100th Post! My fav' auctions of the moment

Here's a milestone. My 100th post on Iconic Guitars. I've not been posting as regularly as I would like so I guess I should have reached it long ago.

But, let's celebrate anyhow. And what better way than giving you my list of favorite guitars on auction on eBay at the moment - straight from my "watching list". Here we go:












Watch the slideshow below for all these auctions:

Slash and the Apetite Les Paul prototype at NAMM

If like me you couldn't be at NAMM, here is a picture of Slash and a prototype of the much anticipated "Apetite for Destruction" Les Paul reissue. I would guess that this is the Gibson USA model and that the previous "sneak peak" was the Custom Shop version based on the colors (softer look for the Custom Shop).

All the details about the new Slash Les Paul here.



If you're interested by previous Slash models, have a look on eBay.

New Slash 2010 Appetite Les Paul Guitar

Gibson just released a preview of the new Slash signature Les Paul on their blog to announce the sneak peak they will host at NAMM this Saturday (with Slash himself visiting at 3.30pm if you're around).
They are confirming what we knew (see previous post): it's "inspired by the axe that the legendary Guns and Roses guitar hero played on the multi-platinum selling “Appetite for Destruction” album and practically every recording since".

It's gonna be out soon. Like the Slash model released in 2008, there will be different versions to cater to every wallet: the Slash “Appetite for Destruction" Les Paul "will be released in the coming weeks in limited quantities from Gibson USA, Gibson Custom Division and from Epiphone."


It really looks like the Derrig replica that Slash owns (as shown on the left), very figured top, only in less orangey -which is a good thing, this is not the 80s anymore. I am a big fan of the zebra-pickups look.

One thing to notice is that the Slash model will have Slash's "smoking skull" signature on the head which I am not a big fan of. That being said, I am guessing this is only on the Gibson USA and Epiphone models. I imagine the Custom Shop version won't have it and will look like the real deal therefore.

My 2008 Custom Shop Slash Signature has the classic "Les Paul model" peghead with the regular "Standard" trussrod cover. That's how it should be.

Gibson has also released the official specs:

• Traditional style weight relief Mahogany body with AAA Figured Maple top
• Unique neck profile made for Slash features rounded 60’s shape
• Rosewood fingerboard with trapezoid inlays
• Un-burst top with faded cherry back lacquer finish
• Slash signature smoking skull with top hat artwork for peghead face
• New Seymour Duncan Slash Signature Alnico II pickups
• Special capacitors selected by Slash for vintage tone
• Tone Pro hardware with historic machine heads, locking bridge and tailpiece

I'm now awaiting the price for this new iconic guitar to see if I'm going to complete my Slash Signature collection.

Cheap Dream Vintage: 1977 Gibson Les Paul Special Double Cut

If you've been following this blog for some time, you know one of my favorite guitars is the Gibson Les Paul Special. I covered that model several times: stacking it against the Les Paul Studio, checking the Bob Marley reissue, chasing red-sparkle finishes...

I'm especially fan of the double cutaway versions - I bought one for my daughter when she was born 2 years ago when Gibson has reissued those for cheap.

And I love vintage models with a soft spot for 1977 runs (my year of birth).

So this guitar I found yesterday on eBay combines them all! . It seems in good condition and the bids have not yet taken off (it's still under the reserve price as of writing). So maybe there is a good deal here to be had.


>> More vintage Gibson Les Paul Special on eBay

$325,000 for a vintage 1960 Gibson Les Paul

Hm hm. Not sure who can afford to spend $325,000 on eBay, but that would buy you . Looking at the pics, it could be a reissue just out of the Gibson Custom Shop for all I know - a 50-year guitar without a scratch!

The question is: would you dare playing it?

Besides, it has the original case and case candy. It's really like if someone had bought that guitar and put it in a vault in 1960 with instruction to take it out only in 50 years. Too bad it hasn't seen much daylight though: the sunburst has not faded - that's how I like my Les Paul's...

Anyway, at that price, the buyer will probably want to do some due diligence but if it is indeed the real deal, that's a worthy investment. Just put it in a vault with instructions not to open before 2060. That will be worth an even bigger boatload of cash. Rendez-vous then!

