BFG

rightintheface

Senior Member
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anyone tried/own a gibson les paul BFG? i seem to recall seeing a picture of one a while ago here, cant remember where though. anyone got any opinions? i'd love a paul, and this one seems to sit in my idea territory (i.e. price range, roadworthy looks, versatile pickups). i haven't had any experience with p-90 pickups either. usually a humbucker man. opinions? i dont hav a particular style. anywhere from jazz to blues to rock to metal.
 
If you've never played a P-90, you don't know what you're missing.

As for the BFG, the only thing that eludes me is the "kill switch". I can't fathom why a guitar needs an off switch. Other than that, it looks like a lot of guitar for the money.

Rich
 
No idea about the bfg,  ... honestly i dont have any idea what a gibson BFG is..
BUT! I"ve got a Squier Custom Tele II wired up like a LP and iv'e got P90s in it.  They're "duncan designed" which means "not quite seymour duncan" but they're pretty rockin.  They buzz a lot, but they've got a lot of bite to them, in the middle position with both pickups on its like one big humbucker and the buzz goes away.  but its wicked.  I dont play straight from the neck pup very often but on a p90 i really like it.
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My guitars tend to be wired complicatedly, with hum-single-hum setup and coiltaps, etc etc.

But I've very honestly been thinking that what I really want and need is a guitar with two P90s. Done.
 
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There ya be.  Done.

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In progress.

One of the nicest sounding guitar I've ever owned.  BFG's are hollow.
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Mine has been rewired (the kill switch is bubblegum).  It now has a proper toggle, and has a 3 way selector for normal, series and out of phase pickup operation.  Controls, beside the toggle and 3 way switch, are Volume, Middle, and Treble.  The middle control uses a Lawrence Q filter, wired as it was in the Gibson L6s.

BFG's are really unfinished.  But you can do a lot with them.

Call Saul at Center City Music, he's got em for ... a price so low I cant mention it.  Hundreds less than Guitar Center or MF online.  Thats HUNDREDS with an H.  Trust me, Saul is good people.

As for the P90... A great match for the BB3 at the bridge.  You probably will want to put 500k pots in there (Warmoth/CTS are a perfect fit).  That will brighten it up some, as they tend to be dark "as is".

The BFG should be thought of as a guitar-canvas, waiting for you to make it what you like.
 
THATS the picture i was looking for -CB- and it looks, whats the term we use here in australia... oh yeah. fudging AWESOME!!!! how did you do that finish, and over which base colour?? i feel like going swimming just looking at it  :icon_tongue:

oh and i just came from my local music store where i had a crack at a cherry BFG through a mesa stilletto (very nice amp). It was awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the satin neck is just brilliant, smooth as butter on the hands. i dont mind the cherry finish, but i think i'd order a black one.. if i was experienced with guitar finishing, i'd prob get the gold and do a fire burst or something (like the les paul supreme i think) but seeing as this will be my first gibson, i think i'll keep the home finishing to a minimum. knobs will def be changed, the wood ones are love/hate (and why is one of them bigger?!?!?!?) and i lean much more towards hate. i'll get some metal knobs and do some creative aging (mmmm, sanding and fumes of acid....). other mods would include a washer under the killswitch (more on this below), and definitely a truss rod cover, because the truss rod just looks rubbish with that yellow shit all over it. i'll probably get a blank and engrave BFG in it. or BASTARD. depends on how i feel at the time.

P-90's ARE SO MUCH FUN!! i'm not big on usual single coil sounds through distortion, just too noisy, but this pickup has some balls!!!!!! awesome sounding bluesy crunch. bit buzzy, but still way cool. the BB3 is killer as well, reminds me of my JB, but just. i dunno. BETTER. all round, i'm pretty sure that it would be the most comfortable/casual guitar to play with (my explorer is neck heay and my epi SG is attatched at the 20th fret i think. i'm 6'3" with long gangly arms and fingers (i can stretch from the 3rd to the 11th fret, beat that!), but playing chords on my SG still feels like its in a baritone scale. the paul just sits exactly where i need it to. and so light!! i'e played a les paul custom (i think, though couldve been a standard) in the past, and thought it was utter rubbish. pickups were terrible and flabby, finish was too pansy for me personally (it wasn't flame maple, can't remember if that makes it standard or custom), and the neck was too sticky for me. and that was a brand new one. this BFG though... its like my soulmate in guitar form.

and a note on the kill switch- not often, but OCCASIONALLY i'll chuck a Tom Morello on my SG: that is, turn the neck pickup volume all the way down, and during suspended chords, or rolling out the end of a song (while the drummer does a 2 minute drum roll  :tard:), i use the toggle as a kill switch/alternating tremolo. its not often that i use it, but it's different and sounds kinda cool when used properly, used in the middle of a high 19th fret bend sounds particularly wacky. actually, adam jones from Tool (kudos to volitions advocate for your 10000 days sticker) uses this very same kill switch method at the end of the song 'cold and ugly' (opiate), on the suspended chord at the end. not a very often used effect, but i like the toggle near the controls (needs a plastic knob on the pickup switch though). gotta say though, its about the best paul for money. i was gonna get a LTD EC-1000 (amber sunburst with zebra duncans) but wasnt keen on all the abalone. i think the BFG gonna be my next guitar
 
I used lacquer thinner and a 3m scrubber to take the old finish off, which came off very easily.... except in the pores... so I let it stay there.  Then I dyed the top and it has that contrasting effect of new dye, plus what was stuck in the pores.... plus those hills and valleys.  Dyed the back the same way, just plain brown.  Then clear coated it.  Minimal sanding (sides only really).  Top got a nice buff, sides a bit less buff, back no buff.  And thats that.  The buff was done via elbow grease and white automobile rubbing compound.
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Awesome job on the BFG there -CB-!  :eek:ccasion14:
now this guitar really rocks!!  :headbang:

i like!
 
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