LeonC
Well-known member
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2002
- Messages
- 799
I've been interested in one of the '60 models because I slightly prefer that carve and found a #14 here on Craigslist. Went and tried it out and wound up buying it. It's funny...it looks old but still feels a bit "newer" than it does old...but it's still nice having one that doesn't feel brand new. I liked several things about this model. The Bigsby is a cool option, IMO, I'm diggin it so far...but the fact that the model also comes with a stop tail and posts (and the stud wells) making it potentially "convertible" was an extra plus.
This particular guitar was quite light too...8.36 lbs with the Bigsby. It plays quite well and the pickups, to my surprised, compared very nicely to the PAFs on my '61 335 which I brought with me for comparison.
These aren't my favorite frets...but they have been pretty easy to get used to so far. I do think they could be better crowned and there were a few sharp ones on the treble side of the neck. I'll probably take this to my tech and have him tweak them a bit to me liking.
I have to say, I'm really impressed with the sound! I got to play at performance volume yesterday and the guitar performed very well. The neck pickup was particularly impressive to me. It really had the clear, vocal quality, reminiscent of single coil pickups. The bridge is bright and clear. Together it's easy to approximate that great, funkity, plunkety tone I associate with Dickie Betts's sound. Really, I'm impressed so far.
I did have to replace the strap buttons; straps just don't stay on the old Gibson-style buttons very well. Fortunately, I had some old Dunlop straplocks that I bought back when they first came out..must have been late 70s / early 80s...they have the same basic shape, they look old, lol, and they're gonna make it a lot safer to play.
The routing of the control cavity is pretty shabby looking. I have to say I was a little disappointed that they appeared to take no more care with this than on some of their notably cheaper models. That said, I like the taper and feel of the pots (seems pretty quick, much like the orig pots in my 335) and they sound great too.
I'll try to get some clips up later.
http://www.chalnick.org/LeonsGear/Gibson_CC14_36/20180421_103257.jpg
http://www.chalnick.org/LeonsGear/Gibson_CC14_36/20180421_103317.jpg
http://www.chalnick.org/LeonsGear/Gibson_CC14_36/20180421_103442.jpg
http://www.chalnick.org/LeonsGear/Gibson_CC14_36/20180421_103400.jpg
http://www.chalnick.org/LeonsGear/Gibson_CC14_36/20180420_212227.jpg
http://www.chalnick.org/LeonsGear/Gibson_CC14_36/20180420_195736.jpg
http://www.chalnick.org/LeonsGear/Gibson_CC14_36/20180421_103333.jpg
http://www.chalnick.org/LeonsGear/Gibson_CC14_36/20180420_211339.jpg
This particular guitar was quite light too...8.36 lbs with the Bigsby. It plays quite well and the pickups, to my surprised, compared very nicely to the PAFs on my '61 335 which I brought with me for comparison.
These aren't my favorite frets...but they have been pretty easy to get used to so far. I do think they could be better crowned and there were a few sharp ones on the treble side of the neck. I'll probably take this to my tech and have him tweak them a bit to me liking.
I have to say, I'm really impressed with the sound! I got to play at performance volume yesterday and the guitar performed very well. The neck pickup was particularly impressive to me. It really had the clear, vocal quality, reminiscent of single coil pickups. The bridge is bright and clear. Together it's easy to approximate that great, funkity, plunkety tone I associate with Dickie Betts's sound. Really, I'm impressed so far.
I did have to replace the strap buttons; straps just don't stay on the old Gibson-style buttons very well. Fortunately, I had some old Dunlop straplocks that I bought back when they first came out..must have been late 70s / early 80s...they have the same basic shape, they look old, lol, and they're gonna make it a lot safer to play.
The routing of the control cavity is pretty shabby looking. I have to say I was a little disappointed that they appeared to take no more care with this than on some of their notably cheaper models. That said, I like the taper and feel of the pots (seems pretty quick, much like the orig pots in my 335) and they sound great too.
I'll try to get some clips up later.
http://www.chalnick.org/LeonsGear/Gibson_CC14_36/20180421_103257.jpg
http://www.chalnick.org/LeonsGear/Gibson_CC14_36/20180421_103317.jpg
http://www.chalnick.org/LeonsGear/Gibson_CC14_36/20180421_103442.jpg
http://www.chalnick.org/LeonsGear/Gibson_CC14_36/20180421_103400.jpg
http://www.chalnick.org/LeonsGear/Gibson_CC14_36/20180420_212227.jpg
http://www.chalnick.org/LeonsGear/Gibson_CC14_36/20180420_195736.jpg
http://www.chalnick.org/LeonsGear/Gibson_CC14_36/20180421_103333.jpg
http://www.chalnick.org/LeonsGear/Gibson_CC14_36/20180420_211339.jpg