Luke Mcfarlane valid point but I have not been with Washburn USA guitars, people complain about QC of Gibson but I seen horrible finishing on Washburn. But for almost $1000 used it is a good deal.
Zac Carter when I said those examples, I was going off of personal preference. When I see a guitar that make me think it's expensive: Superstrat, relatively sleek, seperate walnut or maple top or something like that, locking tuners, no dot inlays on fretboard etc. Ibanez nailed that, Washburn and now Solar have nailed that and Chapman with the ML-1 pro in Sun, where do I begin?
Kintrap I agree they have had huge issues with color combinations... in the past they would have put gold knobs on the snowy white blue beauty! But definitely got the aesthetics right here.
I have two Gibsons with Richlitte for a fretboard and am thrilled with the quality. I own several Gibsons and it isn't an issue tonally or with feel in my opinion.
Have Gibson finally had a lightbulb moment? Reasonably priced beautiful full bodied guitars in tasty colours with no electric gibberish 👍🏻 I’d quickly change out the pickup covers from black to cream/white and it’d be a beaut. Imo black covers cheapens it a little but all in all almost there 🙏🏻
Malcolm Jarr honestly clean electric guitars sound lame to me, being more of a rock and metal guy like rob, besides, pretty sure lee is the one who takes care of clean tones, i mean hes the one who uses amps with a decent clean channel, who wants to hear a clean 5150 anyway
Richlite is an awesome fretboard material! I have a martin with a richlite fretboard and it is one of my favorite players. Loving the minihum equipped lp
Louis Sanderson I’m essentially in the rut that lee was in and him learning has inspired me and motivated me to get up to the next level. It’s gonna be fun!!
Some of the nicest tones I have heard on this site. Enjoyed the playing from both. I also think that the resistance against richlite is irrational and blown out of proportion. Nice video!
After stopping playing guitar 13 years ago when I finished highschool, watching your videos has made me start saving up to get an Epiphone SG after Xmas and start actually learning some scale and chord theory so I can start playing again. Even now watching your vids I just get the urge to pick up a guitar and start playing something. Keep up the vids guys, really love them.
a year later and this video is still one of my absolute faves on this channel. the whole bit at 14:22 gives me chills every time i hear it. and the bryan adams jam just before it was sweet as!
Personal view: I'm glad to see rosewood abolished from guitar fret boards; I always hated streaky rosewood and these Richlite ('65% FSC®-certified or recycled paper content and 35% phenolic resin), solid dark coloured necks look terrific to me. (I love the satin tops. But why oh why can't we have uncovered mini humbuckers and more colours?)
What about the opposite? Can you find pickup covers? Pickups without covers has always annoyed me, but the Chapman Ghost Fret Pro Modern does not have pickups covers. If I could get pickup covers, that would make the guitar absolutely perfect.
Marmaduke Winterbotham I don’t know why but uncovered mini humbuckers is nowhere near as much a “thing” in general as uncovered full sized humbuckers. It’s not unexpected for Gibson to put covered mini humbuckers on this guitar. What is a bit more weird is that they’re the ones without adjustable pole pieces (visually like Firebird pickups) rather than normal mini humbuckers. Wonder why they did that? 🤔
Funky Monkey1886 lee should be captain clean , the Mr Moregain comment caused me an embarrassing moment of laughing out loud in the middle of a quiet office filled with IT professionals !!!
Wow ...to all the Gibson haters...I have one. Its perfect. It sounds awesome. It plays like butter and sustains for days and looks better than any PRS. Stop the hate and crying. If you don't want one move on there are thousands of other brands to choose from.
Mate, I'm glad to hear it. I own both Gibson and PRS and they're both great. I'll agree with you on the looks thing too, now that I think about it. PRS can't do a flame top right. They do stripes. Really thin stripes. They're not flamey at all. The QUILT tops, on the other hand, are spectacular. I have two of those. ^-^
Hinterland_Rider Oooh no! Nobody has made a more perfect shaped electric guitar aesthetically than a Les Paul, even down to the carving of the top. You can question a Les Paul in terms of ergonomics compared to more modern guitars like PRSs but in my opinion nothing beats one for looks.
Scrolling through the comments seeing people complain about the richlite finger board. Who cares? I highly doubt if you saw a richlite and an ebony board side by side you wouldn't know which was which. At least it's consistent. I have 4 guitars with rosewood boards and 2 look about the same, one is darker, and one is lighter.
I just got one here in the states. I love it and put it on a scale to weigh it. Clocked in at 9.4 pounds. Which converts to 4.3 kilograms. I love the guitar. I got the sunburst one with p90s. The neck is 10/10 in comfort. Surprisingly there is no 60 cycle hum. I love it. Gibson has good days and bad days with designing guitars. They knocked this one out of the park.
