where all that sustain comes from...
Posted on 01/31/2015 7:56:45 AM PST by WhiskeyX
NEW YORK (Reuters) - One deep-pocketed bidder will get a chance to own a piece of rock and roll history when the iconic Les Paul guitar known as "Black Beauty" goes up for auction in New York next month.
The electric instrument, which is the original prototype for the Les Paul Custom guitars made the Gibson Guitar Company, will be sold by Guernsey's Auctions at the Arader Galleries on Feb. 19th.
No pre-auction estimate, or reserve price, has been put on the instrument. But some music experts believe it could exceed the record auction price of $965,000 paid in 2013 for the guitar owned and played by Bob Dylan at his first electric performance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Bigsbys are ugly, the pole pieces look rusted and it’s all scuffed up. I’ll give you $50 for it.
” As Boomers die off, I predict the market will be flooded with vintage guitars, “
Another thing I didn’t think of, and yes the attachment will likely die off, as we do : )
Played in a band years ago called Wheatstraw....you can guess what we were doing on breaks. But we had a great lead player that played a black Les Paul and was my 1st real taste for what a clean sound they have vs the Fenders. Though I keep a customized California Tele as a house guitar at my house for visitors I’ve always wondered why more guitar players didn’t play Les Pauls.
Hey, I was at Newport then too.
Was buming around the country before entering the
Marine Corps. Hitched a ride with a bunch of kids
from Wyoming who were going there so decided to go
with.
Got to hear some of the great blues men, in small
very personal settings.
I remember how the crowd booed Dylan when he started.
where all that sustain comes from...
I for one don’t especially agree on the “clean” vs “dirty” Gibson vs Fender argument, but at the present, most “electric combo” (eg; small band) guitar players use enough effects or are actually *seeking* a dirtier sound so that...it matters? Almost nobody uses the raw sound out of the guitar any more.
Bazillions of great records have been made with both. It’s a moot argument AFAIC.
I bought and sold thousands of guitars in the 70’s & 80’s and had the oppty to own anything, as long as I thought I could make a buck reselling it. I play Fenders because
1: They have a longer scale length (25.5” vs 24.75”) which is more in tune, to me. Also prefer the different string tension the longer scale length creates.
2: Which accomodates my big hands better.
3: Are generally cheaper
4: Are MUCH less vulnerable to crack-off the headstock damage.
5: Much, much lighter than LP’s. I have owned many dozens of Les Pauls. After a night of playing, your shoulder usually hurts. I myself never really liked them.
Those are my reasons.
“I’ve always wondered why more guitar players didn’t play Les Pauls.”
You ask a great question. I love the Les Paul Custom’s I have played and it if was for occasional playing, that would be my first choice. In practical terms, though, the Les Paul suffers from higher price—most guitar players are young and not wealthy so go for lower priced models. It is relatively heavy so for regular players, it might seem a burden during a 3 hour set—but I have doubts this is a problem for most players. It is somewhat dark sounding, and it doesn’t pierce through a noisy room like a strat can—that is a reason I have heard from other players and it plays a role in my personal experience. I also find the strat is just more comfortable and always sounds ok whereas the LP can take some adjustment to get it to sound the way you want depending on the room. I play a 335 mostly—it isn’t for everybody, either, but it has some unique qualities.
“but dont remember the guitar....or much else about the concert...”
Sounds like a grand time was had by all.
bttt
As for Gibsons, I like their acoustic guitars much more.
No comparison. Gibson has been making acoustic (if we are talking round-hole deep-body) guitars for well over 100 years. Fender never made such a thing and probably never even wanted to while Leo was around. I don’t know when Fender started making round-hole guitars...probably the late 60’s when Fender made those odd-colored detachable neck Newports & Mailbus with the dyed wood rims and backs....novel, but never thought of as good instruments. In more recent years F-acoustics are made by others and branded Fender. They probably sucked for the first decade, but some acoustic Fenders I have encountered in recent years have been kind of nice guitars. I don’t think any of them are made in the US...which in itself doesn’t mean anything. There are some very high end $$$ Fender f-hole (eg; “jazz”) guitars that are or were made, I think, by Guild and are definitely quality guitars. Do I see anybody using them? No.
At this point in time, guitars are made in such gargantuan quantities that literally anything is possible. The last NAMM show I went to...the impression I got was that “the world cannot absorb this many guitars”. But what do I know? It is absolutely commonplace, if you were to go check out 50 Korean guitars versus 50 Gibsons of comparable construction you would find half a dozen excellent Korean ones that were far better axes than the worst half dozen new Gibsons. Lotta times it’s just a pick of the litter situation. I once bought an under-the-bed ‘59 Strat for $125 that was just piece of total crap, and I have had ones in the 1962 zone that were really not good.
It is true there is lots of vibe from an old guitar, and there were few more fervent fans of old vintage guitars than I 25 years ago. But in the main, they (and all musical instruments other than violins/violas) are mechanical devices other than the soundboard for a piano and work much better when they are new-broken-in, IMO. I’ve sold off most of my vintage collection because those guitars could not be brought up to the sheer functionality (eg; stay in tune, frets still work) of a new guitar that costs 1/15th as much without denigrating their “original” vintage value.
That triple-pickup Custom looks exactly like mine... and it is my favorite axe (of about 8 that I have). Mine’s a c.2000 and it’s the best playing guitar I’ve ever had. I can get tone and sustain out of that that have people amazed it’s not an e-bow and a synth. Nope, just a great guitar! :)
i was lookinng at 2015 gibson les pauls. really cheapened. wouldnt have one.
It seems that being booed at Newport was a good sign for future career success. After Newport, Dylan recorded many more albums and had broad success. Even if you are relatively unknown, after being booed at Newport, SR Vaughan went on to amazing, if brief, career success.
IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY ...that was the year that everyone in the audience left one of the newport concerts singing Tamborine Man..in unison
It was a much different time!
Black Beauty, indeed.
Thanks for the ping.
Huh? Rock music throughout the 1970s was played on almost nothing but Les Pauls. Why? Because that's what Jimmy Page played.
A lot of players don't like modern Les Pauls. Fortunately, Gibson's Custom Shop offers the "Historic" series --recreations of their classic Les Pauls from the 1950s made to the exact specs that the originals were made --even down to the type of hot hide glue that was used.
They ain't cheap though. They'll run you about $4500 for a '58 reissue (I have one. It's excellent) and go way up from there.
i agree but i was looking at the standard new ones. they have a cheap built in tuner built into the back of the head stock, the tuning machines are cheesy, i dont get it.
Those "robo-tuners" are awful. People who have saved enough money to buy a Gibson have long since learned how to tune a guitar. There are countless videos on youtube demonstrating that they don't even work very well. You can't swap them out with normal tuners. Just an abomination. Yet, Henry J., is bound and determined to cram them down our throats on half the products Gibson is selling these days.
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