Slash, a new signature guitar. Again! And it's a Les Paul

UPDATE: Gibson has confirmed the Slash "Apetite" Les Paul is coming out soon (with a picture and the specs).

Another of Slash's iconic Les Paul is about to be reissued... on the heels of the Jimmy Page #2.

Slash is not hiding that he is working with the Gibson Custom Shop to produce a new Les Paul model. He has been tweeting about it and leaving clues for a while.

So what do we know so far:

The Man revealed on Twitter:

Just checked the new "Slash model" prototype LP, its really nice. Making a few tweaks etc, will keep you posted.

And then added:

it is a replica of my '86 Les Paul that I use to record with, its an amazing sounding guitar.

Below is a shot of Slash with that guitar, "Slash's 1959 reissue custom. Made for him in 1987"(through Guitar Center twitpic account).


>> Look at Gibson Slash Les Pauls now available on eBay

There should be an Epiphone model like in the previous two releases in 2008 (the Goldtop and the "1989" model):

@douglas713. I'm pretty sure there is going to be an Epi model.

This guitar would be a fitting addition to my collection which features the Slash Goldtop and Slash VOS. However, I'm a little pissed off that Gibson and Slash are creating another Slash signature guitar already. It's just been 2 years since the reissue of the Les Paul he took on tour for "Appetite for Destruction". Slash is definitely milking it right now: new Gibson Les Paul signature, new Marshall Amp signature, new Seymour Duncan signature pickups.

Slash will announce this and that at NAMM pretty soon:

To those of you who have been inquiring, I'll be announcing the new "Slash" Marshall & Les Paul at NAMM, Sat, Jan 16th.

I'm also announcing a new signature series Seymour Duncun pick-up at NAMM as well.

2010 Prediction: expect more bragging from Slash about his fast cars on Twitter soon (like here).

In the meantime, you can check out the Gibson Les Paul Traditional Pro which looks really like a Slash LP. And see you in 6 months for the Guns n' Roses Reunion special limited edition.

For those interested in the "Slash" signature Marshall Amp:

First:

@jamesstu22. Its based on the Marshall
JCM 800 I used to record "Appetite for Destruction"

Then:

@susan01563. I do, I used it for this
last record I just did. As well as all the post "Appetite" GNR & Snakepit
& VR

About the Seymour Duncan (which will be regularly available, not a limited edition), here:

These are matched exactly to my '86 Alnico 2's wind for wind & sound identical.

Jimmy Page #2 Les Paul - a truly iconic guitar reissued by the Gibson Custom Shop

Wow. Jimmy Page #2 Les Paul is about to be re-issued in a very limited release. This Gibson Custom Shop series will include:

• 25 Aged and Signed guitars
• 100 Aged models
• 200 VOS models

Any Jimmy Page guitar, and especially a Les Paul, is truly iconic. I can't think of better guitars to post about in this blog. I covered Page's black beauty Les Paul custom earlier this year - these fetch about $50k and more on eBay routinely. So the #2 reissue is bound to be a good investment.

>> Search Jimmy Page Les Paul guitars now listed on eBay.

The story of the Jimmy Page #2 is nicely narrated on Gibson's site as they celebrate Page's 40-year Les Paul legacy:

Soon after making Led Zeppelin II Page acquired a second Les Paul Standard he dubbed “Number 2.” He had its neck shaved to emulated “Number 1” ’s distinctive profile, and installed push-pull pots to coil split the guitar’s humbuckers. After Led Zeppelin disbanded he had phase and series switches installed beneath the pick guard. But before Zeppelin’s dissolution, “Number 1” and “Number 2” helped Page and his self-made supergroup create rock ‘n’ roll history for seven more awe inspiring, timeless albums.

