When I first began building guitars in 1980, a lot of people were swapping those "old, weak PAF's" for DiMarzio and Seymour Duncans. I have boxes of them, I rarely sell them. Then brass hardware hit, I boxed up tons of old hardware too. When the Floyd Rose craze hit, I acquired boxes of old Pre CBS Single Coils. Nobody wanted this stuff. About 20yrs ago, I got a truck load of old growth woods from a 90yr old woodworker I knew for a long time. He was long since retired and knew I would treasure it as much as he did. It included Honduran Mahogany, Brazilian Rosewood, Swamp Ash, Ebony, Maple, and many others. I got the most ridiculously collection of figured woods too, all aged for 25 - 50 yrs. I have Mahogany big enough to build an entire guitar out of. I put it aside in a safe place, using it sparingly. I made myself a collection of guitars (I play Lefty), a few Les Pauls, Explorers, old Strat & Tele replicas with the woods, pickups and hardware that I acquired over the years, using old hide glues, and non plasticiser lacquers, it makes a difference. They are precious to me. A warning: Within 5yrs, I lost 3 friends to similar cancers. The one thing they all had in common, they all sprayed nitrocellulose without much protection. This stuff is dangerous, it's beyond flammable and will kill you slowly over time.
That is a powerful story. Thank you for sharing. That is a great point to also bring up, is why they stop using some of this things. Thank you for posting
Fred Garvin I have a similar story of friends who build custom knives using carbon grips that during grinding , finishing and polishing didn't use air purifying respirators.... carbon dust is highlly fine and toxic....
People are attracted to certain guitars not just by the sound coming out of the amplifier, but also by the feel of the guitar in the hands and against the body--vibrations that transfer from the guitar to the human body when you whack the strings. That said, I think the guitar construction does contribute to the sound. Play a solid body guitar with a pickup and then play a hollow body guitar with same exact pickup - you'll hear a difference. Guitars don't output simple sine waves. Their output is complex, affected by the guitar construction, the pickups, the strings, the nut.
I've owned 8 Maxes, 5 Derrigs, 7 og Gibson burst 59s, and 9 R9s over the years -- nothing beats my Melissa Etheridge Limited Edition 1995 Ovation though.
When I was a kid and looking at guitars, we called a 59 Les Paul a used Les Paul. I have to laugh at anyone paying $200,000 for one. Ridiculous! They may have a bit of voodoo but let’s be real honest, it’s the player, not the guitar. Such hype.
As long as gibson custom shop exists, anyone can get a '59 les paul. The most any guitar should go for is $20k. Anything more and you might as well forget that Lamborghini because now youve got an over-hyped block of wood
@milesonaught that doesn't sound believable in the slightest... how would gibson management even get a hold of your friends? I've bought multiple gibsons from this year that sound like absolute magic and I don't see anything off about it, so I call B S on alot of what people have to say about gibson, the company as a whole does an outstanding job to provide quality.
I've not played one so can't say. You have? It's interesting to research Stradivarius violins and cellos - apparently all extant examples have replacement necks, bridges, nuts, tuning pegs and ebony boards. It's only the body that is worth millions.
I've got a question. Many people believe that wood, glue and other things that change the tone have no effect. They say that the pickup and the magnet interact with the strings and your touch and make the sound. My question is: Does the vibrating of a guitar (which it obviously does) affect the way the strings vibrate? You hit the strings, strings make the guitar vibrate and that vibration gets transferred back to the string, is the idea. Love to see your responses!
The best thing about your videos is that one or two things you mention stick in the back of my mind, and I always end up going back to hear what it was a 2nd time. Nice trick!
First off, Gibson used Formaldehyde glue, non animal based, on the Les Pauls in the 50's. The large surface area of the top to body was too large for hide glue to cure properly in a reasonable length of time for production. It's a fallacy that glue adds to tone, with proper joinery and decent and far superior glues like Titebond.
Loved when you talked about Max and the "magical" things that went into the LP's. Snake oil and bs will earn one a lot of money. I keep a supply of shovels and waist high boots for the contemporary piles that are inherent in today's society. Perception is indeed reality. The Guitar Matrix.
Before watching your channel I didn't know crap about "the guitar" .... I am a one man band / singer who accompanies himself with acoustic , electric , B9 organ machine , elec. drummer , etc ... so your channel is a real education ... thanks again for this !!!!
Hey Phil I see you changed the title of this video. I have no idea if it's because I mentioned it but it shows what a class act you are. The builder of these guitars put his heart and soul into these replicas. Thx
I use a special glue only obtained by the lower beak of a Bald Eagle. It takes nearly 200 beaks to make one guitar. The wood I use can only be found off the coast of South America and is at a depth of 1,200 feet. All of the wood is hand sawn by dwarves with diamond encrusted resin blades. After each guitar is finiahed, all the dwarves are slain and the wood soaks in their blood. The final clear coat is made from the tears of a platypus and dried black rino scrotum skin which is flaked and mixed. Each guitar takes 2 generations to age in a Templar Knights hidden wine cellar. After aging, if any defects are found the guitar is destroyed by a certified Guitar Center manager.
I have always used a special formulation of Turtle Wax and Turtle soup when polishing my Les Paul. The turtle's shell is very resonant, and the nutrients derived from the soup greatly enhance the timbre of the instrument.
*+Dave Chum* I've just been rubbing mine with a turtle. One time, at band camp, I didn't have a turtle so I used a tortoise and my guitar was left-handed for almost a week.
Thanks for your channel and valuable content... Saw your video a few months ago, then bumped recently with several stories of the nice Hunterburst Max Les Paul's that Slash first got and lost youknowbecauseofwhy, then the AFD album sessions, the Derrig Les Paul, the sad passing of Derrig... and all that ending in Gibson issuing a Slash signature LP certifiying the higher quality of replicas. Super interesting stuff.
I have a modified 2013 Trad (Burstbuckers, Emerson caps, bone nut) that sounds pretty sick. You'd have to spend a LOT of money to get something that sounds noticeably better in the LP vein.
My 52 Les Paul had no finish on it. It was natural. And because it was that old, the stain on it, the natural color, had gone into a very warm gold tan color. Handy thing about a guitar like that. You're never worried about the finish. Whatever you bump into it..your shoe at night, etc., the guitar was harder than it. Original pots...and they were never noisy. Ever. What did they do right back then that they can't do now? Now, a toggle switch wears out. Interesting color to that 52 fretboard...it had a slight purple tone. Dark, brown black purple.
