Hatsubai « Kinda odd and rare Gibson »
Published on 08/09/11 at 19:28The Gibson GGC-700 was made during their experimental days. It's a unique guitar in that it contains some features that didn't quite stand the test of time. The guitar features a mahogany body with (I believe) a maple top, mahogany neck with a rosewood fretboard, 22 frets, dot inlays, huge pickguard, binding, hard tail bridge, two humbuckers, two volumes, two tones and a three way switch.
UTILIZATION
Right off the bat, Gibson aficionados will notice that the guitar looks a lot like the old school Sonex models. I believe that they're similar, however this guitar doesn't have that composite neck with the bolt-on neck. This is a bit of a more proper sounding Les Paul. However, the frets on this guitar were worn to hell. It was in dire need of a fretjob. The nut also needed to be replaced as the grooves were way too deep to stay in tune for long periods of time. It's hard to fault it considering that this is a 20+ year old guitar, but they're just some of the things (aside from finish blemishes) I noticed.
SOUNDS
The guitar sounded average, but I couldn't help think that it wasn't quite as "Les Paul" sounding. Then again, it's like a Sonex, so it's not quite a Les Paul. The bridge has some nice bite to it while remaining fairly thick sounding. You could easily do everything from blues to heavy metal with this thing. The neck pickup had a nice vowely tone, but I prefer hotter and smoother neck pickups. Rolling down the tone knob helped get the fattness I wanted, but it still didn't have that "oomph" that I like.
OVERALL OPINION
These guitars are rare, and you'll probably have a hard time finding them. Given how average they are, I wouldn't exactly recommend one of these to anybody. If you happen to find a good deal on one in a pawn shop or your local Guitar Center, check it out and see if you like it. You might be surprised. However, i wouldn't waste my time searching one of these out.
UTILIZATION
Right off the bat, Gibson aficionados will notice that the guitar looks a lot like the old school Sonex models. I believe that they're similar, however this guitar doesn't have that composite neck with the bolt-on neck. This is a bit of a more proper sounding Les Paul. However, the frets on this guitar were worn to hell. It was in dire need of a fretjob. The nut also needed to be replaced as the grooves were way too deep to stay in tune for long periods of time. It's hard to fault it considering that this is a 20+ year old guitar, but they're just some of the things (aside from finish blemishes) I noticed.
SOUNDS
The guitar sounded average, but I couldn't help think that it wasn't quite as "Les Paul" sounding. Then again, it's like a Sonex, so it's not quite a Les Paul. The bridge has some nice bite to it while remaining fairly thick sounding. You could easily do everything from blues to heavy metal with this thing. The neck pickup had a nice vowely tone, but I prefer hotter and smoother neck pickups. Rolling down the tone knob helped get the fattness I wanted, but it still didn't have that "oomph" that I like.
OVERALL OPINION
These guitars are rare, and you'll probably have a hard time finding them. Given how average they are, I wouldn't exactly recommend one of these to anybody. If you happen to find a good deal on one in a pawn shop or your local Guitar Center, check it out and see if you like it. You might be surprised. However, i wouldn't waste my time searching one of these out.