So beautifulI've posted before abut my '74 Kalamazoo Small-Script Standard. I have played so many sessions and gigs with it at this point that it is full of memories and sort of an extension of my arm. No it isn't a golden age LP but it is a lovely instrument in its own right and is valuable to me.
By the way, the weight is in the same range as that of a non-weight relieved LP of most eras - 9.8 lbs.
Bob
Oh yeah! Saw her open for Alice Cooper in 1975 on the the Welcome to my Nightmare tour. Wow. Don't really remember if she was playing a Ripper or a P-bass.
This. Surely there are great and good Norlin Gibsons, but they did major cost cutting measures during their ownership. Why did customers eventually want Gibson to return to the "old formula"? Because the guitars simply weren't good enough in general. Why the '70s Gibsons are reaching the prices they do, is beyond me. A misunderstanding of the term "vintage" must be the the major cause. You could say the same thing about Fenders of the same period.
I think it's simply supply and demand . Plus the 50's stuff has reached into the stratosphere as far as prices go and the mid to late 60's into the 70's for Fender and Gibson is where people that want an older non Golden era Fender or Gibson are gravitating towards and the prices reflect the demand . As it's the in demand and dare I say affordable prices think 5 figures versus 6 .
A vintage Strat or Les Paul was just as out of reach for a normal person 30 years ago. Granted, prices weren't as ridiculous as they are right now but still. I was offered a '58 Sunburst in the early 90's and at $12500,- it was still way out of reach.
I agree and do remember prices in the early 90's . My childhood first electric which I still have is a Norlin era Les Paul Custom with Patent Sticker T-Tops and weighs in at a robust 9lbs. That's what I learned on when I was growing up in the 70's . I remember the ads in Guitar Player magazine in the 70's for vintage Bursts and would always have severe lust as I wanted a Burst so bad as Jimmy Page had and that is forever burned and seared into my brain . Way back I also remember the Heritage Std. 80 which the mom and pop shop had a few of them strung up from there necks off the ceiling on top where the register was when you walked in and it would hit me right in the face every single time I went in there . They had a quilted burst and a tiger stripe burst and they were so delicious looking .
I agree with you about the wood. Walk around your local music store and check out the fretboards of the new Gibsons as well as the other brands.
This. Current mahogany is very light in weight and even in color compared to 70s mahogany. The acoustical tone is mostly resonant and bright on reissues, but to me it often lacks in bass fundament. Most early 70s Les Pauls i had simply have bigger and "heavier" tone than current reissues.
How heavy is the tone?
With more overall and tighter, punchy bass.
Excellent description.
