TalismanRich

Bolero's looks very much like mine, which is a 2005. This has the Sheptone Tribute pickups, otherwise it's stock.

I think "50s" neck is meaningless. It varied at Gibson from 52 to 59. Every one was hand rolled and there were more than one person doing the work. Generally 50s means thicker. 60s SGs had thinner necks than 59 LPs. I certainly haven't played enough old Gibsons to say they are all the same, but the ones I've played varied. As for quality issues, I have 5 Heritage guitars from an 87 to 08. The only thing I have really done as a "repair" was changing the pickups in my H140 (it was used and one of the pickups was really screwed up). I put Sheptones in my 535, but just to try them. They sound different from the stock Schallers. I also changed the pots and caps in my 157 to see if there was any improvement. I can't say it was better. The Vishay Poly caps are good, so I don't think the oil filled caps improved anything. One advantage of the later models is the use of SD59s in place of the Schaller pickups. People used to pull the Schallers and put in new pickups, often SD59s or Seth Lovers. Now they pull the SDs and put in something else. On a Semi, that's a harder task than on a solid body with an access panel for the controls. Some people don't like the Schaller bridge and tailpiece. They change them to ABR or Nashville types, which are usually lighter. My 535 already came that way, so not all have the Schaller hardware. A couple of the Grovers on my 535 were getting tight, so last year, I changed to locking Grovers, and used keystone buttons instead of kidney beans. Strictly a choice. Normal factory is Grovers with kidney beans. They can be replaced in about an hour for under $100 if you want. You can see how they look in this thread.

All earlier 535s don't necessarily have thin necks. First, since they were all hand carved, there was some variation in the necks. They had templates to check as they were working the neck, but they would vary. My 535 neck (2005) is rounder and beefier than my 03 H157 or 87 H-140. There's a slight difference in shape as well. Second, different people did the carving. Marv could be different from Arnie. The guitars from the past few years have tended to be on the thicker side, but you'll still see a bit of variation between individual instruments. If you have the opportunity to play the guitar first, I would highly advise that. Some people are very picky about the feel, others can play varying thicknesses, but shape makes a difference. My Strat has a VERY thick neck, my 140 is relatively thin. Both are comfortable. I've played several PRS guitars and I hated the shape. They hit my thumb in a manner that was actually painful in a short time. I have a dislike of wide/flat necks. Hardware can be changed if you want, but the neck and body are pretty much set in stone.... er... wood.

I was hoping it wasn't a self portrait!

Since Wilson was so deeply involved with the Gibson Custom Shop, and then setting up the Custom Core line, you would expect them to be quite similar. The man apparently was VERY good at what he did. I"m hoping that Kuz doesn't run into any of the issues with the nitro peeling that some folks with Murphy Lab guitars have experienced. I know he takes extraordinary care of his guitars, so it there's a problem, it won't be from his lack of care.

It's time to change things up for the new year and the pedal board is the target. For years I've been using a OneSpot to power the pedals, but it means I need to run an extension cord. At last years PSP, Bill Durkin had a supply that ran off of battery, so I was looking around and found this for $40 on sale. 4400mAh and enough spots to cover all of my pedals. Charge it up and fire up the pedal board without that extra wiring. I'm curious as to how much time I'll get from a charge. In a pinch I can always plug it in and keep going. I have never had a compressor on my board, and thought it was time I try one. When I'm jamming with my buddies, I sometime have a problem with keeping levels right since we're going direct in and I'm using the Iridium. Maybe this will even things out. I liked JHS's Notaklon, so I'm hoping this will work out.

You're a good Grandpa, MG. Passing along a love of music and fine instruments to make it is a fine legacy.

I have one from every PSP starting with #2. I don't know if there was one for the 1st PSP. One year wasn't a tee shirt, it was blue with buttons, if I recall. I would need to go up and root through the closet to see. A few years we even had hats.

Mark, good to hear from you again. Glad to hear you're enjoying your time. I missed reading your tales (sometimes good, sometimes tales of woe). Should there come a day that you get the bug, you'll surely find some like-minded mates to scratch the itch. Don't stay away so long next time.

Lordy Mark, Do you have a black cloud floating somewhere over your head? I remember what it was like when my leg was in a cast for 6 weeks. UGH! Hope you heal up quickly!

Wow, you were looking to replace a guitar player, and you end up with a rotation of drummers! That stinks that your man had to bow out because of arthritis. This aging stuff just sneaks up and bites us when we're just having fun. Hopefully the days of drama and drunken spouses are far behind you. Perhaps you can grace us with some videos of the new band.

I can't think of a more eloquent way of putting the HOC and PSP in perspective. Yes, this is a hobby for most of us, but the friendships are what make it all worthwhile. Well said!

You mention the neck/body junction, but I don't see a photo of that joint. Perhaps I am not understanding the nature of the problem. Is the problem only with the binding, or is there a more structural issue with the neck joint? While I personally would not have an issue with the offcenter dots, it clearly is a fault. Your best recourse is to deal with the seller. If he is an authorized dealer, he should act as the bridge between you and the factory. Having modified the guitar with the Bigsby may present a problem. Changing the binding on the neck would be one way to remedy the situation, and I fear that it could result in more visible flaws. The dots are knocked in by hand, so the dot could be drilled out by hand, filled and redrilled for the new dot.