The price was kind of high for that, still though, a solid find and a true one of one. I'd still call it a win, the color of that aged natural finish is amazing. @martinbaker1609 correctly described the fingerboard's heel-end binding decoration as a "Cupid's Bow Point".
Smoking a Connecticut cigar and watching these videos IS my happy place... This makes me miss my '67 335 12-to-6 string conversion with a DiMarzio Tone Zone F-spaced in the bridge with a dummy neck pickup with a kill switch...
The 5 words a buyer LOVES to hear... "I know what I have!" Which is code for "Greedy idiot." I can't even imagine how often Trog has to deal with that.
That's a Keeper...back in the 80's I sold used cars. We used to say "If you find another one as good as this, BUY IT!" Took Brad Gillis on a test drive one time in a fully restored 70 Dodge Challenger 440 and he didn't buy it....car has quadrupled in price since then🌚
The issue of the strings coming out of the saddles at the bridge is one reason why I didn't keep my Casino for longer than a year I did try changing the strings on it a couple of times, and I discovered that keeping them aligned at the bridge was kind of delicate.
These early 90s guys like to take time machines back to the 80s and stamp 'em then too! ruclips.net/video/_-JUbVNxhEk/видео.html&pp=ygUWZ2lic29uIE1JSUkgdHJvZ2x5IDgwcw%3D%3D
Would you rip off the vibrola and whack on a Bigsby, find a better bridge, and swap out those Grover Imperials for something more correct, also mess with the jack to receive a stereo lead properly? I would, in a heartbeat. That thing sounds amazing!
Stereo output jack simple fix - gat a TRS (Tip/Ring/Sleeve) plug and short the Tip and Ring contacts together. Push the plug all the way into the jack and WALA - both pickups on the same cable. Or get a 1/4" stereo cable and a breakout box to feed two amps.
You mean when we tell them: "This old thing? I have always had it. You probably haven't seen it because it's been in the garage. Not worth anything, but I like it." 😂
I'm pretty sure that when I die, the peopole who's got to sell my guitars, they will have so much to do, identifyng all my "seems like 196x, but on the headstock it's written 199x" guitars 🤣🤣
@@Trog Yeah! At the moment I do "baby-photos" when I bring a new guitar home, even for me, if I want to bring it back to original parts and electronics. I hope they will understand. But it's not a bad idea! i'll put a note in the PU cavity. 😝 I think I have quite a lot of time to find out what to do 😆 but I still find hilarious 🤣
Got a little magic in those pups. Perhaps a little of the off gassing seeped in and turned to "mojo"... surprised Gibson hasn't tried to market that yet.... 🤔
I love the old mocking explanation of the Varitone: "One position sounds like the guitar, one position sounds like B.B. King, and four positions sound like shit."
Actually, it can be useful, especially on the neck pickup, especially dirty. Been getting cool sounds out of varitones for 40 years myself and even have put one on an sg or two because I miss the sounds when I don't have it!
Great sounding guitar - i would change the tuners, the pickup covers, and instead of the tremolo i would want this end piece I don't know the name off, the one that was replaced later by the usual end piece. The Varitone... well, I have to confess that I love Varitone ;)
It's a great one-off. It being player's grade and full of holes is really not a huge deal to anyone but the snootiest collectors. However, part of being a collector is realizing that very interesting one-offs might just be in less than excellent condition. The tradeoff is worth it. It's very cool. That trem job is disappointing. It's not hard to mark the top, get symmetry, get a properly placed position first and drill and screw later. It's really nice, get it right the first time.
The guitar uses a "Y" cable so the front and back pickups can be played through two separate amplifiers. It was designed to be a stereo guitar by Hank Garland in conjunction with Gibson
It's a stellar looking and sounding guitar, but I hope the seller gave some type of an adjustment refund. It sounds like they knew it was a mutt (or at least suspected something was off), and that's why they responded so abrasively. If not I hope you gave them some negative feedback. I've also seen the same thing with the vibrola screws not lining up. The cover was Gibson and the rest was made for an import spec guitar.
Yeah, that would be New Year's Eve. No chance unless someone at the factory did it for the oddity. "F it, Lenny, I'm comin in tomorrow and makin me a one-off".
