1982 Mint Collection EG 'plain top' Arrives

[youami]

Nice one MIJ! Maybe while you're busy with this one you could lend your LS-320 to me for a bit?

 

[MIJvintage]

Nice one MIJ! Maybe while you're busy with this one you could lend your LS-320 to me for a bit?

LOL :lol: ...........


gotta keep the more expensive ones further away just in case of a break in & the LS-320 is pretty nice & it stays in the very back/bottom of the heap of my hard cases :wink:
I don't mind digging it out tho'

Honestly, the LS-320 doesn?t see that much action as I mostly go for the Bacchus BLS-59 HB.
The BLS is just an absolutely amazing Les Paul; it is quite shocking how good it really is.
It is set-up with a 10/46 string set like everything else I have, yet it plays like it has 9s on it 8)
It actually sounds like old wood yet it?s only about a ~2000.
Never owned a Les Paul this good, no matter what the price.
I have yet to figure out why the BLS-59 is such a great guitar but I can only guess it's a very blessed piece of lumber ..............

Probably why it?s my fave purchase of 2009, or any other year

 

[Udonitron]

Yeah you see so many on Yahoo with that nice oxidized hardware due to the salt air and humidity...especially the Greco's. Must be due to the process they used to chrome their hardware...flakes off and leaves the aluminum and zinc etc to be changed from the elements. Always reminds me of pewter.

 

[mojoburst]

Boy, that's a beauty.

+1 !

Extremely beautyful top !

 

[Freebird]

Thin poly rather than nitro - correct?

 

[MIJvintage]

yes, it's poly & it is super thin

the Double Trick pickups sound excellent

still cannot get over how clean this thing is 8) ..............

 

[hunter]

seriously considered pulling the trigger on that beauty myself.....wow,that top is awesome ........great catch Rich,congrats

 

[Freebird]

Is the neck perhaps a left over from the Super Real series and on the fatter side in regards to the profile?

 

[MIJvintage]

seriously considered pulling the trigger on that beauty myself.....wow,that top is awesome ........great catch Rich,congrats

yeah, the top is pretty stellar for a plain top; I love it
there are only two dings on the whole top & this girl is super clean overall 8)
will be putting on a fresh set of 10/46 tomorrow & doing some evaluations the next week or two; see what she's really made of
here's a couple of crappy indoor/flash pics with the top nicely cleaned up, minus the bridge & tail piece ...........

 

[MIJvintage]

Is the neck perhaps a left over from the Super Real series and on the fatter side in regards to the profile?

possibly so, but I'm leaning toward not so, as she has the long tenon, unlike the average Super Real

also, the neck is fairly chunky but not as chunky as the few Super Reals I have played ...........

 

[Udonitron]

So nice...has some blistering to it at the bottom...sweet.

 

[MIJvintage]

took a few outdoor/non flash shots this morning without the pick guard, bridge, or tail piece, before putting new strings on .......

a couple more after strings .............

posted previously but it fits in with the two above nicely ............

 

[marcusnieman]

Man, I just love that guitar.

 

[Udonitron]

Yeah it is worthy of a dry hump, that is for sure.

 

[fiftywatt]

Stunning.. I have one very similar to it and it is one of my most prized Grecos. PM me if that one is ever available

 

[MIJvintage]

Stunning.. I have one very similar to it and it is one of my most prized Grecos. PM me if that one is ever available

this week, finally got around to putting on a new set of 10/46 on this wonderful guitar & played her quite a bit

I must say that I am quite impressed & the strings haven?t even settled in good yet

The Double Trick 1982 pickups in this one sound excellent, and I mean excellent 8)

Already had several people make inquiries about this one but I don?t think she?ll be going anywhere for a very long time :wink:

This guitar has an incredible set of attributes:
old wood 28 year vintage, two piece back, solid top, perfect medium chunky neck profile w/FEB, very Brazilian looking rosewood ?board but I believe it?s Indian, a near perfect weight of 9 lb. even, and it's all original with the exception of the strap pegs.
It's an incredible Les Paul with a character & personality all it's own
IMO, better than any Super Real I have ever played ...........

I still can?t believe it sold for the price that it went for; I would have paid much more & still been very happy
I am fortunate to have this one ...................

 

[Udonitron]

The top has a similar look to my Burny I think. Well mine has more curls in it but the nice tight annual ring spacing is similar. So nice!

 

[MIJvintage]

The top has a similar look to my Burny I think. Well mine has more curls in it but the nice tight annual ring spacing is similar. So nice!

yes, most of the (earlier) Burny RLG plain tops seem to have massive amounts of annual ring exposure in the maple lumber

The very narrow annual ring spacing in the maple lumber used for these tops would usually indicate the lumber was harvested from slower growing trees, i.e. ?old growth? maple, harvested from forest that were undisturbed by typical modern forestry methods.
This is what I prefer in a maple topped Les Paul; it looks so nice 8)

IMO you want just the opposite for the mahogany body backs, which is where you want medium to wide annual ring spacing, which allows the main volume of body mass to ring like a bell
Check the annual ring spacing in the mahogany body back (pictured below), the cross section where the TOM studs & the tail piece studs are anchored; some of these annual rings have over 3/8" wide spacings.
This girl is still ringing looooooong after she's back in the case :lol: ................

 

[Udonitron]

Oh no...but that could open up the whole debate on how the wood absorbs the sound from the strings and thus soaking up sustain. One could say that the tighter the rings, the older and harder the wood, allowing the string to do the sustaining. Wood absorbs energy from the strings, shortening the vibration time once struck. The best sustain would be by attained via the mindset that no vibration is absorbed at all, no? :wink: I am on the fence for sure....I am a true believer in scale length making a difference on sustain however.

 

[MIJvintage]

U, I have read quite a bit from players, from makers, and from engineers too, concerning sustain & resonance AFA solid body guitars are concerned.
I do have a bit of an idea AFA how the energy from the string is transferred via the nut/bridge/tail piece/string contact points, etc. & dampened via those components & to a larger degree, how the string energy is dampened via the mass of the body & the mass of the neck
In the final analysis however, all of that stuff seems a bit too technical & sterile for me :lol:

Even after reading all of the things I have read, I always come back to what my experience & to what my ears are telling me
My experience & my ears tell me that I like & prefer 'resonance' versus 'sustain' 8)
IMO resonance has a much closer relationship to tone, than sustain will ever have 8) 8)
I would much rather have a solid body with good resonant characteristics, because IMO without resonance, the instrument will have no opportunity to sustain

It could be kinda like the ole, "which came first, the chicken or the egg" debate but I think resonance trumps sustain ...................... at least it does in my book :wink: