In interesting news, I sold the pickguard from the above Gibson for $1,000. That is right, the little plastic pickguard, for a grand!! PLUS, the buyer is sending me a reproduction guard as well. I could have gotten about $1,500 if I'd held out for the "Right" buyer, but a guy at my guitar forum was needing one for his '69, so we worked a deal. Only some of the '69s had the vintage style "rolled" pickguards (same as the 50's) - and they're quite the collectible piece of hardware!

That just made this guitar INSANELY cheap for me. And she rocks... HARD!!









The overall playing experience of this guitar is unlike anything I've ever had before. She's not as "smooth and user friendly" as my newer guitars - but the sound, playability, and feel are just impossible to describe. The binding is "rolled" from 40 years of playing, and the fretboard dips slightly between each fret. She's very broken in - on her 2nd or 3rd set of frets, and just feels amazing. The P90 pups are very warm, and not as "noisy" as I've always been told they were. I was standing about 10 feet in front of and facing my stack during band practice, and had no feedback issues. This guitar is structurally sound - never had a neck break or anything like that. "Old wood" really does make a difference! After law school, I'm going to have to drop 5 figures on a 50's Gold Top or Custom - until then, I've got this beautiful vintage axe to play on for LESS than a new Gibson Standard costs!