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GE Smith's 1960 LP Custom at Cream City Music

JJ Blair

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 9, 2011
Messages
3,462
My name is Joe by the way. GE and Jimmy Vivino along with a few others gave me the bug for vintage guitars. I used to barter with my Mom and Dad to stay up to watch him and T-Bone, Sean Pelton and Co to see what he was playing and who was on.

Those were the days.
Before computers ruined music in my opinion.
Joe B

I thought last night we agreed that the Fairlight and Synclavier ruined it.
 

BB60

New member
Joined
Jun 6, 2017
Messages
2
Weird. Joe's news Custom has the middle pickup facing that way, too.
Because of this thread I just noticed that the middle on mine is positioned that way too. It's a late year 1960 that I got in the early 90s. It had already been refetted with what I was told were medium jumbos.
The thing is when switched to the middle, only the middle pickup is engaged. Each position for
each pickup. It doesn't sound out of phase but is a bit louder on the middle. Was that a common thing to do as a mod for customs?
Thanks for the cool thread and links to GE interviews.
Bill
 

Tom Wittrock

Les Paul Forum Co-Owner
Joined
Aug 2, 2001
Messages
42,567
Because of this thread I just noticed that the middle on mine is positioned that way too. It's a late year 1960 that I got in the early 90s. It had already been refetted with what I was told were medium jumbos.
The thing is when switched to the middle, only the middle pickup is engaged. Each position for
each pickup. It doesn't sound out of phase but is a bit louder on the middle. Was that a common thing to do as a mod for customs?
Thanks for the cool thread and links to GE interviews.
Bill
Please explain how a standard 3 way toggle [as used on Gibsons] will allow only one pickup in each of the three positions.
I didn't think that was possible. :hmm

Or, was the switch changed with another type?
 

DrRobert

Les Paul Forum Member
Joined
Jun 12, 2003
Messages
6,050
The Fairlight was the first really practical sampler. and the Synclavier was one of the first digital synthesizers.
 

58Lover

Active member
Joined
Oct 27, 2001
Messages
4,133
Growing up in the 90's, back to the vintage thing, although there were still plenty of folks around from the 60's/70's who sometimes donned their old favorites most everyone else in the mainstream of guitar music was usually not and if they did it wasn't front & center to the music. Just watch all those old SNL clips of guest bands then cutting to the house band, that's what was so hip about GE to me, like a modern throwback to the roots-ier stuff. He was the reason I bought Aspen Pittman's "The Tube Amp Book" when I was 12, and that was only because I didn't recognize any of those amps from the monthly guitar center catalog.


I'd concur that the custom was, in a sense, "just a used guitar" when he picked is up in the mid-70 as he had less than a hundred into it....adjusted for inflation that's merely fancy Squier territory (yeah, that's right, I put fancy & Squier in the same sentence). Then he paid 150 for the new pickup :hee Plenty of videos on youtube of him playing it too, check out the 6:45 to 10:00 mark here, just the LPC, GE, & possibly some sort of phase-shifter:



With that vid, my god, I would buy that beauty in a split second if I could!!!!
 

deytookerjaabs

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 6, 2016
Messages
1,592
so I read the stuff GE posted so I am curious as to why he is selling after buying it and breathing new life to it and finding the zebra PAF for it and now he is selling it after singing it's praises ? why oh why ?


I think he answered the question in that posted article:

This is what I don't understand, guitars are tools. Would a carpenter get a hammer, use it a few times, and say "Wow, this is the best hammer I've ever owned! Then put it away and not use it? No, he wouldn't."



I'm guessing he just wasn't using it much these days along with that other gear he unloaded and as they say on the Lifetime channel "sometimes if you really love something you just have to let it go" :laugh2: The good news is he'll come out well ahead on the deal!


The other good news is I believe he's still squeezing a blackguard:

 

BB60

New member
Joined
Jun 6, 2017
Messages
2
Please explain how a standard 3 way toggle [as used on Gibsons] will allow only one pickup in each of the three positions.
I didn't think that was possible. :hmm

Or, was the switch changed with another type?

I bet you're right. The switch plate has a probable hairline crack I thought was a scratch.
I'll have to bring it to someone take a look . Either SF or LA as I'm right in the middle.
Thanks for the input.
Bill
 

geddy402

Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2014
Messages
216
Man, t bone was awesome!


Growing up in the 90's, back to the vintage thing, although there were still plenty of folks around from the 60's/70's who sometimes donned their old favorites most everyone else in the mainstream of guitar music was usually not and if they did it wasn't front & center to the music. Just watch all those old SNL clips of guest bands then cutting to the house band, that's what was so hip about GE to me, like a modern throwback to the roots-ier stuff. He was the reason I bought Aspen Pittman's "The Tube Amp Book" when I was 12, and that was only because I didn't recognize any of those amps from the monthly guitar center catalog.


I'd concur that the custom was, in a sense, "just a used guitar" when he picked is up in the mid-70 as he had less than a hundred into it....adjusted for inflation that's merely fancy Squier territory (yeah, that's right, I put fancy & Squier in the same sentence). Then he paid 150 for the new pickup :hee Plenty of videos on youtube of him playing it too, check out the 6:45 to 10:00 mark here, just the LPC, GE, & possibly some sort of phase-shifter:



With that vid, my god, I would buy that beauty in a split second if I could!!!!
 
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