So interesting story. I was gifted a guitar when I was thirteen buy my grandfather i played it a bit but nothing remotely serious. Fast forward 6 years my grandfather past we were very close few week had went by and I came across the gift in my closet and I pulled it out and made a choice to learn to play it for real this time. Made an appointment to start lessons showed up for my lesson went through some formalities pulled out the guitar and my teacher looked very confused asked about the guitar explained it was from my grandfather. He called in the gentleman that serviced the instruments so I now had 2 men staring at my guitar and pointing they asked to pull the cover of the back I agreed. I asked what was wrong in disbelief they told me my gift at the time had a value of over ten thousand dollars and they would love to make an offer. I explained this was a cherished gift and would never bring myself to sell it. I am fifty now I have guitars of all makes models and sizes. But as everyone has become wise to the fact the 1959 paul is something special. I always say its because it was a gift from my hero. From a great man gifted me my prize possession. And yes the voice of this guitar is something very special. Thanks to whomever took the time to read this. The most special things in life are invaluable.
Great story, the guitar may be valuable to people who just want a '59 Les Paul, but the fact that your grandfather loved you enough to give it to you makes it priceless! 🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸
That is a great story and I'm glad you didn't sell it. Still seems kind of shady if they asked only you and not your parents to sell it even at a modest price of $10000 at the time. That's typically not a decision a child should make. I'm glad you made the right one and have enjoyed it all these years.
I got to play Gary Richrath’s burst in the early 90’s. While working on his house I noticed the old burst leaning against the wall. He let me play it. I remember there were pieces of matchbook holding up the string saddles. I mentioned that the guitar was pretty beat- he responded “I played that guitar on stage for 16 years”. Since I was interested in guitars, he told me to stick around after the work was done. He then did show and tell with the rest of his huge vintage guitar collection. That was rad!
Got to play red eye at carter's before Jason bought it. Carter vintage was so kind. I asked just to touch it as a fan of ed king. The employee said dude you gotta play it. Was such a kind gesture and a memorable day. Great video as always!
Now that’s cool. I love Mick Taylor and he was definitely one of the best Les Paul players ever. Even his Red Les Paul SG was a Les Paul when he joined The Stones. The Les Paul Burst was Keith’s I believe.
I was extremely blessed one night in 1979...Twiggs Lyndon came out to catch our set at a club in Bradenton, Florida. I met and became friends with Twiggs through my friendship with Gregg Allman. I was in the middle of a song when I looked to my right and there was Twiggs, looking up at me just grinning. I mouthed, "What?" Then he pulled from behind his back Duane's '59 burst...I unplugged my '56 Les Paul and plugged in Duane's. I was floored by the instrument, but I'm not sure if it wasn't equally because of the incredible sound (the back Pickup was magical and monstrous!) and because of its pedigree (I felt like I could almost feel Duane's soul). I will say that there IS something special about those guitars, regardless of who owned them.
The vintage humbuckers that sound best, do so because they are IMPERFECT. QC was haphazard back then, and often the windings didn't match for each coil, but that created an amazing humbucker sound with single-coil overtones. Also keep in mind it's a challenge to create perfect nut/fret/bridge spacing on the short (24.75") Gibson scale. There were many 50's Gibsons that no one kept because they sounded like crap because they could never intonate well. Which means 60 years later, we're only left with the ones that had the best intonation and the best sounding imperfect humbuckers.
No, thats not why vintage PAF's sound the way they do. There was no quality control in making pickups, either, except to make sure the covers were soldered well and no shorts in the coils or leads. The short answer is that the first buckers Gibson made (Gretsch made the first humbuckers for use in guitars, not Gibson), is that they were made with materials of those times. None of that stuff exists in our times. The reason they died out was because of the modernization of those same materials, the tones just got too harsh, so the Patents came next for a short time and TTops, were the redesigned buckers, and even those changed over time. So, how do I know all this? 22 years of OCD reverse engineering of them from every year they were made. Extensive data of the ferro-magnetic parts with a mentor in the steel industry, and a project analyzing vintage magnet wire wire topped it all off. Plus a zillion experimental prototypes along the way. There are more secrets in those pickups than kids in Disneyland ;-) If you really want to know about vintage PAF's and want to hear a large sampling of them vs my replica work, just visit my channel and spend some time there. I've debunked alot of aimless claims and false theories in many educational videos and series there. I also have a book coming soon on how all that work went down in details.
No thats not it. Winding was done by female workers. Softer touch with softer care and slower time will always have a special sound that no science can explain. Nobody nobody can recreate grandmas recipe and thats because she did her recipe to the touch and soul precision instinct not by the book.
In 1964 my brother and I were looking for an electric guitar to buy together. We were in high school at the time. Our mother saw an ad in the local "Thrifty Nickel" advertisement paper that listed a Gibson Les Paul and Gison amp for $35.Our mother was a big Les Paul and Mary Ford fan and basically ordered us to go buy it. My brother and I really wanted a Strat but we went anyway. The guitar was heavy with real heavy guage strings on it. We played it a while and told the kid who was selling it (maybe he inherited it?) that we'd think about it. The amp was a tweed Gibson tube amp but we wanted a blackface Fender. On the way home we agreed that we didn't want to get caught dead playing an "old man's guitar and amp". My luck and decision making ability has only improved since then.
I have played two bursts and the one conclusion I came to was that I wasn't crazy. Being massive classic rock fan, I had heard those guitars every single day for the majority of my life but every time I had played a reissue, there was always something missing. The most remarkable part to me was the definition of the low end, particularly on the neck pickup. Modern Les Paul's always have this problem and the Burst practically sounded like a cello. In my opinion this has to do with the wood, 50s wiring, and the alloy of hardware. The story I was told was that the wood was old stock that had been DRYING for 150 years before they manufactured the guitars, which would make a ton of sense playing into the whole "Stradivarius" effect. Honduran Mahogany/Brazilian Rosewood makes a huge difference of course, even in modern guitars. 50's wiring will also make a huge difference in clarity on any guitar with a two pickup/four pot set up. The hardware however is the scary part! Unplugged, the Bursts are remarkably resonant, I would even say loud. I remember saying that "it sounds like change in your pocket" meaning that there was a jangle, especially with a percussive right hand. The main things to note are the ABR-1 (Zinc, Aluminum, Magnesium, and Copper) with Nickel Plated Brass Saddles, and a lightweight Aluminum Tailpiece. A massive part of the PAF pickup is that its unpotted, implying that the guitar's acoustic quality is going to be captured through the pickups and play a part in your amplified tone. Those pickups are only as good as the sound you provide for them. For example, when I got my first R8, it was after playing these guitars and I was devastated because it sounded absolutely NOTHING like what I had just heard. What's worse was that I had stretched to grab a guitar from Gibson's "good wood" era, where they had been nonchalantly manufacturing guitars with the remaining stock of their newly embargoed Brazilian Rosewood in particular. Double disappointed! I came to find that during this era, the custom shop was practically clueless to the specifics of the guitars they were reissuing. So I swapped everything that touched the strings, tuners, bridge, thumbwheels, posts, tailpiece, studs, and bushings in addition to the pots and caps (shoutout to Kim LaFleur at Historic Makeovers). I wish you all could've seen the shit eating grin on my face! It was like magic. The EQ of the guitar, unplugged mind you, was night and day different to the guitar with all it's original parts. Funny enough, it was after the overhaul that I started turning heads at gigs and people started asking about what I was using. For lack of a better description, the guitar didn't sound better or worse, it sounded right and I think that might be what we're all trying to get at, here. The tone of a Sunburst Les Paul boils down to the sum of its highly specific parts. And if you pin down as many of those parts that you can, you'll get pretty damn close! Cheers, y'all and Thank You Rhett for always providing the top notch content.
I've been saying this for years. People spend so much time and effort perpetually swapping pickups trying to chase 'that' tone and never quite find it. While pickups are important, just as important are all the bits of hardware that the strings touch. The materials used affect the acoustics and vibrations astronomically. The stuff Gibson is using today is just bad; things like stainless steel (that they use in all their hardware now) are tone killers.
" In my opinion this has to do with the wood, 50s wiring, and the alloy of hardware." Nope, that aint it. The difference is how the neck is set on modern les pauls. Only rarely are they set properly. When norlin took over they changed the neck heel so that it was lowered to cover the joint between the back of the neck and the body. Now, if there was a gap there and it didn't mate properly, QC wouldn't be able to tell. They did this because they introduced the rocker joint which has a rounded tenon that makes minimal contact with the body and always leaves a gap between tenon and body. Gibson started using that neck heel on all their set necks and so now a long tenon neck from gibson is just a sales gimmick. It doesn't make proper contact with the body like old bursts and offers no advantage over a rocker tenon. the bursts had full contact between neck tenon and body so they rung out and sustained better than modern gibsons.
Also kinda in peoples heads. I've played brand new similar guitars that felt and sounded as good, if not better than a 59' LP. I've never owned one, but played more than a few in my time. I'm more of a pre-CBS Fender Blackguard enthusiast, and was convinced for years that nothing could emulate their sound and feel. I was very wrong. I guess the things we are heavily invested in emotionally and otherwise, tend to bias us towards them.
I found a set of Custombuckers and put them in my 2019 50's style Les Paul. I replaced the pots with Vintage Inspired and put in the vintage paper caps. HEAVEN!
They are pretty wonderful. I was once offered the opportunity of playing the Scarface Burst by Chicago Music Exchange, but fortunately they couldn’t find the key to the cabinet they keep it securely locked away in. As an owner of a few Les Paul Historics/Reissues, including a 60th Anniversary 1959, that I really love I was honestly scared that the “real thing” might make me realise that my beloved instruments just aren’t good enough. 😜 So... as much as I would have liked to play Scarface I left CME that day relieved overall (and of course with my wallet a bit lighter, like with most visits to CME! 😜).
I’ve got one too. They’re really that good. Having played and been part of several sales of real Bursts as a vintage dealer in my past, the 60th is right up there with the good examples of original Bursts.
@@neenerheaddj LOL. You beat me to it. All the videos of people fawning over bursts involve people who've never held one before and are 'hearing' the pricetag. People who've owned bursts for decades tend to hear less of a difference for some reason.
No wax potting and pickups that have lost some output over the years. That’s the secret. Slightly microphonic and lower output. The woods, the aluminium tailpiece, the bridge probably all contribute something tiny but it’s the pickups that make the magic. But the studios, the preamps, the mics, the tape machine, the compressor. That’s what your hearing. Not just the guitar and amp. And as said time and again, it’s who’s playing the thing.
the guitars were only a few years old, when clapton, jimmy page or whoever recorded these classic albums, I don't think the pickups had lost any output at that time. but you are absolutely right, that sound came a lot from the studio-equipment used in the 60s and 70s...
@@frankdou4132 No. I only meant nowadays. Back then they were just nice guitars. To be honest, if you have a humbucker of similar output, and an amp similar to what was used, you should be able to dial in any tone near enough. There’s too much cork sniffing and BS around gear these days.
@@Dreyno as long as it is a nice tubeamp, it should sound nice. I have seen so many people playing expensive gibsons thru fender hot rod blues deluxe kind of amps, or even worse, some digital trash like line6, and they were thinking about changing the pickups to different ones, because they couldn't get "that sound"
@@Dreyno I spend much more money on amps then on guitars. pete townsend spent more money on guitars I guess, because his amps could take much more abuse. if you hit a marshall stack with a guitar, the amp will still play most of the time, the guitar, no... lol
I think they should use the UV sensitive dye again. As you mentioned, they all become unique with time. Imagine owning a guitar at an early age and owning and playing her for 50 years, both owner and instrument have aged together. It's a beautiful thing.
