I ordered my R8 through my local Gibson dealer - since he agrees that the quality does vary, he said that he'd order 2 of them - and that I could have my pick, the other would go up on the wall. I'd played several R7's and a couple R8's w/ non-tobacco finishes before, so I was familiar with the Historic "feel." The shop called several months later and told me that one of the two R8's had arrived. I went in, and the shop owner (who I've become pretty good acquaintance-friends with) just smiled and said "you're gonna love this" and popped the top of the case open. My jaw dropped! I played it for five minutes or so, and I knew it was "the one." He said that I could take it home and wait til the other arrived, and choose between the two. I told him that it wouldn't be necessary - this one cannot be topped! I took it strait to my Luthier for a setup, and was soldering in new caps by the end of the night. The next R8 came in the next week - it played about the same - but wasn't nearly as good lookin'. These were taken the minute that I laid eyes on her:
