Beauty of The Black Beauty - The "Alnico" Custom thread

zhivago · Oct 23, 2019

This awesome '55 takes this thread back to the top! :hank

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metropolis · Oct 24, 2019

zhivago said:
Here is an interesting guitar I came across a few weeks ago while looking through Facebook's classifieds section.

While I have seen a ton of 70s Greco copies of Sunburst Les Pauls, and humbucker Les Paul Customs, I've never seen one so close to an Alnico Custom...to be quite honest I was almost tempted to buy it! :yah

Hah, I was paying very close attention to that ad too, I could just never justify the long drive to see it (I'm London too). In the end I bought another Les Paul last week so I can't imagine I'll be getting it now.

I couldn't find another Greco in any catalog or post that resembled it which slightly put me off. The ad suggested it was '70s but the serial number says '89.

zhivago · Oct 24, 2019

metropolis said:
Hah, I was paying very close attention to that ad too, I could just never justify the long drive to see it (I'm London too). In the end I bought another Les Paul last week so I can't imagine I'll be getting it now.

I couldn't find another Greco in any catalog or post that resembled it which slightly put me off. The ad suggested it was '70s but the serial number says '89.

Wow, thanks so much for chiming in! It definitely looked like a cool guitar!

I am not that familiar with Grecos in general...all I know is that if they are 70s, glued neck with the "correct lawsuit" headstock they may be cool....seeing that Custom really got me interested...to be honest, if I had space (ie, didn't live in London), I would have picked this one up for, ermm...archeological/Indiana Jones reasons!

Rex Carlson · Oct 25, 2019

zhivago said:
This awesome '55 takes this thread back to the top! :hank

Looks like I might have to make a trip to St. Paul very soon. Anyone else notice how white the binding is?

jb_abides · Oct 25, 2019

zhivago said:
This awesome '55 takes this thread back to the top! :hank

Ah-h-h-h-h.... sweet :salude

zhivago · Oct 25, 2019

Rex Carlson said:
Looks like I might have to make a trip to St. Paul very soon. Anyone else notice how white the binding is?

Cool!! Let us know what you think of it

The binding is a bit whiter than usual, but that may be just the lighting in the photo :jim

metropolis · Oct 25, 2019

zhivago said:
I am not that familiar with Grecos in general...all I know is that if they are 70s, glued neck with the "correct lawsuit" headstock they may be cool....seeing that Custom really got me interested...to be honest, if I had space (ie, didn't live in London), I would have picked this one up for, ermm...archeological/Indiana Jones reasons!

I'm not either, I just did my research on this one as I was curious and always loved the style (hence reading this thread regularly!). How about you buy it (and collect it) and keep it here where I have the space? :biggrin:

zhivago · Oct 26, 2019

metropolis said:
I'm not either, I just did my research on this one as I was curious and always loved the style (hence reading this thread regularly!). How about you buy it (and collect it) and keep it here where I have the space? :biggrin:

Hehehe! That is a tempting plan!! :laugh2:

zhivago · Oct 27, 2019

Just got back from the London Guitar Show...there was one BB in the house...here she is: :jim

Rex Carlson · Nov 1, 2019

zhivago said:
Cool!! Let us know what you think of it

The binding is a bit whiter than usual, but that may be just the lighting in the photo :jim

I couldn't wait for a time when I could take a day for a safari trip, so I bought it after a long, in-hand phone conversation with Doug at Willie's. I've been gassing for one of these since I first saw yours. I didn't have time to drive to St. Paul and didn't want to ship it in its OHSC since I feel all of these are not replaceable at any cost and must be preserved. So I paid the guy extra to drive it to me... It'll be here tomorrow.

This guitar is a one-owner guitar purchased in 56. The owner, who is now 89 years old, had it his entire adult life. I can't believe JB didn't beat me to it. I do want to thank the folks on this forum who, with their posts, have provided a practical education on what to buy, what not to buy and most importantly, what questions to ask.

