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will Gibson make a "deep-dish" top on special order ?

Dr. Green

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Dec 12, 2018
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683
hear me out and excuse me if i have used any wrong terms

there is a member on the forum who was into black beauty customs - if memory serves, the Dude is in the middle east. I happen to have one myself - a 57 historic version

he was highly disappointed that the new Historic versions did not have an extremely contoured deep dish top profile like his vintage piece.

got me thinking - would Gibson make you one if special ordered ???
 
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JPP-1

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Jul 11, 2006
Messages
1,336
hear me out and excuse me if i have used any wrong terms

there is a member on the forum who was into black beauty customs - if memory serves, the Dude is in the middle east. I happen to have one myself - a 57 historic version

he was highly disappointed that the new Historic versions did not have an extremely contoured deep dish top profile like his vintage piece.

got me thinking - would Gibson make you one if special ordered ???

It is my understanding that Gibson currently uses templates of actual vintage Les Pauls for dish carve, neck carve etc. If someone noticed a large discrepancy then maybe his vintage top carve was particularly pronounced. That said, if someone has the money, I don't see why Gibson would object to double sanding the top to get a more pronounced top carve on a custom order.
 

corpse

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Joined
Jun 9, 2007
Messages
4,876
I think the "code" you might be looking for in the Gibson description is "Carmelita top carve"- there is also a Carmelita neck carve. I have a 2018 and it has a very nice top carve- not quite a belly like, say, a 68-69 GT but the dish is very nice. I have pics posted but they are hosted by photobucket and frankly ruined.
 

EdwardR9

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Aug 25, 2015
Messages
195
I had a Carmelita and now have two 2018 R9 Brazilians. The top carve is Carmelita like but the neck is fantastic. It is a similar neck to Carmelita with less shoulder and a great taper. It fits your hand from the nut all the way up.
 

dnabbet2

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May 31, 2017
Messages
211
I must be the guy in the Middle East -- funny I just now saw this thread.

In the original post I said I'd owned three 1950s Customs in the past, and my True Historic Custom just did not have a top carve as pronounced as any of my 1950s specimens. And, yeah, I was bummed out. BUT it worked out in a couple of ways.

I got a Robbie Krieger with a deeper top carve which was cool. Then when I moved to the Mediterranean it sustained heat damage to the fretboard, and I sent it to Florian Jaeger for repair and, while it was there, a Makeover 2. Even cooler. Now, with a staple in the neck, it's the guitar I play most.

I ALSO grew to love the True Historic. It's light at about eight and a half pounds. It has a fantastically comfortable neck that does feel 1950s. And it's got really special tone that's ... airy ... transparent ... woody? I dunno how to describe it but it's very special.

So, you didn't ask, but that's how it shook out, for me anyway. Got pics if anyone wants 'em.
 
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dnabbet2

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May 31, 2017
Messages
211
I just took some fresh snaps that I hope show the difference in carve -- others disagree, but I find it hard to photograph black guitars so it shows clearly. Gold tops are easier. Anyway, let me put them up on Flickr later today.

As a teaser, here're the TH and the Robbie Krieger pre-Makeover. I think I've posted this pic before.

samesame2.jpg
 

dnabbet2

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May 31, 2017
Messages
211
I took some new snaps in low light with a tripod to try and bring out the top carves but it IS hard to do on black guitars, and I do admit now that, as with big necks vs. slim necks, very small dimensional differences can create a very different feel/experience.

Anyway, here're pics of the True Historic which has a very shallow carve -- almost like the 1970s reissues of which I had a couple: https://www.flickr.com/gp/36205689@N03/T32m1o.

And here're pics of the Robbie Krieger as it was advertised on reverb: https://www.flickr.com/gp/36205689@N03/473NJ6.

And below're pics of the Makeover 2, then the Makeover 2 side-by-side with the True Historic -- the True Historic is identifiable from the yellower "ageing" on the binding.

topcarveRK3.jpgtopcarveRK2.jpgtopcarveRK1.jpgtopcarves2.jpgtopcarves3.jpgtopcarves5.jpg
 
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TM1

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Jun 27, 2003
Messages
8,349
I think what folks forget is that each top was slightly different as they were shaped by a slackbelt sander. The other thing is that Les Pauls made in the Kalamazoo factory used the original templates. When they moved to Nashville, they sold off a lot of tooling and had new tooling made for some models.
 

dnabbet2

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Joined
May 31, 2017
Messages
211
Dunno how they went about creating the Standard 80 model, but that was a Nashville product, I believe, and my own Standard 80 has the most pronounced dish I've ever seen ... and I had two or three of the Standard 80 Elites over the years, and they were also very heavily carved-looking -- I remember one contributor saying you could roll a marble around the edge of the top! :)

standard80top.jpg
 
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