I bought one. And one of the main reasons I chose this model is because it used richlight. Most of u trashing it probably dont even play. You look at guitars and mabey strike a rockstar pose and hit an E as hard as you can and then put the guitar back in its case. Within the 1st 5 minutes of playing mine it became my favorite. Playability and tone are what matters.
Very nice and yet another variation of the Les Paul (not a bad thing - mini-humbuckers and P90's!). I have a very non-weight-relieved '79 Les Paul which is all maple, as I think Gibson was having trouble with their mahogany supply at the time. I've never picked up a heavier guitar. Oh, and I put TV Jones Classics in it and it sounds great!
Weelll, Ebony is kinda rare too so I imagine in not too long that too will be CITES'd. It's also weird how Ebony with blonde stripes which is way more common is the more expensive one. I think only about 10% of ebony trees can actually be cut to a fully black plank? Bubinga is also under protection now. Some companies are using blackwood, which as far as I know isn't endangered.
OMG.... the sound of that blue one, with the look of the grey one... heaven! Been watching Rob play for years and I have never experienced anything like what you made the blue guitar do. Magic... was Gary Moore’s spirit in the room....
I own the mini humbuckers version the richlite is a non issue. In fact the fretboard feels great. The guitar is not weight relieved. My guitar weight 9 lbs 6 oz. and sounds great. Gibson still builds good guitars. The build quality on mine is excellent. In fact this guitar has more punch than my PRS. I love them both
You guys are awesome! Thank you so much for the videos you put out and all of the different categories of videos. I have learned a lot from ALL of your videos and have made purchases based on ALL of your opinions. THANK YOU!! - Chris
As a Channel Islander, the CITES rule changes have been a total pain in the hoop. Glad to see these, as they're pretty much exactly what I'm looking for in a Les Paul :)
in the future, if you are going to demo the difference in pickups, try an actual clean tone. driving the amp just demonstrates the amp and whatever else is in the signal chain. It would be much more helpful to hear each guitar through as transparent an amp as possible. Lee: try a clean tone to demo the pickups Rob :(dials gain knob from 12 back to a mere 11) clean like this? Lee:... I would have loved to hear a real comparison of the three pickups.
Agreed. With that level of gain the differences between the 3 pickups was minimal and I can't believe that was an accurate representation of how they really sound.
BTNMNKI Ebony isn't yet. Yet being the operative word. If everyone switches rosewood to ebony I can see it ending up on the list before long. And ebony is more expensive so the cost of instruments will go up.
It doesn't matter though. Tradition sucks and needs to go away. No point doing the same thing as before just for the sake of it. If these alternatives work fine then there is no problem. Only reason people care is because of the way it's always been. It's stagnating to progress.
Well, that is very true. Us guitarists are a conservative lot for sure. Imagine cars or home appliances being built the same way they were in the 50's... Actually, in some cases, that wouldn't be too bad :) But yeah, my question was mostly because I think Ebony would guarantee more sales than Richlite. But in due time, we will maybe move away from traditional materials anyway, be that because of resource scarcity or due to man-made materials being superior.
6 років тому
These Lester De Paulis are sounding AMAZING through those hands and amps. And for the first time ever, I'm liking captain's tone better.
Something that is not that often said is that the people that are taking down trees for rosewood are no longer selling it to guitar makers but using it as a base material to make coal, and that's really sad.
Wow, those mini 'buckers in the LP Lee is playing in the beginning sound awesome! I like the look and feel of ebony fingeboards, so if Richlite is a good substitute for ebony, I'm more than ok with it. Cuz ebony is certainly more endangered than (all species of) rosewood.
Sounds (and looks!) great! I'm especially intrigued by the smoothness and ease of neck work that comes along with the right type of satin finish. I may have to consider something like this the next time I have the cash to buy another guitar.
For the first time in months I can actually say.. Gibson.. WELL DONE. Beautiful, reasonably priced full fat Gibsons. Would love one of these. Let's hope they're actually well made.
I dislike the new woods and hate the fact it is entirely wrongly necessary to move away from rosewood for guitars (bloody China and furniture - and I say that as someone who lives in Hong Kong) but.....jeez the playing on this video was FABULOUS, gentlemen. Lee, sir, your solos! Ouch!!
Careful with the touring with one you’re fine comment. There’s a video of Carlos Santana’s tech talking about not bringing certain guitars certain places because they could still take them from you at least for a period of time and could really screw you up. Just a thought.
