Sweet Treat in da house....

[duhvoodooman***]

A Gibson Custom Shop '59 Reissue Les Paul, more tersely referred to as an "R9". Not sure if it's a "Historic" or not. In any case, a truly gorgeous thing. Sounds as good as it looks. No, it's not mine. Belongs to a friend of a friend from work. Not sure how it happened, but somebody messed with the pot soldering and did a sloppy job. Everything works fine, but it just looks messy and the guy wants it cleaned up. I volunteered. Tough duty, huh? I'm sure it's going to need extensive testing when I finish. Several days worth, probably! Can't be too careful about these things....

A few photos (forgive all the smudges & fingerprints--I won't clean it up until after I do the work):





As I understand it, in the serial number "9 4231", the "9" denotes the R9 model, the "4" would be year of manufacture, and the "231" would be the sequential unit number. But I have no idea what the year would be from this. 2004? 1994? Earlier?? Any of you Gibson mavens know how to tell?

[FrankenFretter***]

I don't know what the rest of those numbers mean, but that is one beautiful guitar. By the way, I always wondered what the "R_" meant when people referred to LPs. Now I know.

That one might be a little hard to give back, eh?

[Spudman***]

Does that have the big fat neck? I played one in Boise and it had a huge fat neck on it. The action was great but it was probably the fattest neck I'd ever played.

Great looking guitar BTW.

[Eric***]

I don't know what the rest of those numbers mean, but that is one beautiful guitar. By the way, I always wondered what the "R_" meant when people referred to LPs. Now I know.

Uh...I still don't know. The serial number? The '59? I'm a bit dense, apparently.

[oldguy]

Uh...I still don't know. The serial number? The '59? I'm a bit dense, apparently.

Yep, R8,R9,R0...'58,'59,'60...reissue, with the '58 having the big chunky neck and the'60 having the slim taper.

'Vood, if you have a chance, would you do a side by side blind test between that axe and your Agile LP, and give us your honest opinion?
Just curious how they'd each sound to your ears. Thanks in advance.

[guitarhack]

I'd put lots of smudges on that guitar.

[duhvoodooman***]

According to the gurus at the Les Paul forums, it's a '94. Several characteristics distinguish it from an '04.

Spuds: Pretty thick neck, but I've seen a couple thicker. I guess the '59s fall in between the really fat '58s and the slim '60s.

OG: Will do, mildew!

[Eric***]

As I understand it, in the serial number "9 4231", the "9" denotes the R9 model, the "4" would be year of manufacture, and the "231" would be the sequential unit number. But I have no idea what the year would be from this. 2004? 1994? Earlier?? Any of you Gibson mavens know how to tell?

Oh....just saw this. Duh.

I need to start paying attention to text after the pretty pictures...

[Tone2TheBone]

Ooo la la...thats my dream guitar... .

[ZMAN]

I opened a thread asking about the serial number on the Les Paul Forum. Everything I have read on the reissues shows that the serials CAN repeat.
I don't know enough about the reissues to know the differences, but if it is a 94 it is worth a lot of money. The first 200 R9s built were murphy aged at the Custom shop. It being 231 would mean it was a pretty low number.
The Murphy aged ones look like bengal tiger stripes. The value of this guitar is in the 4000 to 10,000 range according to the guys at the LP forum.
That one does not have the pronounced thick tiger stripes but still sweet.
I think Spudman was talking about an R8. They have the bigger thicker necks.
The later model VOS Reissues are closer to the actual 59 les paul spec wise and are sweet guitars.

[Spudman***]

Thanks Voodoo. I guess I've never understood where the line was as far as production of neck sizes. So can I assume that most pre 1960s models would have the larger diameter neck, and necks from 1960 onward would be the slimmer variety?

[duhvoodooman***]

....So can I assume that most pre 1960s models would have the larger diameter neck, and necks from 1960 onward would be the slimmer variety?

