Gibson USA Slash Anaconda 2018. Affordable R9 in disguise?

[callmeval]

I owned the 2008 Standard so I know what a long tenon looks like. I got a Custom Shop with a long tenon too. I couldn't stand the 2008 Standard because... well it played great, the neck was actually amazing but the chambered body made the guitar sound like a neutered LP to my ears. So I got rid of it. I hated how light it was. I experimented with several Classics & Standards before realizing the Traditional was for me. The so called "heavier" weight & 50s necks are just better for me. That's why I got the Anaconda 2018 in the first place. They made it sound like a hot rodded Traditional. But when I picked it up I was like wtf, this must weigh about 8 pounds & its neck is skinny as hell too. Skinny & flat. Where's this so called "thick" neck I was promised on the spec sheet? Why does it feel so light? So I had to get to the bottom of it & that's when I discovered its "hidden features". It's lucky it's such a playable & amazing sounding guitar otherwise I would've got rid of it for being too light. I can see some don't have a long tenon so I'm now as confused as the rest of you. I'm presuming something weird happened at the factory. Gibson are notorious cheapskates with one of the worst reputations in the guitar making business, so maybe they started cutting costs toward the end of production. Maybe someone was hung over & got necks mixed up. I don't know. Even the color isn't especially unique. It's just ocean green part 2. Or "country gentleman" green. Like I said in an earlier message, when I'm ready to change strings I'll take some pics. But not for the Patrick Bateman's of this forum. For guys who are curious about this guitar. I don't come online to argue with a screen. That's for freaks. Obviously it isn't an R9, it has a fake ABR-1 bridge for a start. But its other features are so comparable to one they can't be ignored & it begs the question, why aren't Gibson using light mahogany in everything? Surely it'd stop them from having to weight relieve or chamber everything, which is apparently "more expensive" for them to do. I don't believe them. I think they're cutting chunks out of guitars & saving the spare wood for later. I mean these guys are so shady they bankrupt themselves. They can't be trusted

 

[DBDM]

If Gibson took a Custom Shop guitar (like somehow took "rejects") to the USA shop with long neck tenons, they would NOT have the metal anchor studs for the ABR-1. Those details are made during CNC long before the gutiar gets to the shop floor. As I am sure some are aware, the Custom Shop and the USA shop are operated as 2 completely separate factories. They are not far from each other but not the same building or even the same parking lot. They are different nearby complexes. The employees frequently do not even know each other. I would be surprised to learn that a Custom shop long neck tenon guitar was sent to the USA shop and even more shocked to learn that they took that Custom shop guitar back to milling and added a USA shop metal stud anchor to make a USA shop style ABR-1 bridge. The exception to what I am proposing would be if the OP somehow has some sort of Prototype (which do exist and are not always labeled "prototype"). That is possible--although those are not typically sold as new in stores. Occasionally some do leak out.

 

[mudface]

I owned the 2008 Standard so I know what a long tenon looks like. I got a Custom Shop with a long tenon too. I couldn't stand the 2008 Standard because... well it played great, the neck was actually amazing but the chambered body made the guitar sound like a neutered LP to my ears. So I got rid of it. I hated how light it was. I experimented with several Classics & Standards before realizing the Traditional was for me. The so called "heavier" weight & 50s necks are just better for me. That's why I got the Anaconda 2018 in the first place. They made it sound like a hot rodded Traditional. But when I picked it up I was like wtf, this must weigh about 8 pounds & its neck is skinny as hell too. Skinny & flat. Where's this so called "thick" neck I was promised on the spec sheet? Why does it feel so light? So I had to get to the bottom of it & that's when I discovered its "hidden features". It's lucky it's such a playable & amazing sounding guitar otherwise I would've got rid of it for being too light. I can see some don't have a long tenon so I'm now as confused as the rest of you. I'm presuming something weird happened at the factory. Gibson are notorious cheapskates with one of the worst reputations in the guitar making business, so maybe they started cutting costs toward the end of production. Maybe someone was hung over & got necks mixed up. I don't know. Even the color isn't especially unique. It's just ocean green part 2. Or "country gentleman" green. Like I said in an earlier message, when I'm ready to change strings I'll take some pics. But not for the Patrick Bateman's of this forum. For guys who are curious about this guitar. I don't come online to argue with a screen. That's for freaks. Obviously it isn't an R9, it has a fake ABR-1 bridge for a start. But its other features are so comparable to one they can't be ignored & it begs the question, why aren't Gibson using light mahogany in everything? Surely it'd stop them from having to weight relieve or chamber everything, which is apparently "more expensive" for them to do. I don't believe them. I think they're cutting chunks out of guitars & saving the spare wood for later. I mean these guys are so shady they bankrupt themselves. They can't be trusted

That is very sweet,nice story....but where are the pics of this guitar?

You can't go five pages into a thread about your guitar and not post a single pic of it.

Damn the tenon.....let's see a full body shot of your Slash amigo!

