Red or Black... NGD!!

richardhomer

stickyfiddle said:

Cheers all. It's settling in nicely now. Pickup heights adjusted to fairly close to where I want them. I might want a tremblier neck pickup (thinking P90 or Lollar El Rayo) but not going to do anything about that until I've played it a lot. 

That’s a beauty!

On the neck pick-up, something I picked up from a YouTube video, is that if you roll-off the tone to about 6, when you turn down the volume, it gets thinner/brighter. This sounds completely counter-intuitive but definitely works on my Les Paul (this only applies to guitars with 50s wiring btw).

TimmyO

Congratulations!

For those of a certain forum vintage my views on red things are well known. Notwithstanding that, a Black, bound Gibson is always a thing of beauty. 

I think it looks ace.

Deserves an understated (plain black Heistercamp?) strap I reckon.  

mankytom

That’s beautiful man… I’ve not been on the forum much so apologies if I’ve missed it.. but.. I’m off to Tokyo in 3 weeks… any tips on where to go, getting a deal? Im
thinking of bringing a Japanese made possibly quite old something or other home with me:. 

And how did you go on getting it home safely? 

fretfinder

stickyfiddle said: I went back on our last morning in Tokyo and played the black one again. This time wearing the closest I had to stage clothes so I could get a proper vibe check…

Interesting guitar selection criteria there!       

HNGD. 

Sporky

TimmyO said:

Deserves an understated (plain black Heistercamp?) strap I reckon.  

Plain black furry it is. 

stickyfiddle

mankytom said:

That’s beautiful man… I’ve not been on the forum much so apologies if I’ve missed it.. but.. I’m off to Tokyo in 3 weeks… any tips on where to go, getting a deal? Im
thinking of bringing a Japanese made possibly quite old something or other home with me:. 

And how did you go on getting it home safely? 

@mankytom Excellent! You'll have a great time. 

Best spots are around Shibuya and Ochanomizu. This came from Nico Nico in Shibuya and the Ishibashi in the same area is also great, especially for pedals. 

Then Ochanomizu is a whole street full of guitars (and I mean FULL). You'll find loads of new, old, cheap, expensive, Japanese and international stuff. The red one I was also looking at was in Kurosawa there but honestly every shop is worth a quick look at least. 

If you're also headed to Osaka then this Ishibashi is a good visit and really close to Dotonbori. Guitar Tribe in the same area is also worth a visit. 

EDIT: Home for me is Abu Dhabi - I was flying business with Etihad (thanks to airmails from the credit card!). A little bit of nervousness from the checkin guys, but that was also because our flight was delayed 18 hours. No issues at all getting it on the plane in reality. The crew were happy to help but suggested I try the overhead bin if there was space. It fit fine (Airbus A350, in case that makes a difference!), so that was just fine.

guitargeek62

Just an FYI if you have any doubts on the tort - I grabbed a nice aged pickguard for my TL from CrazyParts this week - it fits perfectly and looks more in-keeping than the stock bwbwb one that was on there, highly recommended.

https://www.crazyparts.de/art-of-aging/pickugards-for-gibson/aoa-es335-short-vintage-bevel-guard-5-ply-60mm.html

It’s also got the ‘correct’ ply sizes, which does bug me otherwise on the uniform-sized ones!

stickyfiddle

guitargeek62 said:

Just an FYI if you have any doubts on the tort - I grabbed a nice aged pickguard for my TL from CrazyParts this week - it fits perfectly and looks more in-keeping than the stock bwbwb one that was on there, highly recommended.

https://www.crazyparts.de/art-of-aging/pickugards-for-gibson/aoa-es335-short-vintage-bevel-guard-5-ply-60mm.html

It’s also got the ‘correct’ ply sizes, which does bug me otherwise on the uniform-sized ones!

Nice. Might be worth it to try at that price.

mankytom

stickyfiddle said:

mankytom said:

That’s beautiful man… I’ve not been on the forum much so apologies if I’ve missed it.. but.. I’m off to Tokyo in 3 weeks… any tips on where to go, getting a deal? Im
thinking of bringing a Japanese made possibly quite old something or other home with me:. 

And how did you go on getting it home safely? 

@mankytom Excellent! You'll have a great time. 

Best spots are around Shibuya and Ochanomizu. This came from Nico Nico in Shibuya and the Ishibashi in the same area is also great, especially for pedals. 

Then Ochanomizu is a whole street full of guitars (and I mean FULL). You'll find loads of new, old, cheap, expensive, Japanese and international stuff. The red one I was also looking at was in Kurosawa there but honestly every shop is worth a quick look at least. 