+Phillip McKnight I'm not trying to be argumentative, but from my understanding, and I could be wrong about this, is that Nitrocellulose Lacquer finishes never really harden or "cure", and in some people's opinion, allow the guitar to resonate more. While the Polyurethane or Polyester finishes actually do harden almost immediately. Also, from my understanding, that is why a "Nitro" finished guitar ages in a different way than a guitar finished in "Poly", (nitro wears, fades, and checks. poly cracks and chips). Just my thoughts!
Many would disagree, but the closest I've played to a 59 is a Heritage H150. I got a chance to A/B a real 59 with many different Les Pauls and I really felt it had the strongest similarity with the Heritage. They weren't the SAME obviously...no new guitar is going to feel like a 60 year old guitar....but the Heritage, to me, felt like a NEW version of that 59. Just an opinion!
Glass good, plastic bad? A few years ago I had the pleasure of seeing Cheap Trick in a small venue with a P.A. that was not overly loud. When Rick Neilson got out the perspex guitar it just blew the Gibsons, Hamers and Fenders away. The sound was so much more in focus. You could hear the individual notes in the chords rather than just a roar, and it did not seem that he was using less gain on those songs. Presumably the difference was not so marked where he was on stage. If he had been hearing what the audience was hearing he'd have used that axe for every number.
You forgot a very important part that allows those pickups to really sing-the Centralab pots. These don't sound like modern pots today and are a major part of 'Burst' sound.
Lovely burst finish on that Max copy. I'd have one over a Gibson Custom model any day. Wasn't he famous for supplying some of his guitars to upcoming bands who needed one for recording or something?
The bad thing is no matter what I do, change the brand of strings, change the gauge of strings or replace the pickups. All my guitars sound like me. I use the same Stratocaster for recording. Outside art festivals I was one of my Les Paul's. Bars will trouble written all over them a Strat or Les Paul Junior by Epiphone. Big hall is a good Strat and my Epiphone Casino. The main sound changes come from the amp I use. I believe all of this is true for you guy. Some distortion, reverb, delay and flanger I need to look to see what guitar I am playing. My Black Face Fender can take the stink off the hogs and the name off the guitar. I am positive wood has no factor on these situations.
Completely agree. It's not wood it's mostly to do with pick-ups. And people also tend to forget this: - Electronics have a 5% tolerance per component! - Pickups are never the same (especially hand-wound) - All the older models that are still being played have survived the crap ones (survivor bias) - Musicians listen with their eyes half of the time.
Frankly I've had 50s and 60s Gibsons and they are fantastic. I surmise that some of the affection is psychological. Mine were player grade, no matter. But it's nuts they're worth so much. I'm using older 80s Tokais now, but even they are 5x the original price. They are very very good.
Come on man, let's get the facts right. The real '59 Les Paul's did not have bone nuts. They were very hard 6/6 nylon. It's voodoo to say that a 10 micrometer +/- glue joint of hardened Titebond will be less "resonant" than hide glue. Modern wood glues are very hard when completely cured. Gibson would have probably used Titebond in '59 had it been available, but hide glue was the readily available standard glue for fine instrument construction back in the day. Hide glue is a traditional method of construction, not necessarily "better". Ask the tone-obsessed PRS what glue he uses to construct his private stock guitars or Taylor what glue he uses to construct his high-end acoustics It isn't hide glue. There's no evidence that aliphatic glues negatively affect tone. The advantage (or disadvantage depending on your needs) is that hide glue sets up quickly, is easy to repair and clean up easily because it's water soluble. It also softens in high heat. Ask anyone that's left an old Martin acoustic in a hot car all afternoon only to find the bridge popped or the top separated from the body. That would never happen with Titebond. If a harder finish is better, than modern Fenders and PRS's, with super hard poly finishes, should be the best sounding guitars in the world. Oh, wait .... But that's a whole other opinion thing. Lacquer is not hard or crystalline. Actually, lacquer never completely dries. It is constantly gassing off but does arguably get "harder" with age. Any lacquer finish actually does what you claim modern glues do - dampens resonance to some degree.. SRV, John Mayer and Rory Gallagher might say "no finish" is best. BTW, I still enjoy your reviews.
PRS and taylor use white or yellow glue because it's faster and cheaper. Hide glue is probably better, or they wouldn't use it in violins. Does it make a difference in a properly made guitar? Probably not. How much extra does it cost to use it? Probably $10. I'd use it.
But famous musicians with money to spend don't know any of that stuff and are gullible enough to believe glue or even tone-wood matters. They get a professional set-up guitar and love it because of THAT, and attribute the quality to those sales pitches instead of what really makes them different from assembly line big-box store guitars.
Not to feed the wood argument in any way, but a thing I have noticed about vintage Les Paul's is that the wood gradually gets heavier from '54 to '59. I'm not a dealer or collector, but always make out to vintage shows and can really notice a considerable difference when playing these vintage pieces. And as a player I would rather have a "Max" made instrument than a Gibson custom shop or vintage in most cases.
Fantastic video as always. Love your channel. However 59s were not 100% Hyde glue. The tops were glued using formaldehyde resin to increase productivity time.
I met this guy at Atomic Guitars in Glendale . He bought one in to have them put a finish on (Red tinted). It had Max on the head stock. After he left they told me who he was and what he built and who for. Said that guitar would go for about 30.000 . They said he don't like finishing them anymore . That was about 4 years ago.
The best LP I ever had had a body made from ash with a Honduras mahogany top and a neck from umbunga with Lignum Vitae fingerboard and Beryllium copper frets.
I prefer the 59 1/2 that had the bodies aged in baby seal blood and then rubbed with ancient aged goat skins while priests chanted in the back ground. Perfect tone every time.
Great comments fellow guitar players! It's so good to see that the consensus is scientific rather than emotional. If you listen to most of Philip's points (not all) he says "they say" this and "they say" that. I agree; they do but it does not mean any of this stuff is true. The real value in an old Les Paul is it's age and scarcity; we'd all love to have one but not because of the dark art/magic used in its construction. My 87 LP Custom sounds amazing, plays effortlessly and still looks new because I take care of my stuff. The sounds it makes are as much a function of my playing and what the thing is plugged into than its construction.
Having played an original 60 I can say there really is something special about the guitar that other Les Pauls don't have. Its a combination of sustain, squawk from the pickups, and something else (not sure...weight/wood?), it just sounds better. All this being said I can say that I've played $850 Japanese guitars that also had that magic and believe its definitely possibly to reproduce at a fraction of the cost of an original Gibson burst.
