How Much?
Goulash
http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/SG/Gibson-Custom/Angus-Young-SG-Standard.aspx
Cheers
Goulash
badlands420
"Goulash" <dazgo...@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:FXmLm.3$Tk...@newsfe20.ams2...
I've never understood the appeal of "signature model" guitars. Shit, you
could get an *actual* '68 SG for about the same price.
Goulash
Goulash
"badlands420" <mike...@uranus.net> wrote in message
news:5_mLm.16271$We2....@newsfe09.iad...
AndersP
But you won't get the super-cool lightning bolts :-D.
Myself is a bit skeptic about buying old guitars with crazed finishes,
hairline cracks, repaired necks, overall wear and tear and what not for
mega-bucks. Haven't really understood that part.
A pristine SG from mid-late 60'ies will probably not stop at the 6,000
USD which is asking price for this one. You'll probably end up at
considerably more than that before finding something in very good
condition. Here in Europe it's even worse, you have to add at least
15-20% on those prices because of taxes, shipping, customs etc.
For lower price guitars it's even, even worse since some of the fees are
fixed, regardless of how expensive/cheap guitar you are buying.
Currently on e-bay:
'68 with Vibrola, basically the Angus Young Signature as we known it for
some time, 4 days left on auction currently at 7,000 bucks
'64 Pete Townshend type with dual P90s, 2 days left, currently at 8,500
bucks
'61 Special rebuilt, ugly as hell, Buy it now 5,700, currently at 400
bucks ! But reserve not met (probably somewhere around the "buy-it-now"
price. Being described as "immaculate" still a lot of finish cracks
around the neck joint.
But with the economic crisis there are possibilities of making some good
buys on e-bay.
Back to this new guitar from Gibson. There are a few interesting things
about the guitar that makes a difference.
- Weight, specified at 5.65 lbs it is VERY light, lighter than any of
the (modern) SGs I have at home. They all (4) weigh around 3.1-3.3 kg,
this one is about half a kilo lighter (about a pound). I just weighed my
Gibson SG Special Worn Brown and it came in at 7.5 pounds
- Neck, made of maple !? There's no such thing on vintage SGs, probably
they been forced to switch to maple since the SGs with slim necks
(60'ies profiles) are prone to break (maybe this is one of the
explanations for the lightness of the guitar)
- Fingerboard made from ebony, can be found on some SGs but the mainstay
is rosewood. The combination ebony/maple will probably produce a
brighter tonal character
- Inlays in pearl. If this is genuine pearl, it is a first for modern
SGs (not counting custom designs). The "pearl" inlays that you find,
even on expensive SGs and LPs, and what not from Gibson, are plastic.
Looks like the real deal, but it is plastic
- Pickups, WTF! Not Gibsons ! Seymour Pearly Gates. Come on...
- Tonal control - Bypassed, as on Angus guitar...
The family (ok, ok it's my son's guitar) own an Angus Young signature
guitar which is a very, very nice guitar. It sports all the original '68
features but comes in short as an Angus Young guitar because it lacks
the lightning bolts. The Angus' devil silk-screened on the peghead
doesn't compensate enough for this.
This new one would have been the ultimate AY guitar if it wasn't for all
the changes as compared to the real deal.
I don't know exactly what guitars Angus' are using and if there are any
modifications to them, we will probably never know. I know one thing
though, regardless of what guitar I buy I will never sound like Angus
because there's more to it than just the guitar. Try amplifiers for a start.
However, if you want a guitar that _looks_ like the one that Angus' has
customized for himself, this is definitely what you should buy.
I don't know if I can convince myself to dig deep enough in my pockets
to afford one of these. But the reading is pretty high on my
"want-to-have-this" scale.
I'm currently in the progress of converting a Gibson SG3 Special Worn
White with a new fingerboard sporting lightning bolt inlays. I haven't
come that far, I've just laser cut the inlays from "pearl like" plastic
and made a CAD-model for the routing of the fingerboard. I'm awaiting a
time slot in the milling machine to mill a new fingerboard. Then there
is "some" work left to replace the original fingerboard and repaint it
gloss black. Bindings will be added in the process.
