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I own a 2019 Gibson Original Collection TV Yellow Special and I absolutely adore it. You all know how it goes...once you have a soap bar P90 Gibson, you can't stop the lust for a dog ear one. The last several times I went to the shop where my guitar tech works, I saw a lovely 2018 Junior on the wall (the one with the pre-war acoustic logo on it that sold so well Gibson decided to tweak it a touch, add other models, and release it again under the Original Collection moniker). I called up the owner a few weeks ago and asked him how long it's been there and if he'd be willing to work out a deal for it as a trade for a guitar and a cab that he knows I have (and likes). He said the guitar had been there too long and so, yes, bring over the guitar and cab and he'll work something out.
The guitar I had decided to trade was a 1977 Aria Pro II Tobacco Burst LP Custom (properly upgraded top to bottom to Gibson specs). This guitar is lovely, really pristine and, along with the Seymour Duncan APH-2 (Slash) set, sounds absolutely killer. But...my big hands crave a more robust neck. I really, REALLY liked that guitar but it just wasn't getting the gigging/playing time because the neck lends itself to that unbalanced feel 70's LPCs are known to have (I'm guessing a few of you know what I mean). The Cab was a Jet City 412 loaded with Vintage 30's that also wasn't getting any use. My Marshall JCM800 cab stays at my main band's rehearsal space and my Marshall 1936 cab (it's an all birch build one) gets all the playing time here at the house and is easily transported for my other band's gigs and rehearsals.
So I took them over and thought that I'd do the deal so long as the Junior felt right and I didn't have to put too much money into it.
Suffice to say, the Junior felt awesome and the deal was a straight swap...no money into at all.
I put strap lock buttons on it, replaced the black knobs with vintage repro gold bonnet knobs w/pointers, swapped out the truss rod for a proper Creamtone single-ply one, replaced the tuners with the a Gotoh Magnum Lock set (I have these tuners on my Special as well) and adjusted the neck a touch. Finally, I had my tech rip out the pcb board electronics and properly hand wire it all up.
I absolutely LOVE this guitar...woohoo!
PICS:
The guitar I had decided to trade was a 1977 Aria Pro II Tobacco Burst LP Custom (properly upgraded top to bottom to Gibson specs). This guitar is lovely, really pristine and, along with the Seymour Duncan APH-2 (Slash) set, sounds absolutely killer. But...my big hands crave a more robust neck. I really, REALLY liked that guitar but it just wasn't getting the gigging/playing time because the neck lends itself to that unbalanced feel 70's LPCs are known to have (I'm guessing a few of you know what I mean). The Cab was a Jet City 412 loaded with Vintage 30's that also wasn't getting any use. My Marshall JCM800 cab stays at my main band's rehearsal space and my Marshall 1936 cab (it's an all birch build one) gets all the playing time here at the house and is easily transported for my other band's gigs and rehearsals.
So I took them over and thought that I'd do the deal so long as the Junior felt right and I didn't have to put too much money into it.
Suffice to say, the Junior felt awesome and the deal was a straight swap...no money into at all.
I put strap lock buttons on it, replaced the black knobs with vintage repro gold bonnet knobs w/pointers, swapped out the truss rod for a proper Creamtone single-ply one, replaced the tuners with the a Gotoh Magnum Lock set (I have these tuners on my Special as well) and adjusted the neck a touch. Finally, I had my tech rip out the pcb board electronics and properly hand wire it all up.
I absolutely LOVE this guitar...woohoo!
PICS:
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