Waiting for the sun ! (99 R9 content)

BluesForDan · 01-12-04, 06:54 PM

I acquired a new guitar last week, then the sun went into hiding, and it got so frigging cold that I'd never bring a guitar outside. Finally, this weekend, at a friend's house, that big yellow thing in the sky returned. Hey, look at that nice splash of sunshine on the floor. Let's take some pics. Move the dining room table, 6 chairs, a lazy boy. Damn, that spot's moving fast, tree branches were trying to get in the act. Battery died before i could really get going.

the reflections off the bridge and tailpiece offer a hint of what's to come

this top is very tricky to photograph, it has an almost iridescent gleem, a shimmering sheen that has 9 different ways to Sunday to hide or expose flames and grain. There are streaks scattered about. I showed it to a friend and her son. They were impressed. "It looks like the top is moving" said the observant lad.

The neck is between my (used to be)#1 '99 R9 and my '03 R0. It weighs 9 lbs even and is flat out blowing me away in tone with the stock electronics & Classic57s. I might put in better caps if I do anything to it, and the 50s wiring.

Flavum · 01-12-04, 08:33 PM

Dan - That guitar absolutely kills! The color and grain can't be beat, IMO. Congrats - I'm totally envious! :eek

I did the whole upgrade deal with my '99 (the one that you just missed at Mark's). I sent the guitar to Dan Erlewine for a complete setup, including a bone nut, TonePros bridge and tailpiece, TimBucker installation and an RS electronics kit.

Although the modifications offer an improvement (after I removed the neck PU bright cap, which I did NOT care for), it's stock sound was really wonderful. Be sure to give your new baby a thorough workout before messing around with stuff. I'll bet its a tone monster as it is.

BluesForDan · 01-12-04, 09:00 PM

Flavum - I've been playing this thing like I'm afraid somebody's going to take it away from me. It is such a tone monster, indeed. A setup sounds like a good idea. I've been kicking around the idea of having the edges of the neck rolled a bit. If Murphy were taking outside work, I'd send it to him in a heartbeat. The neck of the Rossington I played was one of the nicest I ever felt.

A.W.Warner · 01-12-04, 11:33 PM

thats a very cool top !!!!! I like the way it looks on the players side. IMHO, 99ers rule anyway;)
here's mine

Clifton Hyde · 01-13-04, 06:41 AM

AW...

is that a Murph? i love the way the volum knobs have the laquer dug out like the Joe Perry/Slash burst...

very cool

BluesForDan · 01-13-04, 09:15 AM

Yikes, my thin blood shivers at this. Kingsleyd sent me this picture taken Saturday afternoon down at Cape Cahd, when it wasn't exactly beach weather. My Celtic ancestors are probably sputtering "Cold, you call this cold?"

It just occurred to me that the flames on our Les Pauls should make them immune to the cold. Sound logical?

thanks for the pic, Kingsley. This is his early Y2K with '99 colors, and simply flat-out amazing tone. If he hadn't gotten it, I have a spare kidney I would have hocked to get it.

2

BluesForDan · 01-13-04, 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by A.W.Warner
thats a very cool top !!!!! I like the way it looks on the players side. IMHO, 99ers rule anyway;)
here's mine

Andy, that is one sweet guitar

kingsleyd · 01-13-04, 09:27 AM

Dan, thanks for hosting my pic!

I'll tell you, neither the R9 nor I was out in that cold anywhere near as long as people that went to the Pats game (about 30 miles up the road from where I was) that night!

It's supposed to be even colder tomorrow through Friday. Ouch.

On topic: the R9 in that picture had its pots and caps redone, along with 50s wiring, last week. And I'd already replaced the tailpiece with a lightweight one. :yay

Pickups will have to wait, though. Having played a couple of real bursts in the past few weeks, I seem to have developed a taste for PAFs. Time to start salting away some $$$...

BluesForDan · 01-13-04, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by kingsleyd
Dan, thanks for hosting my pic!

I'll tell you, neither the R9 nor I was out in that cold anywhere near as long as people that went to the Pats game (about 30 miles up the road from where I was) that night!

It's supposed to be even colder tomorrow through Friday. Ouch.

On topic: the R9 in that picture had its pots and caps redone, along with 50s wiring, last week. And I'd already replaced the tailpiece with a lightweight one. :yay

Pickups will have to wait, though. Having played a couple of real bursts in the past few weeks, I seem to have developed a taste for PAFs. Time to start salting away some $$$...

Kingsley, you're welcome. Thawed out yet?

LALALALALALALALLA - I can't hear you about the PAFs - LALALALALALA

No...must....resist. Ack ! Hey, anybody want to buy a kidney?

69strat · 01-13-04, 10:22 AM

I have a 99 that looks pretty similar to those in color and grain. Tomato soup red, and the flame hides on certain angles. Is this because of the way it was cut? My 02 had the same flame no matter how I looked at it. Same for my current 03. But the 99 seems to have different looks. The color varies a lot too. Sometimes I hate it, I'm not really into tomato soup red. Then other times, in different lighting, it looks like the coolest faded browned look.

Also, now that you mention it, my edges of the neck feel a bit sharper than my 03. I thought it was just those bigger frets on the 99.

How difficult would it be to "roll your own"?

Flavum · 01-13-04, 12:07 PM

I snapped this picture last night of Burton (the cat) apparently worshipping my '99. But he's not too bright...

2002standardmat · 01-13-04, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Flavum
I snapped this picture last night of Burton (the cat) apparently worshipping my '99. But he's not too bright...

That is one of the best pics I have seen on this forum since I discovered it.