This will be my poor mans version of an Angus guitar. I'll post the
result here when I'm finished somewhere around year 2012 :-D.
In the meanwhile I will drool over this one. Sigh.
/AndersP
AndersP
Look at my previous post and then look at this:
http://www.musikhaus-hermann.de/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=11597
That would equal about 3000 USD with current exchange rates. Made from
mahogany all over and sporting Gibson p/u's.
Essentially a '61 re-issue in black with lightning bolt inlays in
plastic and a Gibson Angus Young signature pickup in bridge position.
/AndersP
The Mighty T.B.
(snip)
> Back to this new guitar from Gibson. There are a few interesting things
> about the guitar that makes a difference.
>
> - Weight, specified at 5.65 lbs it is VERY light, lighter than any of the
> (modern) SGs I have at home. They all (4) weigh around 3.1-3.3 kg, this
> one is about half a kilo lighter (about a pound). I just weighed my Gibson
> SG Special Worn Brown and it came in at 7.5 pounds
>
> - Neck, made of maple !? There's no such thing on vintage SGs, probably
> they been forced to switch to maple since the SGs with slim necks (60'ies
> profiles) are prone to break (maybe this is one of the explanations for
> the lightness of the guitar)
>
> - Fingerboard made from ebony, can be found on some SGs but the mainstay
> is rosewood. The combination ebony/maple will probably produce a brighter
> tonal character
>
> - Inlays in pearl. If this is genuine pearl, it is a first for modern SGs
> (not counting custom designs). The "pearl" inlays that you find, even on
> expensive SGs and LPs, and what not from Gibson, are plastic. Looks like
> the real deal, but it is plastic
>
> - Pickups, WTF! Not Gibsons ! Seymour Pearly Gates. Come on...
>
> - Tonal control - Bypassed, as on Angus guitar...
Isn't it possible to get some if not most of the mods done on a new SG
guitar purchased through Gibson's custom shop at a likely more reasonable
price and elss hassle without the Angus logos, etc?
T.B.
AndersP
> - Weight, specified at 5.65 lbs it is VERY light, lighter than any of
> the (modern) SGs I have at home. They all (4) weigh around 3.1-3.3 kg,
> this one is about half a kilo lighter (about a pound). I just weighed my
> Gibson SG Special Worn Brown and it came in at 7.5 pounds
After more careful reading the 5.65 lbs is without hardware. Now that is
a completely different story. I have no idea what a set of hardware weighs.
/A
AndersP
One available now on e-bay, no 37 out of 50 hand-aged by custom shop and
played and signed by Angus.
Looks nice from a distance, but finish looks like shit up close. Current
bid is 6,600 USD, this is the one with a MSRP of 9,409.
/AndersP
badlands420
> One available now on e-bay, no 37 out of 50 hand-aged by custom shop and
> played and signed by Angus.
Hand-aging is as lame with guitars as it is with blue jeans.
AndersP
Agree. Wholeheartedly.
The guitars that today are sought after were originally sold nice and
shiny (of course), if I buy something new today I would like to have it
in new condition. The trick in the future for collectors is then to find
well kept individuals of different guitars, which then will be scarce.
Just as today.
Imagine this in, say 20 years from now... "Hey, I bought this really
cool guitar, it's a bit battle worn from being used... but ehh, the
guitar was worn already as new, it's one of these "aged" series bla bla
bla. So I don't know what comes from usage and what was there from the
beginning.
Sigh.
The absolute worst example I've seen of this craziness is the Van Halen
"Frankenstein" guitar. Grinded down, beaten, torn, glued on reflectors !
Yikes ! And a completely ridiculous asking price.
Limited run of 300 guitars, Musicians Friend has one and are asking
25,000 USD for it. Outrageous.
