NGD: Gibson Les Paul '58 VOS Iced Tea

[raytsh]

I'd like to share my new 2020 R8 Iced Tea Les Paul.

More photos in the album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/raytsh/albums/72157719598439787

 

[BenjaminW]

Yum.

HNGD!

 

[IbanezDaemon]

A great looking LP! Congrats!

 

[Dawn of the Shred]

Congrats man and HNGD

 

[TimSE]

As much as I love mega figured tops, there is something so damn classy about a "plain top". Love it!!

 

[raytsh]

As much as I love mega figured tops, there is something so damn classy about a "plain top". Love it!!

Yeah, right? I always preferred plain tops. These crazy detailed flames/quilts I see on many guitars like Gibson and PRS for instance, are visually too busy for me.

 

[Zhysick]

I love plain maple topped LP and this one is fking beautiful. Oh man...

 

[AkiraSpectrum]

very nice!

 

[Leviathus]

Exquisite! congrats!

 

[Estilo]

Congrats! How are the frets?

 

[Yul Brynner]

10/10 would put my dick in it.

 

[raytsh]

Congrats! How are the frets?

Quite narrow but comparably high for their width. Definitely different than "modern" guitars with jumbo frets. The R7 I once had had lower and slightly wider frets. The frets are still more like a box shape if you imagine the cross section than a half circle.

I can understand why some people would not like these frets and I've seen many posts about refretting, even very current, R8s.

 

[beerandbeards]

That’s some sweet tea!

 

[Shawn]

Beautiful guitar. Congrats!

 

[Estilo]

Quite narrow but comparably high for their width. Definitely different than "modern" guitars with jumbo frets. The R7 I once had had lower and slightly wider frets. The frets are still more like a box shape if you imagine the cross section than a half circle.

I can understand why some people would not like these frets and I've seen many posts about refretting, even very current, R8s.

How does it 'feel' though? Is it in essence harder to play on than modern guitars with jumbo frets? Do your fingers rub against the fretboard when playing?

14 years of playing but I'm confused on fret terminology once again recently. Usually the fret sizes quoted refer to the width rather than the height? When it's the height which matters more for playing. My Edwards LP's frets feel short and tiny and my fingers rub against the fretboard but roughly measuring the fret height with a ruler they're not all that short actually.

 

[raytsh]

How does it 'feel' though? Is it in essence harder to play on than modern guitars with jumbo frets? Do your fingers rub against the fretboard when playing?

It is harder to play for me. My other guitars (there are two) all have modern, stainless steel XL jumbo frets that are polished to the max. For me it is really hard to bend or to do proper vibrato without losing sustain on this R8, my fingers have permanent contact to the fingerboard. But, I see many people do these things without any issues on R8s. My conclusion is, that it's a matter of my bad technique and not necessarily the frets. Though, modern frets surely make bends and vibrato much easier due to the shape, height, width and due to the material and their high gloss polish. The rather flat fretboards (in terms of radius) of modern guitars might also be a factor here.

 

[Estilo]

It is harder to play for me. My other guitars (there are two) all have modern, stainless steel XL jumbo frets that are polished to the max. For me it is really hard to bend or to do proper vibrato without losing sustain on this R8, my fingers have permanent contact to the fingerboard. But, I see many people do these things without any issues on R8s. My conclusion is, that it's a matter of my bad technique and not necessarily the frets. Though, modern frets surely make bends and vibrato much easier due to the shape, height, width and due to the material and their high gloss polish. The rather flat fretboards (in terms of radius) of modern guitars might also be a factor here.

Yeah same thoughts as well, people have been shredding, bending and vibratoin on Les Pauls since the dawn of time with no problems. So I figured I'd just get used to it. Although to be honest, the thought of getting it refretted with jumbo stainless steel frets has crossed my mind several times.

 

[raytsh]

Although to be honest, the thought of getting it refretted with jumbo stainless steel frets has crossed my mind several times.

I first will try to get used to it for a while, maybe a year or so, and adapt my playing style. If it really does not work for me, refretting is a valid option in my opinion. Though, if the guitar gets much playing time it will have to be refretted anyway at some point. I might as well get as much as I can out of the stock frets (except for the case that I really could not play it at all, what I highly doube). I would probably also go for stainless frets, but maybe not the biggest frets, more like medium jumbo.

I've never had a guitar refretted yet and it's kinda scary for me. I also would not know how to find a luthier I trust with refretting such an expensive instrument. Though, I don't need to have the fret nibs, so that's something in favor of refretting.

My R7 from 2009 had also similar shaped frets, but they were wider and thus felt not as high. The narrower the fret, the higher it feels/looks despite not being higher when actually measured.

 

[Estilo]

@raytsh Yeah my boat is different from yours - the Edwards is well made but nowhere near the R8 in dollar terms. I'd be in a bind too if I were you. If it's otherwise perfect, just enjoy it as it is!

 

[AboutBlank]

https://www.sevenstring.org/threads/eu-guitar-setup-recommendations

(sorry, take a look at the whole thread, cannot change it for some reason)

Just in case, you can actually find really reasonable technicians in the vicinity of every major city, just some search and research.

Wonderful Guitar btw.