# Gibson Olive Drab Guitars



## DrumBob (Aug 17, 2014)

I think I'm going to barf. And to call them Olive Drab? Hideous color for a guitar.


----------



## FatStrat2 (Apr 7, 2021)

I wouldn't own that colour, but I don't think it's too bad w/ the binding. Sorta like an army green...


----------



## Budda (May 29, 2007)

I dont mind. Class 5?


----------



## DrumBob (Aug 17, 2014)

FatStrat2 said:


> I wouldn't own that colour, but I don't think it's too bad w/ the binding. Sorta like an army green...


I guess that was my point. I guess it's OK if you want to look like GI Joe.


----------



## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

Betcha these become collectible in 5 yrs


----------



## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

DrumBob said:


> I think I'm going to barf. And to call them Olive Drab? Hideous color for a guitar.
> 
> View attachment 412018


I actually really like it.


----------



## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

Mark Brown said:


> I actually really like it.


I actually found my self liking it to.


----------



## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

Why not - they don't all have to be bursts or goldtops.


----------



## Thunderboy1975 (Sep 12, 2013)

...and then i saw this.








Epiphone Casino Archtop Hollowbody Electric, Worn Olive Drab | Reverb Canada


The Classic Casino in Three New Worn Finishes Since 1961, the Casino™ has been Epiphone’s best-selling archtop and a rock ‘n’ roll standard. Over the years it has been the choice of players including blues legend Howlin' Wolf, Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones, and John Lennon, Paul McCartne...




reverb.com


----------



## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

Thunderboy1975 said:


> ...and then i saw this.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I like that paint on the casino better for some reason. Looks like something Elvis packed up and took to Germany.


----------



## markxander (Oct 24, 2009)

i like it a lot. i REALLY like it a lot on that casino


----------



## crann (May 10, 2014)

I'm surprised no one has posted the man, the myth, the legend Chris Cornell with his drab green absolute BEAST of a 335:


----------



## Choo5440 (Oct 24, 2020)

I also like it on a 335 with a bigsby


----------



## Choo5440 (Oct 24, 2020)

soemthing something about great minds? 


crann said:


> I'm surprised no one has posted the man, the myth, the legend Chris Cornell with his drab green absolute BEAST of a 335:
> 
> View attachment 412022


----------



## jdto (Sep 30, 2015)

Not my thing, but I’m sure someone will like them.


----------



## Duntov (Apr 2, 2021)

Looks good on the LPJSpecials..although not quite as good as the TVYellow


----------



## Budda (May 29, 2007)

How to not look like every other LP guy in one photo.

theres lots of LP guys. I’d doom it.


----------



## JBFairthorne (Oct 11, 2014)

Fugly!…but it takes all types I guess.


----------



## JRtele (Jul 18, 2021)

Bradley Cooper pulled it off IMO.


----------



## JRtele (Jul 18, 2021)

Yep, I had to double check. This works for me.


----------



## Mrserc (May 13, 2021)

Maybe just the colour but the top looks very flat.. the carve really doesn’t stand out like gold tops or some bursts.

Here’s some more photos of that one:


__
https://glorifiedguitars.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F143229975773


----------



## FatStrat2 (Apr 7, 2021)

I like the non-gloss, non-matte finish - like a silk. Other than food packages or shampoo bottles, there's nothing green in my place - but this LP colour is definitely growing on me.


----------



## GouldyGuitar (Jun 6, 2020)

I absolutely LOVE olive drab personally


----------



## keto (May 23, 2006)

Not much of a fan of the 335s, but the LP gets things moving for me.


----------



## BobChuck (Jan 16, 2012)

Personnaly ... I love Olive Drab and I am considering it for my Monty Bluesqueen. Different, odd but not too extreme.

...and...don’t like the pastel colors on guitar…like Fender Surf green, sonic blue, pink, etc… but I don’t start a thread just to hate on them.


----------



## marcos (Jan 13, 2009)

Its a cool colour. I like green geetars and they stand out on stage thats for sure.


----------



## Rollin Hand (Jul 12, 2012)

Gibson aren't the only ones.


