NEW - Gibson Dark Walnut Collection

fitz

fitz

Ambassador of DIY
Country flag
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fitz said:
Yes, no, maybe?

Specs look kinda run of the mill...
LP is a Standard 60's plain top - maple cap and mahogany body & neck.
Just a "walnut" stain - not actually walnut.

gazette.gibson.com

Gibson launches stunning limited-edition Dark Walnut finishes on classic models - Gibson Gazette

New Dark Walnut finishes available only at Gibson.com and the Gibson Garage locations in Nashville and London
gazette.gibson.com

www.gibson.com

Dark Walnut Series | Gibson

www.gibson.com www.gibson.com
Click to expand...
Walnut is hard to machine, eats up the tools, and produces a caustic dust that is harmful to humans and pets.
Although it may be a good sustain wood it's sort of impractical to manufacture.

Real mahogany is illegal to buy or sell. It's an endangered species.

And so probably a species that's similar to mahogany, is not true mahogany.
One of 2 similar woods, that looks like mahogany and is often called mahogany, but not true mahogany.

"All species of Swietenia are now listed by CITES and protected due to concerns over illegal logging and mismanagement. Mahogany species can crossbreed when they grow in proximity, and the hybrid between S. mahagoni and S. macrophylla is widely planted for timber...."
 
It’s the kinda thing you’d like if you like that kinda thing.

I like the double-cut Les Paul Junior quite a bit.

I would like the Flying V with a different pickguard; (IMHO) the bright white doesn’t contrast well and looks cheap. A black pickguard or perhaps something squirrelly and crazy like leather or hair-on cowhide would look better, IMHO.

The 345 looks like a nicer guitar from the 1970’s.

Of all Gibson guitars, I like those models the most—Specials/Juniors, Flying Vs and ES335/345/355 models. I’ve never bonded with a regular Les Paul (although I’ll continue to try until I find one that I like) and SGs are hit-or-miss for me (I can’t define which ones I like because I’ve never really dug in and tried to find “The One”…
 
Fiesta Red said:
I would like the Flying V with a different pickguard; (IMHO) the bright white doesn’t contrast well and looks cheap.
Click to expand...
Agreed - I'd prefer cream like the LP, or at least a faded antique white.
And FFS, ditch the pup rings...
 
Amp Mad Scientist said:
Walnut is hard to machine, eats up the tools, and produces a caustic dust that is harmful to humans and pets.
Although it may be a good sustain wood it's sort of impractical to manufacture.
Click to expand...
I made a walnut Explorer clone a few years ago.
Lots of router work, but I don't recall it being more difficult to work with than other hardwoods.
One-off, so no statistical data set for mass production tool longevity.

Before and after:
20191118_091040-2.jpg

wex.jpg
 
Amp Mad Scientist said:
Walnut is hard to machine, eats up the tools, and produces a caustic dust that is harmful to humans and pets.
Although it may be a good sustain wood it's sort of impractical to manufacture.

Real mahogany is illegal to buy or sell. It's an endangered species.

And so probably a species that's similar to mahogany, is not true mahogany.
One of 2 similar woods, that looks like mahogany and is often called mahogany, but not true mahogany.

"All species of Swietenia are now listed by CITES and protected due to concerns over illegal logging and mismanagement. Mahogany species can crossbreed when they grow in proximity, and the hybrid between S. mahagoni and S. macrophylla is widely planted for timber...."
Click to expand...

They ain't made of walnut, they are the regular mahogany and or maple. That's just what Gibson calls that brown color.
 
RobinS said:
I love the Flying V, it has a bound neck, right?
Awesome, but it is expensive (now) to get things form England.
Still on the hunt for the block inlay.

Life is good,
Robin
Click to expand...



I'm a fan of all of them, especially the 345 and Flying V. Too bad that the 345 does not have the Vari-tone knob. They've left off the most important feature to the 345. When I bought my ES-335, I was hoping that maybe an ES-345 would cross my path first. It's always been my favorite of the ES line. I do agree about the Flying V pickguard. Maybe black would be a better option. I even went that route with my '58 Flying V copy that I built. The bound fingerboard, is the Bee's Knees, and is perfect.

@RobinS, too bad I'm not sure when I'll be traveling to Germany again. I'm usually in the Mainz, Freiburg, or Pfronten areas often, and could arrange to have stuff shipped to me, then meet with you on one of my trips to see family or go to the factory for training. I do this often with friends and family in the UK and DE as my wife works for an airline, and I'm travelling inexpensively quite often.

My only walnut guitar has a mix of walnut and maple.


IMG_0360.JPG
 
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SG John said:
I'm a fan of all of them, especially the 345 and Flying V. Too bad that the 345 does not have the Vari-tone knob. They've left off the most important feature to the 345. When I bought my ES-335, I was hoping that maybe an ES-345 would cross my path first. It's always been my favorite of the ES line. I do agree about the Flying V pickguard. Maybe black would be a better option. I even went that route with my '58 Flying V copy that I built. The bound fingerboard, is the Bee's Knees, and is perfect.

@RobinS, too bad I'm not sure when I'll be traveling to Germany again. I'm usually in the Mainz, Freiburg, or Pfronten areas often, and could arrange to have stuff shipped to me, then meet with you on one of my trips to see family or go to the factory for training. I do this often with friends and family in the UK and DE as my wife works for an airline, and I'm travelling inexpensively quite often.

My only walnut guitar has a mix of walnut and maple.


