gringopig's guitars
Two guitars one company after 60 years and changes of ownership and factory but one classic design. A true original of rock!
1959 Gibson Les Paul -
(The year alone is like a spell or incantation. Say it on a full moon night and bells will toll, cats will dance on bookshelves laden with musty books of lore. A bat might pop up from the sarcophagus you have leaning against the sofa)
Junior.
Just don't say that last more prosaic bit.
However, the guitar I have managed to borrow for a few weeks was indeed made in 1959 and is a Les Paul. A junior. The cheaper more student orientated little brother of the fantastically expensive single cut, maple topped burst but no less a guitar for it really.
It's a mahogany bodied double cut made in the golden years of Gibson and looking over its shoulder at Fender with the double cutaway which was introduced after the 1957 model with a single cutaway made way for it.
Featuring a single P90 pickup in the bridge and a wrap-around tailpiece, it lasted in this form until 1961 when Gibson broadly introduced the SG body style to the Les Paul model.
My friend Brian owns this. It has a headstock break but is solid and is all original but for the replaced tuners which was done some time ago; the re-fret and bridge replacement with a compensated version were done after he bought it. The pickup and electronics and other hardware are original. The knobs most likely aren't.
So, given this opportunity, I am comparing his 1959 original with my Gibson custom shop 1958 re-issue. The big difference immediately is the neck. The 1959 has a lovely full C neck - typical of the 1959 re-issue Les Pauls made by Gibson in the modern era whereas my '58 re-issue has a big C neck. Big like a baseball bat. I prefer the 1959 neck really but the bigger one is good too.
Here are some galleries of the two. Click on the galleries to get a better view in a full page.
Some shots of the headstocks of the 2 instruments. Gibson models separated by 60 years. You can see the shape of the headstocks, the logo design and the difference between the Brazilian rosewood and the rosewood Gibson have used more recently. The Brazilian fretboard is beautifully dark.
From the back of the headstock, showing the width at the nut and noting the replaced tuners on the 1959. I believe these would have been like the re-issue when new but the plastic tuner buttons must have gone bad. They look old enough though. As old as the patina on the rest of the instrument. The nut width is narrower on the 1959 too but that might be a difference between the years from 1958 to 1959 anyway.
Above are the body details of the two and it's clear the 1959 has been in a fight in the car park many times over the years and lost. Gibson have been pretty good in getting the re-issue right though. The original has had the aniline dye fade quite a bit and it's a beautiful paler red now but it's surprising how much Gibson got right about the re-issue.
The body thickness is very similar with the original measuring 43.76mm and the re-issue 45.10mm. Hardly anything but noticeable is the difference in contouring. The 1959 has a very nice rounded form to the edges whereas the re-issue is more 'square'. It has sharper edges. I wonder why Gibson couldn't get that more accurate.
Part 1 of the video demo is a recording of the acoustic properties of the instruments. Recorded with a single microphone in exactly the same position and at the same time - just to give a good idea of the tonality of the underlying wood. Another video will be of the electric sound of the P90 pickups. Interesting to compare the acoustic properties though I think as a lot of opinion mentions 'old wood' and the drying of wood and such factors as the reason for the vintage tone. Personally, I am not sure about the truth of 'vintage tone' and so it's interesting and useful to try to explore the notion.
Part 2 of the video demo is a recording of the electric sound of the guitars. I used my Fender Twin Reverb set to 4 with a touch of reverb as there is no better amp to hear differences in tone!
In front was a Rode NT1-A and an SM57 set at the same spot with the Rode just a hair back on the SM57 cap.
I did some chord stuff and single note lines then introduced my new Benson Preamp which I am loving as a front end to the Twin Reverb for some grit.
I am surprised at how similar they sounded. Acoustically, the 1959 was warmer and punchier and I think this carries over to the electric sound and I'm sure the magnet of that old P90 helped too. However, you would be hard pressed to pick one from the other in a fog.
I think it comes down to how the guitar feels to play. It's undeniable that holding a guitar made in 1959 feels quite special. It's worn and tactile. The finish isn't sticky or worryingly clean. You aren't afraid to scuff it, as it has been ultra-scuffed™ by time.
If an instrument inspires you to play then you play better and more and I actually get this from my 2019 model. It sounds great to me. I think it sounds just as bouncy as the 1959 albeit with a brighter edge - the older one has a warm funky quality to it all of its own.
The reason why relic guitars have proved so popular is the feeling of age. It may be entirely false but players seem to be able to banish reality in favour of some imagined history of pretend bars and make believe gigs.
I am not immune from this myself. I do get it. I also understand the ridicule some have for the tendency to buy brand new guitars with pattern aging.
However, the 1959 Junior is not artificially aged. You can see the reality of the years etched into its body. It's not in a wheelchair though - no elderly wreck creaking its last creak. It plays just fine and sounds great!
Which one would I choose?
Well, I could have both if I don't let Brian, the owner, out of the bamboo cage in the basement.