True about the glue. I repair violins. All hide glue. Plastic glue makes for a dead sounding fiddle. Same for the finish too, although I can't imagine the finish mattering much on an electric though. Not to my on good ear, anyway ;)
at last someone with intelligence. talking about Glues and finishes. I have been trying to explain this factor to piano people for years. I am piano rebuilder of 28 years I not a guitar player but have played Banjo in the morning past.
Tone & resonance are a combination of many factors. It's almost a zen thing. Feel and playability are personal preferences. But classic guitars fall into a whole other classification as aged seasoned works of art primarily hand crafted by artisans in their field who are no longer with us. Whether or not they are worth the prices the command depends on their worth to you and your disposable income.
Another great video. A few things to note,, the finish on the guitar contributes or detracts nothing from its sound. I redid a Gibson Les Paul in polyester, it changed nothing other than the look. All lacquers have plasticizers in them, some more than others. I use a lacquer that has fewer plasticizers - Plex PL6000 distributed by Providence Lacquer - because I like its performance on furniture. The glue is also inconsequential. I use a variety of glues and I have a glue pot. Wood glues dry to a brittle film, including hyde glue. The degree that one glue will act as a sound dampener vs another glue is negligible on an electric guitar. The mahogany back and maple cap on a Les Paul will resonate as one solid piece, but with tone qualities unique to that laminated wood blank. My '78 Les Paul has a three-piece maple neck instead of a solid mahogany neck, and thus it spunds accordingly so.
Why aren't solid glass guitars a thing if wood and glue difference affects tone? Wouldn't glass or acrylic be the best choice since it's not porous therefere it doesn't need to "dry" out and harden like wood does?
Is it worth or is it PRICED more than a car? You can slap a huge price on any guitar but is it WORTH buying at that price? Probably not. No guitar is really WORTH THAT much. I am not a native english speaker so maybe i don't understand the meaning of the word worth accurately when it comes to this but i guess you understand my point.
Guitars made of wood don't all sound alike. Why is that? The strings of a guitar are attached to a bridge, saddles and sometimes tailpieces, run along the length of the guitar, pass over the nut and wound on the tuners. These parts are all attached to wood. Lets be clear folks, unless two guitars are made from the same tree, hell from the same board, there's a good chance they won't sound alike. Wood density and type all play a factor in the tone a guitar emotes. Don't forget folks strings are attached to wood, how the wood reacts to the vibration of the strings determines its tone. There are other factors that give any guitar its sound but wood does plays a part. Have a Happy Holiday!
I want one haha I also believe that everything you mentioned does affect tone , I have had a good amount of Gibson les Paul's my les Paul's now are a 73 custom and a 2001 standard I just sold a 2012 standard that guitar was awsonme sounding but I had problems with it first the input kept getting loose also the three way switch was always loose than the fifth frett trapazoid fell out weird finally I sold it at a big loss and I bought it new but whatever , but never had any problems with the old one
each component plays a part in tone . also important is whether the truss rod has a plastic sleeve or whether it's metal is bearing directly on the neck timber . of course the amplifier has its say in the final sound .
I dunno. I went to a vintage guitar shop and played 2 guitars: one 1959 Les Paul reissue and a 1960 Telecaster Masterbuild. I played both and ended up buying the 1960 Telecaster. I liked the sound better and tone.
I've had many LPs.. from Studios to R8 and R9s... all great guitars in their own right... but these oldies have that mojo no newer guitars could duplicate... and I stick to the fact that this old growth Honduran mahogany is one huge part of the alchemy... I mean, I know a guy in Halifax NS who owns a 53 Goldtop and man, that thing is soooo light and resonant... it's pure magic really...
I thoroughly enjoy your videos. They entertain and educate at once. But my guitar efforts are best described as abuse. I'm a bassist. One look at my paws makes that perfectly understood. So. I have to ask. What is that blue 4 stringed beat with the white pickguard an the J-P-J pickup configuration. I'd love to see it demoed of if you already have, a link to it. Thank you & here's to a kinder 2017
Thanks for posting. I enjoyed the video. When referring to plastic-based glues, do you mean to say that they add damping when compared to the dried animal hide glue?
I have never felt a genuine 59 Les Paul in hands. However I heard Steve Lukather playing his 59LP & the sustain was amazing but I need to note that Lukather can perhaps do the same & get sustain of his MusicMan Luke. so the bottom line is the Feel of the player can make amazing tone from a good decently built guitar. if you can buy a LesPaul59 well you are blessed but if you CANT own 1 don't cry work on you skills. Joe Bonnamesa make his Tele whine & wail pretty close to a Les Paul 59. just make good music
How....may I ask, did you get those two Max Guitars together at one time........? Max is an old fiend of mine and I actually remember the day the pallet of "THAT" very wood came to the shop on Sierra Bonita, right off of Sunset... 2 blocks west of where the Sunset Guitar Center is today!
interesting, yes there are some differece between wood and wood, for example the Stradivarius spruce has very narro year rings cause it was groing under very cold winters under many years and that generated the nice tone in the Stradivarius violin. Glue has also an importans as you mention, contrary to some of the commentators of this video.
What about Kris Derrig? He died of cancer a long time ago and only built like 12 "59" Replica's. But he was the other infamous replica builder of the 59 Les Paul. Do you know how much a Kris Derrig 59 Les Paul would fetch these days?
I know people will laugh when I tell you this... but I truly wish you could get your hands on a Vintage (brand) V100 distressed Lemon Drop PGM. These guitars were designed by Trev Wilkinson based on his studies of the famous Peter Green / Gary Moore '59 Les Paul. I would love to have someone with your knowledge and background have a go at one. I own one and am truly shocked by the quality of the build, the playability of the guitar, and the sheer range of tones that can be attained while playing it. It's the one guitar I will never sell... easily worth four to five times what I paid for it. The pickups are simply amazing and can get achieve all of the famous Les Paul tones. Thanks as always for sharing your knowledge.
I already posted this as a reply but I'm putting it here so that people don't have to scroll through 100+ comments to see this. A guitar is a system everything in a system effects the output of that system, that's the science of it. The string vibrates into the bridge that vibrates into the wood, that vibrates back into the bridge, that vibrates back into the strings. My melody maker from 65 is more resonant unplugged than any guitar I've ever played, that translates to sustain when plugged in. So yes the wood, finish and glue will have an effect, the real question is, how much?
I guess by the term resonate it is meant sustain. The denser der material, wood or hardware, the better the guitar sustains. I think on an electric guitar I didn't want any resonance because it interferes the sustain. But Just my two cents, the tone-wood debate is not for everyone 😉
Mark Konns No. It means how much of the force you use to pick turns into sound. It is not to be mixed up with how long does the body vibrate, since more of the picking power is bleeding to that.