Bartlett guitars sell correct aniline dyes. I used it all the time and it works great. They have cherry grain filler that turns brown like the bursts and the aniline powder works great on the tops.
I feel muxh the same about something similar: old white guitars that has darkened to various shades of parchment to cream to light tan! I have 5 such guitars and all are different! All but one of them are from the 80s, the sole exception is from the 70s.
I think Joe Bonamassa says it best when talking about these vintage instruments. The instrument is fantastic, but much of the value comes from the story of the instrument. Who's owned it and where it's been. Also the fact that these are the original Les Pauls of that classic era. I'm personally happy with my 2020 Les Paul Classic that I got a couple of years ago after coveting a Les Paul for seventeen years.
Oh totally! I hear you. When recording, we're generally looking for that tighter, more focused LP sound that you can't always get with just eq or mic adjustment.
A friend of mine has a '58 Burst and a '57 Goldtop, both of which he acquired in the late '70's and played out with for years. I've played them quite a bit over the years and I have to say there is a "thing" about them. To me they seem to sound more 'woody' and 'open' than more recent guitars - people often say "very Telecaster-like" and I think thats right. I really think its down to the random nature of pick-up manufacture/selection that was used at the time.
They sound “woody” because after all those years the sap in the wood has crystallized. That’s why no modern guitar will sound like those until the sap in those newer guitars crystallize.
it's because they were built different. the way the neck was set was radically different and far superior than modern gibson. most modern gibsons would sound better if they just bolted the neck on
It's funny how people talk about the wood in vintage guitars and never the metal in the hardware. You'll notice the saddles in the bridge of old Les Pauls aren't as sharp as modern ones. Also the hardware had more brass components. Nitpicking hardware differences might sound silly, but remember that it's the tailpiece, posts and anchors that conduct the resonant frequencies from the strings into the wood in the first place. The acoustic conduction properties of different metals could be an integral piece to the mellow singing tone of old Les Pauls. Worth investigating for sure.
I’m sorry. I’ve had the luxury of playing a lot of sought after vintage guitars from an early age onward. In my house they were always treated like tools because that’s what they were. My Dad was a professional musician, where these things came in and out of our house at a reasonable rate. While there were a number of really nice pieces, there was nothing really “mystical” about any of them. The status that these things now are given is very much ridiculous. The “holy grail” label this and that is really just placebo effect caused by the wish to obtain that which is virtually impossible. Look at all the musicians we love who seemingly let these things go so easily? How is that possible if they are so magical? It’s because these instruments are no different then any other. You are better off finding a guitar that fits you and your needs, not something that was maybe good for someone else at some other time.
Say what you want but you’re not the one responsible for the pricing or hype... but if you were , id give you a fat French kiss 💋 because I would be able to afford one
Basically how I've always felt. All my guitars costed under $600 each, and most of them sound just as good as the $3k+ guitars I've played. My Jay Turser SG was $260 and it sounds just as good as a gibson, while staying in tune better. Its just heavy is the only complaint. But man that thing sings like no other
@@sirstashalot7441 absolutely. It’s rather hilarious how people are about these things. My Dad, who allowed me the opportunity to play so many instruments, has a newer Squire Pbass he likes, while at the same time a couple of older Fenders and Furlanetto basses. He doesn’t see a difference between them except for them being tools. He’s been a professional musician since the mid-60s and would probably be considered high up there when it comes to being qualified to know.
@@Clayphish I have a few cheap guitars that sound excellent after hardware and electronics swaps. I noticed that every burst I have heard was played through an amazing amp. I wish I could hear a comparison.
Vintage guitars, to me, only sound THAT different when they’re unplugged and they’re able to resonate. There’s a warmth and bloom to many of them that you don’t get with new guitars. Once you plug into an amp, 90% of the sound is the pickup and amp combo to me. The vintage guitar will feel different in your hand, resonate more and maybe smell old, but the listener doesn’t notice that.
There ARE replicas being made for a fair number of years that rival the vintage Les Pauls. Very few have the knowledge to do that. I've made my PAF replicas for some of those guitars and the bloom and sustain is there in spades. Go look up Danny Click's videos.
One player who made a Sunburst Les Paul his sound, and is often sadly overlooked, is REO Speedwagon's Gary Richrath. His was a '58, IIRC, and his playing was a huge part of my childhood. Incredible tone, too. I recently checked out a ca. 1978 performance from a TV show (Midnight Special, perhaps?) and his tone was just GODLY!!!!
What did it for me was when I saw Jimmy Page play Since I've been Loving You in the concert film The Song Remains The Same, recorded at Madison Square Garden 1973. That sound left me so mesmerized!!! Ever since then I knew I wanted a Les Paul.
JT I agree. I didn't grow watching anybody playing bursts. To me the Black was the one to have. It's cool. I played a mid 52 LP Gold last year and it was beautiful. History in my hands.
Intermediate Player: I've played a bunch of Les Pauls. Most sound very similar to me, nothing special. I was looking to get a new LP, and was recommended to look at a used '59 reissue while at the shop. It costs substantially more than others new or used. I could not believe how much better it felt, played, and sounded than others. And it's a Reissue. I don't know why all LP's don't sound like it, but it came home with me. Thanks, Rhett.
I'm a intermediate student also at 51 yo, got started late I guess, but I'm curious I've never held or touched a guitar no more than maybe as around 300.00 U.S.$, is there that big of a difference in playability and feel to the higher end models, I certainly wouldn't know,,
@@chucklee2995 I've played and owned guitars of various price points and there is a clear difference between a $300 guitar and a $1500 guitar, but there is little difference between a $1500 guitar and a $15000 guitar as far as sound and playability. Law of diminishing returns and what not. It comes down to what sounds good, what feels good in your hands and against your body, what style you are playing with it, and of course how much you're able to and willing to spend on an instrument. I think it's best you play as many guitars as you can and ignore the price tag while you do. The right ones for you will be obvious.
There was a very meticulous study done on Stradivarius violins to see if pro musicians could tell the difference between those and a "relic" new violin. In blind tests they couldn't reliably tell in terms of both sound and playability. It would be interesting to see the same type of blind test done on vintage guitars.
There are videos comparing Gibson modern Les Pauls with vintage ones and the difference is huge. Its not just about the wood though. I was told by a burst owner that the wood in those days were water treated, not heat treated. Water treating dissolves alot of the organic sap and gums, leaving the wood really light and super resonant. I have a piece of maple from Gibson back in those days that was used to build Charlie christian pickup tops on, the wood is amazingly resonant and super light weight.
Absolutely agree. Without a doubt Bloomfield was the player who influenced young American guitar players in the 60's with his "Les Paul" Paul Butterfield Blues Band sound before Eric got here with his, Mike had the purest Burst tone as he plugged straight into a blackface Fender Twin reverb cranked, where you can really hear the Burst characteristics. Some examples would be 1968's Electric Flag LP.... "Texas" , 68's Super Session.... "Alberts Shuffle", 69's Live Adventures of MB & AK....."Mary Ann" & Mike dropping his Burst at the end of the live album. Those are examples of how a great non-distorted Burst sounds, also Dickie Betts on the "Fillmore" or "Eat a Peach" album with his 58' Goldtop/PAF played clean and loud thru Marshall stacks gets that vibe that only a Burst can give. Billy and lots of other famous players play their Bursts thru more distorted amps (59 tweed bassman), so it's a little harder to hear that pure Burst sound as compared to Bloomfields pure sound. I've owned two Bursts.......from 1969-1970 I owned 0-8354, and from 1982-1984 I owned 9-1952.
Played a 58 in Charleston. The neck wasn’t as big as I’d imagined, in fact my R8 was wayyy bigger. The 58 had something wrong with the neck pickup, but the bridge was amazing. Sounded like a beefy tele bridge pickup. Fast forward to this November (2020) and played an early 60 burst at gruhns. That one was magic.
I owned a '60 Sunburst from 1972 to 1992. Best guitar I've ever owned. It now lives with some collector... I hope it's getting played...serial # 0 1943
Don't change your tag line! I'm 28, studied some other stuff to satisfy my parent's/society's expectations. You inspired me with "there's no plan B" and now I'm looking for universities to apply for studying music. I absolutely love your channel Rhett. Thank you so much for all the inspiration and information you've been sharing all this time!
Great video Rhett! I started playing guitar in 1956, so I lived through much of the history you are talking about and you pretty much nailed it. One other thing that was a problem for the Les Paul was that it was expensive and HEAVY, especially compared to a Strat or Tele. I was more into western and western swing and Eldon Shamblin played a Strat, so that was another thing against a Les Paul. I had no hope of a Super 400 like Travis played or a double neck Mosrite like Joe Maphis. Then there was the "Les Paul" SG. The people I knew who played SGs in the 60s had major neck problems. In any case, when the Beano album came out I discovered Clapton and l had to have a Les Paul. They were still relatively cheap because only a few of us had caught on and I found one in a pawn shop for $150. A year later I was able to trade it for a D-28 Martin and I bought a '58 Les Paul Jr. for $50 at another pawn shop.
I love hearing this history from those that were there. I hope you still have your D-28 and Les Paul Jr! Did you feel happy about the switch at the time, getting rid of the Burst for those two? I really enjoy Juniors. Very fun guitars
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"There's no plan B" has been a constant motivator every time I watch your videos. It has helped me stay focused on my own musical projects and journey. In my opinion, it doesn't need to be changed. Great video as usual.
The best sounding "burst" I´ve ever heard is a Bartlett replica played by some guy here on TH-cam. That´s when I really understood what the fuss is all about.
I've never played a '59 LP and I have always played Fender mostly because I could afford one when I was a kid. A few years ago I picked up up a 2012 LP Traditional it follows the '59 LP with a few modern features. It's non-weight relieved and has a chunky neck like the '59. At first I really didn't get the hype and just hung it on the wall next to other guitars that I preferred like my '62 strat and Duesenberg. However, the history of this instrument that songs that used the LP are undeniable so I kept picking it up. After a while I found myself grabbing the guitar more often than any of my other instruments and now I can firmly say it is my favorite instrument for a few reasons. 1- the action and playability of a LP is really fantastic. shorter scale length and flatter neck ratio make it easy on the fingers. 2- The wood tone of the LP is unique along with the sound of those pups. What an amazing instrument. My LP lists for like 1200-1400 on reverb I recommend you to get one if you just want to play and not collect.
It probably depended on how savvy you were about guitar players, or when you were learning guitar. If you were learning guitar during the mid-1970's or thereabouts (as I was) Clapton was known, but we always identified Les Pauls / Marshalls with Jimmy Page.... then after a while of getting into the instrument you learned about all the other guys. I wanted an LP after I saw a pic of Marc Bolan with one.
@rhett shull That lick at 11:03... I know it, my fingers know it, but cant remember where it is from for the LIFE of me. Where's that from, because its driving me crazy!
I don't have a "58" but I Do have an "18" and from the moment I opened the box, as soon as I opened the case it all hit me like a wash. It was My holy grail guitar. The physical manifestation, the culmination of a 25 year long dream. There's no looking back now.
