If your point is that there is a subtle difference between how the long tenon necks are shaped/ set today and some of the vintage models, I understand and agree. But there were giant variations in the practice between models in the 50s/60s, and I'm happy with where we landed as the standard for Custom Shop today. We're really getting into the weeds here! Lol. -Mat
Agreed. That would be very cool. Buzzy Feiten's wraptail-modified ES-345 comes to mind. Sounded amazing with Butterfield at Woodstock:
Can? Yes. Should? No. Haha. But seriously as much as I think we could, I don't think it's a request that would be honored through M2M. Trying not to take on major engineering projects like that and focus on building the current orders (and the artist model launches) as much as possible.
Mat, thank you for your response. Supposing I really want a Varitone on my EDS1275, what division would honor such a request? Or, how would one best go about getting such a (real) request honored?
You know…
The quickest and most cost-effective way to do this would be to procure an EDS-1275 and have a qualified repair shop or Gibson Repair & Restoration figure out the rest. The major issue is varitones were used in semi-hollow and hollow body guitars, and to retrofit it to a solid guitar like an EDS-1275, you'd probably have to modify the control cavity and/or add an additional route + backplate. I know a guy who makes Varitone effects pedals...that might be even easier! Ha.
I'm right there with you. I've been trying to get the "Archive Collection" going for 4-5 years now and I'm happy to report the first offering is coming in March and it will blow the mind of every guitar geek. Starting with a bang. Stay tuned! Best, Mat
Alas.
Hi Mat, just caught up with this informative CS tour and want to know how many people work on the CS floor making the guitars, thanks.
I dunno. You're on a forum for Gibson fans....... Just say'in. Remember, the first step is admission.
Sure thing. So Les Paul Customs take pretty long to build with precise binding and scraping needed, and to optimize the build and the build quantity, the decision was made long ago to move the model to Custom Shop from USA. This was heavily influenced by the Brand impact, which is that the "Custom" name would be contained within the "Custom Shop." Personally I'm not sure how much that is really a factor in customers' minds, but it was the way forward and because of the expertise at Custom Shop we are able to offer a better volume and yield...especially the Alpine White LPCs. Thanks for the question! -Mat
Ha! Point taken. I think the idea there is to move away from the traditional business lingo and speak to customers' passions without condescension...but I can see how it would feel condescending when you consider a customer is someone that has paid for a product/experience. Thanks for the feedback. -Mat
I'm not quite sure what you mean...the idea of purchasing or leasing what's left of the original factories in Kalamazoo and literally going back into production there? We would have to bring all the original Kalamazoo machinery from Nashville...I'm not sure that makes any sense at all. But if you mean just making every element of the reissues *exactly* like in 1959, that's a well-trodden rabbit hole...and a sliding scale to boot, filled with supply chain and safety impossibilities. The question is what is a bridge too far? I do feel we are making every effort to replicate the details...from the contours scanned from originals, butyrate parts scanned from originals, Mazzuchelli inlays, correct fonts, vintage tone circuit, etc. As I've said for years, the current reissues are truly 99.9% of the originals for 1% of the price.
