Jeff_H
Dean Hardtail Fanologist
Pics are here!
I'm still trying to track down the specs on this guitar. I did have Gibson pull the spec sheet, but unfortunately mine was left blank. They said it's not common but it does happen. So, hopefully Music Zoo will come through for me.
Let me say the first thing I noticed was how much lighter this guitar is vs. my Gary Moore Standard, noticeably lighter. I don't have a scale though. Seller said 9.1lb on his bathroom scale, but that's not very accurate. I may take up to Office Max to weigh it. The color is beautiful and the neck feels sublime. The neck is bigger than the neck on my GM, but it feels SMALLER and more comfortable. It just sits in my hand almost perfectly, and I don't have large hands at all. It's the shoulders on the neck. My GM has noticeably larger shoulders while the 57' has small comfortable shoulders. The fretwork is excellent and I'm impressed with that also. The fret ends are smooth and all up and down the neck, and all the fretboard/binding edges are nicely rolled. The fretboard is a seriously dark piece of rosewood.... the darkest that I've had. Also, the neck feels very symmetrical from the 1st fret to the 12th fret. The neck on the 57's just feels fantastic.
I'm also really happy with the tone and playability of the guitar. It's got a nice unplugged tone. Not the loudest unplugged tone, but pleasing and solid. The guitar sounds great through my DSL40c....good clean sounds and nice crunch. Not muddy and the guitar seems to have a nice sweet midrange push that is different than my GM LP. I'm very happy with the feel, tone and playability. The neck feel is my favorite aspect of the entire guitar from a playability standpoint.
It has BB 1 & 2 installed. I've never been a big fan of these so they'll likely go. I usually put a set of Seymour Duncan's in my guitars (duh), but I'm thinking about a set of Rolph's for this baby. I have sets of Antiquities, Seth's, APH1's, 59's and a PG neck just sitting around, as well as some JB's which will not go in this guitar. Well see where I land.
The VOS finish is a nice touch on this guitar and the Pelham Blue is stunning, to me.. The VOS is very mild but tasteful. When I look at the finish at the binding border under a light at an angle, I can see very faint lines running horizontal. They aren't finish checking, but hopefully as this guitar ages, the checking will run horizontally instead of vertically like a lot of newer Lester's. The finish on this guitar is very well done, so color me impressed with VOS.
Also, not sure if I am going to change the hardware. The tailpiece is super light and the bridge is just a run of the mill Gibson ABR-1. If I do make a change, it might must be a Faber ABR-1. I don't see the need to replace one alum tailpiece with another, unless some of you think the difference is significant?
Enough talk.
I'm still trying to track down the specs on this guitar. I did have Gibson pull the spec sheet, but unfortunately mine was left blank. They said it's not common but it does happen. So, hopefully Music Zoo will come through for me.
Let me say the first thing I noticed was how much lighter this guitar is vs. my Gary Moore Standard, noticeably lighter. I don't have a scale though. Seller said 9.1lb on his bathroom scale, but that's not very accurate. I may take up to Office Max to weigh it. The color is beautiful and the neck feels sublime. The neck is bigger than the neck on my GM, but it feels SMALLER and more comfortable. It just sits in my hand almost perfectly, and I don't have large hands at all. It's the shoulders on the neck. My GM has noticeably larger shoulders while the 57' has small comfortable shoulders. The fretwork is excellent and I'm impressed with that also. The fret ends are smooth and all up and down the neck, and all the fretboard/binding edges are nicely rolled. The fretboard is a seriously dark piece of rosewood.... the darkest that I've had. Also, the neck feels very symmetrical from the 1st fret to the 12th fret. The neck on the 57's just feels fantastic.
I'm also really happy with the tone and playability of the guitar. It's got a nice unplugged tone. Not the loudest unplugged tone, but pleasing and solid. The guitar sounds great through my DSL40c....good clean sounds and nice crunch. Not muddy and the guitar seems to have a nice sweet midrange push that is different than my GM LP. I'm very happy with the feel, tone and playability. The neck feel is my favorite aspect of the entire guitar from a playability standpoint.
It has BB 1 & 2 installed. I've never been a big fan of these so they'll likely go. I usually put a set of Seymour Duncan's in my guitars (duh), but I'm thinking about a set of Rolph's for this baby. I have sets of Antiquities, Seth's, APH1's, 59's and a PG neck just sitting around, as well as some JB's which will not go in this guitar. Well see where I land.
The VOS finish is a nice touch on this guitar and the Pelham Blue is stunning, to me.. The VOS is very mild but tasteful. When I look at the finish at the binding border under a light at an angle, I can see very faint lines running horizontal. They aren't finish checking, but hopefully as this guitar ages, the checking will run horizontally instead of vertically like a lot of newer Lester's. The finish on this guitar is very well done, so color me impressed with VOS.
Also, not sure if I am going to change the hardware. The tailpiece is super light and the bridge is just a run of the mill Gibson ABR-1. If I do make a change, it might must be a Faber ABR-1. I don't see the need to replace one alum tailpiece with another, unless some of you think the difference is significant?
Enough talk.
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