Mysterious chambered Les Paul Standard

[leocuellar]

Hello. I sent an email to gibson asking for an authenticity confirmation for a LP I just bought. but I also want to know your thoughts on this one, it is a chambered les paul but in the TRC it says "Standard" and I don´t know if there's any chance that a standard can be chambered. Please let me know what do you think about this one.

UPDATE: Gibson replied my email with this:

Hi,

Thanks for the email. The pictures and serial number are consistent with an Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus model in Heritage Cherry Sunburst finish, made in Korea in January of 2007. This model is not chambered, and does not come with EMG humbuckers, so these were likely aftermarket modifications. Here is a link with more information on the model,Epiphone Musical Instruments - Les Paul Collection . Thanks again!


Gibson Customer Service
1-800-4GIBSON
Gibson Guitar: Electric, Acoustic and Bass Guitars, Baldwin Pianos

Do you think that the guitar could have been chambered later by a luthier or can it possibly be a chambered fake? The finish in the guitar is neat and it doesn´t look like it has been modified after it left the factory. The reply by gibson left me more doubts...

Please share your thoughts...

thanks,

Leo.

PICS:

 

[Lalo007]

this is interesting

 

[theMETALone]

The only models of Epi LPs that I know of that are chambered are the Ultra I & II. They come with that NanoMag after the 22nd fret & alnico classic not emgs & cost over $700.
That's a hell of a mod if that really is a standard though... It's nice... I'm kinda jealous

 

[Underliner6]

So that is what a chambered body looks like.

 

[paruwi]

this is interesting

Whose guitar is it ?

you posted the same pics here

Mysterious Heritage Cherry Sunburst - Gibson Guitar Board

 

[paruwi]

That is a strange "I" IMO

 

[River]

WTF is going on with the user names?

 

[paruwi]

WTF is going on with the user names?

PS. Congrats to 25k +

 

[Agave_Blue]

Whose guitar is it ?

you posted the same pics here

Mysterious Heritage Cherry Sunburst - Gibson Guitar Board

You don't think the same person might be on two different forums with 2 different screen names?

 

[paruwi]

You don't think the same person might be on two different forums with 2 different screen names?

He is here with two names.......

 

[River]

You don't think the same person might be on two different forums with 2 different screen names?

Post #2 here is from the same user name as the purported owner on the other forum.

 

[sasquatch]

Looks like the end of the road run for Saien Korea (I)- maybe could've been a last ditch effort to get them all out before Epiphone closed the doors on Saien. They didn't make many Epiphones after 2006.
That seriously looks like an Ultra that got a Standard ending.

 

[leocuellar]

Sasquatch, at first I thought the same but the ultra back has a different shape and this has a standard body but chambered.

About the names, Lalo007 is a friend of mine here in Monterrey, actually the guitar is his, but we went together to see the seller and took the guitar to my house, in the pictures the guitar is in my house and the pictures were taken with my camera so I uploaded them first with my username and then Lalo downloaded the pictures and post them again in the Gibson forum with his account. Nothing mysterious about that.

What is really mysterious to me is the guitar itself and we are trying to investigate more because Lalo is undecided about whether to keep the guitar or sell it. What is true is that the guitar is very light in weight but also the sustain is noticeably less than our other standards. Maybe the EMG pickups have something to do with the sustain issue but obviously the chambered body is the main reason for that. But well, I have to admit it is a very comfortable guitar to play in every way.

thanks for your comments everybody and if someone has some more information about it please let me know. Do you think this can be considered some sort of rarity and be valued as such?

Leo

 

[River]

Ah, what a tangled web we weave. First you bought it, now he bought it. Where the guitar was located wasn't/isn't mysterious. What's mysterious is you both claiming it.

And it being chambered is "obviously" the reason for it lacking sustain? Where'd you come up with that gem?

My bet is that it's a repair/replacement job. Gibson has authenticated it as such, when you get right down to it. Could be the factory "cheating" to make quota, too. Who knows? Since it's an Epiphone, not a vintage Gibson or even an old or outstanding Gibson, Gibson's not going to pull out all the stops to get to the bottom of it.

If the chambering and EMG's are sucking all of the sustain out of it, replace the pickups and stuff it with sand. It's an Epi. It being the only one of its kind isn't going to mean squat.

 

[Agave_Blue]

He is here with two names.......

Post #2 here is from the same user name as the purported owner on the other forum.

Ahhh. Sorry. Missed that.

Ah, what a tangled web we weave. First you bought it, now he bought it. Where the guitar was located wasn't/isn't mysterious. What's mysterious is you both claiming it.
..... .

I'd guess (now) that the OP in this thread just copied and pasted his buddy's post from the Gibson forum. Should've quoted it or made clear that his buddy posted it on Gibson or something. But I don't think there's necessarily anything under-handed going on.

 

[paruwi]

Sasquatch, at first I thought the same but the ultra back has a different shape and this has a standard body but chambered.

About the names, Lalo007 is a friend of mine here in Monterrey, actually the guitar is his, but we went together to see the seller and took the guitar to my house, in the pictures the guitar is in my house and the pictures were taken with my camera so I uploaded them first with my username and then Lalo downloaded the pictures and post them again in the Gibson forum with his account. Nothing mysterious about that.

What is really mysterious to me is the guitar itself and we are trying to investigate more because Lalo is undecided about whether to keep the guitar or sell it. What is true is that the guitar is very light in weight but also the sustain is noticeably less than our other standards. Maybe the EMG pickups have something to do with the sustain issue but obviously the chambered body is the main reason for that. But well, I have to admit it is a very comfortable guitar to play in every way.

thanks for your comments everybody and if someone has some more information about it please let me know. Do you think this can be considered some sort of rarity and be valued as such?

Leo

Thanks for clearing this up.

 

[Lalo007]

in fact, I asked to leo on this, as he knows more about les paul's than I, after Gibson's response,i noticed something else, to compare this guitar with my other classic les paul the cherry has a few cuts in the wood that is not in the classic,

included two more pics

please talk about guitars, don't divert the topic

 

[-=[Shifty]=-]

The only models of Epi LPs that I know of that are chambered are the Ultra I & II. They come with that NanoMag after the 22nd fret & alnico classic not emgs & cost over $700.
That's a hell of a mod if that really is a standard though... It's nice... I'm kinda jealous

Only the Ultra II has the NanoMag pickup.

To the owner:
Looks like this stuff sometimes happens with Epiphone.

http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/epiphone-les-pauls/73994-my-epi-zw-chambered.html

 

[sasquatch]

Shifty ol' Saien.
So, there was a reason why they are no longer producing Epiphones.

 

[GNR4EVR]

Edit: Deleted.