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So I Finally Purchased My Dream Les Paul... "LUCY"

Joined
Apr 26, 2018
Messages
93
So after constantly saving for the last 5 years, watching the market like a hawk, and praying every night to the guitar gods, I finally pulled the trigger on my dream Les Paul. "Lucy" as she is affectionately known is part of the Crossroads collection Eric Clapton and Guitar Center did in 2013. Somehow I just bought serial #5 out of the 100 made. (Apparently Clapton owns #1 and #2, Gibsons former CEO owns #3, and I think the George Harrison estate has #4). On top of all that I literally STOLE it from the original owner. So needless to say I feel like I just wont the lottery LOL!! It will be here towards the end of next week and I'll most likely be counting every minute until it arrives :peace2

Does anyone out there have one of these? Or has anyone even experienced one in the flesh? I would love to know everyones thoughts on it!

Cheers!


Lucy.jpg


LP_Harrison.jpg


 

Wilko

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I know a guy who plays one of the very early Lucy's from before they were making "Lucy" models.

 
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Apr 26, 2018
Messages
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I know a guy who plays one of the very early Lucy's from before they were making "Lucy" models.


Call me a mad man but I'll probably gig my Lucy. Very carefully of course!! :) Needless to say, my guitars aren't case queens. I take care of my gear but I definitely put it to good use!
 
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Apr 26, 2018
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Yes, I have #31. Great guitars! Congrats to you for nailing #5! :dude:

2013%20Gibson%20Les%20Paul%20Historic%20Harrison%20Clapton%20Lucy.jpg


GORGEOUS! Or should I say george-ous:hee
31 is a great number. I am pretty sure thats how old Harrison was when he was reunited with lucy after the guitar was stolen when his Los Angeles home was burglarized in 1973.

If you have the time I'd love to know what you think of the guitar in more detail. I've heard that the neck profile if very close to a 59. What do you think? More than anything I am excited to hear these pickups since they're supposed to be super close to PAFs.
 

El Gringo

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Apr 8, 2015
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Congratulations on a most awesome and most special "Lucy" Les Paul . A real beauty !
 

MikeSlub

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If you have the time I'd love to know what you think of the guitar in more detail. I've heard that the neck profile if very close to a 59. What do you think? More than anything I am excited to hear these pickups since they're supposed to be super close to PAFs.

Vintage Burst necks vary in size, so it's hard to generalize on neck sizes. This guitar has a neck on the smaller side for a '59, very comfortable. The pickups sound good. Hard to compare to PAFs since they also vary a bit. I wouldn't put this guitar in the same league as a real Burst, but it is a great guitar that is comfortable to play and sounds very good. Again, congratulations! :hank
 

zombiwoof

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Feb 22, 2003
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3,565
Years ago my brother picked up a cherry '58 RI that was obviously Lucy-inspired, from GC. They had off-center top seams, and some had tiny dark knots like some refin'd GT's would, but Gibson didn't advertise them as Lucy copies. They had a bunch of them at the local GC, I guess a limited run. I wanted that guitar so bad, I made him promise to sell it to me if he ever wanted to sell it, unfortunately he lost it in a bankruptcy, and it went to auction. My other brother went to the auction to try to buy back some of the other bro's stuff, but the Cherry top went way too high for him to afford, way over what it went for originally. Gibson has put out Lucy-inspired cherry LP's a couple of times without really advertising or listing them, but it is obvious with the off-center seam that they are basically Lucy copies.
Al
 

Top Gun

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Mar 31, 2007
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Congrats! Please post additional photos once you get her...
 

zacknorton

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That Clapton video is great. I’ve seen others in that style with him. His honesty and enthusiasm is really refreshing. So great. Nice score 👍👍🏿👍👍🏿
 

Wilko

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I still love to watch Adrian skate Chris Borst's ramp in Animal Chin! Dude had mad style.

Yep, Cool skater. Great guy. I saw him this week doing a solo Uke gig. Has such a great player!
 

zombiwoof

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Joined
Feb 22, 2003
Messages
3,565
I remember when I saw the Beatles' promo film (they weren't called videos back then) for the electric version of "Revolution", I said to my brother "what is that little guitar that George is playing?". I was used to seeing him play the big Gretsches, and had not been aware of Les Pauls at that point. Every since then I have wanted a cherry Les Paul. Only later did I discover that Gibson didn't offer a cherry finish on an LP (why is that, anyway?. They have cherry versions of almost every other guitar they make). In 2019, they have a cherry finish LP Traditional, but it has some figure, I really want a plaintop cherry LP. That is why I lusted after the '58 RI Cherry LP that my brother got, then he lost it in a bankruptcy. He should have given it to me, to hide it from the bankruptcy court!.
Al
 
Joined
Apr 26, 2018
Messages
93
Years ago my brother picked up a cherry '58 RI that was obviously Lucy-inspired, from GC. They had off-center top seams, and some had tiny dark knots like some refin'd GT's would, but Gibson didn't advertise them as Lucy copies. They had a bunch of them at the local GC, I guess a limited run. I wanted that guitar so bad, I made him promise to sell it to me if he ever wanted to sell it, unfortunately he lost it in a bankruptcy, and it went to auction. My other brother went to the auction to try to buy back some of the other bro's stuff, but the Cherry top went way too high for him to afford, way over what it went for originally. Gibson has put out Lucy-inspired cherry LP's a couple of times without really advertising or listing them, but it is obvious with the off-center seam that they are basically Lucy copies.
Al

Dang, what a shame that one slipped away from you all! Some of those earlier Lucy spec guitars are bringing decent money right now.
 