Yes but wasn’t worth it to set up time wise. This was the last episode with the old endoscope. It has since been upgraded to a better unit that makes direct captures much easier
Trogly have you ever thought of selling your tabs on patron or something .. I like watching your show but really anymore I just watch to hear you play .. good job keep up the good work
On the fence - I'll hold on to it for a little bit I think. I'm sure I'll eventually run into another 90001xxx guitar and might be able to learn more about it then. I like having Custom Shop Originals in the collection
@ I’m thinking replace the trem with the original Bigsby and see how it looks as far as covering holes etc… Gorgeous guitar and great review either way.
Did you see the J-200 Gardner Houlgate is auctioning? Its the last Kalamazoo flat top. Its marked custom shop original with a special "last flat top 1984" headstock inlay on a Brazilian rosewood head stock veneer
I had the "last les paul custom" once - will have to see what the auction does on that ruclips.net/video/rhkOg6MohQY/видео.html&pp=ygUbdHJvZ2x5IGxhc3QgbGVzIHBhdWwgY3VzdG9t
I do normally LOVE Gibson ES guitars , this one is no exception , look at that gorgeous maple wood grainage , it survived the off gassing so thats a good thingy ...sounds great ... Thanks Trogly !
Yeah, that was weird. He didn't seem too worried about that but that was an odd thing to be missing. It would bother me. Red flag. Even if it somehow came loose during alterations to the guitar you want to stick that thing back on cleanly.
My 1971 ES-320TD doesn't have a sticker inside either, but for such an oddball model I'm not surprised (still a fun player though, with the thinnest nut width I've ever seen)
Cellulose acetate caused this to deteriorate, but then an owner came along that was able to resuscitate. And so now we enjoy this sad tale of dealer lies and owner woes. Ask me how my Dad's old acetate 16mm film is doing. You'll have to wait I'm making a salad.
This guitar deserves a decent restoration and setup. It's been rather reduced to "player's grade" from the extensive mods, but it's such great eye candy, it really needs to be someone's stage axe.
Because it’s Gibson and it’s more “historically accurate”. Do you expect Gibson to actually know what they’re doing? “Gibson: Where historical accuracy comes before actuall quality”. I think that should be Gibson’s new slogan
Well the inlays are not that thick, so there is more fretboard wood under them. However, outside of acoustics there’s not much effect on the tone. (Some argue that maple has more “snap” but I’ve heard the same guitar with necks switched to compare rosewood and maple, and there wasn’t much difference.)
@@joermnycyeah i thought about the wood underneath too but im also not a tone wood guy... The construction of the guitar much more important then the wood it's made of...
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The price was kind of high for that, still though, a solid find and a true one of one.
I'd still call it a win, the color of that aged natural finish is amazing.
@martinbaker1609 correctly described the fingerboard's heel-end binding decoration as a "Cupid's Bow Point".
14:29 the real kicker is the strings are now not grounded because the Bigsby remnant doesn’t contact the strings / bridge. 😂
Yeah, are the strings connected to ground on output?
yea i saw that as well
I may be wrong, but this site is one of the best of RUclips and the universe. No drama. No BS. No politics. All guitar!!!! Thanks!
If you like Gibson guitars - you're in the right place! haha
@@Trog And Fender japan !
Someone snuck into the factory to make that neck on New Years Eve? “It’s midnight, triple zeros!”
Smoking a Connecticut cigar and watching these videos IS my happy place... This makes me miss my '67 335 12-to-6 string conversion with a DiMarzio Tone Zone F-spaced in the bridge with a dummy neck pickup with a kill switch...
10.5lbs for a hollow body is insane 😂
Sounds crazy at first, but 335 bodies are huge, almost entirely maple, and have pretty substantial center blocks, and all that adds up.
The 5 words a buyer LOVES to hear... "I know what I have!" Which is code for "Greedy idiot." I can't even imagine how often Trog has to deal with that.
Inspector Trogly solves another one! 🎸
I believe that little point on the frettboard is called a Cupid’s bow point.
100% correct. 👍
I’m not usually into semi hollows but this one is cool.
