Body wood(s):
Mahogany Back w/ AA Flamed Maple Top
Gibson Les Paul Classic Plus w/ Baked Maple FingerboardSubmitted by gunner4life on Sat, 01/21/2012 - 11:52Price Paid:
$1899
Condition:
New
Country of origin:
USA
Neck wood:
Mahogany
Fretboard:
Baked Maple
Fretboard Scale:
24.75
Number of frets:
22
Pros:
The baked maple fingerboard gives this Classic a little more brightness than the standard rosewood boards found on previous Classic's, or those on Standard's, so it's a little bit different tonally, not quite regular maple but not quite ebony. Feelwise, those who play Custom's wouldn't notice much difference, as the baked maple feels just like ebony, to my hands. The PLEK'ed fingerboard is something I really like, no dead spots, no buzzing, and the action is really low. The 60's neck is really nice, this is the 3rd Les Paul I've owned, 4 if you count and Edwards, never really got it going with the 50's rounded on my Studio Premium Plus, the asymetrical neck of my 08 Standard was nice, but still too fat in some spots, but I definitely like the slim tappered 60's neck. Comes with the 496R/500T hot ceramic pickups... I don't like them, but people seem to love these, so I guess it's a pro and I'm just not with it. Cons:
This troubles me, because I really just wanted to do a review of the fingerboard... From the neck joint down it's just a Les Paul, there are 4 other Les Paul reviews (or 3 I guess)... But alas, the good people at Gibson would not allow this. The tuners are terrible... This guitar cost $2100 after tax! My $300 Ibanez SZ320 kept tune better. The tuners will be replaced with Gotoh Kluson style tuners. Unacceptable for a guitar this price. The volume pots are terrible... To quote a wiseman... "This guitar cost $2100 after tax!". For one, the tone pots seem to be fine, but since Gibson decided to place them all on a circuit board of some kind, you can't just replace 1 or 2, I have to replace the entire thing! I complained, about the potential for this very thing happening, in my 08 Standard review, and it has come to pass. Neither volume pot works right, they scartch and pop, and being someone who likes to simply roll back the volume to get a clean tone, this is impossible to do right now with these pots. All pots will be replaced with Bourns Low Friction pots (or whatever good quality low friction pots I can get that fit the knobs). The setup out of the box was atrocious... Not counting the Charvel's from Chub or the GMW, which were nicely setup new guitars but didn't have a "factory" setup... My EVH's came from the box spot on, my MIJ Charvel Pro Mod came out of the box spot on, even my Carvin's came out of the box spot on... Of all the guitars I've bought the last few years, this was the ONLY guitar I bought new, online, that needed a setup, in fact some of the used guitars I bought were setup properly. The strap buttons, forget that they aren't locking... The button don't have that cotton cushion washer between the metal button and the guitars body... So when I replaced them with locking ones, part of the finish under the button buy the toggle came off. The new buttons still don't have them, I looked around, but hey, I'm not a billion dollar guitar manufacturer with a high tech shop. Summary:
Overall, I like the feel of the guitar, and after replacing the 496R/500T ceramic pickups with Suhr Doug Aldrich pickups, the guitar sounds great. I would buy another, possibly a Classic Custom. But I can't give this guitar a rating of more than 3, a person shouldn't have to spend $80 on new pots and tuners for $2100 guitar... It's a matter of principle, not price, and Gibson should be ashamed. And at $2100, after tax, I don't think it would have killed them to use a higher quality bridge or add some strap locks, so up the extra cost to about $110. Only buy if you're willing to spend some extra money upgrading some parts. Carvin V3MSubmitted by dr nick on Tue, 01/10/2012 - 16:53Head/Combo:
Head
Price Paid:
£450
Condition:
New
Country of origin:
USA
Tube Type:
EL84
Features:
3 channel amp, 12AX7 pre-amp tubes. Channel 1 and 2 are essentially the same, with a wide spread of gain from crunch to high gain. Channel 3 is the clean channel, breaking up as you dial up the gain (above 5). Separate tone controls x3, presence, volume and gain (they call it drive) for each channel, plus master volume and volume boost via (supplied separately) footswitch. Each channel has an EQ boost option which gives the tone controls a wider range - and in my ears you're better off having that option on permanently, for clarity if nothing else. Each channel also has a 3-way switch, which can either act as a treble boost or a lower frequency boost depending on the position. This makes a significant difference to the tone, and it's definitely worth spending time trying out all variations, as well as tweaking the tone controls. Built in reverb, footswitch activated. Effects loop (non-footswitchable). 3-way output impedance switch, plus 120-240v switch. Also blue or red internal light (or off), for that atmospheric glow. 50w-22w-7w switch - VERY handy. 16 - 8 - 4 ohm switch for speakers. And a direct line out, presumably for direct recording. Pros:
