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Published on 06/25/11 at 15:45The Gibson Custom Shop Historic 1954 is a replica of the original guitar made back in 1954. The guitar has a mahogany body with a maple top, mahogany neck with a rosewood fretboard, special bridge like what was used on the original 1954, 22 frets, block/trapezoid inlays, a pickguard, two P90 pickups, two volumes, two tones and a three way switch.
UTILIZATION
I prefer this over the 1952, personally. The bridge, while not used on most of today's guitars, still feels familiar. Where as the 1952's bridge had that weird brace piece, this is closer to a normal hardtail bridge that everyone knows and loves. The fretwork on this guitar was great. The frets were nicely crowned, and they had a properly cut edge so they don't cut your hand. The fit and finish was top notch, too. I didn't find any drips in the finish, no scratches in the clear coat or anything like that.
SOUNDS
The P90s in this thing are pretty awesome. For those who have never played a P90 before, they're kinda similar to single coils, but they have their own vibe going on. They're a little thicker and produce a nicely pronounced "vowely" kinda sound. I like to think of them as the polite man's single coils. The bridge was awesome for that old school classic rock Cream kinda vibe. It also did blues amazingly well. The neck was a bit hard for me to use since I like higher output pickups when soloing, but it's all a matter of personal taste. My style tends to lead more towards metal, so that's why I was having issues with the neck pickup.
OVERALL OPINION
These guitars are a sight to behold. They feel totally vintage, but they're brand new. I can understand why Gibson is charging as much as they do for these given how much time and care was taken when building this. If you have the money, it's worth checking out. If you don't have the money, see if you can convince a guy at a music store to at least let you play one. They're really something.
UTILIZATION
I prefer this over the 1952, personally. The bridge, while not used on most of today's guitars, still feels familiar. Where as the 1952's bridge had that weird brace piece, this is closer to a normal hardtail bridge that everyone knows and loves. The fretwork on this guitar was great. The frets were nicely crowned, and they had a properly cut edge so they don't cut your hand. The fit and finish was top notch, too. I didn't find any drips in the finish, no scratches in the clear coat or anything like that.
SOUNDS
The P90s in this thing are pretty awesome. For those who have never played a P90 before, they're kinda similar to single coils, but they have their own vibe going on. They're a little thicker and produce a nicely pronounced "vowely" kinda sound. I like to think of them as the polite man's single coils. The bridge was awesome for that old school classic rock Cream kinda vibe. It also did blues amazingly well. The neck was a bit hard for me to use since I like higher output pickups when soloing, but it's all a matter of personal taste. My style tends to lead more towards metal, so that's why I was having issues with the neck pickup.
OVERALL OPINION
These guitars are a sight to behold. They feel totally vintage, but they're brand new. I can understand why Gibson is charging as much as they do for these given how much time and care was taken when building this. If you have the money, it's worth checking out. If you don't have the money, see if you can convince a guy at a music store to at least let you play one. They're really something.