 

[DBDM]

Besides prototypes--the other source of curiosities (sometimes) is the "NAMM show" guitars (which are sometimes like Protypes but not called "Protypes"). I have in my life seen Gibson Guitars that it is claimed were not built/impossible to have been made that were in fact Prototypes or NAAMM show models. I have a Prototype myself that is in a configuration/color that people have called impossible and have been accused of it being fake/refinished/converted Epiphone. How do I know for a fact that it is the real deal? I got it from the Gibson vault.

Below is my 2016 Prototype Wine Red Candy (a color not made in 2016) Standard HP Les Paul. Never had Robotuners but instead came stock with Grover Locking tuners. Nut was stock Titanium nut (which I actually really like). Not many wine red standards stock with Chrome hardware (most are gold). Added photo to show how easy it is to add a photo of the guitars that we discuss!

 

[efstop]

There's lots of ad copy and photos of other members' guitars in this thread. I don't think the OP owns a Slash LP at all. No need to remove the strings for a body shot, wot? Just need a camera, and a Slash LP.... I think in this case we'll need a spoon in the photo, too

 

[Thundermtn]

I mean these guys are so shady they bankrupt themselves. They can't be trusted

This is called psychological projection, and there is no guitar.

 

[Harleytech]

Troll

 

[bum]

 

[zdoggie]

I think for me it mostly been the luck of draw but I have to rely on my own experience the feel of the neck is key ,and mostly everything else pick-up amp and player

zdog

 

[jaycoyoyo]

This isn't the first time somebody posted a thread claiming to own a guitar, but when pressed for pictures, never followed through. It's kind of puzzling behavior.

 

[PageSide84]

Besides prototypes--the other source of curiosities (sometimes) is the "NAMM show" guitars (which are sometimes like Protypes but not called "Protypes"). I have in my life seen Gibson Guitars that it is claimed were not built/impossible to have been made that were in fact Prototypes or NAAMM show models. I have a Prototype myself that is in a configuration/color that people have called impossible and have been accused of it being fake/refinished/converted Epiphone. How do I know for a fact that it is the real deal? I got it from the Gibson vault.

Below is my 2016 Prototype Wine Red Candy (a color not made in 2016) Standard HP Les Paul. Never had Robotuners but instead came stock with Grover Locking tuners. Nut was stock Titanium nut (which I actually really like). Not many wine red standards stock with Chrome hardware (most are gold). Added photo to show how easy it is to add a photo of the guitars that we discuss!

That's impossible. It's clear you just took a USA (secret CS) long neck tennon Slash model and converted it to a 2016 HP.

 

[DBDM]

I will say that I do love the HP heel

 

[PageSide84]

Slash LP.... I think in this case we'll need a spoon in the photo, too

Is this a reference to another of Slash's hobbies???

This isn't the first time somebody posted a thread claiming to own a guitar, but when pressed for pictures, never followed through. It's kind of puzzling behavior.

Why? It's just as good as actually owning the guitar. It's like saying you slept with a girl. Saying you did it is just as much fun as doing it. Right??

 

[mudface]

Is this a reference to another of Slash's hobbies???



Why? It's just as good as actually owning the guitar. It's like saying you slept with a girl. Saying you did it is just as much fun as doing it. Right??

That’s just muttering to yourself under a bridge creepy right there....

 

[Burty459]

Wow, I can’t believe I got five pages in and all I’ve seen is.......nothing. No guitar, I was intrigued to see if Gibson were finally making custom shop design / refinement choices for some of the USA line. I guess not, and I suppose, why would they? Although infuriating at times, an interesting thread.

 

[geddy]

I don't want to engage in psychological warfare over a guitar (& the fact some of you tried is really bizarre to me, lockdown fever maybe?) but I'd just like to confirm that it does indeed have a long tenon. However, this run appears to be a mixed bag. Some seem to weigh a pound or so more than my one, whereas others are around about the same. Some appear to have a short tenon, others have a long one like mine. Some people claim it has a skinny neck (like mine) & others claim it's chunky & fat. Only 500 were made, I think 50 were signed & the rest were not. I'm presuming that the "long tenon" models were intended for the Custom Shop but maybe they found a fault in them & gave them to Gibson USA instead? It's the only way I can make sense of this weirdness. Andertons is a reputable Gibson dealer & they wouldn't falsely advertize a product. I was accused of providing a fake screenshot from the product page, well here's the actual product page & you can see for yourselves that it was listed as having a long tenon, no weight relief & all the other features I've mentioned in my previous messages.

There are frequently errors in vender websites. Anderton's is no exception. Normally this is just accidental.

 

[geddy]

Personally i have never played an epiphone that felt better then a gibson....

I have. I bought an epi explorer rather than gibson because I preferred the neck. This is a personal thing.

 

[PageSide84]

I have. I bought an epi explorer rather than gibson because I preferred the neck. This is a personal thing.

Yeah, but those were the Epiphones with the long neck tennon.

 

[Zylo]

Here's the long neck pic for ya

 

[Roxy13]

Hard to beat this guy though.