Thanks Rhett Around 1986/87 I played a 1960 sunburst Les Paul at a shop in San Francisco. It was hanging behind the counter. I was trying out a Hiwatt combo and they asked what kind of guitar did I normally play through. When I told them I play a Les Paul Standard (mine is a 1977 model) they pulled down the 1960 Les Paul and put it in my hands. Man... that Paul through that Hiwatt combo kicked ass. It was a great sound and I was salivating. I can't remember the exact price of the Les Paul but it was somewhere around $3,000 to $6,000. Whatever it was, I thought it was crazy expensive in the mid 80's. I wish I could have bought it but I was just a 20 something guy in college and there was no way I could come up with that kind of cash (and frankly, if I had that kind of cash at the time, I don't think I would have plunked down that much for a guitar then.) You have to also understand that around that time I had bought my 77 LP standard with case for $400 used. I bought a '69 Fender Stratocaster with case for $200 and a 1960 Fender Jazzmaster for $300. So yeah, that multi thousand dollar price tag on that Les Paul seemed outrageous to me at the time. I wasn't aware then that the LP standard went out of production for most of the 60's because I saw LP's everywhere then (but they were 70's and 80's models and not the coveted 1958-1960 models) and it seemed like all the great guitar hero's from the 60's and 70's had bursts. I just didn't know that those old bursts were only from that small 2-3 year window. Aaaahhhh.... Hindsight.....
Great playing, Rhett! I used to be one of the vintage gear specialists at Guitar Center Atlanta. I went to one collector's house who had five original 1959 bursts (yes, I played them all!), and one of every other year from 1952-1960. I think the 1959 'bursts became the most desirable because it was the sweet spot combination of features of all of the '52-'60 years. The PAF pickups debuted in the 1957 Goldtop. The sunburst finish began in 1958, but it had a fatter neck and small frets. In 1959, the neck became a little slimmer (but not as slim as 1960), and they switched to bigger fretwire, making string bending easier. I think there were more flamey maple tops in 1959 than in 1958 too, but that could be anecdotal. In 1960, the necks got slimmer and the sunbursts changed to more of an opaque tomato soup red/yellow "clown burst". That perfect combination of neck, fret size, pickups, and tops were found in the guitars from 1959. By the 1960's they were just old, discontinued guitars. After Clapton was pictured with his Les Paul on the Beano album, guys like Billy Gibbons and Joe Walsh hunted down Les Pauls from old guys who had them collecting dust under their bed. Joe Walsh sold one to Jimmy Page. Between those guys, the Allman Brothers, Lynrd Skynrd, and others, they set the tone for generations of guitar players who wanted to emulate their heroes.
Lol. Gotta love the internet. You, an obviously vastly experienced guitar tech, sharing some interesting information most may not be aware of that makes sense vs post where another dude makes a Fred Durst joke (admittedly funny). You get 2 likes and 1 comment. Dude gets almost 500 likes and 48 comments. What a world we like in. Smh But thanks for input...appreciated. Learned something new :)
Actually PAF's were first used in 1956 on Gibson lap steel guitars. I have seen several of these, but Collectors pass them by because to fit them into the guitar, they had to cut off the screw poles on the bottom. Those are super rare, but do exist.
Most important words here: "Mystique," "hype," "subjective". Everyone - especially myself - would love to own a 'Burst because they are rare, beautiful and expensive. The ultimate bragging right and collectible. But if you just want the sound, that is available in numerous ways. The amp and playing style in this video is as important as the guitar. I've experienced enough blind tastings to know that cost is not always a guarantee of perceived excellence. Everything is subjective! Great demo and assessment by Mr. Shull.
I've never had the opportunity to play an original burst, however my first Les Paul was a '52 and my second was a '54. Having owned a total of 8 Les Pauls I can state , with confidence, old is not always better.
Given the "Burst" tone is definitely among my favorite tones I can trace back even when I was a kid when I didn't know what they were. I would never want to own one because 1 the price and 2 I would be scared of break it or having it stolen. Honestly Idk if I would even want to play one. I would not want to be disappointed if it was a absolute dog. I would rather leave it be the mystery it is. I agree it with you, the tone doesn't come down to just the pick up and wood. I believe they are a part of a perfect mixture of instrument, gear and influenced players with good hands that led to what we all love today.
I was in San Jose in the mid-90s for some training at an IT company. I stopped into a beautiful music shop there. They had a 59 burst in quite nice shape for $14,000 and I thought it was overpriced. Interesting how things change.
I saw the Black Keys in Portland, November of 2019 (when live shows were still happening) Dan Auerbach had just recently purchased a 59 Les Paul through Carter's, actually. I remember seeing it on their site and I watched a Rig Rundown with Dan and his tech discussing it. That guitar sounded different from any other guitar I have ever heard live. I was honestly blown away by its tone. I will never forget it. It also helps that Dan is an incredible musician. There seems to be a reason the are valued so highly. They have something special going on, that's for sure.
I get the feeling that Rhett’s statement that it “wasn’t the guitar, but the players (of the late 60’s)” that people are chasing with those Gibsons is his true feelings. The rest of this phenomena is collectible marketing and nostalgia. Out of all the ingredients of those guitars, it’s clearly the pickups and the lower costs then a new Strat were what drew players at the time. These are great and beautiful collectibles, but they’re not better made or sounding (and they’re certainly less consistent) then a contemporary Gibson production guitar.
Great video, I was around when Eric Clapton was playing Les Paul's, 335, and I saw him live in the mid 60s playing an SG. But for me the Les Paul is connected with so many great players. I have an Epiphone Les Paul which I love the look, sound and feel of, and that to be honest is enough for me and my standard of playing.
An important, but often overlooked part of the burst sound is the wiring. The 50's les pauls used 500k pots for both the tone and volume pots. They also are wired in a particular way (AKA 50's wiring). This made them sound relatively bright. Later on, Gibson started user lower value potentiometers and different wiring, which made the guitars sound significantly darker. Thus: if you want the sound, stop looking for the perfect PAF recreations, and change the pots and wiring first :)
Love Rhett's work in this channel. Would love to own one, BUT I also love the fact that you own it all up to you as a player. If its played by five different people, you have five different sounds. Practice is the secret .Getting frustrated ,coming back, making adustments , and constant evaluation are always a part of it. Having played everything from custom shop stuff down to squiers, I always sound like me. Good gear is a factor. But minimal if not applied correctly. Cant tell you how many times I've seen people drop wads of cash just to sound like they failed to practice. Be the best version of you. Good stuff. Love the channel.
Rhett; It wasn't price tag.. there was a factory tag that hung on the p.u. selector switch that said "Gibson Les Paul Model" that listed it's attributes and explained the toggle switch and controls. It was 3" by 2.25" and sort of a dark mustard colour and had a hole punched on the upper left to go over the toggle switch. I've probably played 30 or so bursts! Some great, some not so great..
Hey Rhett,thanks for the history lesson about how these wonderful gutiars were made. I was friends the owner of Gutiar trader in Red Bank New Jersey. I had the good Fortune of playing many of these gutairs, and I totally agree with your assessment. They are like Stratavarious violins. One to the other, they can sound totally different. Funny story from those times was when Bill closed down the shop to have Brian Setzer come in. Brian was looking for another Gretch, and I said hey man, I know you only play Gertchs but you gotta check out this burst it's amazing! He did and fell in love with it. At that time, it sold for 25 grand in 1988. Cheers Brother keep making these cool video's!!
I kinda like "There Is No Plan B" and I noticed it was absent in one of your latest videos, and I was disappointed. The "no plan b" thing helps me get motivated, or at least helps me THINK about how I need to get motivated ...
It's funny I never saw this channel as a "there is no plan B" type of podcast though it has been one of my favorites. "Stay curious" seems more appropriate but the no plan B motto brought the channel here which ain't bad at all. I guess I enjoy and trust that Rhett will handle the "growing pains." Cheers
I played the 1960 Dutchburst once. It was a totally awesome guitar, but admittedly also because of the heritage, the story and the piece of history in my hands
Great video. We had Gibsons, Fenders, Martins in my family back in the early 1960's. My uncles, mom, and brothers played occasionally. Piano too. We even had a few very early violins from the early 1900's. My mom gave away a few instruments and after she died I kept a couple of guitars. A Strat and a modern accustic Yamaha. Mom had an old Martin she gave to one of her cousins 50 years ago. We might of owned something great. I don't know. But, the hype has grown concerning the Bursts from the late 1950's. I remember she had a Burst Gibson but don't know the year. She never gave more than a couple of hundred for any instrument. The Yamaha I bought at Guitar Center and gave to her when she went into a nursing home. I purchased a 1992 Strat with the case and it still had the plastic wrap around the knobs. It is an American Made instrument with the case. I pick around on the Strat and try to learn more everytime I play it.
In the video he does refer to it as 'figured' maple. This was before they obsessed over finding the perfect bookmatched flamed maple. I love a good flame but there are so many other ways the grains can be expressed and showcased it's a shame they don't experiment more.
During vacation in the US some years ago I entered a vintage guitar music shop. And there was a 59 hanging on the wall. So I asked about this like „this thing looks like Goldie“, which is a famous burst. The sales guy responded „ actually this IS Goldie“. He was so kind to let me play it for some minutes, just out of curiosity, not enthusiasm, I took the chance. I‘ve been playing live since 1971 and own several guitars. And I was very reluctant to follow any vintage hype. But playing Goldie for these few minutes changed everything. I never ever had a guitar in my hands being that resonate, with a vocal quality, unbelievable. This started a quest for the burst sound. While the custom shop Les Pauls with the custom buckers - especially the collector’s choice - are great guitars the one Les Paul which brought me next to this burst tone and feel is my regular standard from 2004. I replaced the burst buckers by Tom Holmes pickups, which I got from a dear friend, applied the 50s wiring, and that was it. So I agree to you saying that the pickups have the most significant impact. This 2004 standard has a Nashville bridge, pretty thick coating, most likely no hide glue used, the top carving far away from 59 spec, an ordinary Les Paul so to speak. But the pickups change made a tone Monster out of it.
I believe you can get the “burst” sound with a modern Les Paul Traditional loaded with 57/57+ or the newest 50s/60’s guitars. Play as many as you can and find the one that speaks to you. Plug into an amp similar to the ones the guys were using back in the day and you’ll be right there. The real sounds come from you. Kirk Hammett owns Peter Greens Burst. I’m sure it sounds like shit plugged into a Triple Rectifier and wah pedal 😆
I have a 60s.. it’s absolutely spectacular! Very happy with it Especially after hearing about Gibson bad quality run for a while there. But the weight, the neck, the iced tea color and the slightly microphonic butstbuckers (PAF clones).. it’s all perfect. Even the Finish was flawless. they got their shit together for sure!
I'm an SG guy... but I ended up buying a 2019 R0 that I fell in love with when I visited Chicago Music Exchange. Knew it was going to be a mistake to go there. Love the guitar.
So Eric bought a 5 or 6 year old used guitar, partly because he’d seen them played by American blues players. Likewise he moved to used Strats after hearing Buddy Guy and Jimi amongst others. If there’s a message here it is use your ears, develop your own taste and buy a quality instrument on the 2nd hand market.
Clapton did not see American blues players playing Les Paul's at that time. Most blues players played Fenders, hollow body Gibson's if they were successful enough like BB King to afford one and more often than not no name guitars that were all they could afford which were made to sound cool through the player and not the name or price tag on the guitar.
On my first trip to Nashville from England I seeked out Gruhn guitars, great shop, then I went to Carter Guitars, I mentioned old bursts and he said they had a 1959 and would I like to try it, i explained that I couldn't afford it but he still kindly let me try it but unplugged, as I'd never played one before so this was quite a thrill, I even got a picture taken with this $370,000 guitar! I still can't believe what a great bloke he was and what a great shop it is, if I'm in a position to buy a vintage guitar this will be my first port of call.