From what I've read and a couple of Tom "Mr. Burst" Wittrock videos I've recently viewed, the necks started thick in the first '58 'bursts and ended up quite thin by the late 1960 guitars. However, it's not a "model year" thing, as the changes took place during the middle of model years. Also, the changes weren't "clean"--there are apparently many examples of newer guitars (by S/N) having the older style neck and visa-versa. But for the '58 - '60 historic reissues (i.e. R8's, R9's and R0's), that's apparently the rule of thumb--thick necks on the R8's, thin on the R0's and the R9 in between. This R9 is certainly very comfortable to play, and the action is very, very fast. It's thicker than either my Epi Elitist LP Std or my Agile AL-3000, very comparable to the neck on my Epi Dot.

P.S. Good run down on the "bursts" HERE.

[Bloozcat]

Have fun with that DVM...I know I would!

If it sounds as good as I suspect it will, it'll be hard to give it back. How many excuses can you think of to keep it longer?

Say, now there's an idea. Let's have a contest to see how many excuses we can come up with for DVM so he can keep the guitar longer!

Here's the first one:

1) These re-issue LP's use a special solder. I had to order some, should be here in two weeks.

[duhvoodooman***]

Have fun with that DVM...I know I would!

If it sounds as good as I suspect it will, it'll be hard to give it back. How many excuses can you think of to keep it longer?

Say, now there's an idea. Let's have a contest to see how many excuses we can come up with for DVM so he can keep the guitar longer!

Here's the first one:

1) These re-issue LP's use a special solder. I had to order some, should be here in two weeks

2) Not only that, but this special solder requires a "curing cycle" to set up properly. Adds another 2 weeks.

[MAXIFUNK]

2) Not only that, but this special solder requires a "curing cycle" to set up properly. Adds another 2 weeks.

Pretty AXE 2 weeks LOL thats funny!!

[duhvoodooman***]

...The first 200 R9s built were murphy aged at the Custom shop. It being 231 would mean it was a pretty low number.
The Murphy aged ones look like bengal tiger stripes. The value of this guitar is in the 4000 to 10,000 range according to the guys at the LP forum.
That one does not have the pronounced thick tiger stripes but still sweet.

Funny you should mention this, Zman, because the owner had changed the tailpiece and tune-o-matic bridge piece, and the originals were wrapped up inside the case. They definitely have the "Murphy-aged" very dull look to them. My friend also thinks he remembers that the owner changed the original pickups, which would explain why the soldering on the pots looks so poorly done. It sure as heck isn't a factory job, and why else would you be soldering on the pots but to change p'ups? Maybe the guy just doesn't like the aged look.

While I'm cleaning up the pots/wiring, I'll loosen the strings and remove the tailpiece, so that I can pop out the pickups and have a look at them....and under them.

[ZMAN]

Funny you should mention this, Zman, because the owner had changed the tailpiece and tune-o-matic bridge piece, and the originals were wrapped up inside the case. They definitely have the "Murphy-aged" very dull look to them. My friend also thinks he remembers that the owner changed the original pickups, which would explain why the soldering on the pots looks so poorly done. It sure as heck isn't a factory job, and why else would you be soldering on the pots but to change p'ups? Maybe the guy just doesn't like the aged look.

While I'm cleaning up the pots/wiring, I'll loosen the strings and remove the tailpiece, so that I can pop out the pickups and have a look at them....and under them.

It just shows you that a lot can happen in 16 years to a guitar. I was one of those guys who liked my guitars shiny. I never liked the aged hardware look. Since I purchased my gold top and had the historic pickups installed I am liking the look more and more. Those older pieces are worth a lot of money I bet. I have a 96 Standard and I just love that guitar. It is heavy as hell but it has the sustain and sweet mellow tone. I really like the 490 498 combo on that guitar, a plain top vintge burst. I am not one for a lot of flame maple. It is nice to be able to play and work on something like that because it gives a feel for what all the hype is about.

[marnold***]

2) Not only that, but this special solder requires a "curing cycle" to set up properly. Adds another 2 weeks.

Well, and you want the solder that gives the best tone, don't you?

[otaypanky***]

This is an R8 VOS plain top and it's chunky alright.
I think you're going to have a good time with that puppy DVM.
It's also possible that the previous owner(s) changed the pots and caps. I was kind of surprised to discover my 'historic' re-issue had modern wiring and not 50's style. I think lots of players changed to RS kits and the like and switched to the 50's style. I did with mine and it uncovers a lot of subtle differences in tone and gain.