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2009 specs

Trans-Am

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Jul 15, 2001
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4,686
....R9 brother?....as per MF descriptions?:hmm, did you or anybody that owns a 2K9 R9 gone through or taken their time to check out the listed above if at all tried and true?


Cheers!:salude
 

55Custom

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....R9 brother?....as per MF descriptions?:hmm, did you or anybody that owns a 2K9 R9 gone through or taken their time to check out the listed above if at all tried and true?


Cheers!:salude
Some of that info is still unconfirmed. The list also excludes how the specs went backwards to being more inaccurate as discussed in earlier threads. But then, I wouldn't expect a dealer like Musicians Friend to get it right. They're just in the business of selling guitars.
 

Mark Kane

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Jul 18, 2001
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I think this list was posted by a Gibson employee here last spring...

2009 R9 Changed Features:
Nylon 6/6 nut
Improved ABR-1 bridge (no-wire, tighter tolerances)
Historically correct nickel-plated brass bridge saddles
Correct alloy saddle adjustment screws
Bridge height adjusting thumbwheels now steel, rather than brass and are thinner
Neck profile changed - now has less "shoulders"
Audio taper CTS pots
'50s wiring
Pickup routes adjusted so that pickups will be parallel to the strings
Top carve changed to be closer to several original '59s that were scanned
Body perimeter change - slightly tighter in waist, cutaway area refined to be more like originals
The maple cap is very slightly thinner, the mahogany body is very slightly thicker
The fingerboard is slightly thinner
The step from neck heel to back of body is taller and more correct
The taper of the "maple window" under the binding in cutaway is more accurate
The maple spline (filler strip) in the tenon is more accurate
The edge radius on the backside of the body is tighter (less rounded)
The "mustache curve" of the headstock top has been flattened slightly
The control cavity plate has been relocated, has the correct side taper, and now uses the correct ABS plastic
The pickguard shape has changed slightly
The pickguard bracket and screw have been changed
The truss rod cover has been reshaped to be more accurate
The serial number location is slightly lower and more correct
Dial pointers are less sharp
The strap button screws are longer
The jack hole is now the correct 1" diameter
The toggle switch nut has more correct knurled pattern
 

Trans-Am

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Some of that info is still unconfirmed. The list also excludes how the specs went backwards to being more inaccurate as discussed in earlier threads. But then, I wouldn't expect a dealer like Musicians Friend to get it right. They're just in the business of selling guitars.

I reckon so!!

Cheers!:salude
 

J.D.

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May 24, 2006
Messages
10,030
The one detail that is *less* historically accurate on the '09s is the steel, coarse knurl ABR-1 bridge thumbwheels. The previous brass ones with the finer knurl are closer to the originals IMO :wah
 

MIKE20

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Aug 11, 2004
Messages
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2009 Changed Features:
Nylon 6/6 nut-yup
Improved ABR-1 bridge (no-wire, tighter tolerances)- yup
Historically correct nickel-plated brass bridge saddles- yup
Correct alloy saddle adjustment screws- maybe
Bridge height adjusting thumbwheels now steel, rather than brass and are thinner-yup,but still not accurate
Neck profile changed - now has less "shoulders"-some yes,some no
Audio taper CTS pots-yes
'50s wiring-yes
Pickup routes adjusted so that pickups will be parallel to the strings-not checked this one out
Top carve changed to be closer to several original '59s that were scanned-carve is a little different
Body perimeter change - slightly tighter in waist, cutaway area refined to be more like originals-ok
The maple cap is very slightly thinner, the mahogany body is very slightly thicker-not necessarily,they vary anyways
The fingerboard is slightly thinner-seems like it
The step from neck heel to back of body is taller and more correct-yup
The taper of the "maple window" under the binding in cutaway is more accurate-maybe
The maple spline (filler strip) in the tenon is more accurate-yes on R9's
The edge radius on the backside of the body is tighter (less rounded)-yup
The "mustache curve" of the headstock top has been flattened slightly-no evidence of this
The control cavity plate has been relocated, has the correct side taper, and now uses the correct ABS plastic-yup
The pickguard shape has changed slightly-yes and no from what I've seen
The pickguard bracket and screw have been changed-screw only
The truss rod cover has been reshaped to be more accurate-yup
The serial number location is slightly lower and more correct-maybe
Dial pointers are less sharp-depends on the batch made
The strap button screws are longer-not checked this one
The jack hole is now the correct 1" diameter-yup
The toggle switch nut has more correct knurled pattern-yup

Above is what I noticed...
 

