Gibson Jimmy Page ‘Number Two’

Adding further weight to the idea Gibson is now only a tribute to itself, they have just released (well, a little while ago but who cares) ANOTHER Jimmy Page model, the Jimmy Page “Number Two” Les Paul.

Starting at $11,176 for a Vintage Old Stock model capping at $25,882 for an aged and signed model, Gibson again is rolling out a tribute to it's glory days, feeding the guitar collectors a new bone while the working musicians go starving.

Jimmy Page "Number Two" Les Paul
Every musician knows that late ’50s Sunburst Les Paul Standards are hard enough to come by as it is. Obtaining a pristine and exemplary ’59 ’Burst and modifying it for heightened performance and vastly expanded tonal options? Unheard of… unless, of course, you’re Jimmy Page. That’s exactly what the legendary Led Zeppelin guitarist, perhaps the world’s most iconic Les Paul player, did with his own ’59 Les Paul Standard, and now—thanks to the extreme efforts of Gibson’s Custom Shop and the intimate cooperation of Jimmy Page himself—the artist’s hallowed “Number Two” Les Paul is available to mere mortals, in the form of the Custom Shop Jimmy Page “Number Two” Les Paul. Produced in strictly limited numbers, with two levels of aging, this guitar captures the look, feel, sound, and versatility of one of the greatest artist-owned Les Pauls of all time, and it is likely to disappear from authorized Gibson dealers in record time.

Page designed a switching system for coil splitting, series/parallel, and phase-reverse options for both pickups, and employed a skilled electronics technician to devise a working schematic and make his sonic vision a reality. The result comprised a push/pull pot on each of the guitar’s four standard controls, plus two push-button switches hidden beneath the pickguard, all mounted on a ’59 Les Paul Standard that is otherwise a superb example of the breed, both in tone and playability.

Now the above quote gets my interest. Does anyone remember the very FIRST Jimmy Page Les Paul? This came out way back in 1994 or 1995 I think (the same time as the Nighthawk came out). I played one at a product demonstration. It already had these features then, so that's nothing new on this guitar.

My favourite quote on the product page comments: "Another overpriced Gibson for the wall of a dentist's office". Sums it up quite well, don't you think? Read more

Slash tweets new Marshall and Les Paul NAMM2010

Here's something to salivate over for those going to NAMM2010. Slash just tweeted the following:

To those of you who have been inquiring, I'll be announcing the new "Slash" Marshall & Les Paul at NAMM, Sat, Jan 16th. http://bit.ly/56GpwD

Is it just me, or are there more signature series and limited run Les Pauls around now than there are regular models?

Gibson Billy Gibbons Pearly Gates

It has arrived. The Gibson Billy Gibbons Pearly Gates Limited Edition Les Paul Standard (or as I like to call it - GB GP GLELPS for short lol) is now available.

Sure, it's another relic'd guitar. But this is one I want. i mean, FFS, it's Billy Gibbons. Sure its probably going to cost about $8000, and at least you have the option to go with a non-relic'd version, which is a good thing.

EDIT - ok Gibson,. This is a fucking joke. When I put that price up before, I was kidding. Exaggerating. Obviously not enough. Here are the released prices:

Billy Gibbons Burst
Aged by Tom Murphy, Signed by Billy Gibbons
$25,882

Billy Gibbons Burst
Aged by Tom Murphy
$15,294

Billy Gibbons Burst
Vintage Original Spec
$11,176

If you want to know why I think relics should die, now you know why. You now pay a different price depending on who fucks up the finish????

Gibson... this is possibly the final straw. You have broken my heart and spirit one too many times with this. Lets have a look at some of the comments on the actual product page on the Gibson site:

Welcome to Gibson's Theater of the Absurd!!! I'm speechless

"Now you can own it" ??? WHO ??? collectors who will never use it ??? not the average working musician you need to revamp your prices other wise you will price your company right outa business !!! unbelievable

I'm a 51 year old Detroit autoworker who only made a tiny fraction of what the press and the Repuiblicans said I was making. I was only making $14.40/hr at Ford. Not $28 or $70! Because of southern Republican lies, I'm out of work. Now Gibson (from Tennessee y'all) keeps rubbing these damn $15k guitars in my face! Who cares if this guitar is pretty y'all? Y'all gotta realize elitist jerks like y'all caused the worst recession since 1929, y'all, and y'll gotta realize that y'all can't squeeze blood out of a turnip, y'all.

