1978 the paul gibson

[straycat]

Has anyone have experience with these les pauls?I know they have very low resale as far as les pauls go a decent one may pull 300.00 bucks.
My questions are what pickups did they use in these in 78, and being a walnut solid body what do they sound like tone wise?I love the 70s and 80s necks but don't want a POS either.I know of 2 about an hour away sequential ser #s too!!

[Newc]

Re: 1978 the paul gibson

I played one a coupla years ago at a local shop. It was nice, but I'm not fond of dot inlays. It did have an ebony board, though, and a carved top (edges). Not sure what kinda pickups it had, or if they were stock, but they sounded good enough - probably 496's or PAF-types.

Anyhoo, if they had better inlays, I'd grab one.

Newc

[Snoogans]

Re: 1978 the paul gibson

I believe that they put the "Dirty Fingers" p/us in those. I gotta catalogue in my collection at home, so I'll check it out later.

[straycat]

Re: 1978 the paul gibson

Hey Snoogans Fill me in on the "dirty fingers" pickups.I'm not a gibby type but I've had a few les pauls lately that sold quickly,but all were heavy as hell and this low buck walnut version might be what I'm looking for I just don't want to sink 700.00+ in a LP special. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[Accept2]

Re: 1978 the paul gibson

I had one, but I thought it plain old sucked......A Studio is a much better buy.....

[straycat]

Re: 1978 the paul gibson

What I'm worried about is what kind of tone does walnut have?Or if it has any tonal quality at all.I'd love to have another 80s studio.I had an 84 TV yellow studio that I traded and I can't get it back.At least not yet. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[jgcable]

Re: 1978 the paul gibson

I played one exclusively for 2 years. I don't believe the pickups are Dirty Fingers though. Dirty Fingers came stock in the Gibson Sonex 180 Deluxe back then (I had 3 of them... they kick major ass for masonite bodied guitars!!). If I recall they had the basic Gibson 490 series humbuckers. It is a bright and tight sounding guitar. It is like a cross between an SG and a Les Paul Studio. They fetch more then $300.00 so if you can find one for that price you should jump on it. I felt it was every bit as good as a studio without the high price. I bought mine from a 11 year old named Paul. He was a friend of my sons and told me that his Uncle Paul had a guitar that was named after him and wanted to sell it. I gave him $120.00 for it. It was mint. I sold it locally in 1 day (after numerous phone calls from people wanting to buy it) for $450.00. Even GC offered me $300.00 for it. The neck profile reminded me of a 68' SG but with mdieum tall thin frets instead of the typical Gibson low wide ones.

[straycat]

Re: 1978 the paul gibson

I'm looking at 2 both are 78 models sequential serial numbers too.They have the voluted necks which I like and a more 60s neck profile.So walnut is bright tonaly,makes sense being a dense wood.Pickups are no problem I've got plenty to choose from if I don't like whats in there.Thanks for the info. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[jgcable]

Re: 1978 the paul gibson

Sequential numbered guitars are cool. You should buy both of them.

[Black Mariah]

Re: 1978 the paul gibson

I've been interested in one of these since I noticed the control layout. I despise the regular LP layout because of the toggle switch location (I end up bashing my fingers on it. Not fun.), and having it waaaay back on the ass-end of the guitar would definitely be nice. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

IIRC, walnut is a bit brighter than mahogany but still has a good low end on it. I can't remember for certain. [img]graemlins/scratchhead.gif[/img]

[straycat]

Re: 1978 the paul gibson

I was planning to check them out today but got side tracked on some other guitar deals so I'll try tomorrow.Sequntial serial numbers is a very cool thing, one has a glossy lacquer finish and the other has a natural finish.Hell I don't know a lot about gibsons but these were low buck new so resale is not something I'm going to worry about but I thought it would be cool to get both. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[toejam]

Re: 1978 the paul gibson

Originally posted by Richard:
What I'm worried about is what kind of tone does walnut have?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Walnut is bright sounding, similar to maple, and it's heavier than mahogany.

[charvelguy]

Re: 1978 the paul gibson

I had one of these as a backup in the 80's. Not a bad axe. If you can find one for 300.00 and it's in decent shape, I'd say it's worth the buy. They were manufactured obviously as alternative Les Paul for those who wanted Les Paul features without all the frills of a more expensive instrument (mapletop,lacquer, block/trap inlays fracy bindings, etc). Tonality wise, I thought they were ok, as JG-John said, tight sounding, not really ambient. Similar to the Firebrand SG's on the whole if you've played any of those.
I thought the weight was fine, not heavier than some Les Pauls I've played, but more than an SG.

I'd be interested in the consistancy of tonal quality in the consecustive instruments, I thought some of the same sounded different when I tried them out side by side.

[ January 16, 2004, 04:28 AM: Message edited by: charvelguy ]

[straycat]

Re: 1978 the paul gibson

You know its funny how much difference there is tone wise between identical(looking)les pauls.the glossy one has had the grovers changed to klusons and is not as nice as the natural one,but I'll try them both out.I've been looking at a new les paul special in aged yellow and just can't justify 700.00+ for it.And all the vintage les pauls are way out of sight dollar wise for the condition they are in so I thought I'd at least give the pauls a chance. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[charvelguy]

Re: 1978 the paul gibson

If you happen to spot a used Greco, Burny or Tokai Les Paul Special in that color, it's definitely worth looking into as it won't run that high, but it will fill the bill.

[ January 16, 2004, 09:25 AM: Message edited by: charvelguy ]