Collector's Choice #26 "Whitford 'Burst"

duaneflowers · Sep 1, 2014

Professortwang said:
Killer looking guitar! Photographing guitars is an art and one that I have not mastered I might add.

Indeed! A good camera with a good lens and good lighting goes a long way towards getting the job done for you. But it is indeed an art... one quite different from the art of playing geetaaah!

dbone15 said:
They pop these runs out too quickly. You can barely take a breath and the next one is out. Takes away from the whole thing IMO.

Indeed! With a few exceptions I think the later ones don't come anywhere near the quality and attention to detail that the earlier ones do. There are, however, a multitude of collectors who will buy them sight unseen and pay whatever the asking price is just to add them to their bloated and unplayed collections.

h

Musicman · Sep 1, 2014

Axel said:
Gibson could still call this a regular R9 and sell it for the price of a regular R9 (aged, or whatever). As a limited edition hey look at me guitar it's just meh.

+1

Tom Wittrock · Sep 1, 2014

I have suggested [to the Custom Shop] several Bursts and other vintage Les Pauls that they haven't covered so far. While they seem to like my ideas, they never follow up on them.

Here are a few:
A late 60 Burst with the thin [depth] neck, nice cherry sunburst color. 0-7448
A 58 with great flame, faded or unfaded. 8-5386 or 8-5388
A cherry red single cut Special.
A P-90 equipped archtop Les Paul with a different color [like my black one].

I made Donna my first choice with them, because of the color.
There are so many CCs with complete fade.
But, they still haven't made it. :dang

GreenBurst · Sep 1, 2014

Axel said:
I hope they do.

Gibson could still call this a regular R9 and sell it for the price of a regular R9 (aged, or whatever). As a limited edition hey look at me guitar it's just meh.

I am sure they will.

I still don't think you get it. This LP already DOES exist somewhere in the 2000+ regular R9s they made this year alone. And it IS priced accordingly. The CC in discussion is just referencing the one owned by Brad Whitford.

Yes, it does not have any tell-tale, immediately recognizable features. So it looks like any other R9 when looking at a single pic. But, if someone wants something a bit different and/or is a Brad Whitford fan then this may appeal to them.

Why is it the people who can't afford something are always the first to criticize?

It's a small niche run meant for a certain type of person. No point in commenting if it doesn't add value. I'm sure if this specific guitar was in high demand Gibson would make more, but they don't, they are only providing this to the few folks that are interested and CAN afford to purchase it. For all others there are an abundance of R9s out there. No need to rain on the parade.

vintage58 · Sep 1, 2014

GreenBurst said:
Why is it the people who can't afford something are always the first to criticize?

GreenBurst said:
they are only providing this to the few folks that are interested and CAN afford to purchase it.

Exactly where in this thread has anyone specifically stated that they "can't afford" something? :hmm..To merely object to the pricing of a given thing (which, from what I can gather, is all that the handful of price-related comments made here thus far have amounted to) does not automatically equal an inability to afford to purchase that thing. I would admit that suggesting that someone can't afford something might perhaps serve as a decent insult against that person — however, next time you choose to employ that method, you might want to have an actual basis for making such a statement.

.

GreenBurst · Sep 1, 2014

vintage58 said:
Exactly where in this thread has anyone specifically stated that they "can't afford" something? :hmm..To merely object to the pricing of a given thing (which, from what I can gather, is all that the handful of price-related comments made here thus far have amounted to) does not automatically equal an inability to afford to purchase that thing. I would admit that suggesting that someone can't afford something might perhaps serve as a decent insult against that person — however, next time you choose to employ that method, you might want to have an actual basis for making such a statement.
.

No offense intended. Just speaking from the experience of reading this forum for 10 years.

And yes, in many instances people go on about price. If you take a benign comparison of some other item you would see that psychologically people will only bring up price as a complaint when it puts said item beyond 'their' reach. So, if at an event a $1 pack of gum was priced at $2 most would either just pass on it and go somewhere else or suck it up and pay for it. But when the pack of gum is $10 then people start to complain publically.

Same with the Superbowl. Water at $20 a bottle last February is outrageous, but given that the ticket cost is outrageous and mostly it's people that can afford to go that do, they just pay and you don't hear much of it. Same thing with Gibson's higher priced LPs.

I would suggest that this is the basis for complaints about some CCs and other 'high priced for normal people' LP releases. I can't afford a whole collection of them, nor can I afford any signed LPs, but I respect Gibson's right to market them to those that do and respect those that choose to buy them. Who am I to complain publically because I can't buy it?

If a person is not interested in an LP (uninspiring), why 'rain' on someone elses parade? I suggest that commentary not be publically employed, but just kept to one's self.

Notice that you never hear a certain LPFer that has a huge LP collection complain publically online about Gibson prices?

Axel · Sep 2, 2014

GreenBurst:

First of all, I commented on the CC #26 concept which is based on a guitar that I feel lacks characteristics to set it apart from other Les Pauls of the era, which results in a CC that lacks characteristics to set it apart from other reissues. That to me is uninspiring. They can still be great looking and playing guitars in their own right (the one poon99 posted is gorgeous). I didn't rain on someones parade, I wasn't saying "uninspiring" in a NGD thread, which I'd never.

