The Big Al Good Mojo thread

Big Al said:

Excellent, excellent stuff fellas! I feel a cure coming on. Well I will have to sign off for awhile as my surgery is May 9 and I am a wreck. The anticipation of what awaits is killing me quicker than the cancer!! Once I have the surgery and have something real to deal with it will be better. I can take alot of pain, and I do, and can face anything, once I'm there.

It seems that it is waiting for it to happen is the bigger worry. Once it does, then it is day by day, and I'll have something to fight. Right now I feel as if I'm in limbo just waiting, and all I have to fight is constant pain.

Anyway, all of your well intentioned posts have helped me a lot, and some of the goofy obsessive anal bullshit I've addressed in some threads has kept my mind off other worse things to dwell on. So in the spirit of crabby old bastard I'll lay down some thoughts and maybe some of you can take up the fight while I fight my battle.

First, remember why we do this. I wonder about it a lot now as it seems to me that there is a large vocal group of wannabes and pretenders more concerned about cosmetics, and some kind of ranking, rather than playing. The job of a guitarist is to play the freakin' guitar. The job of the guitar is to freakin' play! Come on! WTF!! is all this frilly dilly nitpicking over hues and tints, fake dings and wear as well as pseudo weather checking on new guitars.

I am frankly tiered of all the self promoting and justifications of the fashioniesta brigade. IT'S FAKE!!! IT AIN'T REAL, and no one is fooled by it. And here is a news flash from yer old Uncle Albert, I don't care how many old parts fancy finish hoodoo voodoo fake crap you put on a new guitar, it is still a new guitar. "Well I saw one once along time ago in a store and I really wanted it but I couldn't afford it so I want to fake up a new one cause that's as close as I can get..." BOO FLIPPITY HOO! So what??? You saw an old guitar once and now you gotta bang up a new on as that is the only way you'll like it???

Now some one says "well I like it that way, it looks cool to me" OK I can deal with that, but the claims that it is an improvement or somehow increases the value is bullshit. Some of these changes go so far that they are not a Gibson anymore, IMO. "Oooo I'll never own a real 59 so this is as close as I can get." No, wrong again. You ain't no closer and I know from some of these threads that these nimrods have ZERO experience with the real thing. There is so much fantasizing and fetish worship of 50's Bursts that the sheeple can't see the forest for the trees.

I've owned many 50's Les Pauls and two Bursts. At the time there was no equivalent. That is certainly not true today, and I love the new Historics and the present Gibson USA models. I have been involved with these things for over 40 years and I can honestly say that these are the good ol days, RIGHT NOW! Get over your 59 hang-ups and enjoy the awesome guitars we have available to us, now.

LAY OFF THE GIBSON BASHING!!! That goes for the Henry hate, too. WTF is with you guys anyway??? I am so sick an tired of reading post after post of ignorant ranters blaming Gibson and Henry for every perceived wrong in the world it seems. The sheeple love jumping on that bandwagon, and it is unfounded and ignorant at best. The truth is Gibson is making great guitars and I am happy for it. Quit looking for negatives and ulterior motives and realize that Gibson is a business.


As for all the nit pickers who cry about fonts and logos and side dots ect... Boo Freakin' Hoo, buy a flipping clone from the far east and go away. Details matter, and it is good to know even the tiniest spec of the original models we like, BUT not having every single tiny detail to some real or imagined 50's ideal will not make a better guitar. The level of intensity about minor insignificant production quirks between modern and vintage guitars is out of whack and out of control. This place is becoming a strident shrill nasty hang of miserable fashioniestas who have their panties all in a bunch over a non issue. And no one certainly OWES you that. If your impeccable tastes and fine sensibilities can't abide a new Gibson with all it's flaws, them buy sumptin' else, brother.

The Flame Maple Figure Police have gotta go! This really makes me want to knock heads. So many of the fashion cops like to chime in on what is an appropriate flame maple figure for these fine guitars. Somehow they have axcess to some hidden spec book from 59 that details the correct type of flame and figure for a correct 59 Burst.

I've seen maybe 20 real Bursts, I have access to all the same books, and I am no expert by any means, yet I know that there was a wide range of figuring in these guitars. Still THERE CAN NEVER BE ANY 50"S GRADE MAPLE TOPS because it ain't the 50's. They cut open a log, said Ooo how pretty and made guitars. The figure was whatever was there. It is the same way today. Some logs yield amazing wood. When that is gone, it is gone. Maybe the next log will be better, maybe not.

BUT IT IS ALL GOOD!!!!! OMG it is so beautiful and EVERY maple top is a work of mother natures art. There is enough variety to satisfy anyone, I would think, and again why obsess over figure??? It is what it is. Everyone has a type that they like and that is how it should be. I don't buy Les Pauls because of the tops. Never did and I probably never will as it just isn't that important too me. I can say I like all the different figures I have and enjoy their natural beauty. Don't give me any crap because you don't think it is vintage correct or 50's authentic. Most of the nitwits making those declarations haven't a clue as far as I can tell and it seems to be a case of fixating on a few photos from some book.

Man, it used to be about music. Playing a type of guitar that made us moist from tone and playability. Hanging with buds and playing music. Sharing tips about how to get a better tone or play a cool lick. But more and more it seems to be about bashing Gibson, Henry, anything not made in 1959 and barbie doll fashion ethics.

The pictures you have posted on this thread made me feel great, because they were of ALL the great guitars we all share a love for. Not some agreed upon group model with all the "Correct" mods and makeovers with the correct tops and color.

Back in the day some of us got together in Stamford Conn. for a day of Les Paul fun. Someone posted a pic of me at the event. The one thing I remember is a fellow forum pal took me in the back room and showed me his pristine late 70's Tobacco Burst Standard. He showed me in the back room because he didn't want to hear all the negative crap about Norlin Les Pauls and he new I would appreciate his fine guitar. It was awesome and a very fine guitar, and I felt so bad that he would feel that way. I swore right then and there that I would not be that guy. I'd never piss all over someones baby just because it wasn't the preferred group favorite. And I felt so bad for all of these fans of a guitar that they could not see the beauty or greatness of it. And it was because of the unrelenting Norlin bashing on the forum.

So I became a champion of the Norlin Les Pauls. I have a big mouth and I'm not afraid to use it. Well my big mouth will be silent for awhile now, so someone will have to step up and channel some of my outrage and keep things real.

Remember IT IS ALL GOOD! Nothing wrong with liking a beautiful top or nice Burst. Nothing wrong with a Jr or Norlin. What doesn't work for some can be magic for others. Enjoy the good in all of them, even the uber tops and cosmetically aged pinup bursts. Just don't bash away at something you really don't know about. Don't assume because you think you read it somewhere in some book that it is true. Remember what you don't know before making any sweeping statements or judgements. And remember to have fun, and play music and enjoy it all.

See Ya for now.

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Funny about that. With all I have been through, it was seeing little kids with Cancer that just tore me up. When undergoing Chemo and some other therapeutic torture sessions, I saw lots of children battling this awful thing. I would endure all of it if I had the power to spare them any of it. These kids and the amazing people that work with them are stronger and more loving than I could ever hope to be. Nothing I have gone through compares to what these children face, and it breaks my heart.

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Big Al said:

So I became a champion of the Norlin Les Pauls.

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Big Al said:

I have a big mouth and I'm not afraid to use it.

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