If you're also headed to Osaka then this Ishibashi is a good visit and really close to Dotonbori. Guitar Tribe in the same area is also worth a visit. 

EDIT: Home for me is Abu Dhabi - I was flying business with Etihad (thanks to airmails from the credit card!). A little bit of nervousness from the checkin guys, but that was also because our flight was delayed 18 hours. No issues at all getting it on the plane in reality. The crew were happy to help but suggested I try the overhead bin if there was space. It fit fine (Airbus A350, in case that makes a difference!), so that was just fine.

Thanks so much man.. I’m very excited (not just about the guitars)

I have heard people say they can just take on as hand luggage.. I think that feels safest. Any issues with customs coming back in (I get may be different in Abu Dhabi) 

stickyfiddle

mankytom said:

stickyfiddle said:

mankytom said:

That’s beautiful man… I’ve not been on the forum much so apologies if I’ve missed it.. but.. I’m off to Tokyo in 3 weeks… any tips on where to go, getting a deal? Im
thinking of bringing a Japanese made possibly quite old something or other home with me:. 

And how did you go on getting it home safely? 

@mankytom Excellent! You'll have a great time. 

Best spots are around Shibuya and Ochanomizu. This came from Nico Nico in Shibuya and the Ishibashi in the same area is also great, especially for pedals. 

Then Ochanomizu is a whole street full of guitars (and I mean FULL). You'll find loads of new, old, cheap, expensive, Japanese and international stuff. The red one I was also looking at was in Kurosawa there but honestly every shop is worth a quick look at least. 

If you're also headed to Osaka then this Ishibashi is a good visit and really close to Dotonbori. Guitar Tribe in the same area is also worth a visit. 

EDIT: Home for me is Abu Dhabi - I was flying business with Etihad (thanks to airmails from the credit card!). A little bit of nervousness from the checkin guys, but that was also because our flight was delayed 18 hours. No issues at all getting it on the plane in reality. The crew were happy to help but suggested I try the overhead bin if there was space. It fit fine (Airbus A350, in case that makes a difference!), so that was just fine.

Thanks so much man.. I’m very excited (not just about the guitars)

I have heard people say they can just take on as hand luggage.. I think that feels safest. Any issues with customs coming back in (I get may be different in Abu Dhabi) 

Yeah, this was my 4th trip to Japan and we'll definitely go back again. Happy to talk more generally about Japan if useful as well! 

No issues with customs here but they are admittedly much more lax than in the UK. We once tried to declare a couple of carpets we'd bought in Turkey and they laughed at us...

mankytom

stickyfiddle said:

mankytom said:

stickyfiddle said:

mankytom said:

That’s beautiful man… I’ve not been on the forum much so apologies if I’ve missed it.. but.. I’m off to Tokyo in 3 weeks… any tips on where to go, getting a deal? Im
thinking of bringing a Japanese made possibly quite old something or other home with me:. 

And how did you go on getting it home safely? 

@mankytom Excellent! You'll have a great time. 

Best spots are around Shibuya and Ochanomizu. This came from Nico Nico in Shibuya and the Ishibashi in the same area is also great, especially for pedals. 

Then Ochanomizu is a whole street full of guitars (and I mean FULL). You'll find loads of new, old, cheap, expensive, Japanese and international stuff. The red one I was also looking at was in Kurosawa there but honestly every shop is worth a quick look at least. 

If you're also headed to Osaka then this Ishibashi is a good visit and really close to Dotonbori. Guitar Tribe in the same area is also worth a visit. 

EDIT: Home for me is Abu Dhabi - I was flying business with Etihad (thanks to airmails from the credit card!). A little bit of nervousness from the checkin guys, but that was also because our flight was delayed 18 hours. No issues at all getting it on the plane in reality. The crew were happy to help but suggested I try the overhead bin if there was space. It fit fine (Airbus A350, in case that makes a difference!), so that was just fine.

Thanks so much man.. I’m very excited (not just about the guitars)

I have heard people say they can just take on as hand luggage.. I think that feels safest. Any issues with customs coming back in (I get may be different in Abu Dhabi) 

Yeah, this was my 4th trip to Japan and we'll definitely go back again. Happy to talk more generally about Japan if useful as well! 

No issues with customs here but they are admittedly much more lax than in the UK. We once tried to declare a couple of carpets we'd bought in Turkey and they laughed at us...

Mrs manky has spent a lot of time researching but that would be really helpful man. I’m hoping that generally trying to be polite and respectful goes a long way

stickyfiddle

mankytom said:

stickyfiddle said:

mankytom said:

stickyfiddle said:

mankytom said:

That’s beautiful man… I’ve not been on the forum much so apologies if I’ve missed it.. but.. I’m off to Tokyo in 3 weeks… any tips on where to go, getting a deal? Im
thinking of bringing a Japanese made possibly quite old something or other home with me:. 