10k for a signature ? Should throw in a hooker for that amount or at least a meet & greet , how about some coupons , Hah!

You've got to be kidding. 11K to 25K???? $500 in wood and wire. Obscene scam artists selling their only decent guitars to lawyers and dentists. What about the guys who actually play. You know....musicians. We got no bread.

Looks like I'm not alone....

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Gibson Les Paul Florentine with Bigsby

It's good to see I'm not the only one who gets angry with Gibson.

Look at this magnificent guitar. The Florentine, with it's elongated cutaway, and in this model with the additional Bigsby remolo unit is absolutely beautiful. Top it off with the Tobacco burst finish and I am in absolute heaven.

Except for one thing.... the price.

With a RRP of well over $4000, who can actually afford this stuff. And to make matters worse, with a "limited run" guitar coming out nearly every week, who can collect all these. it's almost as if someone in charge of either design or manufacturing has A.D.D. and gets bored.

"Hey guys, we made 6 of these guitars already, lets try something different".

You just need to look at some of the comments on the Gibson site for this guitar to see how people feel. Argus summed it up beautifully:

Another week, another "limited run" guitar. How many of those 250 Jeff Beck Oxblood's you still got sitting around that you can't move? These LP's are nice enough but even your collectors have to be getting fatigue. And then there are the prices. But hey, you don't care anymore. BTW are you throwing in any of your likewise overpriced T-shirts from that ridiculous online Gibson store? That's the only way you're going to move that crap.

And that comment is on the page for the Florentine.

It's a shame as it is such a nice guitar.

Gibson has never backed away from its pioneering ways, and the new Les Paul Florentine with Bigsby Tailpiece is simply another example of its determination to combine the Les Paul’s legendary characteristics with avant-garde features to keep it one step ahead of everything else. This new 2009 Limited Run Series guitar from Gibson USA combines the classic appointments of the iconic Les Paul with a few of Gibson’s most functional attributes. First and foremost, the standard Les Paul cutaway gives way to the wider Florentine Cutaway. Normally found on such historic Gibson models as the Byrdland, the ES-175 and the ES-295, the Florentine Cutaway design comfortably enhances a player’s reach to the higher register of notes. Second, and most prominent, is the addition of the chrome Bigsby vibrato tailpiece, which allows players the ability to bend the pitch of notes or entire chords for vintage-style vibrato. A white graphite nut, locking Grover tuners and Schaller roller bridge all work in conjunction to keep the guitar in tune and offer better string control when using the Bigsby. Of course, the body is traditional Les Paul – solid mahogany back topped by a AA-grade maple top with single-ply antique crème binding, smoothed with Gibson’s classic Vintage Sunburst finish. The neck is the standard Les Paul mahogany neck with Gibson’s new asymmetrical profile and rosewood fingerboard. A pair of Gibson’s renowned BurstBucker Pro™ pickups offer slightly higher output and allow amps to achieve a more natural break-up. They are packed with asymmetrical coils — true to Gibson’s original PAFs — which supply a more open sound. The BurstBucker Pro™ Neck is wound slightly less than the original PAFs, while the BurstBucker Pro™ Bridge is slightly overwound for increased output. Like all the guitars from this special series, only 350 of these unique Les Pauls will be produced and distributed. Each one will come with a black Gibson hardshell case and special Limited Run Series certificate of authenticity.

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Perfect Combinations

First, I apologise for the delay between posts. I'm still very busy, and will post as much as I can while I keep working on my professional projects before I fly overseas to Cambodia for two weeks. Cambodia is not know for their internet capabilities so posting while over there will be a little scarce. I'll see what I can do.

Anyway, onto my post today. I came across this video today, and this post the other day that really got me thinking about tone.

When I think of standard tones that I love, I always think of an amp/guitar combo. Some guitars just sound better when they are matched with the right amp. And a lot of people seem to know this, and it is the basis of many a "standard" tone for guitar music.

But the main reason I think these combinations become standards is not because of the one sound. But becasue of their versatility. The Telecatser / Blues Deville combo in the video above can be used for almost any type of music. It can provide such a wide scope of musical tones, it's a verative swiss army knife.

And so is a Les Paul into a Marshall JCM.

This is my tonal mecca. But as nice as these combinations are, the fact is they sound better in the mix, with other instruments around them. I guess you could say they play nice with others. They don't overpower, but then they don't get drowned out. The just slide on and do their job.

Are there any other classic combinations you can think of that have the same classic appeal and versatility?

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