Wow; inspired playing from both in the duo. Thanks- Fun stuff to hear and ogle. I really think Rob always sounds his best when he's playing a keeper LesPaul and this video has tasteful, restrained, playing from Rob, yet at the same time his wild horse-like impulse to shred was still present in joyous bursts that he could conjure at will, as always, with a pretty good on-the-beat rhythm held down throughout.. Lee continues to sound better with every video and played great here; love to hear and watch Lee play.
It’s going to take much more than this to get public confidence back, but this is a start. Looks nice, great looking top, heavy as hell, kept it simple, and mini humbuckers, this is the direction they should continue to go.
We are told that Richlite is the closest material in terms of look & feel that they can get to black ebony. Even streak free black Ebony is hard to buy now. And we’ve been told by various guitar makers (not just Gibson) that Richlite is actually more expensive than most timbers, so it’s not been chosen to save money. Hope the Solar thing is going well! Cheers
Right move really, but should of just made the faded, tribute and studio come with Richlite as standard. Maybe this little spot run is too see how they sell and public opinion on them.
Here's the problem that Gibson have - if I had £1699 to spend on a guitar right this minute, I could buy one of these OR I could buy both a Bernie Marsden PRS SE AND a Chapman ML3 Pro Traditional. I would still have money left over to take my wife out for a nice meal at a good restaurant. Further, not only would I have two guitars instead of one (more guitars is more better, right?), but I feel that unless Gibson have recently drunk a magic quality control potion, the PRS/Chapman combo is likely to be better. Another issue to consider is that a good guitar is a long term investment into something that will if looked after last for a lifetime or two - how stable is this composite fretboard material long term given that white rot fungus just loves to dine on Phenolic resins and paper (i.e. Richlike looks like great fungus food)? Are we going to have to replace these fretboards after a decade or two?
cmdrsocks I agree wholeheartedly! Gibson has some MAJOR quality issues. I know first-hand. I've tried Les Paul,SG,etc. Every single one from 2018 had quality issues from electronics to paint and construction. Razor sharp fret ends, to neck pocket separation. They are un buyable. Especially at the inflated prices they command. Rubbish. I was excited when they came out, only to be deflated when I actually tried them out... Made me sad , and angry.
I was browsing my dealers selection of wood and wire cash absorbers the other day in a casual updating of my wishlist mood and realised that not a single tab open on my browser (about 20 guitars) featured a Gibson model. My next major guitar purchase will definitely be either PRS or Chapman. When I see Rob Chapman or Paul Reed Smith on video talking about making guitars, I see people who care deeply that I get a great guitar when I buy from them, I just don't get the same vibe from some other brands (not just Gibson). The only way things will improve is when we, the buyers of musical gear say "I don't care how many famous musicians use your gear, I am going to give my money to people who care about my experience with it".
cmdrsocks I own a Chapman ML2 from 2017 and hit had some electrical problems, mainly cheap China switches and noisy pots. I changed the whole harness and new switchcraft switches and it came to life. The pickups aren't the greatest but I will probably switch them out to some Seymour Duncans. For the money I paid for that plus another 300.00 for upgrades I have a great LP style guitar that is comparable to any Gibson ,and still under 1000.00 dollars. If I'm gonna pay upwards of 3 to 4000.00 dollars for a guitar it will be a Heritage or a SUHR. After playing them , there is no comparison! I'm too pissed at Gibson right now to even consider one of them. They broke my heart. I'm not paying for a logo. I want a guitar that will perform and something I can count on when I'm gigging. I don't want to worry about sinking more money on a wall hanger for prestige. They look great and they are not all bad. But the B.S. I went through just to find one that I could use was ridiculous! And the search could go on...but why? Too many other better guitar companies out there than Gibson. And many more that actually take pride in thier craft and care about customer service. I'm still too pissed...I don't even want to look at them anymore.
I have some OSB (board made with wood flakes and phenolic resins) in my garden that is falling apart because the fungus has eaten the resin, causing the wood flakes to peel apart. When it is new, it is amazing, completely weather proof, but eventually losing integrity as it gets eaten from the inside out. Note that the wood has not been consumed, even though it is exposed, although it is definitely weakened. This has taken about 10 years. I am not suggesting leaving a Les Paul out in the garden for 10 years in all weathers. However my direct experience with these kind of composites is that the Phenolics must be more nutritious to the fungus, because it eats the resin first before the wood. My conclusion is that the composite fretboard finish and integrity will degrade long before the wood of the rest of the guitar. Hence my question about durability.
Thanks for sharing your experience with Chapman, at their prices, I don't expect perfection, so long as the build quality is good. Pickups and wiring are an easy upgrade.
Most convincing argument against "tone wood" at this point should be how the manufacturers are more concerned with choosing materials that look like rosewood rather than using something similar to rosewood in density.
If we have to use non organic materials for fret boards so be it, but I have reservations. Can you re-fret them? Will the fretboard begin to separate as we see on office furniture using this type of material?
