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all mahogany gold top

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poe

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so how would a 50's all mahogany gold top compare sonically to a 50's all mahogany custom? someone posted how similarly the all mahogany GT sounded compared to the more familiar maple/mahogany GT....so how would the equivalent year custom compare? since the conventional wisdom is that mahogany is warmer, mellower, it's interesting that the all mahogany GT was only discovered when it was opened up...thoughts? thanks all, poe.
 
G

gman

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Jul 22, 2002
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I would say that aside from individual differences that all guitars have, it would have the same qualities as a '50s LP Special. My '57 Special is light, resonant and the P-90s sound fat but clear. I'm not good at describing sound with words. In summary, the sound is a good articulate full range but with strong output. Solid rock guitar. The alnico pickup on a custom would certainly add some character however.

I would bet that the maple cap found on other GTs would add a sonic character to it also but just what that character is would be up for debate until a cap was actually placed on it.
 
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DrRobert

DrRobert

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Jun 12, 2003
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Having played them back to back (58 LP Custom, 57 GT all mahogany and 58 Burst) I think that pickups, electronics and fret sizes make a much bigger difference than the wood. All three guitars were resonant and sweet sounding thru a brown Super. All sustained about equally. The all mahogany GT was significantly lighter than the Custom and slightly ligher than the Burst. Because of the wiring differences it's hard to compare apples to apples but I think the GT sounded closer to the burst (perhaps the fretboard material makes a big difference)? Anyway, I'd be extremely proud to own the all mahogany (it's not for sale and may never be), it's a killer guitar.
 
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poe

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hey dr bob, now that's first hand knowledge! thanks....very informative....how do the frets affect the tone?...
 
DrRobert

DrRobert

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Jun 12, 2003
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I'm not sure if the frets do affect the tone although I could see the very small frets on the custom reducing vibration slightly because the string and finger will contact the fingerboard. Of course that'll improve intonation for us clumsy types. I'd have to say on balance that the pickups were a bigger factor in the tone than the construction of the guitars... I can't stress enough that that particular all mahogany guitar is exceptional even amongst vintage Les Pauls.
 
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fuertefrank

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Mar 13, 2018
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DrRobert said:
Having played them back to back (58 LP Custom, 57 GT all mahogany and 58 Burst) I think that pickups, electronics and fret sizes make a much bigger difference than the wood. All three guitars were resonant and sweet sounding thru a brown Super. All sustained about equally. The all mahogany GT was significantly lighter than the Custom and slightly ligher than the Burst. Because of the wiring differences it's hard to compare apples to apples but I think the GT sounded closer to the burst (perhaps the fretboard material makes a big difference)? Anyway, I'd be extremely proud to own the all mahogany (it's not for sale and may never be), it's a killer guitar.
Click to expand...

About 1976 i was in a guitar shop in Chicago to buy a guitar. It was between a ´57 All Mahogany Goldtop or a ´55 Telecaster . Both the same price, $1000.
Both mint condition. I opted for the Telecaster on the grounds that the LP didn´t have a maple cap. but later regreted it not realising how rare it would be.
 
Z

zombiwoof

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Feb 22, 2003
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3,565
Gibson actually made all-mahogany GT's?. I know that Les Paul has said that he wanted the lower priced standard LP to be all-mahogany and the deluxe model Custom to have the maple top, and that Gibson got it backwards. I have never heard that there were really any GT's with all mahogany bodies. How many were made that way?.
Al
 
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