Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Well..... here's the "report".

Ron Viney came over yesterday afternoon with his trusty Peterson tuner and we did a bit of work on it. Even though it had a 'shop setup' the day I bought it the intonantion was still slighly out. As is often the case with Gibsons there was no adjustment left on one of the saddles (G string of course!!) so we had to reverse it. Once that was done I strapped it on for an hour or so.

I was using mostly the neck pickup and switched the bridge in from time to time and I have to say that the '57 humbuckers are awesome pups!! Incredible 'clang' when you want it and the circuitry they've used gives a nice even roll on both the volume and tone controls. Smooth, jazzy sounds with the neck pickup and the tone rolled back to 3 or 4. I turned everything up to 10 with both pups in and compared it to one of my AM Deluxe Strats with samarium cobalts and the difference in level is amazing!

The neck is interesting.... it's supposedly a 50s one but it's nowhere near as clubby as the reissue Gold Top LPs - more like half way between a 50s and 60s. I hate baseball bat necks and was a little unsure about this one when I first tried it out but after 10 or 15 minutes it felt very comfortable and solid with the Gibson 10s on it.

It's beautifuly balanced and quite light, so extended sessions won't be an issue. The tuners are are not too touchy and it stays in tune.

The only thing I fould a little uncomfortable was the bound top edge, which after a while was digging into my arm a bit. I suppose a slight change to my playing style or a long neck t-shirt will fix that.

Overall I would definitely say that it's in my top 5 purchases. If you're interested, do yourself a favour and check one out!!

I didn't wear "the" t-shirt, Greg..... I hadn't done the weekly washing yet!!

Thanks for the review Howard. I've seriously considered picking one of these up, especially a Musician's Friend scratch & dent special.

Are you sure you don't have the 30/60 neck profile instead of the 59? I played one at a Guitar Center and the guys working there didn't know what the hell I was talking about when I asked which neck profile it had.

I think you're right, Erik.

Some of the blurb on one of the Aussie dealer sites quotes "available with either 50s or 60s neck profile" but reading the specs on the official Gibson site it would seem to be the 30/60 neck. I often slip into half barre chords when my arthritic left thumb gets sore and tired and I know I struggle with those on the 50s neck!

The other thing that I like is the fact that the output jack is on the side of the guitar rather than the top. Saves me having to search for my right-angled plug lead!

I've seen some of those 'scratch and dent' prices, so there could be a bargain somewhere just waiting for you, Erik!

blueflamerick wrote:I played one at a Guitar Center and the guys working there didn't know what the hell I was talking about when I asked which neck profile it had.

Did you really expect them to know the answer?

jps wrote:

blueflamerick wrote:I played one at a Guitar Center and the guys working there didn't know what the hell I was talking about when I asked which neck profile it had.

Did you really expect them to know the answer?

Truer words are rarely spoken. A couple of years ago I was asking the fool at the counter for something that was right behind him, he turned around to look, and still couldn't find it. On that same trip I asked 4 different people, including the manager, about an inexpensive used hollowbody bass that they were selling, and no one could tell me anything about it. When I asked them how they arrived at the price, no one could give me an answer, except the manager who said it was "priced to move".

Not knowing the neck shapes on the instruments you sell is just stupid on their part. Gibsons are really easy, but a little more effort is needed for Fenders. Nonetheless, these are crucial elements to know, as well as pickup types and model, especially a reissue, if you hope to make a sale.

I live over 2 hours away from this place, and their ignorance never ceases to amaze me. It really sucks to go all that way only to talk to people who couldn't tell you even what is printed on the hang tag. Thank goodness there are 3 other music stores in that area that don't suffer from cranial rectumitis.

suffer from cranial rectumitis.

Seems to be a common disease amongst music store shop assistants over there, Mike.

Most of the ones that I deal with regularly here are very well up on their products and specs but my experiences at GC in San Francisco weren't all that good. Especially when I was waiting at a counter for service this year and eventually had to yell at the guy shredding with headphones on that I was interested in buying something. The guy seemed really ****** that I had interrupted him...... gave me that "how dare you" look. The first time I went there in '06 I wandered around for at least half an hour before anyone approached me.

If it was my store they'd be looking for another job in a flash!

ozover50 wrote:I think you're right, Erik.

Some of the blurb on one of the Aussie dealer sites quotes "available with either 50s or 60s neck profile" but reading the specs on the official Gibson site it would seem to be the 30/60 neck. I often slip into half barre chords when my arthritic left thumb gets sore and tired and I know I struggle with those on the 50s neck!...

Aitch...thanks for your hands on report.

A year or so ago, I spent a couple of hours playing a whole slew of LPs. What I experienced is that while there was clearly a difference between the Gibson 50s and 60s neck profiles, that variation was minimal when compared the difference between the 50s neck and the neck on a LP '58 RI...now there's a bat.

Agreed, John........... 'fence post' comes to mind.

It looks very nice Howard....I always did like the look of the ES335 and it's cousins.

Congratulations! A timeless classic design that keeps on looking well through the decades. I share your appreciation for these beautiful guitars, as you well know

On further inspection, Aitch, I think you've got your genders mixed up!

I always think of guitars in the feminine gender, because of my familiarity with the Romance Languages and because I grant them a special status beyond the other inanimate objects in my life.

Brother, sister, I think it's all fine however one thinks of these very special tools for life which are our guitars.

Here ya go Aitch!

Wow! That man splashes feeling all over the neck. Great stuff. I could listen to him all day long.

here's more.....very Eric Johnson-esque