I'll let you know what I think once I open the case but I know it's going to be good!!

agogetr · Nov 1, 2019

zhivago said:
Cool!! Let us know what you think of it

The binding is a bit whiter than usual, but that may be just the lighting in the photo :jim

and the hardware is a bit golder than usual hmm... because its a super well preserved guitar!

Rex Carlson · Nov 1, 2019

agogetr said:
and the hardware is a bit golder than usual hmm... because its a super well preserved guitar!

I did also point this out to the seller and specifically asked about the lack of wear you would expect on a guitar of this age. He swears the parts are original and have only a slight amount of wear. The guitar will be here in a few hours and then we'll know.

zhivago · Nov 2, 2019

This is amazing, Rex!! I am so happy to hear you snagged this one! :salude

On the gold hardware thing, in general,.. I think it also depends on the player....I have a guitar that has gold hardware, and after playing it a lot, including with a band, which = sweat, it looks about the same as when I first got it.

In contrast, my '56 came to me pre-rusted...god knows where she was before I took her in, but the plating on the tailpiece is mostly gone...like it was a Chitlin circuit guitar or something!... :jim

Rex Carlson · Nov 3, 2019

zhivago said:
This is amazing, Rex!! I am so happy to hear you snagged this one! :salude

On the gold hardware thing, in general,.. I think it also depends on the player....I have a guitar that has gold hardware, and after playing it a lot, including with a band, which = sweat, it looks about the same as when I first got it.

In contrast, my '56 came to me pre-rusted...god knows where she was before I took her in, but the plating on the tailpiece is mostly gone...like it was a Chitlin circuit guitar or something!... :jim

Thanks. The hardware has a bit more wear than the pics show but is in very good condition. The bridge was put on backwards on a prior string change which hides the playing wear on it. Once I flip it back to the proper position, the wear will be even on both the tailpiece and the bridge.

Overall, the guitar is in immaculate condition with zero finish checks, etc. on the body and only a few on the headstock. A person could not ask for better. The pots were a bit scratchy when I rolled them off but improved as I worked them a bit. Not a huge deal. I'm going to try it through the my Fender Twin. I'm sure it will sound great through that one.

zhivago · Nov 4, 2019

Rex Carlson said:
Thanks. The hardware has a bit more wear than the pics show but is in very good condition. The bridge was put on backwards on a prior string change which hides the playing wear on it. Once I flip it back to the proper position, the wear will be even on both the tailpiece and the bridge.

Overall, the guitar is in immaculate condition with zero finish checks, etc. on the body and only a few on the headstock. A person could not ask for better. The pots were a bit scratchy when I rolled them off but improved as I worked them a bit. Not a huge deal. I'm going to try it through the my Fender Twin. I'm sure it will sound great through that one.

Very cool!!

Are you going to stick with the original Fretless Wonder frets?

Rex Carlson · Nov 5, 2019

zhivago said:
Very cool!!

Are you going to stick with the original Fretless Wonder frets?

That's the plan. They are good shape because the previous owner always used flat wound strings. Problem is, they sound like s**t compared to round wounds. And the gauge he used is HEAVY. Would it really be bad to use round wounds (I like Slinky 10's)? Would it cause excess fret wear?

Rex

zhivago · Nov 6, 2019

Rex Carlson said:
That's the plan. They are good shape because the previous owner always used flat wound strings. Problem is, they sound like s**t compared to round wounds. And the gauge he used is HEAVY. Would it really be bad to use round wounds (I like Slinky 10's)? Would it cause excess fret wear?

Rex

I'm not sure to be honest...I had mine re-fretted a couple of weeks after I got it...I bend a lot, so I struggled with the original frets.

Chording all over the neck was a breeze, though. :salude

zhivago · Dec 2, 2019

A wonderful '56 takes this thread back to the top. :yah

zhivago · Dec 9, 2019

A gorgeous Black Beauty is Emerald City Guitars' "Pick of the Day"... :salude

Cav · Dec 13, 2019

Wow! This 56 looks gorgeous!

Beauty of The Black Beauty - The "Alnico" Custom thread

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