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Is it even possible for a Vintage Burst to not sound good?

fender69

fender69

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I remember reading an interview with Ed King where he said that Gary Rossington's 59 was just meh. Someone else will probably be able to source the interview.
 
marshall1987

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fender69 said:
I remember reading an interview with Ed King where he said that Gary Rossington's 59 was just meh. Someone else will probably be able to source the interview.
Click to expand...

I'd take that with a grain of salt....simply listen to the dozens of Lynyrd Skynyrd recordings that feature Gary R. playing his '59 Les Paul..... and the many, many live concert videos. I have followed Lynyrd Skynyrd since 1975 and their music never gets stale. Overall, I really dig Gary's guitar playing and his guitar sound. What is there not to like?
 
fender69

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S

SDMFVan

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They can sound bad, but only when they're not for sale. Once they're for sale all vintage guitars are the best sounding guitars ever manufactured...
 
Black58

Black58

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All depends on that guitar, the setup on that guitar, and the player of that guitar. :) ... And, of course, there ARE turds. LOL! Guitars that should have stayed trees, and shaded some poor, sweaty bastard. I haven't played a LOT of originals, but I have played enough guitars to know that there are definitely some mechanical assholes out there.
 
brandtkronholm

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I've been pondering this for a few days now and I'm going to answer the question "Is it even possible for a Vintage Burst to not sound good?" with a NO.
Here's why: If the 'Burst is largely original and everything functions as intended, then with a proper set-up and some TLC, every 'Burst should sound great. Gibson was (is) a premier instrument maker and they wouldn't let a total dud out the door during the classic era. Even those stamped 2nd are great guitars, the 2nd indicating a cosmetic flaw.

Has anyone encountered a largely original 'Burst or classic era Gibson with a factory original fatal flaw? Permanently twisted neck? Misaligned frets?
A broken pickup can be fixed. Finish flaws don't count.

What might cause a vintage 'Burst to not sound good would be massive modifications that remove or replace wood or critical original parts like PAFs and/or bridge + tailpiece.

Bad coconuts was a 'Burst. I cannot imagine that it would ever sound "good" in the state it is in. Here is Bad coconuts:
lp59mod_zps83a1f605.jpg


I've never encountered a true dud of a Gibson from any era. Not even a Norlin! There have been many individual Gibsons that that I just simply couldn't imagine myself playing, but they weren't duds.

If the 'Burst is largely original and everything functions as intended, then with a proper set-up and some TLC, every 'Burst should sound great.
 
fretboarder

fretboarder

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More sound not so good than great, ive played better R9s than 59 bursts...dont fall for the hype.
 
MapleFlame

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brandtkronholm said:
I've been pondering this for a few days now and I'm going to answer the question "Is it even possible for a Vintage Burst to not sound good?" with a NO.
Here's why: If the 'Burst is largely original and everything functions as intended, then with a proper set-up and some TLC, every 'Burst should sound great. Gibson was (is) a premier instrument maker and they wouldn't let a total dud out the door during the classic era. Even those stamped 2nd are great guitars, the 2nd indicating a cosmetic flaw.

Has anyone encountered a largely original 'Burst or classic era Gibson with a factory original fatal flaw? Permanently twisted neck? Misaligned frets?
A broken pickup can be fixed. Finish flaws don't count.

What might cause a vintage 'Burst to not sound good would be massive modifications that remove or replace wood or critical original parts like PAFs and/or bridge + tailpiece.

Bad coconuts was a 'Burst. I cannot imagine that it would ever sound "good" in the state it is in. Here is Bad coconuts:
lp59mod_zps83a1f605.jpg


I've never encountered a true dud of a Gibson from any era. Not even a Norlin! There have been many individual Gibsons that that I just simply couldn't imagine myself playing, but they weren't duds.

If the 'Burst is largely original and everything functions as intended, then with a proper set-up and some TLC, every 'Burst should sound great.
Click to expand...

I agree, I have taken the worst carcass 50's LP's and all sound awesome now. There are so many things that can be done to help the tone of a guitar. Nut, bridge, studs, bridge notches, swap bridges, tailpiece, frets, pots etc...
 
duaneflowers

duaneflowers

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I've heard plenty of amps, players and pedals that sound like crap, but never a burst (provided its set up properly and all the gutty works functional). They are rumored to exist, anecdotally of course...

Peter Green always maintained that Greeny was quirky or finicky, or something to that effect... but he never really got on well with Les Pauls and only played one to emulate Clapton while others said it played just fine. I've received several Les Pauls that weren't set up to my liking and/or had burstbusters or some other crap installed in the pickup cavities... but nothing that couldn't be finessed out... :spabout
 
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