You're right. The vibration of the body is in opposition to the string and causes the string to stop vibrating sooner on a guitar with high resonance. The original Les Pauls and the LPs reintroduced in 1968 were very heavy guitars made of dense old-growth mahogany and they were desired as much for their sustain as their tone. Gibson started "traditional" weight relief in the early 80s and chambering in the 90s. It appears that Gibson is bringing back solid body LPs in their "T" line.
Could you talk about Yamahas and especially the pacifica line? I got a Pacifica 821D that the internet lack infos about, and from being close to some old Yamaha guitars, those guitars were made fantastically. hope you have some more insight, and frankly, you're a rare well of infos ! God bless you.
thank u, very informative. so if i want that true to original sound, the main thing is the pickups u mentioned? which ones should i get for a 3 pickup black beauty copy like jimmy page's? thanx 4 any info.
Every single part of the guitar that can affect how the strings vibrate can affect the sound/tone to some degree. That said, my guitars with Richlite fingerboards are some of my favorites.
The pick-ups sounded very ordinary to my ears. Check-out the Bare-knuckle pickups Government Mule - that is the best sounding, most authentic PAF-style pick-up I have come across. Their Emerald pick-up has "the sound" too but the Govt. Mule sounds perfect to me.
FINALLY AN ANSWER TO WHAT KIND OF "NON GIBSON" LES PAUL SLASH USED ON AFD IF IN FACT THAT IS THE ONE PHIL WAS TALKING ABOUT BECAUSE ITS PRETTY WELL KNOWN BY NOW HE USED A LES PAUL COPY ON AFD WHEN HE COULD NOT FIND A GUITAR SOUND HE WAS HAPPY WITH WHEN DOING THE RECORDING OF THAT RECORD
It's all heresay, there are about 20 posts floating around where 2 guys claimed to have lunch with a guy who knew a guy, or that they knew someone directly, or or or or or or. I swear it's 100 pages deep at least. It starts on les paul forum and branches out from there.
It's not hearsay mate. Ed Roman and Jim Foote confirmed that Kris Derrig made the Guitar Slash played on Appetite. Both Roman and Foote knew Slash personally and Ed Roman worked for Gibson in the 80's.
Breaking news! Gibson and Fender read through all these comments and they decided that the naysayers are right: specific materials don't matter. They'll be making all their guitar bodies from balsa in the future to save weight. Gibson also announced that the ES line will now become solid - the hollow bodies could not have affected tone since they use pickups to get sound directly from the strings.
Slash preferred the Chris Derrig made 59 that had the alnico II. Unfortunately Chris is now dead and Max is still around with some remaining old growth woods that he acquired a long time ago. Both are excellent luthiers and copied the 59s to the t.
I would say the Kris Derrig replica Les Paul's are worth the most. A few are in private collections I think Slash has 2. His original famous one from AfD Serial #: 90607........ and a second a collector sold to him. Not too many are out there but people do not know if they have one. I think they said were about 20 made.
I'm sorry but things like wood, paint and glue all make a huge difference in the guitar's sound. Even the date and time that the glue comes out of the factory make a significant difference in the guitars tone. Given two batches of the same paint, if one is canned in an aluminum can and one in plastic, when each identical paint is sprayed on the guitar, I can tell which one came from the plastic can--the guitar's tone won't lie. Pickups have very little to do with the guitar's tone--they have about as much to do with the guitar's tone as the amp through which it is played and the person playing the guitar. Its all about the materials. I like to play my guitars after they have been outside their cases for 2 and a half days. The small amount of dust that accumulates during this period is just enough to change the tone of the guitar completely; the sound is so much better than a guitar fresh out of its case.
Sounds amazing. The '59 gibson reissues sound amazing to me, too. Those start looking like a bargain compared to this. re: the glue on the neck. It makes me wonder how a neck-thru lp style guitar like a chapman would sound with fralins.
Hey Phil, I just saw this video and I would like to know how would you go about telling the difference of a Max 59 LP from a Gibson 59 LP Real or reissued?
When I first began building guitars in 1980, a lot of people were swapping those "old, weak PAF's" for DiMarzio and Seymour Duncans. I have boxes of them, I rarely sell them. Then brass hardware hit, I boxed up tons of old hardware too. When the Floyd Rose craze hit, I acquired boxes of old Pre CBS Single Coils. Nobody wanted this stuff. About 20yrs ago, I got a truck load of old growth woods from a 90yr old woodworker I knew for a long time. He was long since retired and knew I would treasure it as much as he did. It included Honduran Mahogany, Brazilian Rosewood, Swamp Ash, Ebony, Maple, and many others. I got the most ridiculously collection of figured woods too, all aged for 25 - 50 yrs. I have Mahogany big enough to build an entire guitar out of. I put it aside in a safe place, using it sparingly.
I made myself a collection of guitars (I play Lefty), a few Les Pauls, Explorers, old Strat & Tele replicas with the woods, pickups and hardware that I acquired over the years, using old hide glues, and non plasticiser lacquers, it makes a difference. They are precious to me.
A warning: Within 5yrs, I lost 3 friends to similar cancers. The one thing they all had in common, they all sprayed nitrocellulose without much protection. This stuff is dangerous, it's beyond flammable and will kill you slowly over time.
That is a powerful story. Thank you for sharing. That is a great point to also bring up, is why they stop using some of this things. Thank you for posting
Fred Garvin I have a similar story of friends who build custom knives using carbon grips that during grinding , finishing and polishing didn't use air purifying respirators.... carbon dust is highlly fine and toxic....
RIP your inbox.
I am also a lefty. Do you have any of your lefty models for sale?
Id be curious to hear more about the lacquer and such.
*Any* Les Paul is worth more than my car. :D
MravacKid not Epiphone!
Used epiphone special with a cracked neck???
Mine too
Word bro! I don't even have a car but my Eastman Sb59 sunburst sings like she should! Nitro version not the violin varnish they also offer.
That Edward Van Halen fellow took a fifty dollar guitar, put some decent hardware on it and rocked the entire world.
Exactly! It’s the player, not the guitar. EVH could have made a Squire sound amazing.
Its true.
what if my car is made out of original '59 Les Pauls?
Surprised Joe Bonamassa hasn’t approached you to purchase it yet
The sustain goes forever.....
@@sirmoanalot3779 specially turned up to 11.......
A guitar hero guitar is worth more than my car
Number8 Good one,,,lmao
Thanx , that was my laugh for the day.....
Ha!
You win!