And how did you go on getting it home safely? 

@mankytom Excellent! You'll have a great time. 

Best spots are around Shibuya and Ochanomizu. This came from Nico Nico in Shibuya and the Ishibashi in the same area is also great, especially for pedals. 

Then Ochanomizu is a whole street full of guitars (and I mean FULL). You'll find loads of new, old, cheap, expensive, Japanese and international stuff. The red one I was also looking at was in Kurosawa there but honestly every shop is worth a quick look at least. 

If you're also headed to Osaka then this Ishibashi is a good visit and really close to Dotonbori. Guitar Tribe in the same area is also worth a visit. 

EDIT: Home for me is Abu Dhabi - I was flying business with Etihad (thanks to airmails from the credit card!). A little bit of nervousness from the checkin guys, but that was also because our flight was delayed 18 hours. No issues at all getting it on the plane in reality. The crew were happy to help but suggested I try the overhead bin if there was space. It fit fine (Airbus A350, in case that makes a difference!), so that was just fine.

Thanks so much man.. I’m very excited (not just about the guitars)

I have heard people say they can just take on as hand luggage.. I think that feels safest. Any issues with customs coming back in (I get may be different in Abu Dhabi) 

Yeah, this was my 4th trip to Japan and we'll definitely go back again. Happy to talk more generally about Japan if useful as well! 

No issues with customs here but they are admittedly much more lax than in the UK. We once tried to declare a couple of carpets we'd bought in Turkey and they laughed at us...

Mrs manky has spent a lot of time researching but that would be really helpful man. I’m hoping that generally trying to be polite and respectful goes a long way

Yep totally. Knowing a few good words goes a very long way… 

The big cities are generally much easier than they were 8-ish years ago. There’s a lot of English in signs and quite a lot of restaurants, and you can order by pointing at stuff as needed  

I use Google Translate A LOT on my phone - use the camera to translate signs and menus, and even do speech-to-translated-text in either direction to have a conversation in a bit more detail when you need. And Maps is priceless, obviously. Those are the 2 best things Google has ever done imo

mankytom

That’s really helpful thanks man.. Google translate is my plan. I’ve been learning a little bit to show willing. I hope that helps !!

stickyfiddle

Top words because I forgot to write them above...

Konichi-wa - Hello (daytime)
Konban-wa - Helo (evening/night)
Arigato-gozaimasu - Thank you
Doumo Arigatou - Thank you very much 
Kudasai - could I please have? as in "Nama beeru kudusai?" is one beer please. 
Oishi! - Delicious 
Sumimasen - sorry/excuse me (good in restaurants to get waiter/chefs; attention)

Well worth watching the James May Our Man in Japan series on Amazon if you haven't - he uses a bunch of this sort of v simple lingo to good effect. This stuff plus lots of pointing and counting on fingers and bowing at every opportunity has seen me right in most circumstances! 

And if you go much beyond the above as my wife did they'll be very impressed and assume you're fluent and only give you a Japanese menu when you go out to eat...!  

mankytom

Thanks so much man. That really is good of you!!!

I don’t think they will be assuming that with me

blueskunk

High grade shit. 

stickyfiddle

Plain black Heistercamp in the longest size is on its way, plus a wireless pouch to match. Now trying to source a Mono case that doesn't cost 150 in shipping...  

Aside from the bottom strap button the only very slight niggle from rehearsal is a very sharp low E saddle under my palm. I'm disinclined to file that down and lose the plating, but maybe I can get an replace saddle to keep as a replacement in case I ever sell. 

I still want to remove some woolliness from the neck pickup, but overall it did a brilliant job at the first time of asking. - everything from Motown & ABBA to Summer of 69 and Beat It. And it stayed perfectly in tune over 2 hours including plenty of waggle. Very happy overall  

stickyfiddle

TimmyO said:

Congratulations!

For those of a certain forum vintage my views on red things are well known. Notwithstanding that, a Black, bound Gibson is always a thing of beauty. 

I think it looks ace.

Deserves an understated (plain black Heistercamp?) strap I reckon.  

I did have your old signature firmly in mind when thinking about it! But I'm super happy with this now the dust has settled  

GoFish

Oh, late to this - what a lovely guitar and a great acquisition story, including transporting it back.

HNGD.

stickyfiddle

GoFish said:

Oh, late to this - what a lovely guitar and a great acquisition story, including transporting it back.

HNGD.

I tell you one thing, both Narita and the new Abu Dhabi airports are fecking huge and this thing is HEAVY in its hardcase...