CITES puzzles me. If guitar makers stop using rosewood, who will plant rosewood trees in future? Surely it would have been better to legislate that for every rosewood tree felled they have to plant four more?
They need enough time to grow them as well as making the trees population into a healthy number. These are tropical trees that grow at an extremely slow rate.
Gary Casey As Lee said the issue with CITES wasn't really guitars. It was massive demand for rosewood furniture, in particular, in China. This lead to deforestation and an increase in illegal logging.
Psychedelic Electric Juice A slow growing tropical tree? A quick google suggests they are relatively fast growing at up to 4ft per year. The point I was trying to make is by stopping its use, how will that encourage replacement planting.
12:40 had me in stitches - the look on Lee's face when Rob thought he'd played a 'clean' chord!!!!
What do you mean, I can't have ALL THE GAIN?
Expensive looking guitars at a lower price? Well, I think Gibson is beginning to understand what players want.
Tomas Bory which has been understood by companies like Ibanez, Chapman and Washburn for a long while now.
Luke Mcfarlane valid point but I have not been with Washburn USA guitars, people complain about QC of Gibson but I seen horrible finishing on Washburn. But for almost $1000 used it is a good deal.
Let's hope they feel good too
The LP Tribute, available for a few years now, is quite a monster guitar. About 800$ at the time I got mine, they're 1100 new. Incredible guitars.
Zac Carter when I said those examples, I was going off of personal preference. When I see a guitar that make me think it's expensive:
Superstrat, relatively sleek, seperate walnut or maple top or something like that, locking tuners, no dot inlays on fretboard etc. Ibanez nailed that, Washburn and now Solar have nailed that and Chapman with the ML-1 pro in Sun, where do I begin?
That snowy blue/white top is purrdy
Maybe.. Just maybe.. The best looking les paul Ive ever seen (not a huge les paul guy here)
Kintrap I agree they have had huge issues with color combinations... in the past they would have put gold knobs on the snowy white blue beauty! But definitely got the aesthetics right here.
I have two Gibsons with Richlitte for a fretboard and am thrilled with the quality. I own several Gibsons and it isn't an issue tonally or with feel in my opinion.
That intro jam was genuinely incredible, I just wish it could keep on going
Stop.
Ston’t
Have Gibson finally had a lightbulb moment? Reasonably priced beautiful full bodied guitars in tasty colours with no electric gibberish 👍🏻 I’d quickly change out the pickup covers from black to cream/white and it’d be a beaut. Imo black covers cheapens it a little but all in all almost there 🙏🏻
V1T091 Reasonably priced?
Quit being poor.
Cabby Cabby lol we have found bill gates in the comments
Yeah if it's plastic black tends to look cheap
Dude 1699 isnt bad for that it is. Id just take the burstbuckers off and run some bareknuckles.
Video confirms Rob Chapman does not know what a clean tone is.
he said a while ago, his idea of clean is acoustic
You mean every video.
chris davidson No, he just doesn't like or can't play clean. Just watched a video on his channel the other day and I think it pains him to play clean.
nobodyhere is that loss?
Malcolm Jarr honestly clean electric guitars sound lame to me, being more of a rock and metal guy like rob, besides, pretty sure lee is the one who takes care of clean tones, i mean hes the one who uses amps with a decent clean channel, who wants to hear a clean 5150 anyway
Richlite is an awesome fretboard material! I have a martin with a richlite fretboard and it is one of my favorite players. Loving the minihum equipped lp
I think as a "modern instrument" these actually look better than the new high performance models imo
The White Agreed. I'm not much of a fan of the high performance.
I really like the heel carve on the HP. Not swayed on the humbucker rings or the matching truss rod cover.
High performance looks cheap to me due to the volume knobs. Much prefer the look of these.
The new "high performance" (some extremely inverted commas here) are a joke. It's like satire
no they don't
Those lessons are paying off Lee!!! Great playing, keep it up!
Louis Sanderson I’m essentially in the rut that lee was in and him learning has inspired me and motivated me to get up to the next level. It’s gonna be fun!!
Some of the nicest tones I have heard on this site. Enjoyed the playing from both. I also think that the resistance against richlite is irrational and blown out of proportion. Nice video!
After stopping playing guitar 13 years ago when I finished highschool, watching your videos has made me start saving up to get an Epiphone SG after Xmas and start actually learning some scale and chord theory so I can start playing again.
Even now watching your vids I just get the urge to pick up a guitar and start playing something. Keep up the vids guys, really love them.
a year later and this video is still one of my absolute faves on this channel. the whole bit at 14:22 gives me chills every time i hear it. and the bryan adams jam just before it was sweet as!