Extremely versatile - does very good clean sound, and can get a very nice bluesy crunch from the clean channel with the gain up. Also does a very nice clear high gain sound, cuts through the mix very well. If metal is your bag, the 10-0-10 sound is certainly good enough for me. Very tweak-able, with loads of tone variations, and controls do make a significant difference to the sound, so worth spending time with it. Very light compared to a standard head - mine's in a gym bag with the footswitch, power lead and a towel round it! Cons:
Not quite a "plug-in-and-play" amp - finding a low-ish gain setting on channel 2 I like took several hours of fiddling. Getting a clean sound I was happy with was easier. The high gain sound came pretty easily too, it's the in-between ones that seem to be causing me trouble. Having to buy the footswitch separately is annoying - who would want the amp without it? Also, everything is backwards - Channel 3 LED on over-rides the other 2, then you either have Channel 2 LED on, or off for Channel 1. I keep getting it wrong!!! And being Carvin, you're buying in faith - no retailers. And who gets a guy called FISTER to demo gear? I ask you... Sound Quality:
4
Reliability:
Only had it a few weeks, but it survived a Transatlantic trip unscathed. Customer Support:
Not needed it yet. They responded very quickly to my initial enquiries though. Summary:
For the money, it's a fantastic piece of kit, and I'd almost go as far as referencing a Modern Boogie Mark with regard to the versatility and tweakability. The high gain setting does have a bit of Mesa Boogie in it - but no top end fizz, which is good. I've not tried to re-create more Marshall-y sound, but I bet it could. I've put it through a Marshall 1936 and 1960 and it did the business. It hasn't got the tonal depth my Elmwood has, but these days they go for around five times the price of the V3M, so it'd BETTER sound better! Whitesnake Forevermore - Dino Album of the Year 2011!Submitted by Dinosaur David B on Sat, 12/17/2011 - 13:50After taking the prize three years ago for 2008's Good to be Bad, the members of Dinosaur Rock Guitar have spoken again, and Whitesnake has once again won Dino Album of the Year with 2011's excellent release Forevermore. Congradulations to the Whitesnake band, and especially to our old pal, Doug Aldrich, who co-wrote and co-produced this wonderful collection of classic rock songs. 2008's win was no one-off. Whitesnake is back, and we love it!
Dunlop Jimi Hendrix Wah WahSubmitted by inmyhands on Tue, 12/13/2011 - 10:56Analog/Digital/Hybrid:
Analog
Pedal/Rackmount:
Pedal
Price Paid:
$119.00 U.S.
Condition:
New
Features:
The Dunlop Jimi Hendrix Crybaby is based on the original Thomas Organ Wah Wah design released in 1966. This was the very first Wah Wah pedal and was released under three different names. The Vox V846, The Clyde McCoy and the Crybaby. It's housed identically to the standard Dunlop Crybaby with only the Jimi Hendrix name on the front of the pedal as an identifier. Ease of Use:
5 (easy)
Pros:
The Jimi Hendrix Wah Wah is built to the same level of quality as other Dunlop Wah pedals. That's to say relatively solid for home use but requiring a little attention when taken on the road. Since most of the Dunlop Wah pedals are sold to bedroom guitarists this is generally not an issue. For a pedal in this price range it's a little above the quality you would expect. The primary difference between this pedal and the original Thomas Organ pedal is in it's tonal sweep and Q, (sweet spot). Jimi Hendrix had his tech make a couple of adjustments to the stock pedal to better fit his guitar type and style of play. The tonal sweep is in a lower range than the standard version and tends to create a fuller / less edgy voice when used with a Stratocaster loaded with singles like Jimis. The Q is just the opposite. The normal Thomas Organ Q is set low and gives the Wah a very smooth volume like voicing when you rock it up and down. On the JH version the Q has been slightly moved up to add a stronger sweet spot that features a bit more high end harmonics. These adjustment are tweaks rather than big adjustments. They're noticeable on a Stratocaster or Telecaster, but, really don't register as being different on a humbucker equipped guitar. Cons:
The front label, under the Jimi Hendrix name, says "Original Thomas Design" and this is patently false. The tone range is different as is the Q. Also, Dunlop doesn't build their pedals to the same standards of quality as the original models, but, they do manage to keep the price down. Don't expect this pedal to stand up to punishment like the old Vox V846 or Clyde McCoy. If you're looking for a high end accurate reproduction of the original Thomas Organ model I'd suggest the Fulltone Clyde Standard. If you're just shooting for the Jimi Hendrix tone in a relatively inexpensive pedal that will do just fine in a bedroom setting or over at a friends house then the Dunlop JH will easily fulfill your needs. Sound Quality:
4
Reliability:
As earlier stated, Dunlop does not build Wah Wahs you could drop off a cliff. I've had to do a little work now and then to keep this lady going. Then again, I've owned her for over ten years. Customer Support:
I've never bothered. The Guitar Amplifier Player's Guide: An instruction & reference manual for musiciansSubmitted by Dinosaur David B on Wed, 12/07/2011 - 08:42
Dave Zimmerman has literally covered everything the guitarist needs to know about amps, cabs, speakers, tubes, and tone in this book. Read the full review here! |
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