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James... « Wow...just wow. »
Published on 01/29/12 at 06:52 Nitrocellulose lacquer finish enhances looks and tone
Chambered mahogany body with flat, bound maple top and f-holes
Mahogany neck ('60s Slim Taper)
Black Richlite fingerboard with acrylic block inlay
Acrylic Split Diamond headstock inlay
Chrome Tune-o-matic bridge / stoptail; Keystone tuners
Two Gibson Burstbuckers
2 volume, 2 tone controls; three-way pickup toggle
Gibson Hardshell case included
UTILIZATION
I'll be up front. Pretty much every new design Gibson puts out these days is a joke that fails miserably. But when I saw pictures of the midtown custom I got pretty excited. What we have is a new spin on an old design with a significantly reduced price. I was immediately on board and ordered one.
The guitar feels really good. The construction is sound, even though there might be a few minor imperfections with the finish and such. Nothing really bothersome. The setup out of the box was good. Needed some tweaking to get it great. This richlite stuff on the fretboard is supposed to be a replacement for ebony. To be honest I don't notice any adverse effects in sound or feel. It isn't ever going to be wood but considering how much these cost I could care less. Not oiling my board every other month is nice too. This is a really good looking guitar for what it's worth. I'm impressed with how nice feeling of an an instrument Gibson managed to pop out at this price point.
SOUNDS
Since this isn't quite as big as your typical 335 guitar, it's not going to be as woody or airy sounding as a 335. But it doesn't sound like a les paul either. It's somewhere in between. Probably closer to a 339 than anything. The burstbuckers were a deal maker here, as Gibson has a habit of putting the wrong pickups on some guitars. But in this case burstbuckers were a wonderful choice. I can imagine some guys yelling at me right now saying they would rather have Classic 57's. But I think the BB's are awesome. This makes a great guitar for mild rock sounds or blues or jazz.
OVERALL OPINION
I'm most impressed with how good this guitar looks and feels for the price. No it is not a 335 and it isn't trying to be. I should mention that the fretboard doesn't look like wood when you give it a close eye, but when playing it is totally just like ebony in feel. It's great. Great sounding guitar. Not really a bad thing I can say about it. It should probably cost more like 2 grand. Thanks Gibson.
Chambered mahogany body with flat, bound maple top and f-holes
Mahogany neck ('60s Slim Taper)
Black Richlite fingerboard with acrylic block inlay
Acrylic Split Diamond headstock inlay
Chrome Tune-o-matic bridge / stoptail; Keystone tuners
Two Gibson Burstbuckers
2 volume, 2 tone controls; three-way pickup toggle
Gibson Hardshell case included
UTILIZATION
I'll be up front. Pretty much every new design Gibson puts out these days is a joke that fails miserably. But when I saw pictures of the midtown custom I got pretty excited. What we have is a new spin on an old design with a significantly reduced price. I was immediately on board and ordered one.
The guitar feels really good. The construction is sound, even though there might be a few minor imperfections with the finish and such. Nothing really bothersome. The setup out of the box was good. Needed some tweaking to get it great. This richlite stuff on the fretboard is supposed to be a replacement for ebony. To be honest I don't notice any adverse effects in sound or feel. It isn't ever going to be wood but considering how much these cost I could care less. Not oiling my board every other month is nice too. This is a really good looking guitar for what it's worth. I'm impressed with how nice feeling of an an instrument Gibson managed to pop out at this price point.
SOUNDS
Since this isn't quite as big as your typical 335 guitar, it's not going to be as woody or airy sounding as a 335. But it doesn't sound like a les paul either. It's somewhere in between. Probably closer to a 339 than anything. The burstbuckers were a deal maker here, as Gibson has a habit of putting the wrong pickups on some guitars. But in this case burstbuckers were a wonderful choice. I can imagine some guys yelling at me right now saying they would rather have Classic 57's. But I think the BB's are awesome. This makes a great guitar for mild rock sounds or blues or jazz.
OVERALL OPINION
I'm most impressed with how good this guitar looks and feels for the price. No it is not a 335 and it isn't trying to be. I should mention that the fretboard doesn't look like wood when you give it a close eye, but when playing it is totally just like ebony in feel. It's great. Great sounding guitar. Not really a bad thing I can say about it. It should probably cost more like 2 grand. Thanks Gibson.