----------



## nonreverb (Sep 19, 2006)

Apparently the olive drab Gibsons have more sustained chimey mids with a softer attack in the upper frequencies.


----------



## NoEncores (Sep 23, 2018)

I think if you take the pickguard and poker chip off you're left with a cool LP. I agree that as pictured they're not my favourite though


----------



## Jim Jones (Sep 18, 2006)

I don’t know why but I love ‘ em!


----------



## aC2rs (Jul 9, 2007)

That colour is not really to my tastes, but, I can see why some people would like it.


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

A lot of old goldtops begin to acquire a kind of drab green over time. So, I find it looks half decent, and almost natural, on the top, but not so much as an all-body colour.


----------



## TVvoodoo (Feb 17, 2010)

I like the olive quite a lot, mostly because it's different and unexpected. Also implies this guitar is no piece of furniture, it is a WMD
Customer shot sent in to me


----------



## troyhead (May 23, 2014)

FatStrat2 said:


> I wouldn't own that colour, but I don't think it's too bad w/ the binding. Sorta like an army green...


It's not just "sorta like" army green... Army green is called "Olive drab".  Personally, I love it! Makes me think of M*A*S*H.

Fender also has "Antique Olive" for some of their guitars.


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I don't have anything against green guitars. This one is a lot more olive than it looks here.


----------



## erick (Jun 23, 2009)

mhammer said:


> I don't have anything against green guitars. This one is a lot more olive than it looks here.
> View attachment 412081


----------



## erick (Jun 23, 2009)

Not bad...


----------



## Paul Running (Apr 12, 2020)




----------



## michaelsegui (Mar 14, 2015)

I like it. 

I think it looks really cool on the Les Paul Special


----------



## jdto (Sep 30, 2015)

michaelsegui said:


> I like it.
> 
> I think it looks really cool on the Les Paul Special
> 
> View attachment 412093


I could come around to that...


----------



## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

jdto said:


> I could come around to that...


oddly enough, I dont like it on the SG.


----------



## Digger73 (9 mo ago)

Mark Brown said:


> oddly enough, I dont like it on the SG.


A little unrelated, but this OD Green color caught my attention. I have a 2013 Flying V in Gunmetal Grey that Gibson used Rosewood on the fretboard that was returned by the US Government after federal agents raided Gibson. Gibson called it a Government model after this unfortunate event in the company’s history. The allegation made against Gibson was that the wood was illegally imported because it was banned. The wood was returned to Gibson, so somebody screwed up. I cannot post a picture as I am in Scotland for a while and the guitar is back in Michigan. But, it is kinda fugly. When I use my Vibrolux FSR in Gunmetal Grey as a fashion accessory amp, it does look like I am fashion conscious!


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Paul Running said:


> View attachment 412089


Oh man, I miss that stuff. Everyone has a "sick soup"; something their mom would make for them when they were sick at home, sweating, coughing and asking their mom to change the channel on the TV for them. Something they associate with being helpless and needing comfort. And Campbell's green pea soup was that soup for me. But I can't find it anywhere now. It seems like they don't make it anymore.


----------



## michaelsegui (Mar 14, 2015)

The LP Special needs a bigsby though.


----------



## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

baby puke


----------



## elburnando (11 mo ago)

I like the colour, but they could have made the rest of the guitar suit it better. Maybe some natural wood "binding", darker or grey plastics. I'm just glad they didn't use any camo on it


----------



## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

Looks good to me on the LP Special. I'd stick one of these on it or just white stencil U.S. Army onto it ..lol


----------



## elburnando (11 mo ago)

Some stenciling could have been cool. I'd rather see a matte grey, or satin though


----------



## 5150EVH0515 (10 mo ago)

Dig it!


----------



## Hammerhands (Dec 19, 2016)

I would get a Duo Jet in that colour.


----------



## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

The Les Paul Special in that colour works for me.


----------



## screvans (Jun 5, 2018)

I dig it. Especially on this R4:


----------



## elburnando (11 mo ago)

Nothing beats Trotsky green


----------



## vokey design (Oct 24, 2006)

I like it


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

As a top colour, I think it looks elegant; especially against a mahogany body and neck. As a whole-body-and-neck colour, not crazy abut it. I have to see wood grain.

