Sweet Deluxeness.

[John Vasco]

Originally Posted by Cookie-boy

Dump the Mini's and put is some proper pickups, a Man's pickup!

F**king pussy guitars!!!

I'll see you in May!!!




And hit you over the head with my boat-anchor Deluxe (complete with minis)!

[Boleskinehouse]

Yeah, cookie! Minis sound like Yoko Ono...

[John Vasco]

Originally Posted by >Photi G<

Minis MAKE the deluxe!
BTW, nobody cares, but that's one of the few 3 piece tops I've seen ever.

Oh there are quite a few Deluxes around with three-piece tops...

[Boleskinehouse]

Here's another Deluxe with a three piece top...




Same year as Vasco's!!

[WoodyTone]

Give us a tone report pronto! I also am curious about how thick the neck is....

[sangandongo]

Sure... if I can ever get the ****er off a UPS truck and into my hands. I'm going batty with the run-around.

[sangandongo]

I went down to UPS yesterday with my middle finger raised high and picked up my guitar. Boy, am I glad I did that. I don't think they would have -ever- delivered it if I had not.

First thing I noticed was its weight. My Standard is a healthy 12.5 lbs, something I actually love. I was scared this one would be a measly 8 to 9 lbs, based on stuff I'd been reading. Boy, was I wrong and happily so. She weighs in at a whopping 13.2 lbs!!! LOVE it.

Action: low!!! This thing is set up beautifully. I cannot complain. The only thing I'll change after putting new strings on is to lower the stop tail to the body and wrap the strings around.

The finish is tits. Photos do it no justice. It is a golden honey like tobacco burst. Tobacco really doesn't describe it, nor does Honey. It's somewhere in the middle. The burst accentuations along the back of the neck and headstock are a beautiful bonus. The knobs have aged to a deep bronze, far darker than most top-hats I've seen.

I can't stop staring at it. I got it late last night before some classes, then went straight to my girlfriend's house and then brought it to work with me, so I haven't even plugged it in yet. *sigh*

There are so few scratches. This guitar could be five years old rather than 30 years old. The separation between the three top pieces is noticeable up close, but I think that I can actually fix it: despite having wasted money on Guitar Honey, I am going to order a bottle of Fret Doctor and inject it into the seams using a very thin syringe, like one used for insulin. I believe the Fret Doctor will soak up and re-expand the wood (just like the fife with the fat crack on the Fret Doctor site).

Anyhow... tone report in a few days. I have to get to my practice space so I can crank it. Living in a "People Box" is unacceptable for cranking the guitar.

[sangandongo]

Sweet! It actually has the plate in it still... Blown away by this guitar more and more. I don't think the tuners have ever been removed, the nitro is beveled around their edges. Can't wait to crank it.



AND the jack hole plate. huh-huh. I said "jack hole."

[standard man]

I love that top! Congrats!

[humbucker]

Originally Posted by sangandongo

This just occurred to me, Townsend's #5 was a 3 piece wine Red Deluxe, so there's one you probably have seen.

Not sure about the other Deluxes he owned.

I used to own a '78 LP Deluxe gold top w/3pc. top. I could see the seems on the top bucause of the gold color. Congrats on your great buy! Enjoy her!

[sangandongo]

So, preliminary tone report: killer! Took some time to adjust the height on the bridge pickup to match the neck, as the neck pickup was all the way down and still blowing the bridge out of the water.

Beautiful, full, clean tone. Brighter than my Standard, which is something I've been craving. I love the treble position, gives me what i need for chickin' pickin'. Rhythm is slick for big solos.

Overall, more versatile than the Standard but doesn't have as many delicate nuances and melodic overtones.

I still haven't been able to really crank it. When I can really A/B them, I'll update again.

[Grand Pappy]

I've had this 76 Deluxe since 84. It came w/ P-90's (which I still have), but I really like these Duncan mini's, too! there's room for both flavors

[Xavier_32]

Originally Posted by sangandongo

So, preliminary tone report: killer! Took some time to adjust the height on the bridge pickup to match the neck, as the neck pickup was all the way down and still blowing the bridge out of the water.

Beautiful, full, clean tone. Brighter than my Standard, which is something I've been craving. I love the treble position, gives me what i need for chickin' pickin'. Rhythm is slick for big solos.

Overall, more versatile than the Standard but doesn't have as many delicate nuances and melodic overtones.

I still haven't been able to really crank it. When I can really A/B them, I'll update again.

I remember the '72 my ex used to have had minis, and I remember the neck being way louder than the bridge as well, even though the neck pup was sunk into the body. She never let me move the pickup heights because she liked to flip to the neck for hotter "solos" (they sounded about as good as our beloved Mikky Gray's solos.)

[sangandongo]

Originally Posted by Xavier_32

I remember the '72 my ex used to have had minis, and I remember the neck being way louder than the bridge as well, even though the neck pup was sunk into the body. She never let me move the pickup heights because she liked to flip to the neck for hotter "solos" (they sounded about as good as our beloved Mikky Gray's solos.)

Did she do the "locked wrist, spread fingers" girl picking thing?

[sangandongo]

By locked-wrist-spread-finger-girl-thing, I mean this:

[Xavier_32]

Originally Posted by sangandongo

By locked-wrist-spread-finger-girl-thing, I mean this:

Holy shit mate... She did. She used to lock her wrist with her pinky anchored to the pickguard, and only move her index/thumb to strum, and she used only her middle finger for picking. It used to bother the hell out of me.