That's a Keeper...back in the 80's I sold used cars. We used to say "If you find another one as good as this, BUY IT!"
Took Brad Gillis on a test drive one time in a fully restored 70 Dodge Challenger 440 and he didn't buy it....car has quadrupled in price since then🌚
Miracle Motors:
If it's a good one,
It's a Miracle!
Love episodes like this! Good sleuthing Mr Sherlock 🎉
That “fancy curly Q” on the end of the fingerboard is often referred to as a “Cupid’s bow.”
Trog just call George he's an absolutely amazing human, he helped me with my 54 strat with no s/n.
The issue of the strings coming out of the saddles at the bridge is one reason why I didn't keep my Casino for longer than a year I did try changing the strings on it a couple of times, and I discovered that keeping them aligned at the bridge was kind of delicate.
The guy at the numbering machine said nothing is impossible. :)
These early 90s guys like to take time machines back to the 80s and stamp 'em then too! ruclips.net/video/_-JUbVNxhEk/видео.html&pp=ygUWZ2lic29uIE1JSUkgdHJvZ2x5IDgwcw%3D%3D
You seemed to really enjoy playing this guitar more so than some others. Sounds good.
Trogly is so smart.
He figured out the real deal on this guitar.
Would you rip off the vibrola and whack on a Bigsby, find a better bridge, and swap out those Grover Imperials for something more correct, also mess with the jack to receive a stereo lead properly? I would, in a heartbeat. That thing sounds amazing!
Stereo output jack simple fix - gat a TRS (Tip/Ring/Sleeve) plug and short the Tip and Ring contacts together. Push the plug all the way into the jack and WALA - both pickups on the same cable. Or get a 1/4" stereo cable and a breakout box to feed two amps.
Voila*
Trogly , I used to own a 2012 Wes Montgomery L5.
The pickguard on this 355 is a L5 copy , 5 ply binding and a faux tortise shell pickguard.
That is a stunner! Beautiful.
Despite the mods it is still a gorgeous guitar. Sounds very good too.
My biggest fear is that my wife will sell my guitars for what I told her they’re worth
You mean when we tell them: "This old thing? I have always had it. You probably haven't seen it because it's been in the garage. Not worth anything, but I like it." 😂
It cuts both ways 😑
Well, you could customize em to the point no one would want em😉carved initials etc
“ honey, I have some good news. I just found out those old guitars have gone up in value somehow. If I die, make sure to get the most out of them”
Before passing he said they’d be worth how much?
Sorry lady, these are just old guitars & amps & used guitars & gear are down right now.
If George Gruhn is the original owner, have you considered calling him?
Somebody has been taking lessons, and you are sounding great! 😊
This guitar has secrets.
Yes it does 🤔
I'm pretty sure that when I die, the peopole who's got to sell my guitars, they will have so much to do, identifyng all my "seems like 196x, but on the headstock it's written 199x" guitars 🤣🤣
consider writing a note to leave in the case or making a video on the guitar that they can look up!
@@Trog Yeah!
At the moment I do "baby-photos" when I bring a new guitar home, even for me, if I want to bring it back to original parts and electronics. I hope they will understand.
But it's not a bad idea!
i'll put a note in the PU cavity. 😝
I think I have quite a lot of time to find out what to do 😆 but I still find hilarious 🤣
I have a spreadsheet on my iPad with year, serial number model and brand name and the finish name, plus any mods done by me.
How did you write this comment 2 days ago? I'm genuinely curious. Does Trog release early for patreon members or something?
I don't worry about it but even if the executives fuck up, will pay for the party
Got a little magic in those pups. Perhaps a little of the off gassing seeped in and turned to "mojo"... surprised Gibson hasn't tried to market that yet.... 🤔
Good sounding guitar but that Varitone is a pretty useless feature.
I love the old mocking explanation of the Varitone: "One position sounds like the guitar, one position sounds like B.B. King, and four positions sound like shit."
Actually, it can be useful, especially on the neck pickup, especially dirty. Been getting cool sounds out of varitones for 40 years myself and even have put one on an sg or two because I miss the sounds when I don't have it!
@@bzbzob Good to know! Thank you.
