Hatsubai « Figured top Custom »
Published on 10/11/11 at 16:00This is a special figured maple top version of the famous Custom. In all senses, it's pretty much just a normal Custom, but you have the cool top, and this model had locking tuners on it that didn't come from the factory. The guitar features a mahogany body with a maple top, mahogany neck with an ebony fretboard, 22 frets, trapezoid inlays, pickguard, binding, hard tail bridge, two humbuckers, two volumes, two tones and a three way switch.
UTILIZATION
The guitar was a bit heavy, and considering the era it came from, it wasn't out of the ordinary to have a heavy guitar from this time. I'm not a big fan of heavy guitars as I have back issues, and I question how good heavy guitars sound compared to light ones. Lighter ones tend to be a bit more lively and resonant, but some may disagree. The figuring on this guitar was nice, but there are better ones out there. It's really a luck of the draw kind of thing with these tops. The hardware was pitting due to it being gold and being old, but that's to be expected. The frets could use a nice leveling, and I would put a new nut on the thing as well just to make everything perfect. Normal wear and tear, though.
SOUNDS
If you ask me, I'm not entirely sure this guitar would be great for standard tuning as it was a touch bright, but it worked great for lower tunings. Normally, Gibson Les Pauls are very thick sounding. This works great for most styles of music, but sometimes it lacks a tad bit of clarity for genres such as metal, especially once you start tuning lower. The ebony fretboard on this guitar helps add some sizzle and bite that allows the guitar to cut through the mix without sounding thin. I'm not a fan of the pickups, so I always replace both those and the pots. This really opens up the guitar and makes it not only more aggressive but more versatile as well.
OVERALL OPINION
The figured maple top is cool, but these guitars are very inconsistent. You have to play through a lot to get the one you're looking for. I recommend buying a newer one or looking at a different manufacturer as you'll most likely have to buy used and blind. That means you could be wasting money on a guitar that just doesn't sound up to par. On the other hand, these guitars aren't really losing their market value, so you can always flip it for about the same price.
UTILIZATION
The guitar was a bit heavy, and considering the era it came from, it wasn't out of the ordinary to have a heavy guitar from this time. I'm not a big fan of heavy guitars as I have back issues, and I question how good heavy guitars sound compared to light ones. Lighter ones tend to be a bit more lively and resonant, but some may disagree. The figuring on this guitar was nice, but there are better ones out there. It's really a luck of the draw kind of thing with these tops. The hardware was pitting due to it being gold and being old, but that's to be expected. The frets could use a nice leveling, and I would put a new nut on the thing as well just to make everything perfect. Normal wear and tear, though.
SOUNDS
If you ask me, I'm not entirely sure this guitar would be great for standard tuning as it was a touch bright, but it worked great for lower tunings. Normally, Gibson Les Pauls are very thick sounding. This works great for most styles of music, but sometimes it lacks a tad bit of clarity for genres such as metal, especially once you start tuning lower. The ebony fretboard on this guitar helps add some sizzle and bite that allows the guitar to cut through the mix without sounding thin. I'm not a fan of the pickups, so I always replace both those and the pots. This really opens up the guitar and makes it not only more aggressive but more versatile as well.
OVERALL OPINION
The figured maple top is cool, but these guitars are very inconsistent. You have to play through a lot to get the one you're looking for. I recommend buying a newer one or looking at a different manufacturer as you'll most likely have to buy used and blind. That means you could be wasting money on a guitar that just doesn't sound up to par. On the other hand, these guitars aren't really losing their market value, so you can always flip it for about the same price.