Archive for December 1st, 2013
Not likely!!
Gibson Limited Edition Midtown Custom. A classic in the making!
Behold a very, VERY cool new limited edition Gibson semi hollow body guitar inspired by the Gibson ES series of guitars namely the Gibson ES355 which is the top of the line. This guitar looks top shelf and I am confident it plays and sounds that way as well. Needless to say I am quite stoked about Gibson’s new offering and can’t wait to try one out!
Gibson Limited Edition Midtown Custom. The basics of how it is made.
This Gibson limited edition guitar is a bit cheaper to manufacture than a Gibson ES335 or the aforementioned Gibson ES355 it emulates because only the maple cap is arched maple. The rest of the body is a solid block of wood, most likely mahogany, which is chambered out by a programmed CNC ( Computer Numerical Control ) machine to resemble a weight relieved or “semi hollow” body. (…Or “semi solid” depending on your point of view i.e. is the cup half empty or half full? I prefer the term half empty, especially with a Miller 64. It then makes looking forward to the next one a bit less gluttonous than if you are reaching for another while you still have one that is half full,.. but then I digress). Anyway, after that block of mahogany has been transformed by that CNC miracle of technology machine into an appropriately shaped and partly <not going there again!> hollowed guitar body, the arched maple top is basically glued to the top of the body. Of course, I simplified the process a bit, but that is essentially it. Also of note is that the body size of this Gibson Limited Edition Midtown Custom guitar is slightly smaller than a standard Gibson ES355 but still gives the appearance of a full size Gibson ES style guitar. Pretty cool!
On a Gibson ES335/345/355 both the top and back are pieces of arched maple. A center block of wood is shaped and placed, then a side strip of maple us curved to match the outline of the top and back. All the pieces are glued together and appropriate binding placed, etc. This is all done by hand. Much less labor intensive to take what is essentially a “solid body” have it appropriately hollowed out by a machine and then glue a maple top on it. Yes it might not have binding on the sick/back angle of the body and the back of the guitar may be flat un-figured mahogany like a Les Paul, but in any case and bottom line, it works and the result is a top notch Gibson limited edition guitar at a much cheaper price. I’d love to have on one of these babies! I’m also starting to grow fond of the baked maple fingerboards. Smooth and dense. Reading a lot of good things about baked maple and other alternative materials to what is rapidly becoming the unfortunate dwindling supply of ebony.*
Gibson Limited Edition Midtown Custom. How to painlessly ( well almost ) get one now!
Also companies like American Musical Supply which offer interest free payment plans take a bit of the sting out of the purchase. This is a whole lot of guitar for cost of admission of $1499.00 including a hard shell case! In summary, the Gibson Limited Edition Midtown Custom is a great guitar at a great price!
http://www.americanmusical.com/Item–i-GIB-DSDCCT-LIST
Great job Gibson! Check it out!
http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/Designer/Gibson-USA/Midtown-Custom.aspx
Gibson Limited Edition Midtown Custom is a great guitar at a great price!
*For further study on the current state of wood supplies in general and especially ebony check out this very informative video by Bob Taylor of Taylor Guitars. An eye opener for sure!
For some other view points of the Gibson Limited Edition Midtown Custom check out:
http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/other-gibsons/222312-ngd-gibson-midtown-custom-2.html
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