Return of the Gibson Moderne.....?

[AprioriMark]

I've always liked the Moderne, and would likely buy one if they're ~1500.

-Mark

 

[bagman67]

Needs a Floyd.  That'd pretty much put the icing on the "I have no use for this guitar" cake.

 

[pabloman]

When I said Gibson nailed it with the humbucker I was implying that it was a great pickup. If you read the rest of my post you will see where I say that the same pup in the different Gibsons still let's the guitars signature tone come through.

 

[pabloman]

Fenders guitar tones come more from all the screw on bits.

 

[DangerousR6]

I like the Moderne, but not so much the Gumby headstock. I like it better with the V headstock. If one from the 50's was ever to surface, it would be the most expensive guitar ever...It's like the Holy grail of guitars... :glasses9:

 

[Graffiti62]

I think that this just plays around with Gibson's enfetishment of trying to cash in on it's past. Seriously, when you think about it, what's the last new design that Gibson had that was a new and fresh idea?  If I remember right, I think it was the Blueshawk, which was kind of an unpolished gem of an instrument. They were light, snappy, sounded great with the 90s that were loaded into it, and, from seeing a local band when I was growing up, they were stellar for slide work, especially with the longer scale. But, if it hasn't been made before, or wasn't something that was thought up of by Teddy McCarty fifty some-odd years ago, Gibson won't think of a new design. At least the Moderne isn't the kind of abored fetus idea the Firebird X was--those things always made me think that Gibson thought mating a Firebird with a Moog and, to top it off, dropped it off at the Brunswick Sports factory to make it look like it was finished like a bowling ball.

 

[mayfly]

At least the Moderne isn't the kind of abored fetus idea the Firebird X was--those things always made me think that Gibson thought mating a Firebird with a Moog and, to top it off, dropped it off at the Brunswick Sports factory to make it look like it was finished like a bowling ball.

are they still trying to sell the Firebird X?

 

[Graffiti62]

At least the Moderne isn't the kind of abored fetus idea the Firebird X was--those things always made me think that Gibson thought mating a Firebird with a Moog and, to top it off, dropped it off at the Brunswick Sports factory to make it look like it was finished like a bowling ball.

are they still trying to sell the Firebird X?

Sadly yes...I think they took such a bite on the project, that they're stuck chewing on the BS sandwich, making the world think that it tastes great, with a big, forced grin on their faces.

 

[bagman67]

There are two hanging in my neighborhood Guitar Center, and none of the tools go-getters working there have tried to sell it to me.  They haven't moved once in the last three months, as far as I can tell.

 

[Graffiti62]

There are two hanging in my neighborhood Guitar Center, and none of the tools go-getters working there have tried to sell it to me.  They haven't moved once in the last three months, as far as I can tell.

Truth be told, even as something to buy for the idea that it might go up in value, the X is a shamble. The point is going to come where GC is going to liquidate their inventory of them, and they're going to depreciate faster than an Alfa Romeo leaving the dealership.

Now, what Gibson is doing right is starting to bring back a couple of their slightly obscure, yet very cool, guitars, such as the ES-330, the Les Paul Deluxe, and a production Les Paul with P-90s on it rather than humbuckers. I still don't think the "60s Les Paul" is going to be as sublime as the '56 Goldtop reissue that I fell in love with at Elderly in Lansing (it's still there:  http://elderly.com/vintage/names/gibson-les-paul-1956-reissue-%282001%29--30U-17218.htm). Truth be told, I'd love to see them do something that Fender did:  take your budget brand and make one of those models into a full-on high-end guitar. Squier had that '51 that everyone loved, which wound up being cantonized into a Fender a few years later for some series they ran. I'd love to see Gibson do the same thing with the Epi Wildkat. When a guitar made overseas doesn't depreciate any more than 15-25% once it becomes a used instrument, you're doing something right.