Lmao! Really sad though!😂
People are attracted to certain guitars not just by the sound coming out of the amplifier, but also by the feel of the guitar in the hands and against the body--vibrations that transfer from the guitar to the human body when you whack the strings. That said, I think the guitar construction does contribute to the sound. Play a solid body guitar with a pickup and then play a hollow body guitar with same exact pickup - you'll hear a difference. Guitars don't output simple sine waves. Their output is complex, affected by the guitar construction, the pickups, the strings, the nut.
jrsmoots I agree. There are many factors at work.
dont forget the fifty virgins.......!!
Damn that guitar worth more than venezuela!
I tried a 1955 Les paul goldtop a week ago in a vintage ac30. Amazing experience...
I've owned 8 Maxes, 5 Derrigs, 7 og Gibson burst 59s, and 9 R9s over the years -- nothing beats my Melissa Etheridge Limited Edition 1995 Ovation though.
The reason '59 Les Pauls are so expensive is because Pete Townsend single handedly destroyed most of them on stage in the '60s.
They were Rickenbackers. He didn't start playing Les Pauls until the 70s.
No he. Didn’t
It’s a joke guys
Lol
LOL
When I was a kid and looking at guitars, we called a 59 Les Paul a used Les Paul. I have to laugh at anyone paying $200,000 for one. Ridiculous! They may have a bit of voodoo but let’s be real honest, it’s the player, not the guitar. Such hype.
Yep, stamp and baseball card collectors. The "worth" is only in the minds of the next supposed buyer.
As long as gibson custom shop exists, anyone can get a '59 les paul. The most any guitar should go for is $20k. Anything more and you might as well forget that Lamborghini because now youve got an over-hyped block of wood
@milesonaught that doesn't sound believable in the slightest... how would gibson management even get a hold of your friends? I've bought multiple gibsons from this year that sound like absolute magic and I don't see anything off about it, so I call B S on alot of what people have to say about gibson, the company as a whole does an outstanding job to provide quality.
I've not played one so can't say. You have? It's interesting to research Stradivarius violins and cellos - apparently all extant examples have replacement necks, bridges, nuts, tuning pegs and ebony boards. It's only the body that is worth millions.
Hype, and just as importantly, limited supply.
I've got a question. Many people believe that wood, glue and other things that change the tone have no effect. They say that the pickup and the magnet interact with the strings and your touch and make the sound. My question is: Does the vibrating of a guitar (which it obviously does) affect the way the strings vibrate? You hit the strings, strings make the guitar vibrate and that vibration gets transferred back to the string, is the idea. Love to see your responses!
The best thing about your videos is that one or two things you mention stick in the back of my mind, and I always end up going back to hear what it was a 2nd time. Nice trick!
Informative, as always. Thanks.....BTW, my Know Your Gear T-shirt arrived yesterday, can't wait to get the word out there up here in Toronto!!!!
Been watching a couple years and yor vids are still great. I love seeing how the production and content have evolved.
First off, Gibson used Formaldehyde glue, non animal based, on the Les Pauls in the 50's. The large surface area of the top to body was too large for hide glue to cure properly in a reasonable length of time for production. It's a fallacy that glue adds to tone, with proper joinery and decent and far superior glues like Titebond.
Loved when you talked about Max and the "magical" things that went into the LP's. Snake oil and bs will earn one a lot of money. I keep a supply of shovels and waist high boots for the contemporary piles that are inherent in today's society. Perception is indeed reality. The Guitar Matrix.
Before watching your channel I didn't know crap about "the guitar" .... I am a one man band / singer who accompanies himself with acoustic , electric , B9 organ machine , elec. drummer , etc ... so your channel is a real education ... thanks again for this !!!!
Hey Phil I see you changed the title of this video. I have no idea if it's because I mentioned it but it shows what a class act you are. The builder of these guitars put his heart and soul into these replicas. Thx
+Wade Wilson i liked your comment about it being a Replica not a copy. Very good point, so i changed it. Thank you
I use a special glue only obtained by the lower beak of a Bald Eagle. It takes nearly 200 beaks to make one guitar. The wood I use can only be found off the coast of South America and is at a depth of 1,200 feet. All of the wood is hand sawn by dwarves with diamond encrusted resin blades. After each guitar is finiahed, all the dwarves are slain and the wood soaks in their blood. The final clear coat is made from the tears of a platypus and dried black rino scrotum skin which is flaked and mixed.
Each guitar takes 2 generations to age in a Templar Knights hidden wine cellar. After aging, if any defects are found the guitar is destroyed by a certified Guitar Center manager.
I have always used a special formulation of Turtle Wax and Turtle soup when polishing my Les Paul. The turtle's shell is very resonant, and the nutrients derived from the soup greatly enhance the timbre of the instrument.
*+Dave Chum* I've just been rubbing mine with a turtle. One time, at band camp, I didn't have a turtle so I used a tortoise and my guitar was left-handed for almost a week.
Thanks for your channel and valuable content... Saw your video a few months ago, then bumped recently with several stories of the nice Hunterburst Max Les Paul's that Slash first got and lost youknowbecauseofwhy, then the AFD album sessions, the Derrig Les Paul, the sad passing of Derrig... and all that ending in Gibson issuing a Slash signature LP certifiying the higher quality of replicas. Super interesting stuff.
Where did you get those 2 very expensive guitars??
I have a modified 2013 Trad (Burstbuckers, Emerson caps, bone nut) that sounds pretty sick. You'd have to spend a LOT of money to get something that sounds noticeably better in the LP vein.
My 52 Les Paul had no finish on it. It was natural. And because it was that old, the stain on it, the natural color, had gone into a very warm gold tan color. Handy thing about a guitar like that. You're never worried about the finish. Whatever you bump into it..your shoe at night, etc., the guitar was harder than it. Original pots...and they were never noisy. Ever. What did they do right back then that they can't do now? Now, a toggle switch wears out. Interesting color to that 52 fretboard...it had a slight purple tone. Dark, brown black purple.
+Phillip McKnight I'm not trying to be argumentative, but from my understanding, and I could be wrong about this, is that Nitrocellulose Lacquer finishes never really harden or "cure", and in some people's opinion, allow the guitar to resonate more. While the Polyurethane or Polyester finishes actually do harden almost immediately. Also, from my understanding, that is why a "Nitro" finished guitar ages in a different way than a guitar finished in "Poly", (nitro wears, fades, and checks. poly cracks and chips). Just my thoughts!
Phil, your videos are so awesome. I always learn something every time I watch. Merry Christmas, big guy.
