# Well, Eric endorses it...



## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

Gibson.com: Gibson Eric Clapton 1960 Les Paul


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

$30k MSRP? Where do I sign up?


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## bolero (Oct 11, 2006)

cool to see EC with a Les Paul again...I wonder if he'll put out any recordings with it?

this made me laugh:

"this guitar comes as close as possible to recreating the hallowed '60 Burst as it exists today in the mind of this legendary artist"

after all the heroin, drugs, dementia...hey, Eric's getting old...what exactly does this mean? lol


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

bolero said:


> cool to see EC with a Les Paul again...I wonder if he'll put out any recordings with it?
> 
> this made me laugh:
> 
> ...


And the booze, don't forget the booze.

Yeah, EC hasn't seen or touched it in 44 years, how accurate could this be?

I also loved this line: "this strictly Limited Edition instrument accurately represents what Eric Clapton personally feels his 1960 Les Paul *should be*."

What if EC was like, yeah, it was a nice axe, I just wish the neck was a touch fatter and maybe a bit more this and a bit less that. I'm sure after 44 years, his taste in axes is a little different now than it used to be. What he thinks his LP _should_ be today is probably nowhere near what his burst was actually like.


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## Tim Plains (Apr 14, 2009)

I don't care about how accurate these are to the original. The tops look great based on the ones I've seen.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

Are Nine said:


> I don't care about how accurate these are to the original. The tops look great based on the ones I've seen.


You should. They're being marketed as a replica of the Beano burst, so accuracy is important. If they were just an LP that they built for EC to tote around, different story.

I know you dig your VOS Gibsons...imagine if the R9 wasn't built based on specs and measurements of actual 1959 LPs, but based on what some Gibson employee remembered them to be like 50 years ago.


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

Certainly is a beautiful guitar...


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## Morkolo (Dec 9, 2010)

Not really feeling the Clapton Les Paul, not that they're for guitar players anyway. Who in their right mind would buy the cheap one? Let alone the 30k one?


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## Destropiate (Jan 17, 2007)

I know I'm in the minority here but I actually don't like burst or flame or any fancy top on a LP. Give me a white or black LP Standard with the 60's neck and I'm all set.


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## nutter (Aug 29, 2009)

lol i think it's kind of ironic, the players who play 30K instruments don't usually pay for them anyway.


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## Morkolo (Dec 9, 2010)

nutter said:


> lol i think it's kind of ironic, the players who play 30K instruments don't usually pay for them anyway.


much less afford them!


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

I'm guessing that the VOS model will sell for around $5500.


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## Tim Plains (Apr 14, 2009)

hollowbody said:


> I know you dig your VOS Gibsons...imagine if the R9 wasn't built based on specs and measurements of actual 1959 LPs, but based on what some Gibson employee remembered them to be like 50 years ago.


I don't buy into the whole 1958/1959/1960 association - that's just marketing. I love historic LPs for what they are; not what they represent. Historics sound and feel different than the USA stuff and that's what I dig about them. I'm not sure how much of a difference a long tenon joint makes (could just be a placebo effect) but I think the combination of a solid-body, long neck tenon and ABR-1 bridge are what make for a better LP. 



nutter said:


> lol i think it's kind of ironic, the players who play 30K instruments don't usually pay for them anyway.


Those signed/aged ones are investments; nothing but. I'm sure all the ones you'll see in the future will even still have the original strings on them to preserve Clapton's DNA. Sad...


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## WCGill (Mar 27, 2009)

I had to revive this thread. I played an EC VOS model night before last and was quite taken with it. It has a very understated appearance, a slight flame on the top half, almost none on the bottom, looking a little mismatched, but very attractive. I'm not a quilt fan so this was perfect. The neck is quite slim, the nicest LP neck I've had the pleasure to throttle. I've never really found an LP neck I liked, let alone an LP, as I'm not really a fan of these overrated, heavy, plunky-sounding, baseball bat-neck equipped planks. There, I got it out of my system. I do need one to test my amps however, as nothing like a humbucker can molest the input of an unsuspecting triode and turn it to mush. I've had a few customers with LP's who have managed to sway my opinion and can coax some rather nice tones from this guitar. The EC model sounded quite nice to my ears and played like melting butter sliding off a stack of blueberry pancakes. Weight?-I'm guessing slightly over 8 lbs. Spectacular guitar IMHO, EC and my LP aversion notwithstanding. Did I mention I was quite taken with it? I'm probably going to order one.


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## Greg Ellis (Oct 1, 2007)

Best post on the Gibson web page:

"Who is Eric Clampton?"

ROFL!


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## WCGill (Mar 27, 2009)

Doesn't everyone know who Clampton is? Not even Mr. Clampton could get his own guitar to Canada from a Guitar Centre store, however, as L&M and GC have an "agreement".


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## Steve Adams (Dec 31, 2009)

Same ole less Paul to me. They all look the same. And definantly not worth 30k. I don't know what Gibson thinks these days. Blackie is ec's real guitar.


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## GuitarT (Nov 23, 2010)

> I've never really found an LP neck I liked, let alone an LP, as I'm not really a fan of these overrated, heavy, plunky-sounding, baseball bat-neck equipped planks.


x2. And for $30k it better be built exactly as I like it, not like EC likes it.


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

GuitarT said:


> x2. And for $30k it better be built exactly as I like it, not like EC likes it.


The unsigned, unaged, VOS model will likely go for a *street price* of $5500. There will 350 of these guitars made.

Signed by God himself and aged will likely start at a street price of $24,000. There will be 50 available of this model. Eric gets to keep 5 on top of that.


