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I've always had this weird thing about guitars from the year I was born. Currently I own both a Strat and Les Paul from 1973 and they're great axes I love to play and feel like I have some conenction to because of the story of how they both ended up in my hands within a 36 hour period.

So now that my son has been born I've got the idea in my head that it might be nice to take the initiative to pick up something and put it away for him if he decides to pick up the instrument. If not, it'll make a nice gift for him to pass on or use to invest in something.

My knee-jerk reaction is either an Historic Les Paul or an ES-335, mainly because they're such classics. But I'd like to hear what folks would consider if they were in this situation.

The 335 sounds good. If I were buying a 2005 Gibson it would either be that or an Explorer.

two words, err.... letters: SG!!!!

Whatever Gibson model you choose, play many. There are good new ones to be found. I have a 2002 explorer that is awesome and a 2004 LP studio that is perfect. I bought that one used.If you are questioning what to buy for your son, (congrats by the way!!) if you can go for a historic or some kind of limited model then that would be more personal. If you are questioning what model, Id say LP because as he learns that would be a classic and versatile.

If he's going to pick up the instrument, he'll love a Les Paul. If he doesn't pick up the guitar and ends up selling it as an investment, make it a Historic. I'd go for a plain top '58 myself. Keep it in it's case and don't hurt it, and it could be worth some real money down the road.

If I had to purchase a 2005, I'd get a Les Paul '56 RI Goldtop (the one with the P-90s). However, I'd hand pick it myself.


Originally Posted by BloodRoseWhatever Gibson model you choose, play many.

1. i played probably 10 or 15 SG's before i got mine...i even waited it out about a week until they got another shipment, in addition to playing some guitars in other stores. you gotta find the best of the bunch.

Rather than getting a reissue of a 1950's guitar made in 2005, why not get a 2005 model year guitar? That would make sense to me. Unless, of course, you're using this as an excuse to get yourself a new guitar... then get him the new Historic...


Originally Posted by The Golden BoyRather than getting a reissue of a 1950's guitar made in 2005, why not get a 2005 model year guitar? That would make sense to me. Unless, of course, you're using this as an excuse to get yourself a new guitar... then get him the new Historic...

The only reason I was thinking Historic is because I think it will acrue value faster and will hold it more steadily. The QC of the Historics are also a little better from my experiences as well.

This isn't really a guitar for me though. It'll probably get played to verify that it's a good instrument and then get put away. Every few years I can see checking on it and doing maintenance but it's very much a quot;time capsulequot; sort of investment for my son.

I'd go for an SG Standard, I love the neck profile on those. Plus, you can put a Bigsby on it!!

i have an '04 explorer and its damn good (i guess thats a rarity these days)

It would definitely be a Historic, QC seems to be better on average with them. I'd probably snag a '57 RI personally, I love those gold tops. Also, keep in mind that even though you want an '05 you can probably still find them used . Check out the guitar listings over at thegearpage.net, LPs pop up pretty often there.

Hey Skarekrough, tell us the story of how you got those two '73s in 36 hours.

Get him an Agile.Seriously, though. Let him decide. Print off a good picture of each style (same color, to remove the variables). Hold them up in front of him and see if there's one his attention is drawn to. Not really scientific, but it would make a pretty cool story twenty years from now when he asks why you got him that particular model.

I'd pick a J-45 or an Advanced Jumbo, but then I'm really GASSING for a nice Gibson acoustic!

You're brave for buying an amp and guitar two weeks after you got a newborn! LOL

If I was buying a keepsake 2005, I'd probably get a Gibson LP Std. Prem Plus in AAA flamed teaburst or honeyburst.


Originally Posted by RobbiedbeeHey Skarekrough, tell us the story of how you got those two '73s in 36 hours.

Well, it all started when someone had posted to another internet forum that they had a 73' Les Paul Deluxe for sale. It was about ten years before I'd had the appeal start and just recently at that point that I might have the disposable income to get one.

I got some pics of the guitar and spoke with the seller. I was short of cash at the time but knew I could probably raise the funds in a month or so. This worked out for him because he was in the process of building a guitar of which this would raise funds for it.

So I spent a month really buckling down financially, something I've never been good at. It was a very cool experience because it taught me not only how to do it, but I did it well enough to have some extra cash on hand, but more of why that's important later.

On a Friday afternoon in February I met the guy at a Starbucks near where I worked and made the exchange. I was beside myself; the first Les Paul I'd ever owned.

When I got it home that night the first thing I did was pull the 8's off of it and put on 10's. The action had been disgustingly low and I'd hoped the bigger strings would give it a little more pull. After a few hours I decided also to give the truss rod a little loosening to add to it.