Many would disagree, but the closest I've played to a 59 is a Heritage H150. I got a chance to A/B a real 59 with many different Les Pauls and I really felt it had the strongest similarity with the Heritage. They weren't the SAME obviously...no new guitar is going to feel like a 60 year old guitar....but the Heritage, to me, felt like a NEW version of that 59. Just an opinion!
you have one of the best music and gear channel on RUclips, great job
Glass good, plastic bad? A few years ago I had the pleasure of seeing Cheap Trick in a small venue with a P.A. that was not overly loud. When Rick Neilson got out the perspex guitar it just blew the Gibsons, Hamers and Fenders away. The sound was so much more in focus. You could hear the individual notes in the chords rather than just a roar, and it did not seem that he was using less gain on those songs. Presumably the difference was not so marked where he was on stage. If he had been hearing what the audience was hearing he'd have used that axe for every number.
You forgot a very important part that allows those pickups to really sing-the Centralab pots. These don't sound like modern pots today and are a major part of 'Burst' sound.
Lovely burst finish on that Max copy. I'd have one over a Gibson Custom model any day. Wasn't he famous for supplying some of his guitars to upcoming bands who needed one for recording or something?
The bad thing is no matter what I do, change the brand of strings, change the gauge of strings or replace the pickups. All my guitars sound like me. I use the same Stratocaster for recording. Outside art festivals I was one of my Les Paul's. Bars will trouble written all over them a Strat or Les Paul Junior by Epiphone. Big hall is a good Strat and my Epiphone Casino. The main sound changes come from the amp I use. I believe all of this is true for you guy. Some distortion, reverb, delay and flanger I need to look to see what guitar I am playing. My Black Face Fender can take the stink off the hogs and the name off the guitar. I am positive wood has no factor on these situations.
If you play without effects straight through an amp it does a bit.
Completely agree. It's not wood it's mostly to do with pick-ups. And people also tend to forget this:
- Electronics have a 5% tolerance per component!
- Pickups are never the same (especially hand-wound)
- All the older models that are still being played have survived the crap ones (survivor bias)
- Musicians listen with their eyes half of the time.
I always opt for the pretty guitars because they sound better.
I thought you play keyboards...
Frankly I've had 50s and 60s Gibsons and they are fantastic. I surmise that some of the affection is psychological.
Mine were player grade, no matter. But it's nuts they're worth so much.
I'm using older 80s Tokais now, but even they are 5x the original price. They are very very good.
A SKATEBOARD is worth more than MY car!!!
Come on man, let's get the facts right.
The real '59 Les Paul's did not have bone nuts. They were very hard 6/6 nylon.
It's voodoo to say that a 10 micrometer +/- glue joint of hardened Titebond will be less "resonant" than hide glue. Modern wood glues are very hard when completely cured. Gibson would have probably used Titebond in '59 had it been available, but hide glue was the readily available standard glue for fine instrument construction back in the day. Hide glue is a traditional method of construction, not necessarily "better".
Ask the tone-obsessed PRS what glue he uses to construct his private stock guitars or Taylor what glue he uses to construct his high-end acoustics It isn't hide glue. There's no evidence that aliphatic glues negatively affect tone.
The advantage (or disadvantage depending on your needs) is that hide glue sets up quickly, is easy to repair and clean up easily because it's water soluble. It also softens in high heat. Ask anyone that's left an old Martin acoustic in a hot car all afternoon only to find the bridge popped or the top separated from the body. That would never happen with Titebond.
If a harder finish is better, than modern Fenders and PRS's, with super hard poly finishes, should be the best sounding guitars in the world. Oh, wait .... But that's a whole other opinion thing.
Lacquer is not hard or crystalline. Actually, lacquer never completely dries. It is constantly gassing off but does arguably get "harder" with age. Any lacquer finish actually does what you claim modern glues do - dampens resonance to some degree..
SRV, John Mayer and Rory Gallagher might say "no finish" is best.
BTW, I still enjoy your reviews.
PRS and taylor use white or yellow glue because it's faster and cheaper. Hide glue is probably better, or they wouldn't use it in violins. Does it make a difference in a properly made guitar? Probably not. How much extra does it cost to use it? Probably $10. I'd use it.
But famous musicians with money to spend don't know any of that stuff and are gullible enough to believe glue or even tone-wood matters. They get a professional set-up guitar and love it because of THAT, and attribute the quality to those sales pitches instead of what really makes them different from assembly line big-box store guitars.
Not to feed the wood argument in any way, but a thing I have noticed about vintage Les Paul's is that the wood gradually gets heavier from '54 to '59. I'm not a dealer or collector, but always make out to vintage shows and can really notice a considerable difference when playing these vintage pieces.
And as a player I would rather have a "Max" made instrument than a Gibson custom shop or vintage in most cases.
Fantastic video as always. Love your channel. However 59s were not 100% Hyde glue. The tops were glued using formaldehyde resin to increase productivity time.
I met this guy at Atomic Guitars in Glendale . He bought one in to have them put a finish on (Red tinted). It had Max on the head stock. After he left they told me who he was and what he built and who for. Said that guitar would go for about 30.000 . They said he don't like finishing them anymore . That was about 4 years ago.
Now THAT is a flame. Stunning.
The best LP I ever had had a body made from ash with a Honduras mahogany top and a neck from umbunga with Lignum Vitae fingerboard and Beryllium copper frets.
THAT WAS THE GUITAR I WAS DIGGIN ON HARD IN THE WEBCAST WITH SAMMY ASH, GREAT LOOKING GUITAR, TO ME WHAT A LP SHOULD LOOK LIKE
hey Phil, awesome meeting you today, thanks for all the good info. I'll definitely have to visit again sometime. and maybe buy something lol
I prefer the 59 1/2 that had the bodies aged in baby seal blood and then rubbed with ancient aged goat skins while priests chanted in the back ground. Perfect tone every time.
Dude I gotta hear it...😂
Lindy Fralin make superb sounding pickups, have them on two strats and a tele custom.
The 59" with the pickguard was one of the nicest I've ever heard
Hey Phil: Got any breakdown on when those changes occurred in the average LP i.e. old growth Mahogany, animal glues, hand assembly, etc?
Great video Phillip. What were you using to get that great tone?
Great comments fellow guitar players! It's so good to see that the consensus is scientific rather than emotional. If you listen to most of Philip's points (not all) he says "they say" this and "they say" that. I agree; they do but it does not mean any of this stuff is true. The real value in an old Les Paul is it's age and scarcity; we'd all love to have one but not because of the dark art/magic used in its construction. My 87 LP Custom sounds amazing, plays effortlessly and still looks new because I take care of my stuff. The sounds it makes are as much a function of my playing and what the thing is plugged into than its construction.