The Angus Young model is available in some kind of VOS treatment as well
(200 out of the total 250). I think that is a somewhat more gentle
"aging", but still aging.
"VOS" as a term seems to be used for many of the guitars they sell.
Anyone knows mora about this ?
One of the big advantages with the Angus Young Signature model, the
first one, was that it is made to look shiny new. That is my preference.
/Anders
tomScotland
> "VOS" as a term seems to be used for many of the guitars they sell.
> Anyone knows mora about this ?
Vintage Original Specification.
--
'91 MkII Golf GTi 8v
'05 Polo FSi
www.facebook.com/tomscotland
AndersP
> AndersP wrote:
>
>> "VOS" as a term seems to be used for many of the guitars they sell.
>> Anyone knows mora about this ?
>
> Vintage Original Specification.
>
Does that include any "aging" by standard or is that only on examples
where it is explicitly mentioned ?
/AndersP
AndersP
It went for USD 7,800, USD 1,000 short of the MSRP but still a hefty
price tag.
/AndersP
tomScotland
Yeah, only where specified (I think). I'm 99% sure that most VOS instruments
are NOT aged or relic'd in any way.
You should try the forum on the gibson site, lot of good info there.
Inferno
cavity shielded. Now it sounds perfect. The VOS guitars just have a
more mellow look to them. Chrome is dulled and paint isn't super
shiny. I think it's beautiful. I honestly don't understand the aged or
reliced guitars though. Old guitars can be great if they have some
history, but why pay a huge amount for a guitar that looks like shit
from the factory. Even with vintage guitars I would try to avoid the
weather checking and other issues.
Take a look at this Angus SG. Horrible.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Angus-Young-Gibson-SG-Aged-Signed-Played-43-AC-DC-537_W0QQitemZ180433253994QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar?hash=item2a02a8f66a
-Dave
tomScotland
Yup, horrible. I try my best to protect the finish on my SG standard - I
know that in another 20 years if it looks aged its because its old and I've
played the shit out of it, and thats just the way it should be.
badlands420
> Yup, horrible. I try my best to protect the finish on my SG standard - I
> know that in another 20 years if it looks aged its because its old and
> I've played the shit out of it, and thats just the way it should be.
I've had my ES335 for 12 years and I'm pleased to report it doesn't have a
blemish on it. The nickel's dulled a little bit on the pickups and bridge,
but that just adds character.
Anders Pettersson
> AndersP wrote:
>> tomScotland wrote:
>>> AndersP wrote:
>>>
>>>> "VOS" as a term seems to be used for many of the guitars they sell.
>>>> Anyone knows mora about this ?
>>>
>>> Vintage Original Specification.
>>>
>>
>> Does that include any "aging" by standard or is that only on examples
>> where it is explicitly mentioned ?
>>
>> /AndersP
>
> Yeah, only where specified (I think). I'm 99% sure that most VOS
> instruments are NOT aged or relic'd in any way.
> You should try the forum on the gibson site, lot of good info there.
>
OK, reading on the label... on the actual guitar :-D...
"The VINTAGE ORIGINAL SPEC series is manufactured to re-create the
mellow appearance and patina of a well cared for vintage instrument."
I dug deeeep in my pockets and ordered one, a truly remarkable guitar,
the neck is noticeable narrower than on any other SG I've played. Not
particularly a good thing if you're not in the Young Brothers physical size.
Slightly more bite than the average SG, the leads cut through anything,
probably due to the combination of maple neck, ebony fretboard and the
custom wound humbucker.
But the looks, ahhhhh... this was the real reason I bought it, combined
with the fact that no more than 200 of these will ever be produced.
Hopefully this will mean that I can get my money back on this guitar at
any time if the need for some reason arise. It seems that they are sold
out in Europe, I don't know how many may be left in the States.
Wife was freaked out for 2 days when I told her how much I paid, but she
finally settled down :-).
This was my most expensive Christmas gift so far, luckily I was at the
receiving end.
/AndersP