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## WCGill (Mar 27, 2009)

Apparently only about 3 VOS made it to Canada, and 1 signed, which has sold, to my understanding. In the US, VOS is $5999, aged, $9999.


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## DarthElvis (Feb 14, 2011)

Steve Adams said:


> I don't know what Gibson thinks these days. Blackie is ec's real guitar.


 Probably the same guys that dreamed this up. At least EC actually played a gibson for more than a couple minutes, so they are getting a little more grounded in reality. Still, not a reproduction. More like an insanely priced custom shop. I think the phrase " more money than brains " applies to the buyers of the 10k model (or any guitar priced at 10k). Jesus, for even 6k it's outrageous, the damn thing had better not have 1 flaw and sound like the good lord himself came down and rubbed it with divine mojo.


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

Steve Adams said:


> Same ole less Paul to me. They all look the same. And definantly not worth 30k. I don't know what Gibson thinks these days. Blackie is ec's real guitar.


Yes, the blackie is his real guitar, but the tone that came out of the Beano LP and the Marshall was at least 10x better.


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## Steve Adams (Dec 31, 2009)

one opinion...


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## Cdn_Cracker (Oct 7, 2006)

Having had the fortunate opportunity to play one of last year's "Pearly Gates", these special run guitars have the most amazing woods and the tone/resonance is indescribable. That being said, they are waaaaay too much coin, and will attract collectors instead of players who won't understand what they have, and it is sad that those of us who would appreciate such a great piece will never be able to afford it. 

This is nothing more than a "hey look at what we make" and a cash grab for Gibson.... shame, shame.


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## Steve Adams (Dec 31, 2009)

Exactly cdn cracker. 

Same as the Mayer strat. I want one bad. However, at 18g not going to happen. So a replica it is.


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## WCGill (Mar 27, 2009)

Pearly Gates was a beautiful axe. I'm fortunate to know someone who owns or has owned most of the custom shop historic and signature models of the last 3 years-Beck, Sykes, Slash, Rhoads, Page, to name a few.
The Clapton stood out for me. +1 on the Beano tone, hard to beat.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

Robert1950 said:


> Yes, the blackie is his real guitar, but the tone that came out of the Beano LP and the Marshall was at least 10x better.


Yeah, but Brownie was the one that I loved best! That's the one that was on Layla!

EC has also used ES-335s and SGs extensively. He's really gotten around the guitar world. Mostly Gibsons in his youth and Strats pretty much exclusively since the 70s.


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## BadCo73 (Jan 17, 2009)

I find it funny to say that Eric endorses it when he has been a fender man way longer than he ever played Gibsons, has he not been playing Fenders since the 70's or am I wrong on this. I saw one of his signature Les Pauls in a Guitar Works last week and it really did nothing for me, it looked no different to me than any other 60 reissue Les Paul that I have seen and I do not know how it sounded because I never tried it out. I wonder if it has the fake bumblebee capacitors in it as well as the other historics and with the burstbucker pickups it will not even be close to the sound of the original, at least they could have left the pickup covers off like the original did in every picture I have seen of it. I think it is just a overpriced 60 reissue that has Claptons signature on it, in my opinion you would be better off to buy a 60 reissue and build your own Clapton guitar. Other than the info that Clapton has on the guitar you could go by the same 4 or 5 grainy pictures from the 60's that I am sure that Gibson used as well and since it is a maple top you could get almost as close as Gibson on there Clapton guitar as they cannot copy the grain exactly either. I would just like to mention the Les Paul that was on here a while back that they made to look like the Beano Les Paul, to me that was a way nicer guitar then the current Clapton reissue and it was about half the money as well.


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## bluezombie (May 7, 2007)

Are Nine said:


> I don't care about how accurate these are to the original. The tops look great based on the ones I've seen.


At that price... I hope so!


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## WCGill (Mar 27, 2009)

Many of the tops are mismatched side to side. If you're looking for a nice top, this isn't the guitar you want. This guitar is much different than the R0.


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

And I thought he sounded good with an LP....

[youtube]vtja2d3594M[/youtube]


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## WCGill (Mar 27, 2009)

335? As well, I can see the '57 Twin behind him, great combination. With the YouTube clip below (hopefully), you'll see that Clapton's Strat tone just doesn't measure up. Deep down he's a Gibson man. 


[video=youtube;x_M9zWORBuA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_M9zWORBuA[/video]


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## Cdn_Cracker (Oct 7, 2006)

Robert1950 said:


> And I thought he sounded good with an LP....
> 
> [youtube]vtja2d3594M[/youtube]


Eric could take a styrofoam cup and two rubber bands and make it sounds amazing.


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## Fane (Aug 23, 2008)

You'd think for 30K you could just get an original 1960, eh? 

It's been said before, but I'm gonna with Clapton's sound is in his fingers, he's going to sound amazing no matter what.


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## WCGill (Mar 27, 2009)

Fane said:


> You'd think for 30K you could just get an original 1960, eh?


Ha, you wish. Unreal price but this one is for sure one-of-a-kind. 


VINTAGE 1960 GIBSON LES PAUL STANDARD BURST OHSC TAGS - eBay (item 180627541778 end time Mar-19-11 09:56:56 PDT)


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## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

I saw Clapton on Friday in Vancouver. Excellent show, and he even played a 335 for a couple songs.


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## WCGill (Mar 27, 2009)

Sneaky said:


> I saw Clapton on Friday in Vancouver.


I must say I'm a little jealous. I recently saw a clip of him playing one of these, however. Can you feel the looove?

Guitar Center: Platinum


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