Wow, loved that jamming at 13:36 Capn Lee cutting through the crunch with the wailing solo :D
Personal view: I'm glad to see rosewood abolished from guitar fret boards; I always hated streaky rosewood and these Richlite ('65% FSC®-certified or recycled paper content and 35% phenolic resin), solid dark coloured necks look terrific to me. (I love the satin tops. But why oh why can't we have uncovered mini humbuckers and more colours?)
I am exactly the opposite. I prefer the look of covered humbuckers.
can you not take the cover out like you can with normal hbs?
Reşat Yıldırım yeah you can haha
What about the opposite? Can you find pickup covers? Pickups without covers has always annoyed me, but the Chapman Ghost Fret Pro Modern does not have pickups covers. If I could get pickup covers, that would make the guitar absolutely perfect.
Marmaduke Winterbotham I don’t know why but uncovered mini humbuckers is nowhere near as much a “thing” in general as uncovered full sized humbuckers. It’s not unexpected for Gibson to put covered mini humbuckers on this guitar.
What is a bit more weird is that they’re the ones without adjustable pole pieces (visually like Firebird pickups) rather than normal mini humbuckers. Wonder why they did that? 🤔
If Rob is Mr Moregain, he has to have Lee's title. Then he can be Captain Moregain and treat us to some 'rum' guitar playing.
I'll get me coat.
Funky Monkey1886 lee should be captain clean , the Mr Moregain comment caused me an embarrassing moment of laughing out loud in the middle of a quiet office filled with IT professionals !!!
Hahahaha that captain finger diddle on the pickup selector at 5:18 is epic! Thanks for that Rory!
Lees face after robs lick at 14:33 is priceless!
like... "whoa thats a spicy sound!"
@13:19 "It's Only Love" is great riff to jam on
Wow ...to all the Gibson haters...I have one. Its perfect. It sounds awesome. It plays like butter and sustains for days and looks better than any PRS. Stop the hate and crying. If you don't want one move on there are thousands of other brands to choose from.
Mate, I'm glad to hear it. I own both Gibson and PRS and they're both great. I'll agree with you on the looks thing too, now that I think about it. PRS can't do a flame top right. They do stripes. Really thin stripes. They're not flamey at all. The QUILT tops, on the other hand, are spectacular. I have two of those. ^-^
The prs single cuts are fugly!
Zavach85 In your opinion
My 2017 tribute t is perfect
Hinterland_Rider Oooh no! Nobody has made a more perfect shaped electric guitar aesthetically than a Les Paul, even down to the carving of the top. You can question a Les Paul in terms of ergonomics compared to more modern guitars like PRSs but in my opinion nothing beats one for looks.
0:11 I made the exact same face as captian. That was so Guthrie-like and I loved it
I wish we all could be a little nicer to one another is these comments sections. We are all a part of the guitarist/musician family.
Michael Branyon Jones amen to that
Scrolling through the comments seeing people complain about the richlite finger board. Who cares? I highly doubt if you saw a richlite and an ebony board side by side you wouldn't know which was which. At least it's consistent. I have 4 guitars with rosewood boards and 2 look about the same, one is darker, and one is lighter.
I just got one here in the states. I love it and put it on a scale to weigh it. Clocked in at 9.4 pounds. Which converts to 4.3 kilograms. I love the guitar. I got the sunburst one with p90s. The neck is 10/10 in comfort.
Surprisingly there is no 60 cycle hum. I love it. Gibson has good days and bad days with designing guitars. They knocked this one out of the park.
I love the Captain's "Got Damm!" face watching Chappers play at the beginning. Looks like Marvin Berry when Marty hands him his guitar back.
The one Rob plays sounds just amazing. Edit they all sound amazing exactly like I would expect Les Paul to sound.
Upload the opening jam somewhere please, it's literally perfect
I bought one. And one of the main reasons I chose this model is because it used richlight. Most of u trashing it probably dont even play. You look at guitars and mabey strike a rockstar pose and hit an E as hard as you can and then put the guitar back in its case. Within the 1st 5 minutes of playing mine it became my favorite. Playability and tone are what matters.
Intro bit was my favorite Lee solo yet!
Very nice and yet another variation of the Les Paul (not a bad thing - mini-humbuckers and P90's!). I have a very non-weight-relieved '79 Les Paul which is all maple, as I think Gibson was having trouble with their mahogany supply at the time. I've never picked up a heavier guitar. Oh, and I put TV Jones Classics in it and it sounds great!
Weelll, Ebony is kinda rare too so I imagine in not too long that too will be CITES'd. It's also weird how Ebony with blonde stripes which is way more common is the more expensive one. I think only about 10% of ebony trees can actually be cut to a fully black plank? Bubinga is also under protection now.
