
So it made the thread/question a bit obsolete to my opinion.
Hope you get the answers you're looking for though! :salude

Actually, I did not answer my own question as you have mis-quoted me. I said there are probably 50 other reasons I can't think of. :rolleyes:

I am, still interested in hearing from people who would like to actually answer the question, however.
 

Ace139

Active member
Joined
May 29, 2003
Messages
1,759
I bought Nicky because it was the best sounding, playing LP I found at the Music Zoo. Had multiple Rs to choose from TH, Murphy ...etc. and Nicky was the winner for me. Not bad to look at either :)
 

MeHereNow

Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2009
Messages
677
Actually, I did not answer my own question as you have mis-quoted me. I said there are probably 50 other reasons I can't think of. :rolleyes:

I am, still interested in hearing from people who would like to actually answer the question, however.

I'm blind to " n't "s so it seems..
Maybe i DO need them reading glasses :hee
 

Big Al

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Joined
Apr 24, 2002
Messages
14,537
I bought Nicky because it was the best sounding, playing LP I found at the Music Zoo. Had multiple Rs to choose from TH, Murphy ...etc. and Nicky was the winner for me. Not bad to look at either :)

Ace, I am not a CC owner but I tried all the ones I could, (how could I not?), and I have to say that every single Nicky I played was just a superb guitar, IMO. An exceptional run of guitars. There was also one, just one, Carmalita out of the three I tried that was as nice. A very special guitar Though it didn't look much like the real deal when Joe showed me it, (color was too red and really not as complex and carmalized as the original. Top was close and as I said a superb guitar but Nicky CC run just impressed me and I'm not a CC or cosmetic aged fan necessarily.

I think I understand why you grabbed yours. I bet it is superb.
 

Big Al

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Joined
Apr 24, 2002
Messages
14,537
Because Gibson had so many unsold they decided to restamp and sell them for less than half the original price in an attempt to get out of the hole.

Yep, sure. Real astute. I'm soooo glad you enlightened us.:bigal
 

LeonC

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 30, 2002
Messages
799
Yep, sure. Real astute. I'm soooo glad you enlightened us.:bigal
LOL, indeed.

I wound up buying two CCs. I don't have any particular love or special interest in the guitars that inspired them or the artists that had owned them. I liked Waddy Wachtel's work with Ronstadt and Ronnie Montrose just fine...but they were not my idols or my favorite LP players. I was interested in tones and features and to some extent, looks and feel. I was interested in specific models / guitars for those reasons. I wanted one with the thinner profile and later, one with the chunkier profile. CC#14 appealed to me because of the convertible Bigsby/stop-tail. I also got to compare its sound side by side with my '61 335, which I didn't want to gig anymore...too many close calls, too easy to get damaged. The CC sounded fantastic, surprisingly close to the 335. I loved the sound of the pickups and the guitar's overall performance.

When I found that CC#28 SN99 came up for sale used, I jumped on it because I always loved GK's demo of that particular guitar. And in general, I liked the idea of guitars that felt a bit worn in already so that I don't have to worry about every little ding I'd get gigging the guitar. Which may be somewhat ironic because I get the impression that plenty of CC owners are rather concerned that their guitar remains untouched with only the "original nicks, dings and wear" that came from the factory. Of course, I don't want to get my guitars banged up...but with guitars that come with some ersatz wear baked into them...I won't mind as much if I do pick up some nicks or scratches, etc. dragging them out to gigs.

I wind up using CC#14 in my r&b/funk band and CC#28 in my r&r band.

Here's GK's demo of CC#28 SN99.