Shocktop99

Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2017
Messages
92
So after constantly saving for the last 5 years, watching the market like a hawk, and praying every night to the guitar gods, I finally pulled the trigger on my dream Les Paul. "Lucy" as she is affectionately known is part of the Crossroads collection Eric Clapton and Guitar Center did in 2013. Somehow I just bought serial #5 out of the 100 made. (Apparently Clapton owns #1 and #2, Gibsons former CEO owns #3, and I think the George Harrison estate has #4). On top of all that I literally STOLE it from the original owner. So needless to say I feel like I just wont the lottery LOL!! It will be here towards the end of next week and I'll most likely be counting every minute until it arrives :peace2

Does anyone out there have one of these? Or has anyone even experienced one in the flesh? I would love to know everyones thoughts on it!

Cheers!


Lucy.jpg


LP_Harrison.jpg



What a beauty!! An absolute beautiful guitar!! You got me GASing for one now!! :salude
 
Joined
Apr 26, 2018
Messages
93
Sorry for the huge delay but I am happy to say that I am back now with an update/review of the Lucy Les paul! Actually, it's a good thing that this post has been delayed because it's allowed me to spend about a month with the guitar and form some actual opinions on it other than just "WOW" and "It's so amazing!" :hee

I want to start with something contrary to what you might expect; the color. I own a few other red guitars and have experienced my fair share of red finishes on Les Pauls, Stratocasters, and pretty much every other popular make and model guitar. However, his color is nothing like any other red/cherry finish I've seen. It has a depth to it like few other finishes and the aging gives it a unique shine in my opinion. Although I have never seen the original guitar in the flesh, this color photographs well and seems to match all the photos of the real Lucy that I've seen. The last photo I've included is of Lucy next to the Lennon Les Paul Junior. The Jr. features a more conventional worn cherry finish and is great for a comparison.

Next, I'll touch upon the playability. Fortunately the example I have plays like a dream. I am a collector but more importantly I am a player first. These are collectors pieces and works of art but I refuse to just hang it on a wall and look at it. Call me a lunatic but I may even gig with it!!! :roflBut anyway... this thing plays like a dream! This shouldn't surprise me considering how expensive it is but I've had a few high end collectors guitars in the past that played poorly and were simply art pieces, but not this. Perfect action and intonation, she has sustain for DAYS, and the harmonics sound ridiculous! Beautiful cleans but will become a whole different animal once you throw distortion on it. I attribute a lot of the sound to the pickups. Since it's a 2013 production year, that would mean it has custombuckers in it, but I am sure these were specially wound to match the originals Lucy pickup specs. Regardless, they sound amazing! Hands down the best pickups I have ever heard in a Les Paul that weren't original PAFs! For those who are curious, I'll take a measurement of the pickups when I am able and post the readings in this thread.

Lasty, let's talk about the neck. I'll start by saying that I've never played an original 1957 LP goldtop (which is what this guitar started life as), however I have been lucky enough to play some original bursts and countless LP reissues. With that in consideration, I have not felt a neck profile like this on a Les Paul in my entire life. It is fuller, similar to the size of a R9, but the shape is not as rounded as a R8 or an R9. On Lucy, just like on the Collectors Choice guitars and all other artist series guitars, the custom shop takes measurements of the original guitars neck and does their best to copy the shape. If there is one thing that I've learned from my experience with the original Les Pauls bursts it is that no two guitars have the same neck. Each neck was hand sanded and shaped so it honestly wouldn't surprise me if the actual Lucy has this unique feel. Personally, I like the neck shape a lot. It is very broad feeling in the hands and is very consistent all the way up the neck. To all other Lucy owners out there, I would love to hear your thoughts on the neck shape. You really notice the shape when you play any reissue Les Paul first and then switch to Lucy.

In conclusion, I love it! Well worth the 5 years of saving and searching. She will be a permanent axe in my collection no matter what. Honestly, I've tried to think of some negatives to this guitar (other than the price) and have only found one. I do wish it came with more goodies like the Gretsch and Fender artist replica guitars do. I mean the album and COA signed by Eric Clapton are cool, but some other goodies like an aged case or Harrison strap would have been killer. After all, if you look at all the unique stuff that came with the Gretsch Custom Shop Harrison Duo Jet, it makes it look like Gibson cheaped out on Lucy. But honestly I'm just trying to be picky and am looking for a negative. If you're a Clapton or Harrison fan and have the cheese for this Les Paul, trust me and pull the trigger... you won't regret it!

Enjoy the photos I've included of my Lucy and let me know your thoughts or questions!

All the best, -Matthew


P1030717.jpg

fullsizeoutput_3f5.jpg

P1030712.jpg

 
Last edited:
Joined
Apr 26, 2018
Messages
93
Not an official LUCY, but here's my 2017 M2M Sweet Cherry. It's a 58' with a 59' neck profile. Super lightweight - 8 pounds even!

IMG_2786-X3.jpg


OH BOY!! What a killer looking Les Paul! Did you pick the top on this one, cause it's gorgeous! I'd love to know how you liked the M2M program? I haven't heard anything one way or the other about the process, prices, or end result. I've considered having one made but don't want to waste my money.
 
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