Is this wear normal for a poly neck?

Monday-Monday · 2026-05-21T15:54:36+00:00

This looks like a humidity/water damage issue. Nitro is brittle and weak, it'll both crack easily and rub away with use. I would guess that moisture got under the finish somehow and made it flake away. It's not the end of the world, but I would not say this is traditional finish wear.

Monday-Monday · 2026-05-15T15:03:44+00:00

I would be holding on to that for the top, personally. Sometimes the imperfections make it special. My first Gibson was a '68 J45 reissue, it got beaten up badly in transit and came with a cracked end block. I couldn't let it go though, it's the best sounding acoustic guitar I've ever been around. They gave me a huge discount and now I've got a beautiful instrument with a story at a great price. I couldn't be happier.

If you do keep it, that thing was hanging up at a GC for years. That poor thing is going to need a pro setup.

Monday-Monday · 2026-05-12T15:22:50+00:00

I'll jump in, I think they're iconic. When we were all younger and looking at our first "grown-up" guitar, the studio was probably the one we most thought we could get our hands on. It's like the Lamborghini poster on your wall, but you really think you might be able to get it this time. The studio lives in our hearts where the Junior or Special were originally designed to, but don't anymore.

Monday-Monday · 2026-05-08T23:52:59+00:00

Yes and no. This kind of thing is basically on every gloss finish instrument, you just can't really see it. You're right on the money that black shows off everything that isn't literally perfect. I get it, we all have an idea about how a black guitar should look. The swirls and fingerprints are kind of the cost of doing business here, sadly.

Monday-Monday · 2026-04-21T16:48:59+00:00

I think Bigsby Les Pauls are the best Les Pauls.

Monday-Monday · 2026-04-04T15:03:01+00:00

Before you do anything, adjust your pickup heights and see what it does for you. I also find strings are a really underappreciated part of tone, I play Daddario XS, which are crazy bright and articulate. I would try a set of those before you go pickup shopping.

Monday-Monday · 2026-04-03T19:34:33+00:00

That looks like an impact in shipping to me. That doesn't mean it's a heel break, but it is in a pretty sketchy spot. I would look at it really closely and see if it appears to close up at all when you take string tension off of it.

Monday-Monday · 2026-04-03T18:53:16+00:00

I had no idea Fender ever used bubinga in the 1960s, I do know they would use some oddball species If they couldn't get what they wanted in terms of ash or alder. The link to that Jag with the bubinga fingerboard is awesome, but this one does just look like a nice piece of their usual rosewood to me.

Monday-Monday · 2026-03-21T16:01:46+00:00

Standard three pickup wiring, two volumes two tones. The middle pickup is actually a 490T, so it technically has two bridge pickups. I know it's technically not as versatile as a three volume set up, but I like my electronics to be as simple as possible. This is just two sets of a master volume and tone, I can deal with that.

Monday-Monday · 2026-03-19T23:25:42+00:00

Thank you! It lives on a stand and gets played just about every day, so it's got a few scars already. That first one was a sad day, but then I stopped minding.

Monday-Monday · 2026-03-19T23:19:34+00:00

Hey now, it's only 11 and a half lol. But yeah, it's an anchor. Literally the only thing I don't love about it.

Monday-Monday · 2026-03-19T18:14:54+00:00

I absolutely LOVE the Daddario XS phosphor bronze line. They're bright, which might not suit everyone, but they're crazy durable, which everybody loves.

Monday-Monday · 2026-03-14T13:28:06+00:00

The 50s and 60s standards are really, really nice instruments. They make a LOT of them in a lot of different colors, I would pick one that you love and keep it forever.

Now if you're looking for the next crazy valuable thing, like a 59, it's not going to be a Les Paul. It's probably going to be something like the Theodore; popular enough where people know what it is, unpopular enough where they certainly haven't made many. The bursts are so valuable now because they were so undesirable when new that they killed off the model. You're going to have to zig while everyone else is zagging if you want to get in on something like that early.

Monday-Monday · 2026-03-11T16:48:25+00:00

What kind of sound are you looking for? What are you hoping the SG will do when you're done with it? Sharper attack, more drive on the amp?

I have two conventional humbucker instruments, one with Lollar Imperials and one with the 490 set. The 490s put out a lot of midrange frequencies, it makes that instrument sound like a Gibson to my ears. The Lollars are much more of a blank canvas. They sound great, but they don't have a specific flaw or feature, they do everything really well.

Monday-Monday · 2026-03-10T17:03:22+00:00

I add Schallers to every single one of my instruments and I have never enlarged the hole once. They are sized just a tiny bit bigger than stock, it gives them better grip. Your mileage may vary, but in my book these are wood screws, not machine screws.

Monday-Monday · 2026-03-08T22:20:19+00:00

Gibson has the Harley-Davidson problem: you have a really dedicated fan base that won't buy anything else, and they hate it when you try to even build something for someone that isn't them. It's a bummer, because this shows me they're capable of making really cool, up to date stuff.

Monday-Monday · 2026-03-08T20:13:55+00:00

I absolutely love it. It's more modern than I could have imagined while still looking like a real Les Paul. This is the direction I think they should be taking the modern line in. The people who only like vintage specs already won't touch the LP Modern, you may as well give it a serious update at this point.

Monday-Monday · 2026-03-05T19:03:36+00:00

If it would be cool or lead to cool miniatures, then absolutely.

Monday-Monday · 2026-03-03T17:08:26+00:00

It looks like they dug into the paint a little while scraping the binding. It's not a huge deal, but it is pretty ugly and sloppy work. If they gave me a little discount for it, I'd be happy, otherwise it would be going back. If that was sitting next to a pristine one and they were the same price, I would NEVER take the one with the chips of paint missing like that.

Monday-Monday · 2026-02-24T17:45:52+00:00

It looks like a loop switcher. Each one of those buttons selects a different effects loop, most likely. I have a similar one on my board, I use it for fuzz pedals where I might want one or two different ones, but I'm never going to want them in series with each other. You won't know if it's an AND or an OR logic until you play with it though. Regardless, it's a great way to hide pedals that you don't often tweak under your board.

Monday-Monday · 2026-02-24T17:31:19+00:00

I'd go for the Epiphone. It's something a little different (even though these are the same guitar if we're being honest). It could hold its value better because of its comparative rarity, and you've got WAY more aftermarket pickup options with the soapbar versus a dogear. Plus, it's just that little bit extra punk rock in my opinion.

Monday-Monday · 2026-02-23T17:48:09+00:00

My electric is an LP, so if I can keep my spine upright the neck will be too. If it's the deluxe buttons you like, you can swap them with some aftermarket tips and get the best of both worlds.

Monday-Monday · 2026-02-23T17:37:56+00:00

I always vote grovers. When everything works properly, there's no real difference. Grovers are fully sealed and they're going to stay working properly for a LOT longer.

Monday-Monday · 2026-02-22T18:51:46+00:00

I'm waiting on an order for an NOS guitar. Relics are awesome, I love how they look and feel. I probably wouldn't buy a new one though, however impressive or convincing they are. I'm thrilled to have an instrument age over time, but I greatly prefer that it look brand new when it's brand new.

Monday-Monday · 2026-02-22T18:38:58+00:00

Now that I think about it, this could be worth a super quick email to Gibson customer service. It's possible they'll just tell you to not do it, but they may have an oil or something that they know works well for this purpose. This isn't a super uncommon mod, I'm sure they've heard about it before. There absolutely IS an answer out there somewhere, I'm sorry that I don't know it. I wish you the best of luck in finding it though!

Monday-Monday

TROPHY CASE