Silverburst LP's

proxy

New member
I recall them being discontinued because of complaints about the way the finish affected the tone. I'm gassing for one right now, and I'm wondering how a silverburst tonally is different then any other custom model.
 
Re: Silverburst LP's

I think the early ones were all mahogany like the original Customs. That would explain why they sound a little darker, anyway. It's possible that the finish darkened the tone a certain amount. I know my '75 SG darkened considerably in tone when I refinished it. There's a lot of metal in that old Buick paint. They're cool looking, though, aren't they? I want one, too..
 
Re: Silverburst LP's

here's my take on finishing - just my personal opinion, I know many will not agree

perhaps i'm overly skeptical, but I know my ears can't tell the difference between one color finish and another (even if one might be using thicker materials)
that is to say, I've never heard a guitar and said, oh, that must be a polyesther finish or that can't be nitro

my belief is that since the silver bust guitars were being completely finished opaque, gibson let some of their uglier and perhaps "less desirable" mahogany be used.
granted, ugly doesn't = toneless, but ugly does often correlate to grain structure, pinholes, knots, etc. and those can suck tone

just my take onwhy these gutars might have had tone complaints
 
Re: Silverburst LP's

I think the metallic silverburst paint was causing some sort of interference with the string interface of the pups or something, and it warped the tone slightly. If Adam Jones likes them, and they sound so damn good, I'd buy one!:D
 
Re: Silverburst LP's

Yea, I love alot of bands that use them, I was curious if people could nail how they were different tonally. Now I need money lol. What was that online comany that was selling them reissued?
 
Re: Silverburst LP's

proxy said:
Yea, I love alot of bands that use them, I was curious if people could nail how they were different tonally. Now I need money lol. What was that online comany that was selling them reissued?
Sam Ash, but they are not true reissues as they burst only on the body front. Check out my silverburst and you will see the difference.
 
Re: Silverburst LP's

I don't have the cash at the moment but i saw it and its nice. I saw it actually when i was browsing before i posted this say the word gas and wondered if the seller was from the sd forums haha. its a small world.
 
Re: Silverburst LP's

I love LP silverbursts, one day I hope to own an original, 78-81, but that may take a while. I highly doubt the finish affects the tone.
 
Re: Silverburst LP's

I think that silverburst are ugly. But this is coming from a guy that loves LP sparkle tops. JALIN was right though, SamAsh had an exclusive run made for them last year i believe.
 
Re: Silverburst LP's

Bones said:
I think that silverburst are ugly. But this is coming from a guy that loves LP sparkle tops. JALIN was right though, SamAsh had an exclusive run made for them last year i believe.
Those from SA are ugly, if you look at the black spray it is closer to the outer edge of the body whereas the orig. is more into the body.

Sam Ash:
75_12_s.JPG


1979:
41_12_s.JPG
 
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Re: Silverburst LP's

JALIN said:
Indeed. Which leads me to, did those Buicks turn green to? :rolleyes:

That'd be a pretty Buick...just my personal opinion, though. :laugh2:
 
Re: Silverburst LP's

if the finish had issues, wouldnt the gold tops have similar issues? its also a metallic sparkle paint no?

thats respinding to metalman 666
 
Re: Silverburst LP's

They are beautiful guitars as are the new limted edition standards but a good LP is a good LP.
 
Re: Silverburst LP's

cool, i was jus wondering since if I were to get my hands on one it'd most likely be off the internet without much prior playing and handling if any.
 
Re: Silverburst LP's

The deadened tone of the original Silverburst Les Pauls was due to the species of Mahogany that Gibson was using at that time. The original Les Pauls were made of Honduras Mahogany. The 70's to early 80's Les Pauls used Brazilian Mahogany, which was much heavier in weight and mose of which had a darker tone. The current Les Pauls use African Mahogany which is lighter in weight than the Brazilians, and closer in tone to Honduras. The export of both Honduras and Brazilian mahogany has since been banned.
 
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