Some companies are using blackwood, which as far as I know isn't endangered.
It should be noted that a Richlite fretboard is used in the $4000 Les Paul Custom.
OMG.... the sound of that blue one, with the look of the grey one... heaven! Been watching Rob play for years and I have never experienced anything like what you made the blue guitar do. Magic... was Gary Moore’s spirit in the room....
These intro jams are getting better and better!
This back to back edit is awesooooome. Please use it more on your up coming videos.
The links to the shop are wrong. Check P90 and mini Humbucker. Great Vid
I own the mini humbuckers version the richlite is a non issue. In fact the fretboard feels great. The guitar is not weight relieved. My guitar weight 9 lbs 6 oz. and sounds great. Gibson still builds good guitars. The build quality on mine is excellent. In fact this guitar has more punch than my PRS. I love them both
Captain I would have REALLY liked that CLEAN pickup comparison!!!!
My Martin has a richlite fretboard and I love it
That rhythm part rob was playing on the p90s was dope
Chappers opening solo was awesome. Reminded me of Gilmour...
the red one with P90 is stunning!!!
You guys are awesome! Thank you so much for the videos you put out and all of the different categories of videos. I have learned a lot from ALL of your videos and have made purchases based on ALL of your opinions. THANK YOU!! - Chris
I really like how The Captain explained the differences in the top grade A+ to AAAA ;-).
I agree and I think that is how they are branded ;-).
Love the shape of the burst on the guitar Lee's playing! Looks like a guitar pick
As a Channel Islander, the CITES rule changes have been a total pain in the hoop. Glad to see these, as they're pretty much exactly what I'm looking for in a Les Paul :)
Capn : licks are progressing nicely sir! Ariel and Pete seem to have brought your game on.
in the future, if you are going to demo the difference in pickups, try an actual clean tone. driving the amp just demonstrates the amp and whatever else is in the signal chain. It would be much more helpful to hear each guitar through as transparent an amp as possible.
Lee: try a clean tone to demo the pickups
Rob :(dials gain knob from 12 back to a mere 11) clean like this?
Lee:...
I would have loved to hear a real comparison of the three pickups.
Agreed. With that level of gain the differences between the 3 pickups was minimal and I can't believe that was an accurate representation of how they really sound.
Why not just use Ebony instead of Rosewood? That's not protected under CITES, right?
BTNMNKI Ebony isn't yet. Yet being the operative word. If everyone switches rosewood to ebony I can see it ending up on the list before long. And ebony is more expensive so the cost of instruments will go up.
Martin often states that Richlite costs more than ebony does to put in their guitars. It's also harder than ebony or rosewood.
It doesn't matter though. Tradition sucks and needs to go away. No point doing the same thing as before just for the sake of it.
If these alternatives work fine then there is no problem.
Only reason people care is because of the way it's always been. It's stagnating to progress.
Well, that is very true. Us guitarists are a conservative lot for sure. Imagine cars or home appliances being built the same way they were in the 50's... Actually, in some cases, that wouldn't be too bad :)
But yeah, my question was mostly because I think Ebony would guarantee more sales than Richlite. But in due time, we will maybe move away from traditional materials anyway, be that because of resource scarcity or due to man-made materials being superior.
These Lester De Paulis are sounding AMAZING through those hands and amps. And for the first time ever, I'm liking captain's tone better.
Something that is not that often said is that the people that are taking down trees for rosewood are no longer selling it to guitar makers but using it as a base material to make coal, and that's really sad.
I died when he called Chapman “Mr More Gain” 😂
Wow, those mini 'buckers in the LP Lee is playing in the beginning sound awesome!
I like the look and feel of ebony fingeboards, so if Richlite is a good substitute for ebony, I'm more than ok with it. Cuz ebony is certainly more endangered than (all species of) rosewood.
I own the sunburst version of this guitar. It’s an absolute beast. I love it!
@01:56 "It's like The Avengers to save trees." I almost spit my coffee onto the screen. Cheers! Hahahahahahaha!!!
Sounds (and looks!) great! I'm especially intrigued by the smoothness and ease of neck work that comes along with the right type of satin finish. I may have to consider something like this the next time I have the cash to buy another guitar.
For the first time in months I can actually say.. Gibson.. WELL DONE. Beautiful, reasonably priced full fat Gibsons. Would love one of these. Let's hope they're actually well made.
8:22 To me this seems Ocean Grey (Silver?) rather then Ocean Blue. Shouldn't they be the same colour?
So the blue one with Humbuckers & the faded one with Minibuckers are supposed to be the same coloured finish? They don't even look close.