And, maybe I'm remembering it wrong, but I have a vague recollection of Bruce Cockburn playing a Strat that was a sort of olive green sunburst at one time.


----------



## SlApBaCkEcHo (Nov 11, 2021)

I like that color please dont throw rocks at me 🙊


----------



## TimH (Feb 4, 2006)

I guess you're entitled to your opinion...as wrong as it may be. 
This color is exclusively responsible for the Cornell 335 (a non-CS guitar) selling for $10k+ and has been so popularly demanded in the past 10 years that many manufacturers have offered it at nearly every price point.


----------



## Fuzzy dagger (Jun 3, 2016)

mhammer said:


> As a top colour, I think it looks elegant; especially against a mahogany body and neck. As a whole-body-and-neck colour, not crazy abut it. I have to see wood grain.
> 
> And, maybe I'm remembering it wrong, but I have a vague recollection of Bruce
> Cockburn playing a Strat that was a sort of olive green sunburst at one time.


ya, Antigua burst. I had one for years before I sold it. Never really liked the look. There’s lots of colours I don’t like but some people do. It’s all good.


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Fuzzy dagger said:


> ya, Antigua burst. I had one for years before I sold it. Never really liked the look. There’s lots of colours I don’t like but some people do. It’s all good.


Thanks for the clue. This site describes both the origins of the finish and the divided opinion about it: Antigua: The Most Divisive Finish of All Time?


----------



## JBFairthorne (Oct 11, 2014)

Fuzzy dagger said:


> ya, Antigua burst. I had one for years before I sold it. Never really liked the look. There’s lots of colours I don’t like but some people do. It’s all good.


Urgh. Antigua Burst is even worse. Absolutely nothing appealing about that one to me. If memory serves, that was a finish they originally came up with to cover bodies they had lying around with botched paint jobs.


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Am I wrong or confabulating in remembering that _some_ goldtops take on a greenish tinge over time?


----------



## pat6969 (Feb 4, 2013)

I’d rock that before the dreaded awful cherry burst.


----------



## TubeStack (Jul 16, 2009)

DrumBob said:


> I think I'm going to barf. And to call them Olive Drab? Hideous color for a guitar.
> 
> View attachment 412018


Love it.


----------



## jdto (Sep 30, 2015)

mhammer said:


> Am I wrong or confabulating in remembering that _some_ goldtops take on a greenish tinge over time?


I think the bronze powder they use to get the gold hue can show some green, especially in worn areas where it gets more exposure.
Here’s a ‘73 from a Google search:


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

jdto said:


> I think the bronze powder they use to get the gold hue can show some green, especially in worn areas where it gets more exposure.
> Here’s a ‘73 from a Google search:
> View attachment 412752


Long before I knew about "Goldtops", I had long thought that I liked the look of those LPs that were kinda dull green on top and unstained mahogany on the sides and back. I wonder if it was unique to particular years of production when the finish or finishing was different and perhaps susceptible to some sort of oxidation.. I have to emphasize that it wasn't a strong green like the olive drab series. It just looked as olive as it looked gold. And,if memory serves, it generally accompanied checking, rather than a gleaming shiny top.


----------



## jdto (Sep 30, 2015)

mhammer said:


> Long before I knew about "Goldtops", I had long thought that I liked the look of those LPs that were kinda dull green on top and unstained mahogany on the sides and back. I wonder if it was unique to particular years of production when the finish or finishing was different and perhaps susceptible to some sort of oxidation.. I have to emphasize that it wasn't a strong green like the olive drab series. It just looked as olive as it looked gold. And,if memory serves, it generally accompanied checking, rather than a gleaming shiny top.


Yeah, I’ve seen pics of older Goldtops with a greenish tinge to them.


----------



## Thunderboy1975 (Sep 12, 2013)

__





Gibson Gold Top






www.reranch.com




Interesting read.


----------



## JRtele (Jul 18, 2021)

Reviving because my brother just grabbed a beautiful new guitar as per thread subject for me. Won’t be home from my work trip until February at which point I’ll throw up pictures. 
Until then, here’s a teaser of a current guitar that will be up for sale here shortly as it is now redundant


----------

