Expanding the herd

[M Sarad]

I am into guitar #3 from the AGF Classified. I’ve gone down the rabbit hole yet again with the Les Paul TV Special.

https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=586196

I had a ‘59 in the 80s and 90s I gigged and recorded with, but when I quit teaching in private Montessori schools and returned to get my Teaching Credential for public education, the student loan wouldn’t cover everything so I sold the LP along with my ‘63 ES 335 and Tweed Deluxes to make ends meet.

So, the SG with Throbaks, Lowden 023C, and now the LP TV.

Luckily, I paid off my house and have cash at my disposal. I almost bought a Collings 290 with a Lollar Staple P90 in the neck position,but $3,500 plus 8% CA sales tax told me to fuggid about it. I may get that Lollar and put it in the Special.

[BoneDigger]

It looks like an awesome guitar! P90s are my favorites by far! Let us know how you like it when it arrives!

[M Sarad]

I have a Les Paul Jr 3/4 that is a one trick pony and a PRS McCarty with Harmonic Design soap bars. I hope that the new Special gets me back to the mid 90s when I was satisfied with my tone.

[Dru Edwards]

Fantastic! Stripped down Gibsons are tone machines.

Regarding your SG, I've heard of Throbaks but I can't recall anything about them.

[DukeX]

Awesome! I'm not an LP guy, but I have always drooled over the TVs, especially the yellow ones!

[marty bradbury]

Sweet looking guitar! I'm still on my quest for my first one,

[M Sarad]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

Fantastic! Stripped down Gibsons are tone machines.

Regarding your SG, I've heard of Throbaks but I can't recall anything about them.

The ThroBaks are modeled on the mid 60s TTop PAFs. I have a original TTops in my ‘65 Melody Maker. They have a bit more garlic and jalapeño overtones sonically than the ThroBaks. My wild opinions is the heavier the body, the sweeter the humbucker and the louder it has to be cranked before terminal velocity and breakup. My experience with a friend’s LP was clean all the way. I had that same experience with Scott Walker electrics.

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by M Sarad

The ThroBaks are modeled on the mid 60s TTop PAFs. I have a original TTops in my ‘65 Melody Maker. They have a bit more garlic and jalapeño overtones sonically than the ThroBaks. My wild opinions is the heavier the body, the sweeter the humbucker and the louder it has to be cranked before terminal velocity and breakup. My experience with a friend’s LP was clean all the way. I had that same experience with Scott Walker electrics.

Sweet! You've got a couple of great Gibsons!

[M Sarad]

The guitar arrived yesterday. The UPS driver pays guitar in an Afro Funk Jazz band with my son on drums.
Perfectly packed, bother the case and guitar seem brand new.
The neck is beefier than I thought. Frets are lower than I'm used to, reminiscent of my Melody Maker. Laurent Brondel spoiled me with Jumbo frets on my Honeycaster.
Tonally, the guitar sounds like the '59 I gave up o er 20 years ago. The Gibson Soap bars are perfectly balanced and plugged into a Blues Driver and a 40 year old Deluxe Reverb gave me the sound I was hoping for.
With the wife at work today, I can crank it up and try it through my tweeds and PRS H 50 watt head,the rig I use with the blues band.
Thanks to Kyle for a great deal.

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by M Sarad

The guitar arrived yesterday. The UPS driver pays guitar in an Afro Funk Jazz band with my son on drums.
Perfectly packed, bother the case and guitar seem brand new.
The neck is beefier than I thought. Frets are lower than I'm used to, reminiscent of my Melody Maker. Laurent Brondel spoiled me with Jumbo frets on my Honeycaster.
Tonally, the guitar sounds like the '59 I gave up o er 20 years ago. The Gibson Soap bars are perfectly balanced and plugged into a Blues Driver and a 40 year old Deluxe Reverb gave me the sound I was hoping for.
With the wife at work today, I can crank it up and try it through my tweeds and PRS H 50 watt head,the rig I use with the blues band.
Thanks to Kyle for a great deal.

It's a beautiful guitar. Gibson does an amazing job with P90s. I have a couple of Gibsons with P90s (Les Paul Tribute and SG Tribute) so I know your TV Special sounds fantastic.

Your Guitar

[M Sarad]

That's the one.

[seannx]

One of my best friends in High School had one. He got a Telecaster in 1967, and sold the TV Special to a friend for $87.00, a transaction he now regrets

[M Sarad]

I sold my ‘59 to a friend for $400. He loaned it back when I was gigging and recording. I couldn’t sell it to stranger for what I could have.

[M Sarad]

I’ve been playing the Paul and my PRS McCarty with P90s side by side. I put Harmonic Design VP90 Pickups in the PRS.

https://www.harmonicdesign.net/allpages/gibsons.html

They are louder, cleaner, more detailed, and a much better pickup. That being said, I got the Paul because the Collings 290 with a Lollars would have been
$3745.00.

Next step on the journey?

https://www.lollarguitars.com/lollar...aple-p-90-neck

I’ll get the Staple for the neck and regular for the bridge.

When I played the Collings into a Carr Sportsman In January, I finally found the tone I was looking for. I stayed on the neck pickup, adjusted the gain, and spent the next four months trying to justify the cost. Luckily, someone bought the 290.

I will order two Lollars next month.

[M Sarad]

After a week of playing both the PRS and Gibson plugged into a ZenDrive and a 1980 Deluxe Reverb, I've come to the conclusion that the LP sounds fine just the way it is. It breaks up sooner and has a darker sound. While it lacks the clarity and volume of the PRS Harmonic Design P90S , it just screams Rocknroll !