Just ordered the blue one after watching this video, can't wait to try it! Thanks for the awesome videos, subscribed. :)
really cool solo in the beginning Lee
I dislike the new woods and hate the fact it is entirely wrongly necessary to move away from rosewood for guitars (bloody China and furniture - and I say that as someone who lives in Hong Kong) but.....jeez the playing on this video was FABULOUS, gentlemen. Lee, sir, your solos! Ouch!!
Careful with the touring with one you’re fine comment. There’s a video of Carlos Santana’s tech talking about not bringing certain guitars certain places because they could still take them from you at least for a period of time and could really screw you up. Just a thought.
Great playing boys 👌🏻🤙🏻
Can you buy pickup covers for the burstbuckers? It’s a shoot out between the p90 and the buckers since I have a firebird
I second this question. Pickups without covers has always annoyed me.
What's the riff at 13:35? I'm sure I know it and it's driving me crazy that I can't remember what the song is called!
Nice. I like the denim look lp Rob Chapman was using in the opening jam.
That jam at the beginning was SICK.
Wow; inspired playing from both in the duo. Thanks- Fun stuff to hear and ogle. I really think Rob always sounds his best when he's playing a keeper LesPaul and this video has tasteful, restrained, playing from Rob, yet at the same time his wild horse-like impulse to shred was still present in joyous bursts that he could conjure at will, as always, with a pretty good on-the-beat rhythm held down throughout.. Lee continues to sound better with every video and played great here; love to hear and watch Lee play.
Captain and Chappers sound so great in the intro !!
It’s going to take much more than this to get public confidence back, but this is a start. Looks nice, great looking top, heavy as hell, kept it simple, and mini humbuckers, this is the direction they should continue to go.
Captain, can a CITES friendly tab for all manufacturers be added in the site filter for us overseas buyers pleaaasee?
Isn't using pau ferro or ebony also CITES friendly? Why would they settle with Richlite? (Nothing wrong with Richlite tho, I love my Aristides)
We are told that Richlite is the closest material in terms of look & feel that they can get to black ebony. Even streak free black Ebony is hard to buy now. And we’ve been told by various guitar makers (not just Gibson) that Richlite is actually more expensive than most timbers, so it’s not been chosen to save money. Hope the Solar thing is going well! Cheers
Not the real Ola hahahaha
Why would you settle for closing your mind to new materials?
Is the one Rob is holding have burstbuckers? The first guitar he was holding?
That's what the specs say that I looked up just a few minutes ago.
It said : Burstbucker Pro Open Coil
Right move really, but should of just made the faded, tribute and studio come with Richlite as standard. Maybe this little spot run is too see how they sell and public opinion on them.
3:33 Rob's thinking "It's a satin finish, but does it still smell like Nitro vanilla? ...Yes :)"
I don't get the Richlite thing.. Why did they even stop using Ebony?.. Use roasted maple or another sort of wood..
That blue les paul is one of the prettiest guitars i have ever seen from gibson, just wow.
Here's the problem that Gibson have - if I had £1699 to spend on a guitar right this minute, I could buy one of these OR I could buy both a Bernie Marsden PRS SE AND a Chapman ML3 Pro Traditional.
I would still have money left over to take my wife out for a nice meal at a good restaurant.
Further, not only would I have two guitars instead of one (more guitars is more better, right?), but I feel that unless Gibson have recently drunk a magic quality control potion, the PRS/Chapman combo is likely to be better.
Another issue to consider is that a good guitar is a long term investment into something that will if looked after last for a lifetime or two - how stable is this composite fretboard material long term given that white rot fungus just loves to dine on Phenolic resins and paper (i.e. Richlike looks like great fungus food)? Are we going to have to replace these fretboards after a decade or two?
cmdrsocks I agree wholeheartedly! Gibson has some MAJOR quality issues. I know first-hand. I've tried Les Paul,SG,etc. Every single one from 2018 had quality issues from electronics to paint and construction. Razor sharp fret ends, to neck pocket separation. They are un buyable. Especially at the inflated prices they command. Rubbish. I was excited when they came out, only to be deflated when I actually tried them out... Made me sad , and angry.
I was browsing my dealers selection of wood and wire cash absorbers the other day in a casual updating of my wishlist mood and realised that not a single tab open on my browser (about 20 guitars) featured a Gibson model.
My next major guitar purchase will definitely be either PRS or Chapman.
When I see Rob Chapman or Paul Reed Smith on video talking about making guitars, I see people who care deeply that I get a great guitar when I buy from them, I just don't get the same vibe from some other brands (not just Gibson).