Great sounding guitar - i would change the tuners, the pickup covers, and instead of the tremolo i would want this end piece I don't know the name off, the one that was replaced later by the usual end piece. The Varitone... well, I have to confess that I love Varitone ;)
That is one gorgeous guitar.
I’ve always referred to that neck binding appointment as a ‘super 400 neck’. But that doesn’t have the super 400 inlays 🤷🏻♂️
It's a great one-off. It being player's grade and full of holes is really not a huge deal to anyone but the snootiest collectors. However, part of being a collector is realizing that very interesting one-offs might just be in less than excellent condition.
The tradeoff is worth it. It's very cool.
That trem job is disappointing.
It's not hard to mark the top, get symmetry, get a properly placed position first and drill and screw later. It's really nice, get it right the first time.
The flower vase base looks like the tuning peg heads. Don't know if you mentioned it in the video yet 😂
It would really be interesting if you could take a chibson and do your usual blacklight and so on to compare it to an original!
A lot of these details are reminiscent of my 70s L-5S.
That Frankenstein sure is a looker sounds good maple is heavy and the varitone is as well 10lbs that's Les Paul territory nuts !!
I really like embossed pickup covers. I wish they still sold the ones that said Gibson
Even though modified, tastefully done, resulting in a beautiful looking guitar. One of a kind for sure!
Wow,fantasic playing
Looks like a Chibson serial number font and depth.
Not even close
The guitar uses a "Y" cable so the front and back pickups can be played through two separate amplifiers. It was designed to be a stereo guitar by Hank Garland in conjunction with Gibson
Are you sure it wasn’t Judy Garland…..what with all the whining about it from some? 🎸🤔
"Scrutinty" Trogly continues to crack me up with his "unique" brand of spelling and grammar.
Lol you caught that too..😅😂😅
I replayed that part like 4 times. "He said whaaa"?
Excellent episode.
Wooow those inlays are so 90's! Cool guitar
In fact, late 80's...
It's a stellar looking and sounding guitar, but I hope the seller gave some type of an adjustment refund. It sounds like they knew it was a mutt (or at least suspected something was off), and that's why they responded so abrasively. If not I hope you gave them some negative feedback. I've also seen the same thing with the vibrola screws not lining up. The cover was Gibson and the rest was made for an import spec guitar.
What about leap year guitars made on Day 366?
Would the factory be open on New Year’s Eve though?
Yeah, that would be New Year's Eve. No chance unless someone at the factory did it for the oddity. "F it, Lenny, I'm comin in tomorrow and makin me a one-off".
13:10 "Look how they massacred my boy."
What are the chances this is some sort of Gibson employee guitar?
are you taking a video of the screen of the endoscope footage? isn't there a way to screen record to transfer the info?
Yes but wasn’t worth it to set up time wise.
This was the last episode with the old endoscope. It has since been upgraded to a better unit that makes direct captures much easier
Trogly have you ever thought of selling your tabs on patron or something .. I like watching your show but really anymore I just watch to hear you play .. good job keep up the good work
🤣🤣🤣
💀
I'd send that back
@@D34D4H34D I wouldn't get a guitar through the post anyway
Really playing well trogly
wow. wow. wow. this is absolutely lovely .. .
I stayed tuned to see if you were keeping it or not, are you?
On the fence - I'll hold on to it for a little bit I think. I'm sure I'll eventually run into another 90001xxx guitar and might be able to learn more about it then. I like having Custom Shop Originals in the collection
@ I’m thinking replace the trem with the original Bigsby and see how it looks as far as covering holes etc… Gorgeous guitar and great review either way.
This was like an episode of Colombo and mcguyver !
Did you see the J-200 Gardner Houlgate is auctioning? Its the last Kalamazoo flat top. Its marked custom shop original with a special "last flat top 1984" headstock inlay on a Brazilian rosewood head stock veneer
I had the "last les paul custom" once - will have to see what the auction does on that
ruclips.net/video/rhkOg6MohQY/видео.html&pp=ygUbdHJvZ2x5IGxhc3QgbGVzIHBhdWwgY3VzdG9t
Have you seen any holes drilled in the body that were fixed from the factory.
