New Jimmy Page Les Paul

[bud]

I respectfully submit this as a question to anyone with historical knowledge. Does the guitar that this model re-creates have any historical significance? I got an email containing the paragraph below and immediately wondered if this was the beginning of the "guitars once played by Jimmy Page" series.

"The Jimmy Page Les Paul Custom is a detailed re-creation of Jimmy’s 1960 Black Beauty that he used in the early days of Led Zeppelin. Page calls his 3-pickup Les Paul "the one that got away"—it was stolen at an airport in 1970, never to be seen again."

This begs another question: If it was never seen again, how is it a detailed recreation?

[tom]

i'll bet his memory is perfect;)

[bud]

Well I guess there is some significance, it made it into a picture.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y117/ledzeppelinorg1/images/gear/GibsonLPBlackBeauty3.jpg

I was wondering about the quality of Jimmy's recall when I saw you could get the guitar with or without a Bigsby.

[sylvanshine]

All I know is I want to get my hands on some of those joystick toggles they are using in that guitar. Having tap and phase options in a standard looking toggle is righteous.

[GaryMcT]

Yes! I want one of those pickup switches!

[kurt1981]

Maybe Tom could help us out with the switching idea?!!! I like the idea too, but as with most pauls I've played recently, I wouldn't shell out the cash for one. I've really seen some bad guitars come out of the gibson factory lately, lots of them just don't have that magic that some of the older gibsons have. And, for as much as they're charging these days, they should be a lot closer to the feel and craftsmanship we've come to know from TAG. Just my humble opinions, not trying to smash Gibson or anything,
Kurt

[tom]

what kind of switch does it have? a while ago a guy sent me a switch from england. it was a 3 way toggle that had 6 positions, kind of like a 6 speed transmission with no neutral. very cool idea, but was internally wired to only do certain things and you all know we like to make switches do things they were not designed to do.

[GaryMcT]

This sounds like a similar switch. In the Page guitar, it's a three way for the neck and bridge pickups, like you would expect for a 2 HB Les Paul, but there is another axis that turns the middle pickup off and on.

If someone made a generic version of this, would be great for coil tap!

[tom]

sounds like a similar switch. the guy was trying to sell me on out of phase and other silly sounds. would like to have been able to just access all the terminals to do whatever we wanted. he said it could be had other ways, but the minimum order would have lasted a lifetime.

[sylvanshine]

http://i30.tinypic.com/dnegd1.jpg

http://i26.tinypic.com/2qukshx.jpg

[dkaplowitz]

That switch does indeed look cool. I wonder how the action on it is, how it notches, if at all. I could love it or hate it. Will have to try one and see which it'll be.

[tom]

it doesn't have the bounce that the old switchcraft les paul switch has, but it is pretty positive feeling. it has a little less click than the 3 way amp switches that i have seen on boogies.

[sylvanshine]

Have learned that the switch is called a Free Way and it's manufactured by NSF Controls UK. I sent an e-mail to see if these will be available to the general public. No word yet. Developing.

[tom]

that's the guy that sent it to me. i have emailed him about alternate wiring(since that one is internally wired to only do that particular thing), but haven't heard anything back from him.

[sylvanshine]

Got a response back from Roy Whitaker at NSF. They indeed manufactured the switch and says they won't be selling them as they are proprietary to Gibson. Bullocks.

[sylvanshine]

http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/2316/jpc30002mg5.jpg
http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/3373/jpc30003lh2.jpg

[tom]

that's a different board on the back than was on the sample i got. that proprietary stuff has to stop. i can't tell you how many great products have been stifled because a big manufacturer tells the little guy "we'll sell zillions of those if you sign here so we're the only one you'll sell to". they end up only using a small amount of the item and the guy goes broke. how many jimmy les pauls are they going to sell?

[sylvanshine]

500 worldwide

[tom]

that sure won't pay for the tooling he had to have spent to make the switch.