Sure enough, go to loosen the truss rod and the nut is already slack on it.

I decided to let it sit until the afternoon of the next day. When i picked it up it was still the same. I decided to try 11's and see if that did the trick.

After I got the 11's installed I was kinda bummed; I'd paid a large chunk of cash for this guitar and it really wasn't playing like I wanted it to. And I knew there was a good chance on top of it that it could be a total dud for anything other than unreasonably low action.

I'm generally a CraigsList addict, so I did my usual refreshing of the quot;musical instrumentsquot; category and saw a listing for a quot;Fender Strat - $150.quot; It seemed innocuous enough...probably a Squier....but it's the kind of thing that stories come from.

So I sent the guy an email asking about where it was made and included my phone number. Twenty minutes later I get a call back and speak to the guy. All I can get out of him is the serial number on a 3 bolt neck plate. It has a large headstock and nowhere on it does it list a place of oirgin.

I check the Fender quot;Mr. Gearheadquot; website and the serial number matches up with 1973. My head starts spinning.

I called the guy back and asked a few more questions. He wasn't as much a guitar guy and just wanted it out of his closet. I asked if I could come down and check it out. He said he'd gotten a ton of emails about it.

It was at this point I remembered that I'd told my wife we'd have quot;date nightquot; that night and there was no way I could go down and check it out that evening, and I knew that certainly someone would swoop down and nab it.

So I leveled an offer at the guy; hold it until tomorrow morning and I'll give you $150.00 cash on the barrelhead. I don't even need to see it. As long as it's a guitar I'll give you $150.00 for it.

This was agreeable, although begrudgingly, and my wife got to watch me suffer and squirm through three hour of the chick-flick quot;The Hours.quot; All the while I'm certain the axe is probably long gone.

I wake up at 8:30 the next morning, Sunday. This is important because I'm usually a guy that can and will sleep untill noon on the weekend. But I'm way too fidgety for that. As I'm sitting in my living room drinking coffee at 9 AM my phone rings.

quot;You need directions to my place to pick up the guitar?quot;

quot;Yes...yes I do.quot;

I was out the door in under ten minutes. I made amazing time on the highway and was in the South End of Boston ten minutes early.

I met the guy at the lobby of his apartment building and he brought me up. We talked for a bit and he could sense I was a little edgy about it. He took it out of its case and a big grin came across my face.

It was MOST certainly a 70's Strat. It looked all original EXCEPT for the body had been stripped of paint and finished with a clear walnut-looking color and a brass nut had been installed. And man, it had been played!

It wasn't long the guy realized that something was up. He asked me what it was worth and I kind of hemmed and hawwed. I didn't know exactly and I told him that. He looked at me and said quot;Well, it's obvious that it's worth more than you're paying me, and that's fine. But I just don't want to know that you're going to turn around and sell it off.quot;

I blinked for a second....

quot;You sell this to me for $150.00 and I promise you I won't sell it off. I'll play the hell out of it, but I won't sell it off.quot;

quot;Deal.quot;

I got it home and took it apart. It was a bit of a project; someone had put sandpaper in the neck pocket presumably to deter slipping. It had been glued in there and it took me some time to get it out. The bridge pickup was dead, a trip to the guitar shop the next day confirmed that.

But it was...indeed....a 73' Strat!

That night my wife went over to a friend of hers house whose husband plays also. Her friend mentioned that hubby had bought ANOTHER guitar this weekend. My wife looked at her and said quot;Count your blessings...mine bought TWO guitars this weekend!quot;

The neck on the Les Paul Deluxe took to the 11's great after awhile. It was refretted out of necessity a few months after I got it and the luthier did a great job. This past Summer I actually had to tighten up the truss rod a bit.

The Strat also got refretted due to the same reasons; it had been played hard and put away wet. The bridge pickup got re-wound by Jason Lollar but I was never totally happy with it. On a whim I found an old Vintage Rails pickup and put it in there and found the sound I was looking for. The brass nut got replaced with a bone one when it got refretted. The same tech that did the Les Paul outsourced for the finish on the fretboard. The guy used some material that he claimed would make the next re-fret easier but didn't really match the rest of the neck. it's a bit of a bummer but the guitar is made to be played, not looked at.

Both of them sit next to each other on the wall in my studio. I affectionately call them the quot;twins.quot;

I don't have alot of great guitar stories, but I've heard a ton of ones that can never be substantiated. I like to think I can at least contribute a good one and can verify that it actually happened.

I like the concept but you don't actually explain why it HAS to be a Gibson? If the year is the main part you may want to consider something like a 50th Anniversary Strat. Technically speaking, the 50th was last year but they're still available now.

EDIT: Great story about quot;The Twins!quot;