Having played an original 60 I can say there really is something special about the guitar that other Les Pauls don't have. Its a combination of sustain, squawk from the pickups, and something else (not sure...weight/wood?), it just sounds better. All this being said I can say that I've played $850 Japanese guitars that also had that magic and believe its definitely possibly to reproduce at a fraction of the cost of an original Gibson burst.
True about the glue. I repair violins. All hide glue. Plastic glue makes for a dead sounding fiddle. Same for the finish too, although I can't imagine the finish mattering much on an electric though. Not to my on good ear, anyway ;)
OMG guitar finish? So you need to buy the Gibson tone polish?
Got to make sure that your guitar is as highly polished as your Cherry Red '65 Ford Twin I Beam Pickup when you drop the tailgate and rock the party.
at last someone with intelligence. talking about Glues and finishes. I have been trying to explain this factor to piano people for years. I am piano rebuilder of 28 years
I not a guitar player but have played Banjo in the morning past.
Tone & resonance are a combination of many factors. It's almost a zen thing. Feel and playability are personal preferences. But classic guitars fall into a whole other classification as aged seasoned works of art primarily hand crafted by artisans in their field who are no longer with us. Whether or not they are worth the prices the command depends on their worth to you and your disposable income.
I have had the same Yamaha AES 800 for the last 14 years, no idea what it's worth and don't care, it works for me. It was made in 1997.
Another great video. A few things to note,, the finish on the guitar contributes or detracts nothing from its sound. I redid a Gibson Les Paul in polyester, it changed nothing other than the look. All lacquers have plasticizers in them, some more than others. I use a lacquer that has fewer plasticizers - Plex PL6000 distributed by Providence Lacquer - because I like its performance on furniture.
The glue is also inconsequential. I use a variety of glues and I have a glue pot. Wood glues dry to a brittle film, including hyde glue. The degree that one glue will act as a sound dampener vs another glue is negligible on an electric guitar. The mahogany back and maple cap on a Les Paul will resonate as one solid piece, but with tone qualities unique to that laminated wood blank.
My '78 Les Paul has a three-piece maple neck instead of a solid mahogany neck, and thus it spunds accordingly so.
Why aren't solid glass guitars a thing if wood and glue difference affects tone? Wouldn't glass or acrylic be the best choice since it's not porous therefere it doesn't need to "dry" out and harden like wood does?
This video in on Guitar Worlds website, Way to go Phil!
Is it worth or is it PRICED more than a car? You can slap a huge price on any guitar but is it WORTH buying at that price? Probably not. No guitar is really WORTH THAT much. I am not a native english speaker so maybe i don't understand the meaning of the word worth accurately when it comes to this but i guess you understand my point.
Plamen Milanov
You're correct
Guitars made of wood don't all sound alike. Why is that? The strings of a guitar are attached to a bridge, saddles and sometimes tailpieces, run along the length of the guitar, pass over the nut and wound on the tuners. These parts are all attached to wood. Lets be clear folks, unless two guitars are made from the same tree, hell from the same board, there's a good chance they won't sound alike. Wood density and type all play a factor in the tone a guitar emotes. Don't forget folks strings are attached to wood, how the wood reacts to the vibration of the strings determines its tone. There are other factors that give any guitar its sound but wood does plays a part. Have a Happy Holiday!
I want one haha I also believe that everything you mentioned does affect tone , I have had a good amount of Gibson les Paul's my les Paul's now are a 73 custom and a 2001 standard I just sold a 2012 standard that guitar was awsonme sounding but I had problems with it first the input kept getting loose also the three way switch was always loose than the fifth frett trapazoid fell out weird finally I sold it at a big loss and I bought it new but whatever , but never had any problems with the old one
each component plays a part in tone . also important is whether the truss rod has a plastic sleeve or whether it's metal is bearing directly on the neck timber . of course the amplifier has its say in the final sound .
I dunno. I went to a vintage guitar shop and played 2 guitars: one 1959 Les Paul reissue and a 1960 Telecaster Masterbuild. I played both and ended up buying the 1960 Telecaster. I liked the sound better and tone.
I've had many LPs.. from Studios to R8 and R9s... all great guitars in their own right... but these oldies have that mojo no newer guitars could duplicate... and I stick to the fact that this old growth Honduran mahogany is one huge part of the alchemy... I mean, I know a guy in Halifax NS who owns a 53 Goldtop and man, that thing is soooo light and resonant... it's pure magic really...
Thanks for the Info Phil. When are you going to review the Supro?
How about the long tenon and the abr bridge directly mounted onto the body? Gibson reserves this 2 features for the custom shop line.
I thoroughly enjoy your videos. They entertain and educate at once.
But my guitar efforts are best described as abuse.
I'm a bassist. One look at my paws makes that perfectly understood. So. I have to ask. What is that blue 4 stringed beat with the white pickguard an the J-P-J pickup configuration. I'd love to see it demoed of if you already have, a link to it.
Thank you & here's to a kinder 2017
Thanks for posting. I enjoyed the video. When referring to plastic-based glues, do you mean to say that they add damping when compared to the dried animal hide glue?
I have never felt a genuine 59 Les Paul in hands. However I heard Steve Lukather playing his 59LP & the sustain was amazing but I need to note that Lukather can perhaps do the same & get sustain of his MusicMan Luke. so the bottom line is the Feel of the player can make amazing tone from a good decently built guitar. if you can buy a LesPaul59 well you are blessed but if you CANT own 1 don't cry work on you skills. Joe Bonnamesa make his Tele whine & wail pretty close to a Les Paul 59. just make good music
How....may I ask, did you get those two Max Guitars together at one time........?
Max is an old fiend of mine and I actually remember the day the pallet of "THAT" very wood came to
the shop on Sierra Bonita, right off of Sunset... 2 blocks west of where the Sunset Guitar Center is today!
Enjoyed this - learned a bit about old school geetars too.... Lovin the Powerbrake btw.... my favourite addition to my Supersonic :-) Cheers dude!
interesting, yes there are some differece between wood and wood, for example the Stradivarius spruce has very narro year rings cause it was groing under very cold winters under many years and that generated the nice tone in the Stradivarius violin. Glue has also an importans as you mention, contrary to some of the commentators of this video.
Cool video. Wondering what that odd white guitar is at 0:17?
What about Kris Derrig? He died of cancer a long time ago and only built like 12 "59" Replica's. But he was the other infamous replica builder of the 59 Les Paul. Do you know how much a Kris Derrig 59 Les Paul would fetch these days?