..it's all about the riffs it drags out of you..
Love it the way it is and wouldn't change a thing (except who owns it). I've never met a Bigsby I liked.
The Mystery is killing me 😭😂
Looks like it could have come like that. Looks nice.
It surely did not come like that.
I do normally LOVE Gibson ES guitars , this one is no exception , look at that gorgeous maple wood grainage , it survived the off gassing so thats a good thingy ...sounds great ... Thanks Trogly !
That thing is gorgeous 😍
ScrutinTy?🤭
Could be one that was made in 1991, then customised in later years ?
Clearly
Varitone Switch !
A bunch of different tones that you don't wanna hear.
I hope you didn't get hosed on this guitar Trogly ! What screams to me is no orange sticker inside ? ?
Yeah, that was weird. He didn't seem too worried about that but that was an odd thing to be missing. It would bother me. Red flag. Even if it somehow came loose during alterations to the guitar you want to stick that thing back on cleanly.
stickers aren't important as long as there is a serial on the headstock. Tons of guitars don't have 'em
My 1971 ES-320TD doesn't have a sticker inside either, but for such an oddball model I'm not surprised (still a fun player though, with the thinnest nut width I've ever seen)
Cellulose acetate caused this to deteriorate, but then an owner came along that was able to resuscitate. And so now we enjoy this sad tale of dealer lies and owner woes. Ask me how my Dad's old acetate 16mm film is doing. You'll have to wait I'm making a salad.
I'm not a lover of the "3s", but this one is cool as hell!
10K would be a fair Price for this guitar
If it were real
Howdy all!!
Schroon tiitty?
JB Weld is not welding, fyi
gotta say that guitar is cool AF
What's the scale length? Is it 24.75 like a 355 or 25.5 like a L-5? It doesn't have an L-5 neck joint. So it's not simply a L-5 neck.
Never been a huge fan of 335s & 355s but I’d play the heck out of this one. It’s just so pretty
Same!
That’s a nice fuckin’ guitar.
Fascinating🙃
It is an L5 style neck
He said that.
"Utmost scrutinty"?? What? I think you meant "utmost scrutiny"
20:02 Any Grover experts out there?
🌷⚙⚙🌷
🌷⚙⚙🌷
🌷⚙⚙🌷
SLS to me. Maybe set up and cranked.
You still have a lot to learn
Varitone is Italian for tone sucker😂
You could have an executor of your living will or regular will give your wife a value estimate of your guitars
Are you sure it does not have a Byrdland 3/4 size neck ?
Byrdlands are 23.5" scale so I'm assuming the fret scale would be different to the 24.75" scale neck?
SN is off because it's a CHIBSON
my birth year! I wish I could have it :(
That's s cool guitar despite any mods. Looks and sounds fantastic. Whoever gets it should consider themselves very lucky.
I think it's a birdland
This is awesome! You are a Gibson hound dog!
Is this a terribly distorted video for anyone else?
This guitar deserves a decent restoration and setup. It's been rather reduced to "player's grade" from the extensive mods, but it's such great eye candy, it really needs to be someone's stage axe.
10lbs ES model? hard pass
HOW in 1991 did Gibson not know about off-gassing plastics and still using that material on top-end guitars!?
Because it’s Gibson and it’s more “historically accurate”. Do you expect Gibson to actually know what they’re doing? “Gibson: Where historical accuracy comes before actuall quality”. I think that should be Gibson’s new slogan
They know, but as usual they just don't care.
What about the tonewood debate when 2/3rd of the wood between two frets is abalone or pearloid...?😅
Well the inlays are not that thick, so there is more fretboard wood under them. However, outside of acoustics there’s not much effect on the tone. (Some argue that maple has more “snap” but I’ve heard the same guitar with necks switched to compare rosewood and maple, and there wasn’t much difference.)
@@joermnycyeah i thought about the wood underneath too but im also not a tone wood guy... The construction of the guitar much more important then the wood it's made of...
So, are you keeping it or got some $$$ off the price?
It was either keep it or send it to the Reverb Re-stock shop - so I kept it
I WANT THIS!!!!!!!!
when is it up for sale?