EL_REY

is that an ace frehley burst?

i have a bc rich warlock
lookin to get a jackson flying or king V

hhrcrafty

It's a '59 VOS...I thought it was a '58 VOS at first. You can tell it's VOS because of the factory worn hardware and analine dye bleed on the binding.

You mentioned getting the Feiten mod done on the '61. How much did that cost and what all was involved? I'm thinking about getting my Classic plek'd anyway and that may be something good too.

Harpozep

[QUOTE=hhrcrafty;282486]It's a '59 VOS...I thought it was a '58 VOS at first. You can tell it's VOS because of the factory worn hardware and analine dye bleed on the binding.

You mentioned getting the Feiten mod done on the '61. How much did that cost and what all was involved? I'm thinking about getting my Classic plek'd anyway and that may be something good too.[/QUOTE

El Ray, Those Jackson Flying Vees are great guitars. I like them better then the Gibson Vees.

The Buzz Feiten mod has led me to buy a newer more precise tuner, which is good. The Peterson tuner line has several that have the Buzz Feiten tuning offests built in as a mode. I'm awaiting the delivery of the Peterson strobo flip:

http://www.petersontuners.com/index.cfm?category=37

Right now I'm tuning by ear, all the strings get tuned to the top "E". This works reasonably well, and even the Buzz system is not perfect, but it is better to my ear than standard temperament.

The cost was $129.00 US. The basic gist of it is the nut is replaced with one that overhangs the fingerboard just a tad closer to the bridge. You never notice it . It makes the scale a bit smaller, but their are offset in the intonation as well. This is why I want the strobotuner since it is accurate to within 1 cent. Most tuners are much less accurate, more like within 4 - 6 cents. The Buzz offsets require tuning the octave harmonics a few cents flat or sharp on some strings.
All this should be done by the guitar tech, but I want to be able to tweak and really needed a decent tuner as well.
I'll take some pics of the nut and post them in a bit.

Gotta say, Pleked guitars really play well. There is a difference. No doubt you have played some of the VOS line and found that out. I did too.

I had Never played a VOS before last Oct. Now I own two and a CS Sig SG!. Guess I'm back in my Gibson phase. Sold my '68 LP Custom long ago and am trying to make up for it
Here is another of my R4 VOS:


And the SG:




And what the heck, a teaser of my Harp guitar:

hhrcrafty

That's not much more than you'd pay to get a good bone or Tusq nut put on the guitar by a good tech anyway. I've always done all my own work on my guitars and even on friend's guitars, so the whole Buzz Feiten thing has been a mystery to me for a while. I love the Plek'd guitars, though. Gibson was smart to put those machines in the factories. I've taken the tour of the Nashville semi-hollow plant a couple times and it's pretty sweet to see the detail they really do put in to each guitar.

If I were to buy another new guitar at this point, I'd get either the Kiefer Sutherland custom shop or the new ES-339.

Harpozep

You are correct. The price for a good setup and new nut from a qualified tech is not much less than the Buzz nut. I needed to get a bridge and nut for my new SG, so I figured, why not. Yeah, new Gibsons, even the Elliot Easton Signature SG, which streets for $4,600.00 needs work. Gibson QC clearly needs help.


I'm nuts about the Kiefer! Great guitar. I've had 335s and eventually sold them because I wanted a smaller hollowbody. The 336,346, 356 bodies are great. I like them more than the 339 because they are made out of one CNC'ed piece of mahogany and a solid top rather than the 339 which is the standard laminated wood.

If you can, get one of the Kiefer's or a 336, 346, 356. You will not be sorry.
I am looking for a 346 AKA a Paul Jackson Jr. Signature model. I like that one because it has a rear cavity access and the straightpull headstock. Played one and fell in love!

Here's a sunburst 346:


Here's a pic of the Kiefer. It is a bit pricey at $4k retail, with a list of $6,114.00.




The new Carvin hollowbodies are quite something as well:


Here's a few of my pack:



Sounds like you've enjoyed your Gibson tour. I'd like to go on one someday. Sounds interesting.