The only way things will improve is when we, the buyers of musical gear say "I don't care how many famous musicians use your gear, I am going to give my money to people who care about my experience with it".
cmdrsocks I own a Chapman ML2 from 2017 and hit had some electrical problems, mainly cheap China switches and noisy pots. I changed the whole harness and new switchcraft switches and it came to life. The pickups aren't the greatest but I will probably switch them out to some Seymour Duncans. For the money I paid for that plus another 300.00 for upgrades I have a great LP style guitar that is comparable to any Gibson ,and still under 1000.00 dollars. If I'm gonna pay upwards of 3 to 4000.00 dollars for a guitar it will be a Heritage or a SUHR. After playing them , there is no comparison! I'm too pissed at Gibson right now to even consider one of them. They broke my heart. I'm not paying for a logo. I want a guitar that will perform and something I can count on when I'm gigging. I don't want to worry about sinking more money on a wall hanger for prestige. They look great and they are not all bad. But the B.S. I went through just to find one that I could use was ridiculous! And the search could go on...but why? Too many other better guitar companies out there than Gibson. And many more that actually take pride in thier craft and care about customer service. I'm still too pissed...I don't even want to look at them anymore.
I have some OSB (board made with wood flakes and phenolic resins) in my garden that is falling apart because the fungus has eaten the resin, causing the wood flakes to peel apart. When it is new, it is amazing, completely weather proof, but eventually losing integrity as it gets eaten from the inside out.
Note that the wood has not been consumed, even though it is exposed, although it is definitely weakened. This has taken about 10 years.
I am not suggesting leaving a Les Paul out in the garden for 10 years in all weathers. However my direct experience with these kind of composites is that the Phenolics must be more nutritious to the fungus, because it eats the resin first before the wood.
My conclusion is that the composite fretboard finish and integrity will degrade long before the wood of the rest of the guitar. Hence my question about durability.
Thanks for sharing your experience with Chapman, at their prices, I don't expect perfection, so long as the build quality is good. Pickups and wiring are an easy upgrade.
Did I miss where you said what amp and pedal was used at the beginning?
No Lee, didn't hear them. Would have LOVED to hear your really CLEAN tone... tone comparison!
Do i detect the beginnings of a return to the opinion that heavy weight means better sustain?
Most convincing argument against "tone wood" at this point should be how the manufacturers are more concerned with choosing materials that look like rosewood rather than using something similar to rosewood in density.
I think that’s probably a little unfair. Many manufacturers have chosen to use Richlite because it’s similar to Ebony in many ways - not just looks.
I thought the humbucker sounded closer to the P90 than the mini humbucker. A little strange. Might just be me
0:13 Gorgeous axe Lee.
The Captain meets J.P. Morgain!
If we have to use non organic materials for fret boards so be it, but I have reservations. Can you re-fret them? Will the fretboard begin to separate as we see on office furniture using this type of material?
Yes, and no. Martin has been using Richlite for years on their top end acoustics.
And Lol at explaining the grading systems ..!
Wine red with P90's. Right, guess I won't be sleeping on my front tonight.
CITES puzzles me. If guitar makers stop using rosewood, who will plant rosewood trees in future? Surely it would have been better to legislate that for every rosewood tree felled they have to plant four more?
They need enough time to grow them as well as making the trees population into a healthy number. These are tropical trees that grow at an extremely slow rate.
Gary Casey As Lee said the issue with CITES wasn't really guitars. It was massive demand for rosewood furniture, in particular, in China. This lead to deforestation and an increase in illegal logging.
Gary Casey no one will lol. Those trees grow too damn slow plus now that we know wood doesn't affect tone what difference does it make right?:D
Funky Monkey1886 I used guitar makers as an example only whoever is using should be obligated to replace.
Psychedelic Electric Juice A slow growing tropical tree? A quick google suggests they are relatively fast growing at up to 4ft per year. The point I was trying to make is by stopping its use, how will that encourage replacement planting.
Captains playing has come on soo much, great video!
Should do a video where you guys flip a left handed guitar and restring it right! See if theirs a difference in sound! Great video by the way!!!
The funny thing is I’ve always preferred an ebony fretboard myself
this is the first time i can actually say that the blue gibson rob's playing make him sound good. man that guitar sings
Love the satin, but the tone? I’m not whelmed.
Rob Jenkins Maybe that the ever-present Chappers “overgain” spoiling things? 😝
ANDERTONS - Rob was playing a V130 Victory, what was Lee using? sounded great.
A Friedman Runt 20
That jam needs to be in the next compilation. Them tones!
I'm totally okay with using the expensive amps for this video. God, those LPs just sing through a nice amp.
Are richlite fretboards similar to the resinator fretboards on Hagström guitars?
Can someone please tell me what song Rob is playing at 13:25 before I go insane? I know it and for the life of me can not remember the name
No matter I got it, Bryan Adams, It's Only Love!