I think I own one. It came from a relative of Chet Atkins. He believed it was a 60’s model, but when I was going through all the papers and sheet music in the case, I found the original receipt dated August 1959, from a music store in Chicago. It is in relatively good condition with a few scratches and buckle rash, but the electronics need to be reconditioned. The neck volume and bridge tone pots don’t work anymore. One issue I have with it, is the neck pickup doesn’t like some amp speakers, like in my Fender blues deluxe amp. My other Les Pauls don’t have any issues with my amps, but they have newer potted pickups.
The Red Eye was created by the Gibson “hang tag” that came in the case with all LPs at the time. Not a price tag. Most 50s LPs tops of the time had red maple tops. Not big leaf
Wow! Fantastic series of videos. I'm a huge fan of the types of videos you do. Love all the information on gear and just being a self taught guitarist . I'm quite late to actually learning to play. I'm 48 years old and I played for about a year when I was a teenager. But not seriously . Just wanted to play metallica riffs. Then I didn't play at all for over 20 years. Always thought about it and music has always been a major part of my life, so two years ago I decided to stop thinking about it and learn to play . Now I can't imagine a day without playing . And having someone like you to look to is a huge help . Thanks for all the work you do. Much appreciated
@@kkjhn41 yup Joe Walsh is a tone guru. I still wonder if he had the neck shaved and didn't like it? Page said the guitar came that way, with it's concave slim neck
There were many Les Paul players. Jeff Beck used to play one, Paul Kossoff, Peter Green, Eric Clapton. I know most were mentioned and Jimmy wasn't, maybe because most people already know about him or Slash playing a Les Paul. And most people don't know that Clapton used to play Gibsons. Or the other important names mentioned including Les Paul himself. As not everyone knows that Page also played telecasters.
The beauty of the burst is the one I have and for me it's the best book on the burst..58 to 60..it's basically a picture book with description of it's history and spec's of the guitars ..thanks J.T.
I'm really looking forward to the episode "what is the tele sound". I love that dirty, bell-like sound of slightly overdriven tele bridge pickup played on old tweed amps.
I only played my late uncle's '59 Les Paul Special at 14yrs old and I fell in love with that baseball bat neck similar to the Standard bursts have heard about over the years.
I own a 2019 R9, and while I’ve never played a real burst before, I can confidently say that it captures a lot of what I would expect from a real one. There’s this spongey, woody thing going on in the pick attack that’s a very addictive sound and I think is what really sets these guitars apart. I’ve owned both a 2009 USA standard and now my custom shop R9, and the R9 definitely has that woodiness in spades. It’s a magical and incredibly expressive sound. I wouldn’t trade it or sell it for anything. P.S. you could be a film maker Rhett. If you were to make a full length guitar documentary it would be incredible.
I feel the same way about my R9, I’ve owned many different Les Pauls though the years. There’s nothing that I have held in my hands EVER that has ever moved me the way this Les Paul does ! As I write this it’s November 2021 and I’ve had this guitar since early September, I play it every day 😎✌️
My closest experience was a Heritage guitar. During a visit to my local shop that had been a Gibson dealer until the point they weren't. Some time after that a "burst" Heritage guitar was shoved in my hands during one of my visits. Not something that happened. I am just the run of the mill customer entering the store. The shop owner, possibly a Heritage sales man (this is a Michigan music store,) and at least one other store worker were right there in the front of the store. While my experience is no where near what is being talked about in this video. It could of been. That guitar was extremely warm, resonating, and absolutely magical with fire flickering from the pickups so to speak and giving absolutely nothing up. A guitar well beyond my caliber. The only thing that sparked me even close was plugging into a JCM 800 after decades of not doing so having sold mine when still a teenager. I will never forget that sound and don't expect to ever play a guitar that spoke on that level again.
"What it really boils down to were the players" BINGO! From what I know (and I really know nothing) Gibson used whatever wood they could source and the pickups were wound with such inconsistency ( due to legacy manufacturing techniques) that no two guitars really sounded the same. Having said that, the burst you played at the beginning was absolutely stunning. I'm sure worth more than my house. There is something else. Rhett, has your playing become really outstanding in the last six months? Seriously. You're evolving and your playing has gone from competent to really creative and inspiring. I'm loving everything I'm hearing from you. Maybe I just wasn't listening before? I don't think so. You've grown.
i had '50s les pauls in the '70s when they cost under $800. i find it refreshing to find.young guys like you learning about guitars we knew first hand.
@Rhettshull, your R9 is not at all a "clown burst". The clown bursts are specific. Bright Heritage cherry sunburst, with a pronounced, abrupt transition line between the red and bright yellow center. Hence the "clown" moniker. Your R9 is neither the heritage cherry color, nor has the pronounced, abrupt transition to yellow. Some of the 60 bursts were consisted clown-ish, many 70s cherry sunburst were clown bursted, and a lot of the 90s classic 60s were clowny. Just fwi.
Hahahaha! I was punching in a short solo on a track I’m working on... had to do a few takes, had to tune the G string about 20 times lol. Still love my Lester though.
I'm old but I still play every day. I got my first elec. guitar in 1965. I have only played two in all that time. I did have a '57 GT for a while in the late 60s. So to me they have always been hard to find, even in the 60s. A lot of the magic to me is my experience in the 60s, hearing the legendary players of the day playing Bursts. Music was so live sounding back then, the guitar you played was not only your personality but it was what the crowd or the Tape heard. Very much more identifiable than now when you can tweak your tone on the board and the guitar brand and model becomes interchangable.
Keith Richards '59 Les Paul Standard with Bigsby was the one that started it all in August 1964, also used on the Ed Sullivan Show Oct. 25 1964, it is said to be the guitar he used recording " Satisfaction " eventually sold to Mic Taylor. A collector in Switzerland owns it now.
I have 2 modified Gibson Les Paul. A 1996 Custom with Whole Lotta Humbucker pickups, a pair of Gibson Bumblebee capacitors and four push pull knobs to obtain several sounds. The other is a 1993 Les Paul Standard with a pair of 57 Classic pickups, Gibson Bumblebee capacitors and a Roslen Custom ‘50 prewired kit. They sound fantastic externally close to my references. Huge difference from the stock guitars.
It’s hard to justify their price when you can find a great sounding R8, R9, or R0 nowadays. Are they the same? No way. But are they close for $5,000. Heck yeah!!! Lol
@Rhett Shull. "Remember, there is no plan B". Keep it. It's great and it sends an important message for anyone that has ever considered it, although it might mean different things to different people. To me, the message is "Think it through, consider the possibility of things not working out, but don't let those things define you in a negative context. Instead, embrace these issues as things you've considered at the outset. Make whatever might have been a "Plan B" part of your "Plan A". Failure isn't failure if you considered it and were ready to make lemonade out of those lemons from the outset. As a strapline it's great and many people would do well to embrace it as an ethos. I'm a relatively new subscriber to your channel, and this aspect of your content resonates with me quite strongly. Keep up the fantastic work as it's keep us all sane during this difficult time.
So interesting story. I was gifted a guitar when I was thirteen buy my grandfather i played it a bit but nothing remotely serious. Fast forward 6 years my grandfather past we were very close few week had went by and I came across the gift in my closet and I pulled it out and made a choice to learn to play it for real this time. Made an appointment to start lessons showed up for my lesson went through some formalities pulled out the guitar and my teacher looked very confused asked about the guitar explained it was from my grandfather. He called in the gentleman that serviced the instruments so I now had 2 men staring at my guitar and pointing they asked to pull the cover of the back I agreed. I asked what was wrong in disbelief they told me my gift at the time had a value of over ten thousand dollars and they would love to make an offer. I explained this was a cherished gift and would never bring myself to sell it. I am fifty now I have guitars of all makes models and sizes. But as everyone has become wise to the fact the 1959 paul is something special. I always say its because it was a gift from my hero. From a great man gifted me my prize possession. And yes the voice of this guitar is something very special. Thanks to whomever took the time to read this. The most special things in life are invaluable.
Great story, the guitar may be valuable to people who just want a '59 Les Paul, but the fact that your grandfather loved you enough to give it to you makes it priceless! 🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸
Very lucky to have a hero leave such a nice gift for you. Cherish it, and pass it to you descendants. Keep it in the family always.
Great story!
god damn onion chopping ninjas
That is a great story and I'm glad you didn't sell it. Still seems kind of shady if they asked only you and not your parents to sell it even at a modest price of $10000 at the time. That's typically not a decision a child should make. I'm glad you made the right one and have enjoyed it all these years.
I got to play Gary Richrath’s burst in the early 90’s. While working on his house I noticed the old burst leaning against the wall. He let me play it. I remember there were pieces of matchbook holding up the string saddles. I mentioned that the guitar was pretty beat- he responded “I played that guitar on stage for 16 years”. Since I was interested in guitars, he told me to stick around after the work was done. He then did show and tell with the rest of his huge vintage guitar collection. That was rad!
Garys my fave!!
Awesome story man
That’s so cool, that guitar has such a great sound!
Yes I played a 59 burst
And I made it sound like a £100 guitar
Especially as I wearing a thick metal watch too
Love your honesty.
Sounds like I would do the same thing.
De-tune and play Smoke on the water
Let me guess, the opening riff to stairway to heaven isn't it?
Got to play red eye at carter's before Jason bought it. Carter vintage was so kind. I asked just to touch it as a fan of ed king. The employee said dude you gotta play it. Was such a kind gesture and a memorable day. Great video as always!
Just curious..do you recall what kind of price they had on it?
@@jerryg.3080 I don't think any pc keyboard can type such a large number.
Love it.
How heavy do you think it was?
@@jerryg.3080 I do. 750,000. Not sure what it ended up selling for, but that was asking price that day.
I played Mick Taylor’s 59’ burst in 2016, one of the highlights of my life as a musician holding that piece of history!
@sean matth let's just say after nearly 15 years of playing strats it basically turned me into a Gibson guy
Nice!
Now that’s cool. I love Mick Taylor and he was definitely one of the best Les Paul players ever. Even his Red Les Paul SG was a Les Paul when he joined The Stones. The Les Paul Burst was Keith’s I believe.
@@michaelheller8841 it was, he bought it off Keith!
@@BrettSmithDaniels To me Keith was the best rhythm guitarist ever.
I was extremely blessed one night in 1979...Twiggs Lyndon came out to catch our set at a club in Bradenton, Florida. I met and became friends with Twiggs through my friendship with Gregg Allman. I was in the middle of a song when I looked to my right and there was Twiggs, looking up at me just grinning. I mouthed, "What?" Then he pulled from behind his back Duane's '59 burst...I unplugged my '56 Les Paul and plugged in Duane's. I was floored by the instrument, but I'm not sure if it wasn't equally because of the incredible sound (the back Pickup was magical and monstrous!) and because of its pedigree (I felt like I could almost feel Duane's soul). I will say that there IS something special about those guitars, regardless of who owned them.
The vintage humbuckers that sound best, do so because they are IMPERFECT. QC was haphazard back then, and often the windings didn't match for each coil, but that created an amazing humbucker sound with single-coil overtones.
Also keep in mind it's a challenge to create perfect nut/fret/bridge spacing on the short (24.75") Gibson scale. There were many 50's Gibsons that no one kept because they sounded like crap because they could never intonate well.
Which means 60 years later, we're only left with the ones that had the best intonation and the best sounding imperfect humbuckers.