Second, it's not about being able to afford it or not, it's about the features and price of a regular R9 compared to the features and price of the CC #26. If someone wants to pay extra for the association to Brad Whitford then I'm happy for him/her, I wouldn't. But that's the thing you see: you have to say "IMHO" quietly to yourself when you read my posts. Even when I say a guitar is gorgeous it's still IMHO. Going by your "no point in commenting if it doesn't add value" would mean I'd never post here again, because IMHO is all I bring to this forum. Is there "value" in saying a guitar posted here is gorgeous?

I sincerely hope that LPF'ers buy and play guitars that they like, and give a fuck about what some dude in Sweden thinks about them.

J T · Sep 2, 2014

The Collectors Choice are replications (as close as they can be) to vintage guitars chosen by their owners. There is no rule that states these guitars must have a wide flame maple top. These guitars are chosen by their owners from their collection for whatever reason the owner has, be it feel, tone, a personal memory from years ago or whatever, this is the owners choice from their vintage collection, isn't it?

I think that our little community would have enough appreciation and knowledge of the Les Paul guitar to understand what a vintage collector sees in their guitar collection to offer up a particular guitar to Gibson as their "choice".

Tom Wittrock · Sep 2, 2014

J T said:
The Collectors Choice are replications (as close as they can be) to vintage guitars chosen by their owners. There is no rule that states these guitars must have a wide flame maple top. These guitars are chosen by their owners from their collection for whatever reason the owner has, be it feel, tone, a personal memory from years ago or whatever, this is the owners choice from their vintage collection, isn't it?

I think that our little community would have enough appreciation and knowledge of the Les Paul guitar to understand what a vintage collector sees in their guitar collection to offer up a particular guitar to Gibson as their "choice".

In my case, it was a little different. Sandy was my third choice. Gibson got the one they preferred.

poon99 · Sep 2, 2014

tdarian · Sep 2, 2014

Looks incredibly nice, most of the CCs have struck me in that way!

J T · Sep 2, 2014

TW59 said:
In my case, it was a little different. Sandy was my third choice. Gibson got the one they preferred.

Ahhh
Gibson's choice of your choice.
But they only got to see from what you dragged out of you closet out I assume.

GotTheSilver · Sep 2, 2014

TW59 said:
In my case, it was a little different. Sandy was my third choice. Gibson got the one they preferred.

So when is the GI Paul CC coming out?!?!? :yah

Tom Wittrock · Sep 3, 2014

J T said:
But they only got to see from what you dragged out of you closet out I assume.

Edwin Wilson has seen all of my Bursts, but it wasn't his decision.
They wanted Sandy because they already had demand for it. To date, it is the only one that pre-sold out, and maybe the only one that sold out at all.
Demand was so high they made 50 extra. :ganz

Tom Wittrock · Sep 3, 2014

GotTheSilver said:
So when is the GI Paul CC coming out?!?!? :yah

Probably never. Who would pay for that P.O.S. :hee

J T · Sep 3, 2014

TW59 said:
Edwin Wilson has seen all of my Bursts, but it wasn't his decision.
They wanted Sandy because they already had demand for it. To date, it is the only one that pre-sold out, and maybe the only one that sold out at all.
Demand was so high they made 50 extra. :ganz

Now THAT's interesting! :biggrin:

duaneflowers · Sep 3, 2014

TW59 said:
In my case, it was a little different. Sandy was my third choice. Gibson got the one they preferred.

I gather Donna was #1... which one was was your second choice?

GotTheSilver said:
So when is the GI Paul CC coming out?!?!? :yah

TW59 said:
Probably never. Who would pay for that P.O.S. :hee

IMHO GI and Donna (and the like) are what the CC run was designed for... they are two of the most amazing guitars I have ever seen! :salude

Brad and the CEO (and the like) are just there to keep the wheels oiled between REAL offerings...

Tom Wittrock · Sep 3, 2014

duaneflowers said:
I gather Donna was #1... which one was was your second choice?

IMHO GI and Donna (and the like) are what the CC run was designed for... they are two of the most amazing guitars I have ever seen! :salude

Brad and the CEO (and the like) are just there to keep the wheels oiled between REAL offerings...

My second choice [which was accepted] was Donna.
My first choice was Curly. :ganz

I brought Sandy along with Donna when I visited the Custom Shop. They set up to copy Donna. Made a quick paint sample [I wonder what happened to that one? :hmm].
When I left for home, I left them Sandy, since it was their Choice. :2cool

duaneflowers · Sep 3, 2014

TW59 said:
My second choice [which was accepted] was Donna.
My first choice was Curly. :ganz

I brought Sandy along with Donna when I visited the Custom Shop. They set up to copy Donna. Made a quick paint sample [I wonder what happened to that one? :hmm].
When I left for home, I left them Sandy, since it was their Choice. :2cool

Ah... another amazing beauty! :salude

Perhaps Bumblebee is a CC Sponsor... hence the rejection... :hee

Tom Wittrock · Sep 3, 2014

duaneflowers said:
Ah... another amazing beauty! :salude

Perhaps Bumblebee is a CC Sponsor... hence the rejection... :hee

Yes, maybe the Astrons were too hard to copy? :hmm :ganz

Collector's Choice #26 "Whitford 'Burst"

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