Some great guitars in this thread but the cat clinches it!!

BluesForDan · 01-13-04, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Flavum
I snapped this picture last night of Burton (the cat) apparently worshipping my '99. But he's not too bright...

holey moley, Burton's a big cat. That's a beautiful axe he's snuggling up to there.

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01-12-04, 11:33 PM	#4
A.W.Warner Les Paul Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Germany Posts: 759	thats a very cool top !!!!! I like the way it looks on the players side. IMHO, 99ers rule anyway;) here's mine __________________ '52 Les Paul Standard '54/'57 Conversion Les Paul Standard - '55 Martin D-18 '63Stratocaster '64Stratocaster Last edited by A.W.Warner : 01-12-04 at 11:33 PM.

01-13-04, 09:15 AM	#6
BluesForDan All Access/Backstage Pass Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: in the granite state of mind Posts: 6,632	With flame like that, who's afraid of the cold? Yikes, my thin blood shivers at this. Kingsleyd sent me this picture taken Saturday afternoon down at Cape Cahd, when it wasn't exactly beach weather. My Celtic ancestors are probably sputtering "Cold, you call this cold?" It just occurred to me that the flames on our Les Pauls should make them immune to the cold. Sound logical? thanks for the pic, Kingsley. This is his early Y2K with '99 colors, and simply flat-out amazing tone. If he hadn't gotten it, I have a spare kidney I would have hocked to get it.2 Last edited by BluesForDan : 01-13-04 at 09:18 AM.

01-13-04, 09:27 AM	#8
kingsleyd Les Paul Forum Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: just down the street from Mark's Posts: 1,328	Dan, thanks for hosting my pic! I'll tell you, neither the R9 nor I was out in that cold anywhere near as long as people that went to the Pats game (about 30 miles up the road from where I was) that night! It's supposed to be even colder tomorrow through Friday. Ouch. On topic: the R9 in that picture had its pots and caps redone, along with 50s wiring, last week. And I'd already replaced the tailpiece with a lightweight one. :yay Pickups will have to wait, though. Having played a couple of real bursts in the past few weeks, I seem to have developed a taste for PAFs. Time to start salting away some $$$... Last edited by kingsleyd : 01-13-04 at 09:28 AM.

01-12-04, 06:54 PM	#1
BluesForDan All Access/Backstage Pass Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: in the granite state of mind Posts: 6,632	Waiting for the sun ! (99 R9 content) I acquired a new guitar last week, then the sun went into hiding, and it got so frigging cold that I'd never bring a guitar outside. Finally, this weekend, at a friend's house, that big yellow thing in the sky returned. Hey, look at that nice splash of sunshine on the floor. Let's take some pics. Move the dining room table, 6 chairs, a lazy boy. Damn, that spot's moving fast, tree branches were trying to get in the act. Battery died before i could really get going. the reflections off the bridge and tailpiece offer a hint of what's to come this top is very tricky to photograph, it has an almost iridescent gleem, a shimmering sheen that has 9 different ways to Sunday to hide or expose flames and grain. There are streaks scattered about. I showed it to a friend and her son. They were impressed. "It looks like the top is moving" said the observant lad. The neck is between my (used to be)#1 '99 R9 and my '03 R0. It weighs 9 lbs even and is flat out blowing me away in tone with the stock electronics & Classic57s. I might put in better caps if I do anything to it, and the 50s wiring.

01-12-04, 08:33 PM	#2
Flavum Les Paul Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Jam Central Station Posts: 1,820	Dan - That guitar absolutely kills! The color and grain can't be beat, IMO. Congrats - I'm totally envious! :eek I did the whole upgrade deal with my '99 (the one that you just missed at Mark's). I sent the guitar to Dan Erlewine for a complete setup, including a bone nut, TonePros bridge and tailpiece, TimBucker installation and an RS electronics kit. Although the modifications offer an improvement (after I removed the neck PU bright cap, which I did NOT care for), it's stock sound was really wonderful. Be sure to give your new baby a thorough workout before messing around with stuff. I'll bet its a tone monster as it is.

01-12-04, 09:00 PM	#3
BluesForDan All Access/Backstage Pass Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: in the granite state of mind Posts: 6,632	Flavum - I've been playing this thing like I'm afraid somebody's going to take it away from me. It is such a tone monster, indeed. A setup sounds like a good idea. I've been kicking around the idea of having the edges of the neck rolled a bit. If Murphy were taking outside work, I'd send it to him in a heartbeat. The neck of the Rossington I played was one of the nicest I ever felt.

01-13-04, 06:41 AM	#5
Clifton Hyde Les Paul Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: New York City Posts: 511	AW... is that a Murph? i love the way the volum knobs have the laquer dug out like the Joe Perry/Slash burst... very cool

01-13-04, 10:22 AM	#10
69strat Formerly stephjeff Join Date: Dec 2001 Posts: 1,453	I have a 99 that looks pretty similar to those in color and grain. Tomato soup red, and the flame hides on certain angles. Is this because of the way it was cut? My 02 had the same flame no matter how I looked at it. Same for my current 03. But the 99 seems to have different looks. The color varies a lot too. Sometimes I hate it, I'm not really into tomato soup red. Then other times, in different lighting, it looks like the coolest faded browned look. Also, now that you mention it, my edges of the neck feel a bit sharper than my 03. I thought it was just those bigger frets on the 99. How difficult would it be to "roll your own"?

01-13-04, 12:07 PM	#11
Flavum Les Paul Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Jam Central Station Posts: 1,820	I snapped this picture last night of Burton (the cat) apparently worshipping my '99. But he's not too bright...