Category: Gear

Time goes on, fortunately you get a bit wealthier and your dreams may become affordable… or close to.

Some years ago, I felt in love (again) with the 2009 Gibson Les Paul Billy Gibbons Pearly Gates 59′ VOS but my pockets were empty.
In 2017, looking at the classified, I found one of the non aged Pearlies in excellent condition. Unfortunately, the seller and I were not able to agree on the price. Since then I had never been able to make the idea of owning a 59 reissue sink again in the deep of my mind. That is how I brought myself to look for my R9.

I looked at several offers around the world and finally shorten my list to two candidates: a True Historic and a Standard Historic VOS, both new (I let you browse the Internet to look at the differences).

In the end, surprisingly for my guitar players (and Gibson’s LP addicted) mates, I chose the VOS. Why?

Well, what I can tell, is just that when I opened up the case of this one, I just said (or thought) “Wow…”. Sometimes, things happen just like that. The guitar may not have the true true vintage specs but something happened at te first sight: I knew that if I returned back this guitar I would regret it for the rest of my life.

Continue reading “The only guitar I didn’t mod (yet)”

I felt in love with the Les Paul since Cloudbreaker as you may have understood if you had a look at my gear page…
Recently, I had been looking for a very simple guitar: one pickup, simple setup, light weight and not too expensive but has a killer look and a good sound.
As a good Gibson Les Paul fan, I though about a Melody Maker or a Junior and then while looking for splittables humbuckers for my SG, I saw the Lace Music Deathbucker : 😍!
I then started to look for a Gibson with a single humbucker.
At first I wanted to find a second hand SG-1 but I felt (in love with) on an LP CM 2016 T in perfect state an much cheaper. I had a look at Gibson’s because I didn’t know this model and… Bingo ! This was exactly what I was looking for without knowing it existed: LP shape, thin body, one humbucker.

Nevertheless, in my eternal quest for improvement, I decided to bring in some tonal or aesthetic upgrades to this guitar: 
• New headstock veneer with mother of pearl inlays of Gibson logo and Crown
• Blank Gibson bell trussrod cover
• ABM aluminium with chrome finish wraparound
• Schaller chrome tophat knobs
• Lace Music Alumitone Deathbucker Deceptor (Lace recommends 250kΩ pots and 22nF cap with the Alumitone “for better tone”)
• 250kΩ push/pull CTS pot to “split” the Alumitone on the tone knob 
• 250kΩ CTS pot for the volume control
• 22nF Orange drop capacitor
• Copper shielding of the control cavity and back plate
• Dunlop straplocks

Continue reading “Gibson Les Paul CM 2016 serious upgrade”

Green Faery is the guitar I used the most in the ’90s on stage and also for the recording of Shyness LP.

Continue reading “New pickups for my Samick Valley Arts”