Regarding the specs, to sum up:

• New Page humbucking pickup in the bridge position (treble)
• Regular Page humbucker in the neck position (rhythm)
• Pull-up Tone pots to split pickups to single coil
• Pull-up Volume pots to engage parallel mode (hum reduction)
• What really makes this guitar special is the couple of switches hidden under the pickguard: when pushed, th first one activates a "series/parallel" mode and the second one a phase reversal.
• And...this guitar is beautiful with great woods and lots of style (50's era LP Standard, treble pickup cover removed as is characteristic of Page)

Now, as for the price, I haven't got more indication from my guy at Guitar Center than it should be in line with the Billy Gibbons Pearly Gates Les Paul reissue. For sure it's gonna cost you more than a whole lotta love to play guitar god a la Stairway to Heaven. As a comparison, the Jeff Beck Oxblood reissue Aged and Signed (a series of 50) was going at $25,000 at Guitar Center.

There are always a few Jimmy Page signature or reissue models on eBay which are beautiful to look at (don't drool on your keyboard). See a few current postings below:




By the way, if you're into coil splitting pull-up knobs, I suggest you look at the Gibson Les Paul Standard Traditional Pro I covered sometime ago. Closest Les Paul model you'll find, beautiful guitar - and way cheaper.

And thanks Jeremy for the tip.

Les Paul Tribute Model vs. the real deal from early 50's

Gibson is launching a Les Paul Tribute model which will be a limited run of 564 guitars based on the iconic '52 Les Paul model - the original Gold Top Les Paul.

I just found out through my friend Jeremy's blog:

Fantastic! All stamped as prototypes!

· Based on the Original LP 1952 model
· Trapeze tailpiece corrected to match Les Paul’s Patent
· Limited Run - Only 564 guitars will be produced
· All will be hand numbered 1915 A , 1915 B, 1915 C….. 1916 A 1916 B and so on
· All actual 1952 LP’s were listed as prototypes so these will be stamped prototype also
· Authentic P-90 pickups
· Gold top nitro-cellulose finish with natural mahogany back and neck
· Engraved Tribute truss rod cover
· COA included

Not sure what the privilege of getting one of those straight out of the factory is gonna cost you. It seems from the Certificate of Authenticity cover on the flyer that this is gonna be a Gibson USA model, not a Custom Shop as I would have expected of Gibson. It'd be a nice touch from Gibson if it means this is an "affordable" guitar - I mean below $2,500.

I also wanted to see if you could find the "real deal" on eBay.

So I found this . Not too bad at a buy-now price tag of $19,500 (not sure what the catch is). And it has the option of leaving an offer.



There is also this nice , so without the trapeze tailpiece. This is one is for grab for a mere $42,500. But it looks awesome with the finish cracking just as it should, without any green rash that you often find on old gold paints. I personally love those white P90 pickup covers. Very classy.

Multicolor SG Zoot Suit by Gibson USA

So, this "rainbow SG" which I was announcing last week is in fact the Gibson SG Zoot Suit which launched today.

>> Check out Gibson SG Zoot Suit on sale on eBay now!

I'm on a vacation this week but I had to break radio silence for this one because it is a special guitar with high "iconic guitar" potential IMO.
It's not as good looking / breathtaking as I expected because I find the layers in the center are a letdown. But maybe each model is going to be unique and some will have more appeal (like the Fender Splatters). If not, Gibson still provide a choice of finishes: rainbow (at least I got that name right!), black & red, black & natural, black & orange, red & blue.
That being said, it delivers on its most unique specs (most of which I guessed right from the original picture leaked on twitter - tada!):

Body and neck made of multiple layers of wood

This is the most interesting part: Several layers of birch are glued together to create this unique appearance.

The body of the Zoot Suit features a brand new body built with multiple birch wood laminate pieces (each one approximately .075” thick), each dyed with a different color then compressed and bonded together to form one solid block of wood. No paint is used. Each body is given two coats of satin nitrocellulose lacquer.

Same is true of the neck.

Transparent controls and pick ups

The pots and pickups of the Zoot Suit are transparent. What is especially cool is that the pickups trim ring and the coil forms are clear plastic because you can see the magnets and wiring of the 496R and 500T pickups.

The rest is very classic Gibson USA SG hardware specs - or not far from it (like the Grover tuners).

This is not a Limited Run Series apparently but it will be interesting to see for how long this will stay on Gibson's catalog. While I am not as in love as I thought I would be, I still think this is a great guitar, maybe the most exciting new offering by Gibson this year. Let's see what the actual price will be -Gibson's site has the MRSP at a wobbling $1,999.

OK. Now back to my last day of vacations and a quiet evening on the porch of my Cape May rented house, downing a Corona while the evening thunderstorm passes.

UPDATE: Two interesting things about the Zoot page on GuitarCenter.com (here:
Gibson Zoot Suit SG Electric Guitar Black and Red):
1. its actual price is $1,199.
2. Now I have an explanation for the weirdo name:

The word zoot is jazz slang meaning extravagant style—certainly an apt description for the Gibson USA Zoot Suit SG electric guitar

Order one now online:
Gibson Zoot Suit SG Electric Guitar Black and Red

Rainbow SG to be next Gibson Limited Run Series Guitar?

The Gibson Lifestyle Twitter account just released this interesting picture of a rainbow-colored electric guitar which clearly looks like a Gibson SG.

(original here)

I am wondering if they are trying to create buzz. Like they created buzz -probably unwillingly- for the Gibson Shark Fin by keeping it a secret to this date with no picture or announcement when it is supposed to be available just one week from now.

Back to this intriguing SG-like Gibson which colors look like a beautiful tribute to the Gay Pride. It seems to have transparent plastics for the knobs but most interestingly the pick ups which have no cover and display the copper wiring. This is insanely gorgeous.

The controls are minimal with only a pair of volume/tone knobs and a 3-way toggle switch.

The most amazing part remains the color which seems like the result of dying each vein of the wood (I'd guess maybe maple not mahogany to obtain this finish).

The rosewood fretboard looks like there is no inlays. Maybe there could be dot inlays which we don't see since the pic barely shows the 16th / 17th fret. Could be that this is just a prototype.

I am really eager to discover more about this exciting guitar which really reminds me of Eric Clapton's famous Fool SG and its psychedelic multicolor paintjob (notably used on Disraeli Gears).

This is definitely THE Gibson I would buy right away this year because it is truly unique and will be a collectible. Maybe I'm getting over myself when this is just a pic posted through Twitter but I'll definitely check GuitarCenter.com and the Gibson Products section for leaks like the Shark Fin.

UPDATE: This guitar is in fact the Gibson SG Zoot Suit, which I have covered in full in this post. You can now order it from Guitar Center (here:
Gibson Zoot Suit SG Electric Guitar Black and Red
)

Gibson Customer Appreciation Mega Sale in the Line of Fire?

Not sure whether Gibson wants to offload any unsold Darkfire guitars at their Customer Appreciation Megasale. But they are under serious fire from bitter fans on their forum who are angered by the sale being held only "in the physical world" at their Nashville, TN and Memphis, TN showcase stores. Of course everybody is expecting an online sale, maybe with an auction system or at least some kind of price list to set expectations before you embark on the road trip to buy your next cheap Gibson.

I wonder how this will turn out. In the meantime, some entertaining comments from their post:

no pictures ,no pricing, you want me to drive to Nashville and hope to score on prices better than GC? pftttttt.

What i'd like to know is the price of the guitars. I don't want to make a 3 hour trip just to find out that it is 10% off retail, so i hope that Gibson releases some more infomation soon.

what good is this if I can't view and purchase any of these offerings on line? don't bother promoting such events on line when they are impractical and unreachable on line. you only succeed in disenfranchising your consumer base.

And to sum up the spirit of fans in California, Florida (or any non TN-contiguous state) as well as Spain, Australia and UK:

fuckkkk that. I live in new jersey. I am not going out to tennessee to buy a guitar. shitt thats an extra 300 dollars for a plane ticket... do they think everyone lives in tennessee or sumtin ?

Then you have the dreamer. Who is angry too. Or maybe the author of this comment is French and was expecting a first class flight on Air France with Champagne and Petits fours to go visit the unionized comrades of the Gibson Factory:

Gibson should provide bus or train tickets for people who live far away and they should guarantee everything for at least five years, strings included. and they should sell everything on the internet with free shipping. and they should offer a 45 day return. and what about the list? you must have a list? If you don't comply, I'm not going and my friends aren't either. I'm not going anyway because now I'm really mad about this mega sale. BIG deal and you won't even tell me. Where is the Beef???