58Lover

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Oct 27, 2001
Messages
4,133
Truss rod condom seems to negate every positive.
Heck, take care of that and overall tone of all guitars would improve drastically, eh?
 

jpointus

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Aug 8, 2003
Messages
236
Oh guys and gals - lets not forget: the new shitty pickups, the new crappy caps, the wrong tail-piece studs and bushings, and other REALLY BASIC STUFF...the list goes on and on...

The cost and work that has to be put into turning a decent piece of wood (if you can get it) from Gibson, into a good Les Paul, is a shame on Gibson and their little-bitty-trickle marketing pretense of accuracy .. How I wish someone else other than Gibson made historically accurate LPs.

Sorry, I forgot the "Less sharp" dial pointers - because I know how much more important they are than a good set of pick ups. Hell, burstbuckers (small "b" intentional) are a crime against the environment - because 99% of them end up in a land fill having been used once then discarded. It's a total joke, and the laughter is getting louder by the day..

Forgive them Lord, for they know not what they do.

Nah, don't.
 

GeetarGoul

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Jul 25, 2001
Messages
5,044
Truss rod condom seems to negate every positive.
Heck, take care of that and overall tone of all guitars would improve drastically, eh?

Doen't one's hand dampen the neck? I fail to see how a truss rod condem makes that big of a difference. Have the haters changed just this one item many times over to incredible improvement? The Historic Makeovers usually have a laundry list of changes made to them.
 

55Custom

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Sep 5, 2003
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Even more so than the improved tailpiece location and the not-bad inlays.
The tailpiece location is still wrong, and it can't be corrected on 2009's. This is because of the erroneous locations of the knobs. The tailpiece location can be corrected on 1999 through 2008's though. R0's from those years are already correct to later 1960 LP specs.
Also, don't the 2009's have beveled edges in the control cavity. I saw a pic of one here a while back. It wasn't '50's spec at all in that portion. The body suffered some drawbacks, but the neck has the better improvements.
 

GeetarGoul

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The tailpiece location is still wrong, and it can't be corrected on 2009's. This is because of the erroneous locations of the knobs. The tailpiece location can be corrected on 1999 through 2008's though. R0's from those years are already correct to later 1960 LP specs.
Also, don't the 2009's have beveled edges in the control cavity. I saw a pic of one here a while back. It wasn't '50's spec at all in that portion. The body suffered some drawbacks, but the neck has the better improvements.

55, do you have a real 1959 Les Paul Standard at home that you compare everything to? You seem like quite the authority, but I know you aren't.
 

55Custom

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Sep 5, 2003
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You seem like quite the authority, but I know you aren't.
It's not about me, it's about the math. The '09's are inaccurate for all the reasons laid out long ago. You obviously haven't done your research.
 

bigtomrodney

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Nov 7, 2009
Messages
1,448
Oh guys and gals - lets not forget: the new shitty pickups, the new crappy caps, the wrong tail-piece studs and bushings, and other REALLY BASIC STUFF...the list goes on and on...
I disagree, I seem to remember the Burstbuckers scoring very highly on a double-blind test here on the forum. They're a fine pickup and do the job well. Even now most people will tell you that no two PAFs are the same, and the Burstbuckers certainly do the job as well as many of the boutique winders out there.

As for the caps, they might not be paper-in-oil but they're the same type as the late Bumblebees and the Black Beauties that followed. Even of the people who are aware of Sprague Bumblebees there are still those that aren't aware that they came as both paper-in-oil and then later as metal-film capacitors. When you pull out your original '60 burst and realise that it doesn't have paper-in-oil capacitors is it going to sound any worse?

If you can accept that the mahogany is more dense and that they're not using brazilian rosewood anymore then looking at these two components is just splitting hairs.
 
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