I know people will laugh when I tell you this... but I truly wish you could get your hands on a Vintage (brand) V100 distressed Lemon Drop PGM. These guitars were designed by Trev Wilkinson based on his studies of the famous Peter Green / Gary Moore '59 Les Paul. I would love to have someone with your knowledge and background have a go at one. I own one and am truly shocked by the quality of the build, the playability of the guitar, and the sheer range of tones that can be attained while playing it. It's the one guitar I will never sell... easily worth four to five times what I paid for it. The pickups are simply amazing and can get achieve all of the famous Les Paul tones. Thanks as always for sharing your knowledge.
HEY...I'VE WATCHED YOUR VIDEO'S FROM THE HOUSE 4 A LONG TIME NOW' ENJOY YOUR COMMENTARY'S....I'LL BE WATCHING FROM THE HOUSE!!!!!!
I already posted this as a reply but I'm putting it here so that people don't have to scroll through 100+ comments to see this.
A guitar is a system everything in a system effects the output of that system, that's the science of it. The string vibrates into the bridge that vibrates into the wood, that vibrates back into the bridge, that vibrates back into the strings. My melody maker from 65 is more resonant unplugged than any guitar I've ever played, that translates to sustain when plugged in. So yes the wood, finish and glue will have an effect, the real question is, how much?
Great guitarists, sound great on any guitar. Period. Tech talk, is great for the folks, that serve them.
I guess by the term resonate it is meant sustain. The denser der material, wood or hardware, the better the guitar sustains. I think on an electric guitar I didn't want any resonance because it interferes the sustain. But Just my two cents, the tone-wood debate is not for everyone 😉
Mark Konns No. It means how much of the force you use to pick turns into sound. It is not to be mixed up with how long does the body vibrate, since more of the picking power is bleeding to that.
You're right. The vibration of the body is in opposition to the string and causes the string to stop vibrating sooner on a guitar with high resonance. The original Les Pauls and the LPs reintroduced in 1968 were very heavy guitars made of dense old-growth mahogany and they were desired as much for their sustain as their tone. Gibson started "traditional" weight relief in the early 80s and chambering in the 90s. It appears that Gibson is bringing back solid body LPs in their "T" line.
Very cool information! Thanks for the video.
Could you talk about Yamahas and especially the pacifica line? I got a Pacifica 821D that the internet lack infos about, and from being close to some old Yamaha guitars, those guitars were made fantastically. hope you have some more insight, and frankly, you're a rare well of infos ! God bless you.
thank u, very informative. so if i want that true to original sound, the main thing is the pickups u mentioned? which ones should i get for a 3 pickup black beauty copy like jimmy page's? thanx 4 any info.
Every single part of the guitar that can affect how the strings vibrate can affect the sound/tone to some degree. That said, my guitars with Richlite fingerboards are some of my favorites.
The pick-ups sounded very ordinary to my ears. Check-out the Bare-knuckle pickups Government Mule - that is the best sounding, most authentic PAF-style pick-up I have come across. Their Emerald pick-up has "the sound" too but the Govt. Mule sounds perfect to me.
FINALLY AN ANSWER TO WHAT KIND OF "NON GIBSON" LES PAUL SLASH USED ON AFD IF IN FACT THAT IS THE ONE PHIL WAS TALKING ABOUT BECAUSE ITS PRETTY WELL KNOWN BY NOW HE USED A LES PAUL COPY ON AFD WHEN HE COULD NOT FIND A GUITAR SOUND HE WAS HAPPY WITH WHEN DOING THE RECORDING OF THAT RECORD
Slash's "Appetite..." Les Paul was made by Kris Derrig.
It's all heresay, there are about 20 posts floating around where 2 guys claimed to have lunch with a guy who knew a guy, or that they knew someone directly, or or or or or or. I swear it's 100 pages deep at least. It starts on les paul forum and branches out from there.
It's not hearsay mate. Ed Roman and Jim Foote confirmed that Kris Derrig made the Guitar Slash played on Appetite. Both Roman and Foote knew Slash personally and Ed Roman worked for Gibson in the 80's.
No it's not. It's been confirmed by well known luthiers who know Slash and the guy who made it.
Actually, Howie Hubberman got the Max to him for AFD
Breaking news! Gibson and Fender read through all these comments and they decided that the naysayers are right: specific materials don't matter. They'll be making all their guitar bodies from balsa in the future to save weight. Gibson also announced that the ES line will now become solid - the hollow bodies could not have affected tone since they use pickups to get sound directly from the strings.
That was cool. I'd like more 'story time', on Classic Gear.
I'm surprised there is no glue tone discussions. I'd like to hear how different glues effect tone.
Just a greaat video, never knew about those les paul's before. Just wondering why Max has the Gibson shape, and logo? isn't that frowned upon
Slash preferred the Chris Derrig made 59 that had the alnico II. Unfortunately Chris is now dead and Max is still around with some remaining old growth woods that he acquired a long time ago. Both are excellent luthiers and copied the 59s to the t.
I love good info like this, keep it coming!!!!
I thought that was very interesting. I wondering if the manufacturer paid a licensing fee to use the Gibson logo on the headstock? Thanks.
Where did you come across those Max? Macs? not sure how it is Spelled, are they yours? Philip..
I prefer to see pickup covers and pickguards on Les Paul's....but I wouldn't mind one of those Max models and one of their 58 V replicas too.
I would say the Kris Derrig replica Les Paul's are worth the most. A few are in private collections I think Slash has 2. His original famous one from AfD Serial #: 90607........ and a second a collector sold to him.
Not too many are out there but people do not know if they have one. I think they said were about 20 made.
I'm sorry but things like wood, paint and glue all make a huge difference in the guitar's sound. Even the date and time that the glue comes out of the factory make a significant difference in the guitars tone. Given two batches of the same paint, if one is canned in an aluminum can and one in plastic, when each identical paint is sprayed on the guitar, I can tell which one came from the plastic can--the guitar's tone won't lie. Pickups have very little to do with the guitar's tone--they have about as much to do with the guitar's tone as the amp through which it is played and the person playing the guitar. Its all about the materials. I like to play my guitars after they have been outside their cases for 2 and a half days. The small amount of dust that accumulates during this period is just enough to change the tone of the guitar completely; the sound is so much better than a guitar fresh out of its case.
What do you know about Larry Corsa's Les Pauls? I'm thinking about getting one.
Thanks, Phillip, Great bit of history.
Sounds amazing. The '59 gibson reissues sound amazing to me, too. Those start looking like a bargain compared to this.
re: the glue on the neck. It makes me wonder how a neck-thru lp style guitar like a chapman would sound with fralins.
Hey Phil, I just saw this video and I would like to know how would you go about telling the difference of a Max 59 LP from a Gibson 59 LP Real or reissued?