View attachment 102608
Click to expand...

It is weird there's no varitone.

I'm really digging the Les Paul, but lord knows I don't need any more.
 
fitz said:
I made a walnut Explorer clone a few years ago.
Lots of router work, but I don't recall it being more difficult to work with than other hardwoods.
One-off, so no statistical data set for mass production tool longevity.

Before and after:
View attachment 102597

View attachment 102598
Click to expand...
I really try to save this for occasional use to convey my extreme like for the 1% of items I find exceptional.

daff.gif












Daffy is actually grinding coffee.
 
The best thing about that Walnut stain Les Paul is that it doesn't show the line down the middle.
I've never understood why anyone would buy an expensive Lester that has that line
where the two pieces don't match. If I ever bought a Les Paul, (not likely and we
don't expect it) I'd want one like this
gibson-les-paul-studio-faded-122238.jpg
No maple lamination top, no mismatched line down the middle, no problem.
Burstbucker ll p'ups... but I'm not a Les Paul guy.
Too heavy, too much money, too much hype.
These studio faded Les Pauls were not as expensive, who knows what used ones go for now.
Gibson doesn't make this model any more, I don't think.

I loved the walnut stained SG of course. But I've always hankered after one of those "The SG"
guitars from 1979, as shown above. Those are real walnut, with an ebony board. Don't know what
those are going for now either. $$$$$$

Gibson should re-issue "The SG"... I know they re-issued "The Paul."

But I'm retired now, and not buying any more musical equipment.
Lucky me, I have enough guitars. I just sold two that I wasn't playing. So I'm back down to seven.
GrpOf7 crop@100.jpeg
These are all so excellent that I don't need any others. I am blessed to own such a fine collection
of truly awesome instruments. I'm no longer touring and only get occasional gigs any more.
But I'm sure I've made hundreds of dollars playing these. *laughs

Not enough to afford any expensive Gibson boondoggle. I sold all my oldest and most valuable guitars
in 2019 to raise money for my Cindy's battle with cancer. I sold my '66 Fender J Bass, my 1975 Mossman
dred, and my 1936 Martin 0-17. The Gibson J-45 AG above (second from right) was my consolation prize
for parting with those three. I named her Zelda. She's got Walnut back and sides, and a walnut bridge and
fretboard. Spruce top, maple neck. A Gibson guitar made of North American hardwoods. I had to have it.
And she's given great service for five years now and is mellowing beautifully.
guitar back@100 lg.jpg
I love a walnut guitar.

And I prolly even love a walnut stained guitar. It just looks unique, which I like as you can tell if you
gaze at my collection. But I'm happy with what I have. So I didn't even go to Sweetwater's site
to see the stark raving prices for these new prodigies.

(yes I did...) the only one of the series that Sweetwater offers is the Gibson "Victory Guitar" re-issue
which I'd never heard of. They only want $2000 for it, so it seems almost reasonable for a
humbucking Super Strat knock-off. (not) But it looks mighty purdy.
 
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Col Mustard said:
The best thing about that Walnut stain Les Paul is that it doesn't show the line down the middle.
I've never understood why anyone would buy an expensive Lester that has that line
where the two pieces don't match. If I ever bought a Les Paul, (not likely and we
don't expect it) I'd want one like this
View attachment 103338
No maple lamination top, no mismatched line down the middle, no problem.
Burstbucker ll p'ups... but I'm not a Les Paul guy.
Too heavy, too much money, too much hype.
These studio faded Les Pauls were not as expensive, who knows what used ones go for now.
Gibson doesn't make this model any more, I don't think.

I loved the walnut stained SG of course. But I've always hankered after one of those "The SG"
guitars from 1979, as shown above. Those are real walnut, with an ebony board. Don't know what
those are going for now either. $$$$$$

Gibson should re-issue "The SG"... I know they re-issued "The Paul."

But I'm retired now, and not buying any more musical equipment.
Lucky me, I have enough guitars. I just sold two that I wasn't playing. So I'm back down to seven.
View attachment 103339
These are all so excellent that I don't need any others. I am blessed to own such a fine collection
of truly awesome instruments. I'm no longer touring and only get occasional gigs any more.
But I'm sure I've made hundreds of dollars playing these. *laughs

Not enough to afford any expensive Gibson boondoggle. I sold all my oldest and most valuable guitars
in 2019 to raise money for my Cindy's battle with cancer. I sold my '66 Fender J Bass, my 1975 Mossman
dred, and my 1936 Martin 0-17. The Gibson J-45 AG above (second from right) was my consolation prize
for parting with those three. I named her Zelda. She's got Walnut back and sides, and a walnut bridge and
fretboard. Spruce top, maple neck. A Gibson guitar made of North American hardwoods. I had to have it.
And she's given great service for five years now and is mellowing beautifully.
View attachment 103340
I love a walnut guitar.

And I prolly even love a walnut stained guitar. It just looks unique, which I like as you can tell if you
gaze at my collection. But I'm happy with what I have. So I didn't even go to Sweetwater's site
to see the stark raving prices for these new prodigies.

(yes I did...) the only one of the series that Sweetwater offers is the Gibson "Victory Guitar" re-issue
which I'd never heard of. They only want $2000 for it, so it seems almost reasonable for a
humbucking Super Strat knock-off. (not) But it looks mighty purdy.
Click to expand...
The line down the middle is so you can aim it; path of trajectory.
 
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