I am new to your forum, but I have read through this site for quite awhile.
I am interested in purchasing a 58 vos but the closest Gibson dealer is about 500 miles away, so I can't try them out or see them for myself. My question that I haven't seen fully addressed is, do the vos 58's have smaller fretwire than the 59's, and if so how much smaller and do the 58's still work well for bending?
I am interested in purchasing a 58 vos but the closest Gibson dealer is about 500 miles away, so I can't try them out or see them for myself. My question that I haven't seen fully addressed is, do the vos 58's have smaller fretwire than the 59's, and if so how much smaller and do the 58's still work well for bending?
Haggling face to face might offset the cost of gas and hotel! I played a VOS at 2 different stores. I'm not sure if the first one didn't sound or feel as good, but I couldn't put the 2nd one down! Mighta been the better service at store 2 (GC, can ya believe it?). This is my 4th LP, and hands down the absolute real deal el supremo! The only disclaimer is I love fat neck'd guitars. This guitar has a close feel to my Martin HD28, but a much creamier & lower action. For players that like the 60's slim neck, ya better get your mitts on it first. The kicker for me was the top. Both guitars I tested were plain top cherry. The first guitar had a very nice grain, and the swirls were perfectly well rounded. The 2nd guitar, my guitar, has imperfections in the grain. There are mottled looking areas near top arm rest that are almost figured or spalted (correct term?). Anyhow, for me, the top gives it the mojo & personality. The top is very subjective, and I agree you should be asking for many pics if a roadtrip is out of the question. I say: ROAD TRIP!!!!!!!!!!!! 
