NGD: What I bought at the Brum Show (Gibson haters worst nightmare)

Philly_Q

DartmoorHedgehog said:

Very nice - I like that (should be yellow though, although black is the next best).

sweepy said:

always worth putting a set of locking studs on wraparound bridges, makes a noticeable difference 

What's the advantage of that then? Is it just that the bridge doesn't fall off when you're restringing or is there some other benefit? Only asking because my most-used guitar is a Melody Maker Special so your comment makes me wonder (although I don't have any problem with the existing bridge setup tbh)

It also stops the the bridge from tilting in the loose-fitting studs, which may not bother you but I find it annoying.  There are some claims that locking studs, clamped down tight, improve sustain, but I'm not so convinced of that.  I like to set them just finger-tight, so they hold the bridge parallel and it doesn't fall off, but it's still easy enough to remove.

YellowLedBetterMan

I'll keep the locking studs in mind.

I did notice the tilted bridge but it's intonated well and seems stable. Tuning stability seems about what I've come to expect with 3-a-side headstock guitars.

Mike58

The locking studs do keep the bridge in place when string changing but far more importantly negate the tilt that almost has to happen when the intonation grub screws are activated or if there is slop between the bridge and the post studs ( normal)
here is my SG Jnr with about 2-3 mm of intonation screw activated, quite a bit of tilt .

I just didn’t like the look of it and was sl concerned it could lead to excessive wear on the grub screws, but basically hated the imprecise look.
£35 bought me a TonePros locking stud set, totally invisible, a bit of a faf to fine adjust height and intonation, but once set and locked, Job Done 

TheMarlin

Under £300?!
Blimey, what a bargain!

sweepy

The locking studs clamp the whole assembly solid with no lean, which wraparound bridges are prone to, also stops the bridge falling off when changing strings 

Ozzie744

I Love the look of that! HNGD, enjoy it!

maharg101

Looks ace, enjoy !!

stonevibe

They remind me a little of the L6 models 

OilCityPickups

I like that ... I had a Melody Maker Explorer for a while ... and loved it ... but I flogged it and chucked the money into some more equipment for the business. I really liked those no nonsense, stripped down Gibsons. I have a feeling they might end up as being quite sought after, as I really don't think making 'budget  hot-rod rockers' is the way Gibson are heading.  

noisepolluter

OilCityPickups said:

I like that ... I had a Melody Maker Explorer for a while ... and loved it ... but I flogged it and chucked the money into some more equipment for the business. I really liked those no nonsense, stripped down Gibsons. I have a feeling they might end up as being quite sought after, as I really don't think making 'budget  hot-rod rockers' is the way Gibson are heading.  

I’ve got an LP special tribute that I mean to ask you about some replacement p90’s for in the not too distant. Amazingly resonant guitar but the 300k pots and the hot, dark stock pickups don’t do it justice. Was thinking Jin-Go but I note you’ve now got another 50’s style one…

Sarge

From your description I was expecting something hideous, that's a great looking guitar!
congrats

DartmoorHedgehog

@sweepy @Mike58 @Philly_Q Thanks - it doesn't bother me that the bridge comes off easily (in fact it's quite convenient for cleaning the dust from under it). I'm not really worried about the slight tilt either - well not £40 worried anyway. I have thought about making some horse-shoe shaped shims out of washers to wedge the bridge a bit tighter but it's been ten years now and I still haven't got round to it so I doubt it'll ever happen  

Neil

Under £300? 

Fantastic!

OilCityPickups

noisepolluter said:

OilCityPickups said:

I like that ... I had a Melody Maker Explorer for a while ... and loved it ... but I flogged it and chucked the money into some more equipment for the business. I really liked those no nonsense, stripped down Gibsons. I have a feeling they might end up as being quite sought after, as I really don't think making 'budget  hot-rod rockers' is the way Gibson are heading.  

I’ve got an LP special tribute that I mean to ask you about some replacement p90’s for in the not too distant. Amazingly resonant guitar but the 300k pots and the hot, dark stock pickups don’t do it justice. Was thinking Jin-Go but I note you’ve now got another 50’s style one…

Yep the 90/59 - it's sort of 'Son of Jin-Go' - a lot more 'open' and at the moment using Gibson friendly 49.2 hand made bobbins (with wide corner radius) and  while it lasts NOS wire. 
Coming up will be 90/54  (a little lower output and more 'jangle') and a 90/P13 at some point due to my experiences restoring 1940s P13s. 

roberty

It's cool, I miss risk-taking identity-crisis Gibson. Now we're stuck in the car with grumpy dad Gibson who won't stop at McDonalds or let you out for a wee

Creed_Clicks

I like that. I'd prefer it to an LP!

Philly_Q

roberty said:

It's cool, I miss risk-taking identity-crisis Gibson. Now we're stuck in the car with grumpy dad Gibson who won't stop at McDonalds or let you out for a wee

I suppose if we could go back to the days when everyone was moaning about Henry J we might say "be careful what you wish for".  Although I guess the new regime isn't worse, just equally annoying and frustrating, but in different ways.

Lebarque

Cracking score. Got a bit of Harmony/Teisco vibe. Really like that.

boogieman

Bargain! Nowt wrong with that either. 

YellowLedBetterMan

55 seconds in I spy something familiar...