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VIDEO: Demo of my '59 Les Paul Special through a Friedman PT20 (Pink Taco)

Ed A

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Recently acquired fantastic 1959 Les Paul Special, my favorite double cut cherry model... Thanks Dave Davidson of Well Strung Guitars in NY!.... wanted the '59 because of the pickup spacing, not worried about the weaker neck joint, this one is in great shape, no issues there... 100% original, never a solder joint touched, original P90s read 8.4K and 8.6K... amp is a Friedman PT20 played through a Bluesbreaker cab with an old JBL D120... I went through a bunch of low power amps looking for something that resembled my high power vintage plexis and this one is the keeper! My apologies to Dave Friedman for putting Marshall knobs on the amp but they DO make it sound better!!! :)
Damn Iphone compresses under volume, I had to play it less than halfway up... it sounds much more open and better in the room and when cranked gets really big sounding... but hopefully you get the idea!
 
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Mark Kane

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Ed, hows the intonation with the big slant on the bridge. Great clip as usual
,
 

Ed A

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Ed, hows the intonation with the big slant on the bridge. Great clip as usual
,

Hey Mark, I never get too crazy about intonation as long as it sounds good to me.... the benefits of being an amateur!... I didnt check it with the tuner or anything.... even if it was out a little, I wouldnt put a compensated TP on it because I am an AVH and I dont want any new parts on it LOL!
 

garywright

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Sounds great Ed ..compressed or not I’m hearing some real classic tones there :salude
 

Mark Kane

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Hey Mark, I never get too crazy about intonation as long as it sounds good to me.... the benefits of being an amateur!... I didnt check it with the tuner or anything.... even if it was out a little, I wouldnt put a compensated TP on it because I am an AVH and I dont want any new parts on it LOL!

A man after my own heart!!
 

Ed A

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Couple stills of the artillery used... I go through gear at an absurd pace, but I really think this guitar an amp will stick around for a while...



 

Minibucker

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Awesome as always......damn you, you make me want to go out and get more gear!
 

metropolis

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Sounds fantastic! Just goes to prove tone isn't in a giant pedalboard and wall of amps when such a straightforward set up sounds that good :salude
 

El Gringo

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Wow , what a beauty , what a tone , a screaming rich tone . Bravo on your NVGD !!!!!!
 

corpse

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Sounds great Ed. The iphone can't hide old wood.
The knobs are a key signal chain element on the PT.
 

renderit

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Jan 19, 2009
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Awesome!

Great fingers too!

That is a guitar I would definitely love to have.

Both the red and the doublecut do it for me.

If you like that Pink Taco you need to try the MGL Lead Master 20.

Trust me.
 

Ed A

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Awesome!

Great fingers too!

That is a guitar I would definitely love to have.

Both the red and the doublecut do it for me.

If you like that Pink Taco you need to try the MGL Lead Master 20.

Trust me.

Interesting. Didn’t know that Mark had a 20w amp. I think the key to the Pink Taco is the big transformers… I’ve never been a fan of the 18w Marshall sound. Too fizzy and mushy. But Friedman found a way to get a lot out of 2 EL84s and to get a bigger and tighter sound reminiscent of higher wattage plexis… It seems that MGL is after the same thing with their 20w only it’s with 6V6s… Certainly an amp that I’d be interested in comparing to the Pink Taco, but at the moment the funds are below zero and it’s time to sell some gear!
 

rockabilly69

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Jul 29, 2001
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That guitar puts to bed the myth that a Special can't bark like a Jr! That guitar sounds great Ed!
 

Ed A

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That guitar puts to bed the myth that a Special can't bark like a Jr! That guitar sounds great Ed!

I was thinking the same thing!... and I really didnt push it like Leslie West did, but believe me I have through another amp and it does do that thing that humbuckers cant quite do.... so I know the idea has always been that a dogear Jr. pickup bolted straight to the wood is gonna kick more.... but I see that with the special these pups are also screwed straight to the wood and are not floating, so why should it be much different especially if you have a higher output like these are?... im not a junior/special expert just wondering...
 

rockabilly69

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I was thinking the same thing!... and I really didnt push it like Leslie West did, but believe me I have through another amp and it does do that thing that humbuckers cant quite do.... so I know the idea has always been that a dogear Jr. pickup bolted straight to the wood is gonna kick more.... but I see that with the special these pups are also screwed straight to the wood and are not floating, so why should it be much different especially if you have a higher output like these are?... im not a junior/special expert just wondering...

You didn't have to push it Ed, I heard the tone even under lower gain. My Historic SG Special gets it too, and mine even as an adjustable wrap tail on it. As much as I learn here, and that's been a lot, I spend just as much time learning that many things that are considered gospel around here concerning vintage guitar tones, aren't :) And it's obvious that your Special gets the tone. One of my closest friends had a '56 Special that got it too, in spades! Once again, congrats on getting a great guitar.
 
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Sol

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Oct 26, 2001
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What I really love about your particular Special is the tone of the neck pickup and the middle position.My Special has the neck pickup moved back, compromising that beautiful neck pickup tone and compromising the middle position as a result.

Youve made such a great score with this guitar, it was a rare pleasure to hear it, you lucky lucky man. I hope we will hear from it again in the not too distant future.
 
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