NAMM-news

[Alanko]

And there I was thinking you were joking...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-1950s-Fender-Neck-Shim-Stratocaster-Telecaster-Strat-Tele-1958-1959-57-/301750826111?hash=item4641c0347f:g:8ioAAOSwVL1WBcTr

[gearHed289]

For the best results, liberally screen your neck cavity with wrinkled copper tape first, and don't forget that the best shims are cardboard shims!

You forgot to spec ORGANIC cardboard!

[Pilgrim]

And there I was thinking you were joking...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-1950s-Fender-Neck-Shim-Stratocaster-Telecaster-Strat-Tele-1958-1959-57-/301750826111?hash=item4641c0347f:g:8ioAAOSwVL1WBcTr

What the heck is that thing made of??? Looks like something that peeled off the side of an old dumpster.

[Alanko]

A pre-CBS dumpster, naturally. "Correct Vintage Parts" demonstrates my earlier theory about these parts suppliers. The fact that their logo is in the style of a PAF pickup sticker just seals the deal.

[Dave W]

Mine is tan. It's some kind of compressed composite, possibly like some form of Garolite.

The one in the auction is from the 50s so it might be a different material.

[Pilgrim]

My 63 P had a small shim but it looked like some kind of fiberous, brown material.

[Rob]

My 63 P had a small shim but it looked like some kind of fiberous, brown material.

my 62 had a thin shim that looked like a manila folder.  I suspect they stamped out whatever material was available in the gauge they needed.

[Dave W]

No matter, they're vintage, and you know that only vintage shims get you that vintage tone. 

[Denis]

I have a genuine 60s Fender neck shim that came off my Coronado II bass. It's the perfect complement to your new neck plate.

I'll sell it to you for $100....oh wait, now that I look at it, I never noticed before that it's signed by someone named Jimi. How about $5K?

The neck shim in my Victory is an old matchbook cover.

[Pilgrim]

I have a bunch of matchbooks (folding style) that my dad collected in the 30's and 40's. I could mess with people's heads by using them for shims!

[Aussie Mark]

Here is the shim that came with my '66 P bass ....

[Dave W]

Speaking of shims, I just noticed these today StewMac Bolt-on Neck Shims. Good idea, price seems way high even for Stew-Mac.

[Alanko]

More NAMM news...

Gibson release the new 'Suspicious '59' Les Paul.

As the supply of real, minty '59 Les Pauls slowly disappear into the bank vaults of the mega rich, Gibson is starting to honour those downright suspicious Les Pauls that crop up on the used market.

Features include such bespoke features as;

Mysterious lacquer over-spray on the headstock.
Ambiguous chew marks on the back of the headstock that may indicate Grovers were fitted.
A finish that may or may not glow under a UV lamp, but certainly wont do it evenly.
An off-center seam on the top. Was it really a goldtop that got refinished? I've seen genuine bursts with off-center seams, so shut up or I'm going home.
One reproduction M-69 pickup ring and one cracked, heavily sanded original. Reason for sanding not apparent.
Router chew marks in the control cavity that will spark at least ten pages of frantic discussion on the usual forums.
A sneaking suspicion that the thing has been re-topped, because the carve just doesn't look right to me, and I held a '57 at Arlington last year.
Telltale Bigsby marks in the finish, but no Bigsby. For an $100 upgrade you can have a fugly, seized NOS Norlin-era bridge fitted.
The dot of the 'i' in 'Gibson' sits just a teeny tiny bit too high for some folk.
One PAF and one 'Tar Back' pickup. Neck or bridge; your choice. The PAF cover raises further suspicion with those in the know.
A sneaking suspicion that the neck has been replaced entirely some time in the '70s, or that the whole damn thing has never been near Kalamazoo.
Suspiciously fresh looking solder in the control cavity, and one pot replaced with one with a 1982 date stamp.
One inlay that totally looks replaced.

Yours for $75,000 because the last owner told me that it used to belong to Joe Walsh. Or Clapton. One of those geezers.

[Dave W]

 

A genuine Gibson Les Paul that imitates a Chinese fake? Why not? You jest, but Gibson offers so many variations today that it's not beyond possibility.

It's a far cry from the 1960 catalog which showed 5 LPs: Standard, Custom, Special, TV and Junior.

[Alanko]

Always worth remembering the hierarchy back then. The Standard was seen as the 'cooking' Les Paul, behind the Custom.