The vintage models also had a shorter scale than 24.75"
No, thats not why vintage PAF's sound the way they do. There was no quality control in making pickups, either, except to make sure the covers were soldered well and no shorts in the coils or leads. The short answer is that the first buckers Gibson made (Gretsch made the first humbuckers for use in guitars, not Gibson), is that they were made with materials of those times. None of that stuff exists in our times. The reason they died out was because of the modernization of those same materials, the tones just got too harsh, so the Patents came next for a short time and TTops, were the redesigned buckers, and even those changed over time. So, how do I know all this? 22 years of OCD reverse engineering of them from every year they were made. Extensive data of the ferro-magnetic parts with a mentor in the steel industry, and a project analyzing vintage magnet wire wire topped it all off. Plus a zillion experimental prototypes along the way. There are more secrets in those pickups than kids in Disneyland ;-) If you really want to know about vintage PAF's and want to hear a large sampling of them vs my replica work, just visit my channel and spend some time there. I've debunked alot of aimless claims and false theories in many educational videos and series there. I also have a book coming soon on how all that work went down in details.
No thats not it. Winding was done by female workers. Softer touch with softer care and slower time will always have a special sound that no science can explain.
Nobody nobody can recreate grandmas recipe and thats because she did her recipe to the touch and soul precision instinct not by the book.
In 1964 my brother and I were looking for an electric guitar to buy together. We were in high school at the time. Our mother saw an ad in the local "Thrifty Nickel" advertisement paper that listed a Gibson Les Paul and Gison amp for $35.Our mother was a big Les Paul and Mary Ford fan and basically ordered us to go buy it. My brother and I really wanted a Strat but we went anyway. The guitar was heavy with real heavy guage strings on it. We played it a while and told the kid who was selling it (maybe he inherited it?) that we'd think about it. The amp was a tweed Gibson tube amp but we wanted a blackface Fender. On the way home we agreed that we didn't want to get caught dead playing an "old man's guitar and amp". My luck and decision making ability has only improved since then.
I could have bought a 1954 Goldtop at a pawn shop, but didn't like the color.
I wonder how the kid who was selling it feels about it now! You'd think someone would've bought it soon after and who knows where it went from there.
I have played two bursts and the one conclusion I came to was that I wasn't crazy. Being massive classic rock fan, I had heard those guitars every single day for the majority of my life but every time I had played a reissue, there was always something missing. The most remarkable part to me was the definition of the low end, particularly on the neck pickup. Modern Les Paul's always have this problem and the Burst practically sounded like a cello. In my opinion this has to do with the wood, 50s wiring, and the alloy of hardware. The story I was told was that the wood was old stock that had been DRYING for 150 years before they manufactured the guitars, which would make a ton of sense playing into the whole "Stradivarius" effect. Honduran Mahogany/Brazilian Rosewood makes a huge difference of course, even in modern guitars. 50's wiring will also make a huge difference in clarity on any guitar with a two pickup/four pot set up. The hardware however is the scary part! Unplugged, the Bursts are remarkably resonant, I would even say loud. I remember saying that "it sounds like change in your pocket" meaning that there was a jangle, especially with a percussive right hand. The main things to note are the ABR-1 (Zinc, Aluminum, Magnesium, and Copper) with Nickel Plated Brass Saddles, and a lightweight Aluminum Tailpiece. A massive part of the PAF pickup is that its unpotted, implying that the guitar's acoustic quality is going to be captured through the pickups and play a part in your amplified tone. Those pickups are only as good as the sound you provide for them. For example, when I got my first R8, it was after playing these guitars and I was devastated because it sounded absolutely NOTHING like what I had just heard. What's worse was that I had stretched to grab a guitar from Gibson's "good wood" era, where they had been nonchalantly manufacturing guitars with the remaining stock of their newly embargoed Brazilian Rosewood in particular. Double disappointed! I came to find that during this era, the custom shop was practically clueless to the specifics of the guitars they were reissuing. So I swapped everything that touched the strings, tuners, bridge, thumbwheels, posts, tailpiece, studs, and bushings in addition to the pots and caps (shoutout to Kim LaFleur at Historic Makeovers). I wish you all could've seen the shit eating grin on my face! It was like magic. The EQ of the guitar, unplugged mind you, was night and day different to the guitar with all it's original parts. Funny enough, it was after the overhaul that I started turning heads at gigs and people started asking about what I was using.
For lack of a better description, the guitar didn't sound better or worse, it sounded right and I think that might be what we're all trying to get at, here.
The tone of a Sunburst Les Paul boils down to the sum of its highly specific parts.
And if you pin down as many of those parts that you can, you'll get pretty damn close!
Cheers, y'all and Thank You Rhett for always providing the top notch content.
Your onto something,
Great info
I've been saying this for years. People spend so much time and effort perpetually swapping pickups trying to chase 'that' tone and never quite find it. While pickups are important, just as important are all the bits of hardware that the strings touch. The materials used affect the acoustics and vibrations astronomically. The stuff Gibson is using today is just bad; things like stainless steel (that they use in all their hardware now) are tone killers.
" In my opinion this has to do with the wood, 50s wiring, and the alloy of hardware."
Nope, that aint it. The difference is how the neck is set on modern les pauls. Only rarely are they set properly. When norlin took over they changed the neck heel so that it was lowered to cover the joint between the back of the neck and the body. Now, if there was a gap there and it didn't mate properly, QC wouldn't be able to tell. They did this because they introduced the rocker joint which has a rounded tenon that makes minimal contact with the body and always leaves a gap between tenon and body.
Gibson started using that neck heel on all their set necks and so now a long tenon neck from gibson is just a sales gimmick. It doesn't make proper contact with the body like old bursts and offers no advantage over a rocker tenon. the bursts had full contact between neck tenon and body so they rung out and sustained better than modern gibsons.
I did this same makeover on a 19 classic. It went from sounding like a charvel/Jackson, to a proper playing lp.
The Burst sound is "CA CHING"
Also kinda in peoples heads. I've played brand new similar guitars that felt and sounded as good, if not better than a 59' LP. I've never owned one, but played more than a few in my time. I'm more of a pre-CBS Fender Blackguard enthusiast, and was convinced for years that nothing could emulate their sound and feel. I was very wrong. I guess the things we are heavily invested in emotionally and otherwise, tend to bias us towards them.
@@keefjunior4061 It's like that with anything sensual. Wine, Whiskey, "audiophile" equipment..
I found a set of Custombuckers and put them in my 2019 50's style Les Paul. I replaced the pots with Vintage Inspired and put in the vintage paper caps. HEAVEN!
I bought a 2019 historic 60th....best guitar I’ve ever played...I kiss the damn thing when I put it back in the case....and I’m a strat guy.
They are pretty wonderful.
I was once offered the opportunity of playing the Scarface Burst by Chicago Music Exchange, but fortunately they couldn’t find the key to the cabinet they keep it securely locked away in. As an owner of a few Les Paul Historics/Reissues, including a 60th Anniversary 1959, that I really love I was honestly scared that the “real thing” might make me realise that my beloved instruments just aren’t good enough. 😜 So... as much as I would have liked to play Scarface I left CME that day relieved overall (and of course with my wallet a bit lighter, like with most visits to CME! 😜).
Yeah, I got a 60th, too. Relax, according to Bonamassa and Bernie Marsden, they're very close. Certainly not 195 grand away.
@@somebodyelseuk yeah, but when it comes down to “the best” the price differential doesn’t really come into it. Better is still better. 🤷🏼♂️😝
I’ve got one too. They’re really that good. Having played and been part of several sales of real Bursts as a vintage dealer in my past, the 60th is right up there with the good examples of original Bursts.
@@neenerheaddj LOL. You beat me to it. All the videos of people fawning over bursts involve people who've never held one before and are 'hearing' the pricetag.
People who've owned bursts for decades tend to hear less of a difference for some reason.
No wax potting and pickups that have lost some output over the years. That’s the secret. Slightly microphonic and lower output. The woods, the aluminium tailpiece, the bridge probably all contribute something tiny but it’s the pickups that make the magic.
But the studios, the preamps, the mics, the tape machine, the compressor. That’s what your hearing. Not just the guitar and amp.
And as said time and again, it’s who’s playing the thing.
the guitars were only a few years old, when clapton, jimmy page or whoever recorded these classic albums, I don't think the pickups had lost any output at that time. but you are absolutely right, that sound came a lot from the studio-equipment used in the 60s and 70s...
@@frankdou4132 No. I only meant nowadays. Back then they were just nice guitars. To be honest, if you have a humbucker of similar output, and an amp similar to what was used, you should be able to dial in any tone near enough. There’s too much cork sniffing and BS around gear these days.
@@Dreyno as long as it is a nice tubeamp, it should sound nice. I have seen so many people playing expensive gibsons thru fender hot rod blues deluxe kind of amps, or even worse, some digital trash like line6, and they were thinking about changing the pickups to different ones, because they couldn't get "that sound"
@@frankdou4132 Pete Townsend always said he bought guitars to suit his amps rather than visa versa. A lot of truth in that.
@@Dreyno I spend much more money on amps then on guitars. pete townsend spent more money on guitars I guess, because his amps could take much more abuse. if you hit a marshall stack with a guitar, the amp will still play most of the time, the guitar, no... lol
I absolutely read the title as "What Is The 'Durst' Sound?" and had a mini heart attack lol
IT’S JUST ONE OF THOSE DAYS
100% would watch
It packs a chainsaw...
@@ChallisVenstra and skins your ass raw...
I trust Rhett could make that a pretty good video
I think they should use the UV sensitive dye again. As you mentioned, they all become unique with time. Imagine owning a guitar at an early age and owning and playing her for 50 years, both owner and instrument have aged together. It's a beautiful thing.
Bartlett guitars sell correct aniline dyes. I used it all the time and it works great.
They have cherry grain filler that turns brown like the bursts and the aniline powder works great on the tops.
I feel muxh the same about something similar: old white guitars that has darkened to various shades of parchment to cream to light tan! I have 5 such guitars and all are different! All but one of them are from the 80s, the sole exception is from the 70s.
When I think of the burst sound, the guitar solo from Eagle's "One of these Nights" comes to mind.
I think Joe Bonamassa says it best when talking about these vintage instruments. The instrument is fantastic, but much of the value comes from the story of the instrument. Who's owned it and where it's been. Also the fact that these are the original Les Pauls of that classic era. I'm personally happy with my 2020 Les Paul Classic that I got a couple of years ago after coveting a Les Paul for seventeen years.
To me , the burst sound is just less low end and more definition unlike most gibson humbuckers. it just sounds tighter . I love that sound
as the mini-humbucker is described of early LP Deluxe.
Oh totally! I hear you. When recording, we're generally looking for
that tighter, more focused LP sound that you can't always get
with just eq or mic adjustment.
I have a 2014 Les Paul Traditional with 59 tribute pickups. I am crazy in love with it. It is a keeper.
I am loving this series! Way to go deep into what makes this tone great on a technical and tonal level! Fantastic!
A friend of mine has a '58 Burst and a '57 Goldtop, both of which he acquired in the late '70's and played out with for years. I've played them quite a bit over the years and I have to say there is a "thing" about them. To me they seem to sound more 'woody' and 'open' than more recent guitars - people often say "very Telecaster-like" and I think thats right. I really think its down to the random nature of pick-up manufacture/selection that was used at the time.
They sound “woody” because after all those years the sap in the wood has crystallized. That’s why no modern guitar will sound like those until the sap in those newer guitars crystallize.
it's because they were built different. the way the neck was set was radically different and far superior than modern gibson. most modern gibsons would sound better if they just bolted the neck on
@@TheIkaika777 nonsense
@@jimbeam-ru1my , I guess you deny science.