But in the end, none of this matters to the true hardcore fan:

True believers will find a way to get to the motherstore. My bike is packed. I ride at dawn. Through the pansies and onward to the motherstore. Some people don't deserve to get a chance to take part. Some do. I do. I am a believer. I owned an original FT-79N that I got in 1969. And many others that will remain dear to me. I'll see you other believers in Nashville by Monday. The rest of you pansies......stay home........and whine!

Not sure how you bike back home with an Explorer hardcase, but I like the spirit!

And there is still the opportunity to visit GuitarCenter.com or check their Gibson Products selection and prices... online. :)


Oh, if you see this shop, park the Harley. You're there :)

A '68 Gibson ES-335, Monsters and Babes

Sometimes you see awkward eBay auctions. But recently I have noticed an increase in guitar listings with stupidly staged pictures, sometimes with (allegedly) good looking girls holding the guitar, sometimes with puppets/monsters/action figures/you-name-it.

This particular posting for a vintage 1968 Gibson ES-335 tops them all as it features this guitar with both babes and space monsters.



In these rough economic times, I guess it's hard to move inventory, especially for a $7,000 vintage guitar like this one. So, hats off to this vendor (the_guitars_of_godzilla) for the creativity. You can not sell and still have a good sense of humor.

By the way, GL Wilson on the Guitarz blog was pointing to a similar type of listing a few days ago... with a better looking model I have to say.

NEW! Gibson Shark Fin Picture!

The Gibson Shark Fin is finally showing its fin. Here is the picture of this new limited run series by Gibson USA (courtesy of Guitar Center).
So, it looks like an explorer with a round cutaway in the back and a reverse headstock. It is a light metallic gray finish. I see also two humbuckers (of course it's a Gibson) with no pickup cover. No pickguard, dot inlays and a simple pair of volume/tone knobs with the control switch in between. Classic stopbar tailpiece -no bigsby for this one (unlike the last run, the Les Paul florentine cut).

Good. The anonymous tips on my previous Gibson Shark Fin post were spot on. I had broke the news about this upcoming guitar back last month. Funny how the launch of this one has beek kept so secret when other limited run series guitars were announced months ahead.

Billy Gibbons Les Paul Standard now has its page on Gibson.com - Say hi to Pearly Gates

Just 2 weeks ago, I announced my guy Jeremy was starting taking orders on the Inspired By ZZ Top Billy Gibbons Les Paul Standard Reissue.

Now the "Pearly Gates" page has gone live on Gibson.com featuring this new Gibson Custom Shop release: The '59 Les Paul Standard with 'Divine Connections'

Which is which?
Maybe you'll end up with the real one ;)

The page has a lot of info about the work involved to reproduce the flamed top and the exact burst of this Les Paul and about the Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates humbuckers.

This is, like the Jeff Beck model, a limited run edition with VOS/aged/signed&played offering:

The Billy Gibbons ‘Pearly Gates’ Les Paul Standard will be produced in a very limited quantity of only 350 guitars – 250 will receive Gibson Custom’s patented V.O.S. finish, 50 will be aged to look exactly like the original Pearly Gates, and another 50 will aged and personally signed and played by Gibbons himself.

The VOS is available at $7,999:
Buy Gibson Custom Billy Gibbons "Pearly Gates" 1959 Les Paul VOS Electric Guitar Billy Gibbons Burst

The Aged model is available at $10,999:
Buy Gibson Custom Billy Gibbons "Pearly Gates" 1959 Les Paul Aged Electric Guitar Billy Gibbons Burst¹

And the "Aged, Signed and Played by Gibbons himself" model will cost you $17,999:
Buy Gibson Custom Billy Gibbons "Pearly Gates" 1959 Les Paul Aged/Signed Electric Guitar Billy Gibbons Burst¹

What scratch?

But don't be shy and go talk to Jeremy about your Pearly Gates. Or any other guitar. He is great.