 

buckaroo

Formerly Tweedguy
Joined
Feb 17, 2009
Messages
938
I bought Gabby. It was the very best "new" Les Paul I have played ever. I have been buying Historic Les Pauls since the mid 1990's and playing them regularly in local clubs and festivals. And a few of them have been superb guitars. But this particular Gabby was beyond any of them in terms of sound and feel. I dare say it is the best Gibson guitar, from any era, that I have ever played. It is a particularly nice specimen IMO. I have played two other Gabbys since buying mine and while they were very good guitars, I failed to appreciate that they had that same "sonic mojo" (resonance & tone) as the one that I bought. I am certain that I just got really lucky...that everything just came together on this one. It is serial number 001 and I kinda like that as well :)

I have a '57 goldtop from 2014 that comes very, very close to my Gabby in terms of sound. It has a great feel, though different from Gabby.

I doubt that I will ever easily part with either of these guitars. I lost interest in buying other new Gibson guitars after playing these two Les Pauls as they are the best for me. I sold many of my other new / recent construction Gibsons (335s and LPs) after getting these two as they are so satisfying to play.

Buck
 
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LeonC

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 30, 2002
Messages
799
I bought Gabby. It was the very best "new" Les Paul I have played ever. I have been buying Historic Les Pauls since the mid 1990's. And a few have been superb guitars. But this particular Gabby was beyond any of them in terms of sound and feel. I dare say it is the best Gibson guitar, from any era, that I have ever played. It is a particularly nice specimen IMO. I have played two other Gabbys since buying mine and while they very good guitars, I failed to appreciate that they had that same "sonic mojo" (resonance & tone) as the one that I bought. I am certain that I just got really lucky...that everything just came together on this one. It is serial number 001 and I kinda like that as well :)

I have a '57 goldtop from 2014 that comes very, very close to my Gabby in terms of sound. It has a great feel, though different from Gabby.

I doubt that I will ever easily part with either of these guitars. I lost interest in buying new Gibson guitars after playing them as I they are the best for me. I sold many of my other Gibsons (335s and LPs) after getting these two as they are so satisfying to play.

Buck

:2cool
 

kats

Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2005
Messages
274
I bought my ‘13 Joe Perry because (in order) 1) the neck felt really nice 2) I liked the colour and 3) the price was very good. Pretty much had zero to do with the artist association. Very satisfied with it actually - so much so I stopped jonesing for more LPs. (That or I’m just getting old).
 

StandBY

New member
Joined
Feb 8, 2019
Messages
4
For me - my Gabby 2015 is just perfect Les Paul, I had a few LP Historic Reissue, but CC#30 is just the best. I don't need anything else from Les Paul's guitars.:hank
 

Maxmc

Active member
Joined
Mar 15, 2015
Messages
652
I bought a Collector's Choice because I figured that the Custom Shop would've spent that little bit of extra effort to make these guitars special. Living in Australia, these guitars are extremely thin on the ground. But the few that I have had the chance to play were all exceptional, particularly acoustically. The one I ended up with was a 2nd hand buy from interstate which I bought having only seen pictures of. It's a CC#6 and I am very happy with it. This is the third Les Paul that I have owned, the other two being a '60 Burst and a Heritage 80. I wish I could compare this CC with the '60, but that particular guitar is long gone. On occasions though, this CC does remind me of the old one. Unfortunately the Heritage 80 was a boat anchor.
 

LeonC

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 30, 2002
Messages
799
I bought a Collector's Choice because I figured that the Custom Shop would've spent that little bit of extra effort to make these guitars special. Living in Australia, these guitars are extremely thin on the ground. But the few that I have had the chance to play were all exceptional, particularly acoustically. The one I ended up with was a 2nd hand buy from interstate which I bought having only seen pictures of. It's a CC#6 and I am very happy with it. This is the third Les Paul that I have owned, the other two being a '60 Burst and a Heritage 80. I wish I could compare this CC with the '60, but that particular guitar is long gone. On occasions though, this CC does remind me of the old one. Unfortunately the Heritage 80 was a boat anchor.

Cool story. Yeah, too bad you didn't get to compare the '60. I don't recall if Mike Slubowsky was able to compare his Number One to many of the CCs...but I do seem to recall him generally having positive feelings about a number of CCs... Mike you listening? Any comments?
 
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