It's funny how people talk about the wood in vintage guitars and never the metal in the hardware. You'll notice the saddles in the bridge of old Les Pauls aren't as sharp as modern ones. Also the hardware had more brass components. Nitpicking hardware differences might sound silly, but remember that it's the tailpiece, posts and anchors that conduct the resonant frequencies from the strings into the wood in the first place. The acoustic conduction properties of different metals could be an integral piece to the mellow singing tone of old Les Pauls. Worth investigating for sure.
I think you are right.
Well thought out and well written. It's the combination. The woods, the metals, the wiring, and the pickups. Combined with craftsmanship.
that's true there are some good videos comparing modern abs bridges to the old ones and the difference in tonality is pretty noticeable.
I’m sorry. I’ve had the luxury of playing a lot of sought after vintage guitars from an early age onward. In my house they were always treated like tools because that’s what they were. My Dad was a professional musician, where these things came in and out of our house at a reasonable rate. While there were a number of really nice pieces, there was nothing really “mystical” about any of them. The status that these things now are given is very much ridiculous. The “holy grail” label this and that is really just placebo effect caused by the wish to obtain that which is virtually impossible. Look at all the musicians we love who seemingly let these things go so easily? How is that possible if they are so magical? It’s because these instruments are no different then any other. You are better off finding a guitar that fits you and your needs, not something that was maybe good for someone else at some other time.
Say what you want but you’re not the one responsible for the pricing or hype... but if you were , id give you a fat French kiss 💋 because I would be able to afford one
Basically how I've always felt. All my guitars costed under $600 each, and most of them sound just as good as the $3k+ guitars I've played. My Jay Turser SG was $260 and it sounds just as good as a gibson, while staying in tune better. Its just heavy is the only complaint. But man that thing sings like no other
@@sirstashalot7441 absolutely. It’s rather hilarious how people are about these things. My Dad, who allowed me the opportunity to play so many instruments, has a newer Squire Pbass he likes, while at the same time a couple of older Fenders and Furlanetto basses. He doesn’t see a difference between them except for them being tools. He’s been a professional musician since the mid-60s and would probably be considered high up there when it comes to being qualified to know.
@@Clayphish the only vintage guitars I want are 1930s national resonators. I mean ill try anything out but those have a tone like no other
@@Clayphish I have a few cheap guitars that sound excellent after hardware and electronics swaps. I noticed that every burst I have heard was played through an amazing amp. I wish I could hear a comparison.
Vintage guitars, to me, only sound THAT different when they’re unplugged and they’re able to resonate. There’s a warmth and bloom to many of them that you don’t get with new guitars. Once you plug into an amp, 90% of the sound is the pickup and amp combo to me. The vintage guitar will feel different in your hand, resonate more and maybe smell old, but the listener doesn’t notice that.
There ARE replicas being made for a fair number of years that rival the vintage Les Pauls. Very few have the knowledge to do that. I've made my PAF replicas for some of those guitars and the bloom and sustain is there in spades. Go look up Danny Click's videos.
One player who made a Sunburst Les Paul his sound, and is often sadly overlooked, is REO Speedwagon's Gary Richrath. His was a '58, IIRC, and his playing was a huge part of my childhood. Incredible tone, too. I recently checked out a ca. 1978 performance from a TV show (Midnight Special, perhaps?) and his tone was just GODLY!!!!
I always appreciate Richrath shout out.
Richrath was a fantastic player with a great tone!! Always like seeing him get props.
What did it for me was when I saw Jimmy Page play Since I've been Loving You in the concert film The Song Remains The Same, recorded at Madison Square Garden 1973. That sound left me so mesmerized!!! Ever since then I knew I wanted a Les Paul.
me too.....I still watch the movie regularly....
yup that was it..
A DEFINITE ‘YES’ on the “Stay Curious” tag line at the end. I like that a heck of a lot better!!
I generally prefer the aesthetic of Les Paul Goldtops but a ‘Burst has a lovely sound
a 57 gold top is basically the same guitar as a burst😄
Same thing... different colour..
@@jerryyeaaah15 not if it’s from 1954 to 1956. They were still using P90 pickups back then.
@@Engineers_disease not if you look at any from 1954 to ‘56
JT I agree. I didn't grow watching anybody playing bursts. To me the Black was the one to have. It's cool. I played a mid 52 LP Gold last year and it was beautiful. History in my hands.
Intermediate Player: I've played a bunch of Les Pauls. Most sound very similar to me, nothing special. I was looking to get a new LP, and was recommended to look at a used '59 reissue while at the shop. It costs substantially more than others new or used. I could not believe how much better it felt, played, and sounded than others. And it's a Reissue. I don't know why all LP's don't sound like it, but it came home with me. Thanks, Rhett.
I'm a intermediate student also at 51 yo, got started late I guess, but I'm curious I've never held or touched a guitar no more than maybe as around 300.00 U.S.$, is there that big of a difference in playability and feel to the higher end models, I certainly wouldn't know,,
@@chucklee2995 I've played and owned guitars of various price points and there is a clear difference between a $300 guitar and a $1500 guitar, but there is little difference between a $1500 guitar and a $15000 guitar as far as sound and playability. Law of diminishing returns and what not. It comes down to what sounds good, what feels good in your hands and against your body, what style you are playing with it, and of course how much you're able to and willing to spend on an instrument. I think it's best you play as many guitars as you can and ignore the price tag while you do. The right ones for you will be obvious.
Its called the placebo effect. Its not better you just perceive it is because its supposed to be better.
That 50’s wiring, on a PAF, slightly rolled back volume IS the tone. Really love the Beanio sound.
Why did they change?
There was a very meticulous study done on Stradivarius violins to see if pro musicians could tell the difference between those and a "relic" new violin. In blind tests they couldn't reliably tell in terms of both sound and playability. It would be interesting to see the same type of blind test done on vintage guitars.
There are videos comparing Gibson modern Les Pauls with vintage ones and the difference is huge. Its not just about the wood though. I was told by a burst owner that the wood in those days were water treated, not heat treated. Water treating dissolves alot of the organic sap and gums, leaving the wood really light and super resonant. I have a piece of maple from Gibson back in those days that was used to build Charlie christian pickup tops on, the wood is amazingly resonant and super light weight.
Same results. Most people are suffering confirmation bias. They are "hearing" with their eyes and their hearts.
Michael Bloomfield. Disappointed he was overlooked.
Absolutely agree. Without a doubt Bloomfield was the player who influenced young American guitar players in the 60's with his "Les Paul" Paul Butterfield Blues Band sound before Eric got here with his, Mike had the purest Burst tone as he plugged straight into a blackface Fender Twin reverb cranked, where you can really hear the Burst characteristics. Some examples would be 1968's Electric Flag LP.... "Texas" , 68's Super Session.... "Alberts Shuffle", 69's Live Adventures of MB & AK....."Mary Ann" & Mike dropping his Burst at the end of the live album. Those are examples of how a great non-distorted Burst sounds, also Dickie Betts on the "Fillmore" or "Eat a Peach" album with his 58' Goldtop/PAF played clean and loud thru Marshall stacks gets that vibe that only a Burst can give. Billy and lots of other famous players play their Bursts thru more distorted amps (59 tweed bassman), so it's a little harder to hear that pure Burst sound as compared to Bloomfields pure sound. I've owned two Bursts.......from 1969-1970 I owned 0-8354, and from 1982-1984 I owned 9-1952.
And Duane Allman
Mike Bloomfield is the Man
@@Johngonefishin and
Yep.
Played a 58 in Charleston. The neck wasn’t as big as I’d imagined, in fact my R8 was wayyy bigger. The 58 had something wrong with the neck pickup, but the bridge was amazing. Sounded like a beefy tele bridge pickup. Fast forward to this November (2020) and played an early 60 burst at gruhns. That one was magic.
I would like to see a t-shirt “There Is No Plan B” with your rs logo in your store. Love that tag line.
I owned a '60 Sunburst from 1972 to 1992. Best guitar I've ever owned. It now lives with some collector... I hope it's getting played...serial # 0 1943
Best guitar ever made. I don’t think of Clapton when I think of the burst. It’s always jimmy page. The most photographed guitar in rock history.
Don't change your tag line! I'm 28, studied some other stuff to satisfy my parent's/society's expectations. You inspired me with "there's no plan B" and now I'm looking for universities to apply for studying music. I absolutely love your channel Rhett. Thank you so much for all the inspiration and information you've been sharing all this time!
Great video Rhett! I started playing guitar in 1956, so I lived through much of the history you are talking about and you pretty much nailed it. One other thing that was a problem for the Les Paul was that it was expensive and HEAVY, especially compared to a Strat or Tele. I was more into western and western swing and Eldon Shamblin played a Strat, so that was another thing against a Les Paul. I had no hope of a Super 400 like Travis played or a double neck Mosrite like Joe Maphis. Then there was the "Les Paul" SG. The people I knew who played SGs in the 60s had major neck problems. In any case, when the Beano album came out I discovered Clapton and l had to have a Les Paul. They were still relatively cheap because only a few of us had caught on and I found one in a pawn shop for $150. A year later I was able to trade it for a D-28 Martin and I bought a '58 Les Paul Jr. for $50 at another pawn shop.
I love hearing this history from those that were there. I hope you still have your D-28 and Les Paul Jr! Did you feel happy about the switch at the time, getting rid of the Burst for those two? I really enjoy Juniors. Very fun guitars
"There's no plan B" has been a constant motivator every time I watch your videos. It has helped me stay focused on my own musical projects and journey. In my opinion, it doesn't need to be changed. Great video as usual.
The best sounding "burst" I´ve ever heard is a Bartlett replica played by some guy here on TH-cam. That´s when I really understood what the fuss is all about.
I've never played a '59 LP and I have always played Fender mostly because I could afford one when I was a kid. A few years ago I picked up up a 2012 LP Traditional it follows the '59 LP with a few modern features. It's non-weight relieved and has a chunky neck like the '59. At first I really didn't get the hype and just hung it on the wall next to other guitars that I preferred like my '62 strat and Duesenberg. However, the history of this instrument that songs that used the LP are undeniable so I kept picking it up. After a while I found myself grabbing the guitar more often than any of my other instruments and now I can firmly say it is my favorite instrument for a few reasons. 1- the action and playability of a LP is really fantastic. shorter scale length and flatter neck ratio make it easy on the fingers. 2- The wood tone of the LP is unique along with the sound of those pups. What an amazing instrument. My LP lists for like 1200-1400 on reverb I recommend you to get one if you just want to play and not collect.
In my opinion Michael Bloomfield and Eric Clapton were the ones to put the "burst" on the map.
Joe Walsh, Jimmy page. Skynyrd. Joe Perry Aerosmith.
Actually, Les Paul put it on the map!
For the baby boomers, those are definitely two huge sources, but for later generations it was really Slash.
It probably depended on how savvy you were about guitar players, or when you were learning guitar. If you were learning guitar during the mid-1970's or thereabouts (as I was) Clapton was known, but we always identified Les Pauls / Marshalls with Jimmy Page.... then after a while of getting into the instrument you learned about all the other guys. I wanted an LP after I saw a pic of Marc Bolan with one.
Peter green??
@rhett shull That lick at 11:03... I know it, my fingers know it, but cant remember where it is from for the LIFE of me. Where's that from, because its driving me crazy!
I don't have a "58" but I Do have an "18" and from the moment I opened the box, as soon as I opened the case it all hit me like a wash. It was My holy grail guitar. The physical manifestation, the culmination of a 25 year long dream. There's no looking back now.
