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Nice article in Guitarist on Kossoff's stripped top '59

LeonC

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Article on Kossoff's stripped '59

Interesting to note that as often seems to be the case, the neck pickup has a higher resistance reading than the bridge. This isn't always the case...but it does seem like it's not all that unusual. Also...slimmer neck than might be expected...which according to Gruhn is also not that unusual in '59s.
 
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sws1

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Article on Kossoff's stripped '59

Interesting to note that as often seems to be the case, the neck pickup has a higher resistance reading than the bridge. This isn't always the case...but it does seem like it's not all that unusual. Also...slimmer neck than might be expected...which according to Gruhn is also not that unusual in '59s.

As I understand it, Gibson simply selected 2 pickups from the pile and put them in the guitar. If true, the math would suggest that roughly 1/2 of the guitars would have higher output in the neck.
 

LeonC

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I've heard this as well--and it's certainly ground that's been covered. Still, it's good to see it getting a little more empirical validation.
 
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TM1

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As I understand it, Gibson simply selected 2 pickups from the pile and put them in the guitar. If true, the math would suggest that roughly 1/2 of the guitars would have higher output in the neck.

Duane Allman's "Darkburst", which was the last Les Paul he bought in June of 1971, had a higher D.C. reading pickup in the neck. Kurt Linhof swapped the neck/bridge pickups before he took it up the Fillmore East and sold it to Duane. Originally the neck was 9.0K and the bridge was 8.3K. Kurt put the 9.0K in the bridge and the 8.3K in the neck..
 

54/59

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Fascinating article! Thanks for sharing.

Been thinking of building a stripped burst.. hmmm ��

The article mentions the neck thickness measurements of 20mm at the first fret and 22.5mm at the 12th fret.

For us not using the metric system, 0.78 to .88 which is extremely thin!

Are there any other known 59 bursts with similar neck measurements?
 
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somebodyelseuk

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Article on Kossoff's stripped '59

Interesting to note that as often seems to be the case, the neck pickup has a higher resistance reading than the bridge. This isn't always the case...but it does seem like it's not all that unusual. Also...slimmer neck than might be expected...which according to Gruhn is also not that unusual in '59s.
No, and it's also the case with the 'Arthur Ramm' burst, the burst Paul Kossoff had when he died, I believe now owned by 'friedokra'(?). That guitar, from what I've read is not that far from spec, in terms of DCR readings, from what Jimmy Page's 'No1' is.
It's interesting that a guitar Paul Kossoff let go, Bernie Marsden's Beast(?), isn't configured that way, and perhaps informs a little as to what Mr Kossoff was looking for from his Les Pauls.
In terms of the neck, Peter Green said Clapton's 'Beano' had a thinner neck than his, and Page's No1 seems to have a thin neck, but there seems to be different stories of him having had IT shaved, or him having No2 shaved to match No1?
 

Sol

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Id love to know the tech details of Kossofs '58 burst used for the first few, albums. Its the one seen in the footage from the epic Granada TV performance. It seems to have an unfaded three toned finish. I believe its the guitar used on Alright Now. Oh, and btw its considered to be haunted.. apparently afaik etc..

Its my understanding that Pages no1 was presented to him with the neck already reshaped to a thinner profile, and that his no 2 was perhaps modified to match the first. Allegedly.
 

Sol

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ourmaninthenorth, cheers mate ! Many thanks for putting this up so we can appreciate a band at the hight of their musical prowess. I'll never get tired of watching this performance..
 

Joshabr1

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That granada footage is my favorite Les Paul tone of all times. Most people like the stripped guitar the best. I prefer the tone of the 58. Thick as a milkshake.
 

Sol

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Ive just read the article, on the Koss stripped burst. Its a really interesting article and those images were amazing.
The author claims that this is the guitar used to record Alright Now, and for all I know he is correct.
However the '58 burst has been quoted as Kossofs Les Paul during this period and used on the first two Free albums.. Is this correct ?

The earliest' burst used by Kossof I can find is a stunning 1960 'burst used in the band' Black Cat Bones', his band prior to joining Free. The only image of this beautifully flamed Les Paul, that has the 'snake bite' marks from a removed Bigsby B7, is featured in "The Ultimate Guitar Book" by Tony Bacon.
It has two exposed Zebra PAFs and the scratch plate is still on the guitar.

I can tell that its not a late 1960, the finish is faded with a darker patch at the lower bout from the Bigsby, and single ring Klusons. A nice detail is that Kossof wrote his address on a piece of paper taped to the underside of the control plate should the guitar get lost...Those were the days..eh ?

I wonder what became of this amazing guitar..?
 

TM1

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With guitar production in the 50’s, Nobody was there with a meter testing the D.C. resistance of the pickups! In final assembly they just had a box from the stockroom with the parts so they could put them together. I’m sure the only testing was when the pickups were put together and that was just to make sure the pickups worked.. does it make continuity…are you getting a reading on that Simpson volt meter…?
I think a lot of you don’t realize how simple building a guitar was back in the ‘50’s through the late 70’s. We’ve had a tendency to over-think so many aspects of guitar manufacturing or think there was some sort of magic in making them..Gibson was in the “manufacturing “ business.
 
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bmwm3cs

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Nice article, but is this true? "You’ll maybe get the odd one just peaking closer to 9lb..." I was under the impression that many are over 9LBS.
 
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TM1

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My ML R-9 weighs 8 lbs. 12 oz. which I’m thinking is about normal for a Les Paul. I would have to go through my copy of “Beauty of the Burst” to see what’s a normal Range.
 

sws1

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Nice article, but is this true? "You’ll maybe get the odd one just peaking closer to 9lb..." I was under the impression that many are over 9LBS.

The range is from high 7lbs to close to 10. The BOTB data is too small a sample set to draw official conclusions. The unscientific analysis suggests the mean is close to upper 8lbs or 9lbs.
 

Flogger

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Duane Allman's "Darkburst", which was the last Les Paul he bought in June of 1971, had a higher D.C. reading pickup in the neck. Kurt Linhof swapped the neck/bridge pickups before he took it up the Fillmore East and sold it to Duane. Originally the neck was 9.0K and the bridge was 8.3K. Kurt put the 9.0K in the bridge and the 8.3K in the neck..
I thought that Duane dropped the magic pickups from his goldtop into his second Burst. There was some story about getting the seller out of the hotel room so that the pickups could be swapped out.
 
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Sol

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I thought that Duane dropped the magic pickups from his goldtop into his second Burst. There was some story about getting the seller out of the hotel room so that the pickups could be swapped out.
This has been my understanding also.
 
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