[sangandongo]

Most girls play this way, whether it's electric or acoustic. I noticed it years ago. A friend of mine, who just joined the forum under the name macg1, and I crack up whenever we see it.

There are exceptions to the rule, but most play with a variation of the "Oh-Kay" hand gesture. I was quick to point this out to my girl and told her that locking the wrist wasn't good for any of her extracurricular activities.

[sangandongo]

Alrighty, finally got to crank it last night. (I've been playing through Guitar Rig on my mac, but that's just not accurate. Too many unrealistic toys.)

Took the guitar to band practice. Everyone said the guitar sounded better than my '78 Standard. Every once in a while someone would say, "Play La Grange!" or something like that because the tones I got sounded so ZZ top at times, it was ridonkulous. Sort of distracted us from the song writing, but whatever. I also played the solo riff from Heartbreaker and the drummer just stopped playing and had a huge grin on his face. He said, "Gosh, that just makes me happy to hear."

Anyhow! For the meat.

The tone is definitely brighter than the Standard. It fits well with our music, which is something like a bastard child of Wilco and the Black Keys with Johnny Cash and Muddy Waters as the grandparents on the mother's side.

The guitar sings and has a lot of clarity. It gets VERY full and thick in the neck position, but doesn't muddy out. In the bridge position, I get beautiful country lick, chickin' pickin', borderline Telecaster tones from it without losing too much mid-range. I'd say the tonal range is somewhere between a Firebird and Les Paul Standard, leaning towards the Firebird (which is fine, since the Firebird is my favorite instrument!)

Oh... and the sustain... holy CRAP! Better than the Standard by a good 25%. If I put locking hardware on this, forget it. It'd ring out for weeks.

One item of note to the negative, I was getting a lot of squeal from it. The pickups might be a little microphonic. Going to see if repotting them is possible, but being that they are mini-humbuckers, this is a potentially damaging venture, since they're not held together the same way as a standard humbucker (at least not the really old ones). Research time!

[dynabite]

Originally Posted by sangandongo

they're not held together the same way as a standard humbucker (at least not the really old ones). Research time!

Not like any of them.

[sangandongo]

What year are those minis? I know that if you take the cover off Firebird type minis, the coils fall apart. Same goes for very early pole piece minis. I wonder if I can just dip my whole pickup into parafin and hope for the wax to seep in.

[marantz1300]

Originally Posted by Boleskinehouse

Here's another Deluxe with a three piece top...




Same year as Vasco's!!

Thats a great looking guitar. I have a Gold Top,but still GAS for other Gibbos and I want some minis as well now.

[phlz_8]

Man I really like that tobacco burst. Nice guitar.

[sangandongo]

I was thinking about refinishing it into a Clownburst with zero gradient. Sort of like a Zakk Wylde paint job but in red and yellow with only a red stripe around a big yellow dot.

[Xavier_32]

Originally Posted by sangandongo

I was thinking about refinishing it into a Clownburst with zero gradient. Sort of like a Zakk Wylde paint job but in red and yellow with only a red stripe around a big yellow dot.

Oh god, do it!

[macg1]

Originally Posted by sangandongo

I was thinking about refinishing it into a Clownburst with zero gradient. Sort of like a Zakk Wylde paint job but in red and yellow with only a red stripe around a big yellow dot.

I sooooooo dare you!

[Grand Pappy]

Yeah, and while you're at it route it out for 4 full size Humbuckers!!!

[79deluxe]

Originally Posted by sangandongo

I just procured a 1980 Deluxe tobacco burst. All original. Slight separation in the pieces on the top. I think putting a little fret doctor in there with a syringe and letting it soak should fix it, though I doubt it affects the tone at all.

Finally, my lust for a Deluxe is over. Now I have to chomp at the bit and wait for it to be delivered.

‘80 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe dumb.org

That's a real beauty. The back just kills me.

[phastestgunn]

Originally Posted by sangandongo

ES-335 CRRs came stock with Dirty Fingers pickups. They're roughly the same output as a 500T. The neat thing about original dirty fingers is that all 12 pole pieces are adjustable. The CRR came factory coil tapped.

I brought the entire pickup down about flush with the surrounds to tame it a bit, then on the coil which remains active when you tap them, I brought the pole pieces up a bit to maintain the volume.

Only 300 CRRs and the sister instrument, CRS ES-335s were made. All of which were produced in '79. They're my main axe. They're good for anything you can imagine. With the coil tap, brass nut, yet airy 335 quality, you can reach anything from a nearly telecastery twang, a sweet smooth jazz tone or a crunchy rockin' blues bite.

They're my most expressive and versatile guitar and there's almost nothing that would tempt me to get rid of either of them.

I had two 335's and I could kick myself for not keeping them. Had a 70's mahogany and a cherry that was sweet. You really can do just about anything with them.

[sangandongo]

Originally Posted by phastestgunn

I had two 335's and I could kick myself for not keeping them. Had a 70's mahogany and a cherry that was sweet. You really can do just about anything with them.

You ain't kidding. With the factory coil tap, it extends their use that much more. It has Dirty Fingers, which are hot, but hell- most people don't think to just sink the pickup if it's too hot.

I play these 335s the most because they do the most (and quite possibly look the best out of all my guitars.)

[Howard2k]

I do not smoke, but I LOVE tobacco burst Very nice.