Thanks Rhett
Around 1986/87 I played a 1960 sunburst Les Paul at a shop in San Francisco. It was hanging behind the counter. I was trying out a Hiwatt combo and they asked what kind of guitar did I normally play through. When I told them I play a Les Paul Standard (mine is a 1977 model) they pulled down the 1960 Les Paul and put it in my hands. Man... that Paul through that Hiwatt combo kicked ass. It was a great sound and I was salivating. I can't remember the exact price of the Les Paul but it was somewhere around $3,000 to $6,000. Whatever it was, I thought it was crazy expensive in the mid 80's. I wish I could have bought it but I was just a 20 something guy in college and there was no way I could come up with that kind of cash (and frankly, if I had that kind of cash at the time, I don't think I would have plunked down that much for a guitar then.) You have to also understand that around that time I had bought my 77 LP standard with case for $400 used. I bought a '69 Fender Stratocaster with case for $200 and a 1960 Fender Jazzmaster for $300. So yeah, that multi thousand dollar price tag on that Les Paul seemed outrageous to me at the time. I wasn't aware then that the LP standard went out of production for most of the 60's because I saw LP's everywhere then (but they were 70's and 80's models and not the coveted 1958-1960 models) and it seemed like all the great guitar hero's from the 60's and 70's had bursts. I just didn't know that those old bursts were only from that small 2-3 year window. Aaaahhhh.... Hindsight.....
That "Red Eye" story was cool to hear lol, who woulda thought!
I appreciate how you don't excessively jump cut edit your videos. It's satisfying to watch (:
Great playing, Rhett! I used to be one of the vintage gear specialists at Guitar Center Atlanta. I went to one collector's house who had five original 1959 bursts (yes, I played them all!), and one of every other year from 1952-1960. I think the 1959 'bursts became the most desirable because it was the sweet spot combination of features of all of the '52-'60 years. The PAF pickups debuted in the 1957 Goldtop. The sunburst finish began in 1958, but it had a fatter neck and small frets. In 1959, the neck became a little slimmer (but not as slim as 1960), and they switched to bigger fretwire, making string bending easier. I think there were more flamey maple tops in 1959 than in 1958 too, but that could be anecdotal. In 1960, the necks got slimmer and the sunbursts changed to more of an opaque tomato soup red/yellow "clown burst". That perfect combination of neck, fret size, pickups, and tops were found in the guitars from 1959. By the 1960's they were just old, discontinued guitars. After Clapton was pictured with his Les Paul on the Beano album, guys like Billy Gibbons and Joe Walsh hunted down Les Pauls from old guys who had them collecting dust under their bed. Joe Walsh sold one to Jimmy Page. Between those guys, the Allman Brothers, Lynrd Skynrd, and others, they set the tone for generations of guitar players who wanted to emulate their heroes.
Lol. Gotta love the internet. You, an obviously vastly experienced guitar tech, sharing some interesting information most may not be aware of that makes sense vs post where another dude makes a Fred Durst joke (admittedly funny). You get 2 likes and 1 comment. Dude gets almost 500 likes and 48 comments. What a world we like in. Smh
But thanks for input...appreciated.
Learned something new :)
Actually PAF's were first used in 1956 on Gibson lap steel guitars. I have seen several of these, but Collectors pass them by because to fit them into the guitar, they had to cut off the screw poles on the bottom. Those are super rare, but do exist.
Most important words here: "Mystique," "hype," "subjective". Everyone - especially myself - would love to own a 'Burst because they are rare, beautiful and expensive. The ultimate bragging right and collectible. But if you just want the sound, that is available in numerous ways. The amp and playing style in this video is as important as the guitar. I've experienced enough blind tastings to know that cost is not always a guarantee of perceived excellence. Everything is subjective! Great demo and assessment by Mr. Shull.
Rhett, beautiful playing on a beautiful guitar. It’s a joy to listen to your playing evolve.
I've never had the opportunity to play an original burst, however my first Les Paul was a '52 and my second was a '54. Having owned a total of 8 Les Pauls I can state , with confidence, old is not always better.
Given the "Burst" tone is definitely among my favorite tones I can trace back even when I was a kid when I didn't know what they were. I would never want to own one because 1 the price and 2 I would be scared of break it or having it stolen. Honestly Idk if I would even want to play one. I would not want to be disappointed if it was a absolute dog. I would rather leave it be the mystery it is. I agree it with you, the tone doesn't come down to just the pick up and wood. I believe they are a part of a perfect mixture of instrument, gear and influenced players with good hands that led to what we all love today.
Just get a Custom Shop '59 Std. Reissue.
There's that note clarity. Those pickups just have such great note separation its crazy. Lovely playing Rhett.
Nik
The burst sound is my heart bursting after seeing the price of a burst
I was in San Jose in the mid-90s for some training at an IT company. I stopped into a beautiful music shop there. They had a 59 burst in quite nice shape for $14,000 and I thought it was overpriced. Interesting how things change.
I saw the Black Keys in Portland, November of 2019 (when live shows were still happening) Dan Auerbach had just recently purchased a 59 Les Paul through Carter's, actually. I remember seeing it on their site and I watched a Rig Rundown with Dan and his tech discussing it. That guitar sounded different from any other guitar I have ever heard live. I was honestly blown away by its tone. I will never forget it. It also helps that Dan is an incredible musician. There seems to be a reason the are valued so highly. They have something special going on, that's for sure.
I get the feeling that Rhett’s statement that it “wasn’t the guitar, but the players (of the late 60’s)” that people are chasing with those Gibsons is his true feelings. The rest of this phenomena is collectible marketing and nostalgia. Out of all the ingredients of those guitars, it’s clearly the pickups and the lower costs then a new Strat were what drew players at the time.
These are great and beautiful collectibles, but they’re not better made or sounding (and they’re certainly less consistent) then a contemporary Gibson production guitar.
Great video, I was around when Eric Clapton was playing Les Paul's, 335, and I saw him live in the mid 60s playing an SG. But for me the Les Paul is connected with so many great players. I have an Epiphone Les Paul which I love the look, sound and feel of, and that to be honest is enough for me and my standard of playing.
An important, but often overlooked part of the burst sound is the wiring. The 50's les pauls used 500k pots for both the tone and volume pots. They also are wired in a particular way (AKA 50's wiring). This made them sound relatively bright.
Later on, Gibson started user lower value potentiometers and different wiring, which made the guitars sound significantly darker.
Thus: if you want the sound, stop looking for the perfect PAF recreations, and change the pots and wiring first :)
Love Rhett's work in this channel. Would love to own one, BUT I also love the fact that you own it all up to you as a player. If its played by five different people, you have five different sounds. Practice is the secret .Getting frustrated ,coming back, making adustments , and constant evaluation are always a part of it. Having played everything from custom shop stuff down to squiers, I always sound like me. Good gear is a factor. But minimal if not applied correctly. Cant tell you how many times I've seen people drop wads of cash just to sound like they failed to practice. Be the best version of you. Good stuff. Love the channel.
Rhett; It wasn't price tag.. there was a factory tag that hung on the p.u. selector switch that said "Gibson Les Paul Model" that listed it's attributes and explained the toggle switch and controls. It was 3" by 2.25" and sort of a dark mustard colour and had a hole punched on the upper left to go over the toggle switch. I've probably played 30 or so bursts! Some great, some not so great..
Hey Rhett,thanks for the history lesson about how these wonderful gutiars were made. I was friends the
owner of Gutiar trader in Red Bank New Jersey. I had the good Fortune of playing many of these gutairs, and I totally agree with your assessment. They are like Stratavarious violins. One to the other, they can sound totally different. Funny story from those times was when Bill closed down the shop to have Brian Setzer come in. Brian was looking for another Gretch, and I said hey man, I know you only play Gertchs but you gotta check out this burst it's amazing! He did and fell in love with it. At that time, it sold for 25 grand in 1988. Cheers Brother keep making these cool video's!!
I kinda like "There Is No Plan B" and I noticed it was absent in one of your latest videos, and I was disappointed. The "no plan b" thing helps me get motivated, or at least helps me THINK about how I need to get motivated ...
I'm writing a research paper on procrastination, I'm delving deep into the motivations and distractions that manifest it.
Well... I mean.. I'm gonna.
It's funny I never saw this channel as a "there is no plan B" type of podcast though it has been one of my favorites. "Stay curious" seems more appropriate but the no plan B motto brought the channel here which ain't bad at all. I guess I enjoy and trust that Rhett will handle the "growing pains." Cheers
I treated myself to the ‘58 reissue, it’s truly amazing.
1:28 aww man that's the sound of angels
I played the 1960 Dutchburst once. It was a totally awesome guitar, but admittedly also because of the heritage, the story and the piece of history in my hands
When I close my eyes and just listen to a burst being played, I always hear Peter Green...
Same for me. Peter Green and Michael Bloomfield. Beautiful tones.
Great video. We had Gibsons, Fenders, Martins in my family back in the early 1960's. My uncles, mom, and brothers played occasionally. Piano too. We even had a few very early violins from the early 1900's. My mom gave away a few instruments and after she died I kept a couple of guitars. A Strat and a modern accustic Yamaha. Mom had an old Martin she gave to one of her cousins 50 years ago. We might of owned something great. I don't know. But, the hype has grown concerning the Bursts from the late 1950's. I remember she had a Burst Gibson but don't know the year. She never gave more than a couple of hundred for any instrument. The Yamaha I bought at Guitar Center and gave to her when she went into a nursing home. I purchased a 1992 Strat with the case and it still had the plastic wrap around the knobs. It is an American Made instrument with the case. I pick around on the Strat and try to learn more everytime I play it.
The flame on that thing is insane! Never seen a burst with what's basically a quilted maple cap.
The paint decayed over time it was not born this way
@@MrFoz1234 Not talking about the finish, but the figuring in the wood.
In the video he does refer to it as 'figured' maple. This was before they obsessed over finding the perfect bookmatched flamed maple. I love a good flame but there are so many other ways the grains can be expressed and showcased it's a shame they don't experiment more.
During vacation in the US some years ago I entered a vintage guitar music shop. And there was a 59 hanging on the wall. So I asked about this like „this thing looks like Goldie“, which is a famous burst. The sales guy responded „ actually this IS Goldie“. He was so kind to let me play it for some minutes, just out of curiosity, not enthusiasm, I took the chance. I‘ve been playing live since 1971 and own several guitars. And I was very reluctant to follow any vintage hype.
But playing Goldie for these few minutes changed everything. I never ever had a guitar in my hands being that resonate, with a vocal quality, unbelievable. This started a quest for the burst sound. While the custom shop Les Pauls with the custom buckers - especially the collector’s choice - are great guitars the one Les Paul which brought me next to this burst tone and feel is my regular standard from 2004. I replaced the burst buckers by Tom Holmes pickups, which I got from a dear friend, applied the 50s wiring, and that was it.
So I agree to you saying that the pickups have the most significant impact. This 2004 standard has a Nashville bridge, pretty thick coating, most likely no hide glue used, the top carving far away from 59 spec, an ordinary Les Paul so to speak. But the pickups change made a tone Monster out of it.
I believe you can get the “burst” sound with a modern Les Paul Traditional loaded with 57/57+ or the newest 50s/60’s guitars. Play as many as you can and find the one that speaks to you. Plug into an amp similar to the ones the guys were using back in the day and you’ll be right there. The real sounds come from you. Kirk Hammett owns Peter Greens Burst. I’m sure it sounds like shit plugged into a Triple Rectifier and wah pedal 😆
I have a 60s.. it’s absolutely spectacular! Very happy with it Especially after hearing about Gibson bad quality run for a while there. But the weight, the neck, the iced tea color and the slightly microphonic butstbuckers (PAF clones).. it’s all perfect. Even the Finish was flawless. they got their shit together for sure!
