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NGD Whitford Burst 007

dlacx

Active member
Joined
Sep 8, 2005
Messages
181
I didn't post to the thread about the Whitford Burst's becasue it felt rather tainted. There are some great responses on there, but I took offense to some of the comments about those of us who would purchase such guitars and the generalized comments about the need for a better top.

First a picture....



Some of the comments on the other thread was about the poor quality of the tops on these. This was based on a pictuer from an add. This one has a very nice top. It really looks good from many different angles and at different times of day. At some angles it looks very flamey and at others, it looks very plain. It looks very vintage too me.

Searching for this Les Paul, I played probably at least 50-75 R9's. I travel all over the country and had opportunities to visit many stores. Even visited Third Eye in Springfield, but he didn't have anything I was looking for (which was a '54 Wraptail at the time). I really had a hard time finding one that had the sound that I wanted. I'm not just a collector snob. I have played for over 40 years. I've slowly worked my way up from Hohner's to some very nice guitars. I've really wanted 'that' Les Paul that had the sound I was looking for.

The quality and sound of this guitar is spectacular for the Custom Shop. The pickups are well balanced and provide a wide range of tone. Much better than the R9's I had played-old and new. The guitar has a very throaty (?) sound with good articulation. When I first played it through my '77 Boogie, I thought I was in my gain stage with low gain, but it was in my clean side. REALLY nice growl.

The relic'ing on the guitar is subtle and complete. If any complaint, the headstock could be slightly more relic'd, but still looks good. The aged parts look good.



So, to each their own. This was a bit more (not much) expensive than some other R9's that I played, but the quality was worth it to me. It is as close to a real '59 as I'll get (although I got to hold Sandy in 1984 in Dallas), but I'm quite happy with it.
 
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dlacx

Active member
Joined
Sep 8, 2005
Messages
181
....and I own 7 other Les Pauls, so I'm not just suffering from Les Paul Love!!!
 

Ace139

Active member
Joined
May 29, 2003
Messages
1,759
I did not see the other thread.

Your guitar is Stunning!! Love it !!:salude
 

DanD

Active member
Joined
Apr 8, 2007
Messages
2,368
Very nice indeed! :bug

I as well think the naysayers are referring to the Gibson promo shot of the Whitford. I didn't particularly think that was a good photo of the model. It definitely left much to be desired.

Basically a far cry from yours. And how cool is 007! HNGD :salude
 

poon99

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 1, 2004
Messages
1,095
Great guitar you have there.This CC is currently my favorite to date.It looks great,it feels great and it sounds awesome.
Its the best Les Paul in my collection.It has it all.
 

davebc

New member
Joined
May 7, 2002
Messages
3,361
One of the nicest I've seen in that run.
There's some criticism the CC tops are too ordinary, too subtle, why doesn't gibson find better tops, more flamed out.? Seems they're either too subtle or too flamed out for some folks taste.

But I'm in complete awe and awe every time I gaze at my aged Duane or Joe Walsh,
I offed an aged Gary Moore to grab the Duane and never looked back.
 

davebc

New member
Joined
May 7, 2002
Messages
3,361
I didn't post to the thread about the Whitford Burst's becasue it felt rather tainted. There are some great responses on there, but I took offense to some of the comments about those of us who would purchase such guitars and the generalized comments about the need for a better top.

First a picture....



Some of the comments on the other thread was about the poor quality of the tops on these. This was based on a pictuer from an add. This one has a very nice top. It really looks good from many different angles and at different times of day. At some angles it looks very flamey and at others, it looks very plain. It looks very vintage too me.

Searching for this Les Paul, I played probably at least 50-75 R9's. I travel all over the country and had opportunities to visit many stores. Even visited Third Eye in Springfield, but he didn't have anything I was looking for (which was a '54 Wraptail at the time). I really had a hard time finding one that had the sound that I wanted. I'm not just a collector snob. I have played for over 40 years. I've slowly worked my way up from Hohner's to some very nice guitars. I've really wanted 'that' Les Paul that had the sound I was looking for.

The quality and sound of this guitar is spectacular for the Custom Shop. The pickups are well balanced and provide a wide range of tone. Much better than the R9's I had played-old and new. The guitar has a very throaty (?) sound with good articulation. When I first played it through my '77 Boogie, I thought I was in my gain stage with low gain, but it was in my clean side. REALLY nice growl.

The relic'ing on the guitar is subtle and complete. If any complaint, the headstock could be slightly more relic'd, but still looks good. The aged parts look good.



So, to each their own. This was a bit more (not much) expensive than some other R9's that I played, but the quality was worth it to me. It is as close to a real '59 as I'll get (although I got to hold Sandy in 1984 in Dallas), but I'm quite happy with it.

What I realized after getting the aged Duane, pictures just cannot do these guitars justice.
Theyre breathtaking in person. Pix just don't capture what the eyes behold!
 

Slashburst

Active member
Joined
Sep 14, 2010
Messages
682
Great guitar! Do not pay attention to guys who want to have one of this, but can't afford one! They will probably bash on it...
 

dlacx

Active member
Joined
Sep 8, 2005
Messages
181
Congrats! Did Gibson finally start aging the tuners and knobs on CCs?

No. And it's glaringly obvious. I've got some knobs for it, but haven't yet found tuners. No rush. It plays really nice!

As far as the price, it really was not much more than a R9. I liked the feel and the sound of it better. As I mentioned, I played a BUNCH of R9's (new and older) until I settled on this one. Took months.

The CC's are really great guitars out of the custom shop IMP.
 

Sct13

Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2011
Messages
569
agreed on the missed aging,

I found some killer tuners, and aged the truss rod cover myself. The tail piece (which was almost new) I stuck in a coffee can and a few rocks, shook it around three or four times and presto....beat up TP....them strung it with a top wrap and buffed it gently on the wheel with a little extra buffing rouge...gently hit the bridge the same way, and now it looks like every thing matches.

a real 1960 switch tip and throwback covers (aged by me too) and some aged knobs from a different project.
 

Big Al

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 24, 2002
Messages
14,537
No. And it's glaringly obvious. I've got some knobs for it, but haven't yet found tuners. No rush. It plays really nice!

As far as the price, it really was not much more than a R9. I liked the feel and the sound of it better. As I mentioned, I played a BUNCH of R9's (new and older) until I settled on this one. Took months.

The CC's are really great guitars out of the custom shop IMP.

Pretty good opinion, in my opinion. I'm glad you found it, and I am tired of the top only evaluation of great guitars. You got a great one that I'm sure will inspire you to make some cool tuneage. :dude:
 
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