Following hot on the heels of the three 50th Anniversary 1960 Les Paul Standard models is the sister solidbody, the 50th Anniversary 1960 Les Paul Custom. Only 200 are being made for worldwide distribution. Aside from a new serial number sequence and a correct one-piece mahogany top, the real meat and potatoes of this edition is the presence of a 1960 slim taper neck. Black Beauty fans who would prefer the slimmer ’60s style neck, rejoice: this is your guitar. Our inside sources tell us that this neck will be most similar in feel to the “type 2″ profile neck featured on the 50th Anniversary ‘60 Standard, which Gibson describes as a “transition” shape between the chunkier ‘59 profile and the very slim late ‘60 shape. It’s a gloss finish only, 2-pickup configuration, and it comes in any color you like as long as you like black.
The Music Zoo will be a stocking dealer, we expect to have them in the store within 60 days. Retail is $7,059 with the MAP price coming in at $4,999. Want to pre-order? Let us know.
Gibson has just launched their own App for Apple iPhone and iPod Touch users, and it’s not just some milquetoast branded news reader or cheesy game, it’s a fully interactive guitar application, and something we actually want to use. The free App includes a guitar-oriented chromatic tuner that can aid with standard and alternate tunings, a metronome that supports tap tempo, over 30 chord charts that show the fingering of the chords, and a function that lets you watch guitar lessons streaming right from Gibson’s site. Not bad for free. It’s available for download now from Apple’s iTunes Store. Follow the jump for Gibson’s press release and the screen grabs from the App itself.
In 1986 Charvel/Jackson introduced the Model Series of guitars, built in Japan and offering real value for money. These were hard rocking guitars, at import prices, but with a tremendous build quality that was rare for any guitar manufacturer in the 1980s. The catalog we’re posting here is from 1986 and we especially like it because, for some reason, it features some cool period shots of New York City (dig those arcade games). These Model Series guitars are still out there everywhere, they were built to last. Your author has a soft spot for a particular deep metallic purple Model 6, the hum/single/single neck-through version, that he learned to play guitar on. It’s still in the family and plays great. View all 30+ pages of the catalog after the jump.
Gibson recently announced the arrival of a new signature model, the Randy Scruggs Advanced Jumbo. The son of banjo legend Earl Scruggs, Randy is a hugely talented first-call country music session musician in his own right, and knows a thing or two about what makes a great guitar. He sticks with the classics, and with his Gibson Advanced Jumbo. His signature model is essentially a “celebration of the Advanced Jumbo”, with few structural or design changes but some nice personal touches. More info and Gibson’s press release after the jump.
Recently our friend (and Jackson/Charvel bigwig) Brian McDonald sent us a CD that contained an enormous archive of vintage guitar catalogs. Call us nostalgic but we love this kind of stuff. So, we’re starting a new blog series and we’ll be periodically posting whole catalogs as galleries. After the jump, the very earliest Charvel catalog from 1977, printed in stunning, hi-tech black and white.
Suhr Guitars was kind enough to send over some drool-worthy new pictures of the upcoming LE2010 Set Neck Modern. This is Suhr’s first set-neck guitar, and the initial run in Faded Trans Wine Red Burst will be limited to 125 pieces, although they’ve told us that we can custom order other colors as well. Suhr’s description and all the photos after the jump.
1960 was an incredible year for musical instruments; many iconic models that are collectible today were built that year, and now that it is 2010 we get to enjoy the 50th Anniversary models that are being rolled out. 1960 was the last year for the Les Paul Standard, but the ES-335 was just getting warmed up. It’s just a great guitar, at home in blues, country, rock, jazz – you name it. That’s why it was been in continuous production for over 50 years now. Contact us for pre-order information, we’ll be seeing these. Follow the jump to read the official press release on the 50th Anniversary 1960 Gibson ES-335TD.
Fender’s Mike Eldred sheds some light on the 60th Anniversary Telecasters Fender is doing in 2010 in this video courtesy of Premier Guitar. As we previously reported from NAMM, Fender is “Tele-brating” the 60th Anniversary of the Telecaster by reissuing the original prototype Telecaster called the “Snakehead”, the Broadcaster, the Nocaster, and two different Esquires. The Music Zoo will be stocking them all. Please get in touch if you have any questions!
Back in 2004, we were super excited to get our hands on the brand-new Gibson Custom Shop Jimmy Page Les Paul “Number One”. It was the most highly anticipated guitar that had come through the door in years, and we were lucky enough to have the signed, aged Pilot Run #9 of 25 in the store. Most folks are used to the idea of a signed and aged Jimmy Page guitar these days but the first time around it was almost like having Jimmy himself walk through the door, whistling “The Rover”. We had it on display in the store for a good long while, and we also put up a page on the website with absurdly large pictures of every angle of #9. Now that there have been a few more Jimmy Page replica/tribute guitars that have come through The Zoo, we thought we would revisit the photos we shot of these popular guitars, and compile them all in one post for all you Jimmy Page fans. Mega picture gallery after the jump.
In this edition of Vintage 1980s Guitar Artwork we visit an old friend: Purple Mohawk Skeleton Vampire. He’s always up to something! In this case, busting right through the ribs and popping out of the front of the guitar just to say ‘Hi”. Honestly we’re not sure when Purple Mohawk Skeleton Vampire came from, or if he has a real name, or what, but hit the jump to see more of his antics.
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