Greeny’s Gary’s Burst first, then Green’s, 34 years of ownership, and by a Master.
@@carlosp7233 what year are you referring to ? Or what reissue ?
@@totc6196 I think he means and actual 1960's model LP (vintage), but then he does say PAF clones ... strange
Thank you man! The guitars around you in that room thank you too. That tone brings a tear to my crusty ol eye. Beautiful!!!!!
Great video. No way I can afford a '59 but I do own an awesome '55>'57 conversion with PAF's, aka a poor man's burst!
I'm an SG guy... but I ended up buying a 2019 R0 that I fell in love with when I visited Chicago Music Exchange. Knew it was going to be a mistake to go there. Love the guitar.
I have a sg and i would say les paul for my eyes and sg for my ears
So Eric bought a 5 or 6 year old used guitar, partly because he’d seen them played by American blues players. Likewise he moved to used Strats after hearing Buddy Guy and Jimi amongst others. If there’s a message here it is use your ears, develop your own taste and buy a quality instrument on the 2nd hand market.
Also smoke crack
@@BennieTarrMusic this isnt folk punk were talking about man
This is very good counsel.
Clapton did not see American blues players playing Les Paul's at that time. Most blues players played Fenders, hollow body Gibson's if they were successful enough like BB King to afford one and more often than not no name guitars that were all they could afford which were made to sound cool through the player and not the name or price tag on the guitar.
Nope - George Harrison gave it to him as a gift
On my first trip to Nashville from England I seeked out Gruhn guitars, great shop, then I went to Carter Guitars, I mentioned old bursts and he said they had a 1959 and would I like to try it, i explained that I couldn't afford it but he still kindly let me try it but unplugged, as I'd never played one before so this was quite a thrill, I even got a picture taken with this $370,000 guitar! I still can't believe what a great bloke he was and what a great shop it is, if I'm in a position to buy a vintage guitar this will be my first port of call.
It saddens me to think how many old guitars are in someones attic and not being played.
The attic of Norm Harris.
Chances are if it's been in the attic for very long it's probably not going to be a good player without some work.
Or in bank vaults
Yup I received a 1960 Les Paul my grandfather stored away in his closet. Fantastic guitar still in mint condition(since he rarely played).
@@wiseguy9202 upload a video!
I think I own one. It came from a relative of Chet Atkins. He believed it was a 60’s model, but when I was going through all the papers and sheet music in the case, I found the original receipt dated August 1959, from a music store in Chicago. It is in relatively good condition with a few scratches and buckle rash, but the electronics need to be reconditioned. The neck volume and bridge tone pots don’t work anymore. One issue I have with it, is the neck pickup doesn’t like some amp speakers, like in my Fender blues deluxe amp. My other Les Pauls don’t have any issues with my amps, but they have newer potted pickups.
Dude you must be super rich already or else you'd be way more excited about this. And you already own multiple Les Pauls so yeah you must be.
The Red Eye was created by the Gibson “hang tag” that came in the case with all LPs at the time. Not a price tag.
Most 50s LPs tops of the time had red maple tops. Not big leaf
Oh man , the way you talk about those amazing guitars says everything. Like everyone here, you really love that guitar
I would have liked to have heard you A/B your 2019 Les Paul with the Burst
I was thinking the same thing. It would have been easy enough to do....
Wow! Fantastic series of videos. I'm a huge fan of the types of videos you do. Love all the information on gear and just being a self taught guitarist . I'm quite late to actually learning to play. I'm 48 years old and I played for about a year when I was a teenager. But not seriously . Just wanted to play metallica riffs. Then I didn't play at all for over 20 years. Always thought about it and music has always been a major part of my life, so two years ago I decided to stop thinking about it and learn to play . Now I can't imagine a day without playing . And having someone like you to look to is a huge help . Thanks for all the work you do. Much appreciated
Where is the Jimmy Page love in this video? He made Les Paul’s from the golden era iconic.
Then you should be asking where is the Joe Walsh love because if it weren't for him Page might have stuck to playing a Tele.
@@kkjhn41 yup Joe Walsh is a tone guru. I still wonder if he had the neck shaved and didn't like it? Page said the guitar came that way, with it's concave slim neck
Jimmy Page sold way more Les Pauls than Clapton bya landslide!! If there is one person the Les Paul is known for, its Jimmy Page
Where's the slash love in this video?
He make fake gibson iconic 😂
There were many Les Paul players. Jeff Beck used to play one, Paul Kossoff, Peter Green, Eric Clapton. I know most were mentioned and Jimmy wasn't, maybe because most people already know about him or Slash playing a Les Paul. And most people don't know that Clapton used to play Gibsons. Or the other important names mentioned including Les Paul himself.
As not everyone knows that Page also played telecasters.
The beauty of the burst is the one I have and for me it's the best book on the burst..58 to 60..it's basically a picture book with description of it's history and spec's of the guitars ..thanks J.T.
Next vid: What is the " fender " sound ?
Would love to see his take on the "fender" sound, especially when talking strat vs tele vs jazz
Amazing glassy cleans.
I'm really looking forward to the episode "what is the tele sound". I love that dirty, bell-like sound of slightly overdriven tele bridge pickup played on old tweed amps.
Rhett really seems to be a Gibson guy. He'll eventually talk about Fender guitars, but we know where his heart is.
@@TranscendentBen correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought his favourite guitar was his red-ish jazzmaster?
I only played my late uncle's '59 Les Paul Special at 14yrs old and I fell in love with that baseball bat neck similar to the Standard bursts have heard about over the years.
I own a 2019 R9, and while I’ve never played a real burst before, I can confidently say that it captures a lot of what I would expect from a real one. There’s this spongey, woody thing going on in the pick attack that’s a very addictive sound and I think is what really sets these guitars apart. I’ve owned both a 2009 USA standard and now my custom shop R9, and the R9 definitely has that woodiness in spades. It’s a magical and incredibly expressive sound. I wouldn’t trade it or sell it for anything.
P.S. you could be a film maker Rhett. If you were to make a full length guitar documentary it would be incredible.
I feel the same way about my R9, I’ve owned many different Les Pauls though the years. There’s nothing that I have held in my hands EVER that has ever moved me the way this Les Paul does ! As I write this it’s November 2021 and I’ve had this guitar since early September, I play it every day 😎✌️
Just bought a 2013 R9 myself last week. It’s by far the most awesome guitar I’ve ever played, and it’s getting played a lot!
My closest experience was a Heritage guitar. During a visit to my local shop that had been a Gibson dealer until the point they weren't. Some time after that a "burst" Heritage guitar was shoved in my hands during one of my visits. Not something that happened. I am just the run of the mill customer entering the store. The shop owner, possibly a Heritage sales man (this is a Michigan music store,) and at least one other store worker were right there in the front of the store. While my experience is no where near what is being talked about in this video. It could of been. That guitar was extremely warm, resonating, and absolutely magical with fire flickering from the pickups so to speak and giving absolutely nothing up. A guitar well beyond my caliber. The only thing that sparked me even close was plugging into a JCM 800 after decades of not doing so having sold mine when still a teenager. I will never forget that sound and don't expect to ever play a guitar that spoke on that level again.
"What it really boils down to were the players" BINGO! From what I know (and I really know nothing) Gibson used whatever wood they could source and the pickups were wound with such inconsistency ( due to legacy manufacturing techniques) that no two guitars really sounded the same. Having said that, the burst you played at the beginning was absolutely stunning. I'm sure worth more than my house. There is something else. Rhett, has your playing become really outstanding in the last six months? Seriously. You're evolving and your playing has gone from competent to really creative and inspiring. I'm loving everything I'm hearing from you. Maybe I just wasn't listening before? I don't think so. You've grown.
i had '50s les pauls in the '70s when they cost under $800.
i find it refreshing to find.young guys like you learning about guitars we knew first hand.
@Rhettshull, your R9 is not at all a "clown burst". The clown bursts are specific. Bright Heritage cherry sunburst, with a pronounced, abrupt transition line between the red and bright yellow center. Hence the "clown" moniker. Your R9 is neither the heritage cherry color, nor has the pronounced, abrupt transition to yellow. Some of the 60 bursts were consisted clown-ish, many 70s cherry sunburst were clown bursted, and a lot of the 90s classic 60s were clowny. Just fwi.
Clownbursts were usually on the orange side of red...
Exactly. "Clown Burst" is a derogatory term for ugly, garish, abrupt spray jobs. Some of the recent Epiphone 50s LPs would qualify.
@@BlindTom61 no. They are heritage cherry sunburst, only. Bright red, with straight up yellow center. You know, like a clown.
@@TH-camHandlesAreMoronic yea, definitely
Always great content from Rhett🤘
Burst sound? It's the sound of the G-string being tuned over and over after every song .
Hahahaha! I was punching in a short solo on a track I’m working on... had to do a few takes, had to tune the G string about 20 times lol. Still love my Lester though.
Now THAT is funny!
No that’s actually the general Gibson sound 😂
That’s why it takes a master to wield one.
@@ryanfulldark2775 Yes. They use The Force to keep the G string in tune.
I'm old but I still play every day. I got my first elec. guitar in 1965. I have only played two in all that time. I did have a '57 GT for a while in the late 60s. So to me they have always been hard to find, even in the 60s. A lot of the magic to me is my experience in the 60s, hearing the legendary players of the day playing Bursts. Music was so live sounding back then, the guitar you played was not only your personality but it was what the crowd or the Tape heard. Very much more identifiable than now when you can tweak your tone on the board and the guitar brand and model becomes interchangable.
Looks like you're playing a GA40 or something similar, that has a lot to do with the great tone going on 🤟
Keith Richards '59 Les Paul Standard with Bigsby was the one that started it all in August 1964, also used on the Ed Sullivan Show Oct. 25 1964, it is said to be the guitar he used recording " Satisfaction " eventually sold to Mic Taylor. A collector in Switzerland owns it now.
We need what is the Marshall, MesaBoogie, Engl, HUghe&Kettner and oder boutique amps/ tech sounds
Putin is sh*te.
@@Olegstuff21986 yes
You go to gulag?
I have 2 modified Gibson Les Paul. A 1996 Custom with Whole Lotta Humbucker pickups, a pair of Gibson Bumblebee capacitors and four push pull knobs to obtain several sounds. The other is a 1993 Les Paul Standard with a pair of 57 Classic pickups, Gibson Bumblebee capacitors and a Roslen Custom ‘50 prewired kit. They sound fantastic externally close to my references. Huge difference from the stock guitars.
It’s hard to justify their price when you can find a great sounding R8, R9, or R0 nowadays.
Are they the same? No way. But are they close for $5,000. Heck yeah!!! Lol
@Rhett Shull. "Remember, there is no plan B". Keep it. It's great and it sends an important message for anyone that has ever considered it, although it might mean different things to different people. To me, the message is "Think it through, consider the possibility of things not working out, but don't let those things define you in a negative context. Instead, embrace these issues as things you've considered at the outset. Make whatever might have been a "Plan B" part of your "Plan A". Failure isn't failure if you considered it and were ready to make lemonade out of those lemons from the outset. As a strapline it's great and many people would do well to embrace it as an ethos. I'm a relatively new subscriber to your channel, and this aspect of your content resonates with me quite strongly. Keep up the fantastic work as it's keep us all sane during this difficult time.
I own a 59€ Burst from Harley Benton... does that count? 🙃
Hey Rhett glad you're back at it! So happy your burn-out didn't totally burn-you-out. REMEMBER THERE IS NO PLAN BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB