We needed a good video on a "Stage 4" guitar - Ol' Smokey was perfect for it! 🟢Available on My Website: www.troglysguitarshow.com 🔴Check it out on Reverb: tidd.ly/4aFiyhC 🐕 Private Help Sessions: troglysguitarshow.com/help-appraisals/
it's solely because of the look, and it's far more cheaper to get your guitar relic-ed or get a relic one from the factory than spend hundreds of dollars on a natural aged guitar. And just like trogly said "If a guitar gets to this stage, it means it's been played a lot, and if it's been played this much, it's gotta be awesome." People just want that look.
@hatred9427 it's also the feel. Relic guitars are still cheaper than buying a real vintage guitar that's got all the mojo and natural relicing, and alot of players love the "broken in" feeling that the necks on the Reliced series have. They're mostly collector pieces, but serious players buy them for feel too
@@hatred9427 No its not just because of the look. guitars are made of wood, and an aged wood example that has been played has molecular differences from a new reliced wood guitar. Wood is something that is changed by the vibrations it experiences in its lifetime. or, afterlifetime. So a lifetime of great players playing great music is something you can't relic.
This isn't a reliced guitar it's a naturally aged guitar. I can spot even the best relic job a mile away. this can't be duplicated, there's simply no short cut to achieve this. this is why I will never own a relic guitar. all my guitars have to earn their battle scars naturally. and this guitar is a perfect example of that.
@@Tsilsby There's one just like it for $4,300.00 that's been sitting there on Reverb for two years. '81 LP Custom tobacco burst. Not sure how he came to the 10K valuation. Seems extreme considering what's available on that site as far as Norlin era Gibsons go. For 10 grand you could get a lot of very exceptional 70's Les Paul. The examples are there. This ain't one of 'em.
@EarthAltar I saw that one too. He is at 10,500 on reverb. Guess they charge 500$ worth of fees now? There is a silver burst and its only at 7k But the price on those have dropped a lot.
@@Tsilsby Yep, saw the silverburst as well. Like i was sayin', for that much coin you could be real picky. There's no shortage of Norlins. A few are rare from that era, but condition is what's driving the price in the nicer listings. Not scarcity. The same thing happens with the '75 to '79 Flying Vs. There's some beat up ones at ridiculous prices and some choice ones at even more ridiculous prices. They get listed and sit for years waiting for a chump to come along with the scratch. Don't even get me started on the Medallion Vs.
Yeah and the guy who had it spent 20-30 years of their life smokin it up to get that finish XDD I love it. Always leave mine out when I smoke for it hahaha
I cannot comprehend why, if you were going to Fender Custom Shop or similar, you'd pay them to make it look worn. What, are you gonna tell people "Yeah, nah, true, bro, this is totally a '62 Strat that totally spent the last 60 years in all the really cool bars and clubs and stuff"?
@@hoilst265They're collector pieces. And for serious players that like the look and feel of a worn guitar, they're cheaper than buying an actual vintage piece in most cases. People out here acting like beat up worn vintage guitars are cheap and easy to find I swear to god. Let people like what they like.
Finally, a guitar worth talking about that has character, sounds has a decent story behind it More content like this would be greatly appreciated if possible!
not just muscle cars, I've heard that term applied to any beat up old car that no one would really want to save, but soldiers on anyway, i.e. econobox models that are practically extinct.
I owned Pat Travers original DC Les Paul for awhile. It was naturally just like this with the years of playing in smoke filled bars and venues. Same yellowish haze, and the smoke smell never went away.
I agree 100%. Very nice sounding Les Paul, just needs a new bridge and maybe new frets. It's perfect for playing 70's and 80's rock and metal stuff, and even some My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy tunes.
I bought a 1975 Fender Mustang, it was black but it was covered in years of cigarette smoke residue just like this guitar. I had to take it apart and put a ton of cleaner and elbow grease into it. I used "virtuoso" guitar cleaner and it did a great job melting it away. Once i was done a shiny finish appeared but it took a lot of work lol
Rock and Roll band, smoking, More than a feeling, all of the first album. I was a brand new baby guitarist when I discovered this album. This one and Rush 2112 were my two. What about you?
The other two albums that formed my outlook on music as a guitarist were Pink Floyd Dark Side and Alan Parsons I Robot. King Crimson Discipline was big as was Abbey Road. Animals and CCR. Ritchie Havens and Sly and the Family. Ten Years After and Green Day. RHCP and STP. Us old fert guitarists can claim them all as influences. EVH and Uncle Nuge. Billy Gibbons and Jimmi Hendrix. We lived it.
Polish, smooth it out not clean it, the grime then hit it with a thin coat of clear UV resistant to freeze it in place (unless you start wearing through the clear coat)...
Then again, remember that you don't eat the pellicle off aged meats, the tar coating has been staining it for years by gently cleaning it you're not ruining the relic you're just maintaining it - it would have turned those colors underneath anyhow, being played for decades in a cigar shop by assumedly the owner/proprietor, but in that environment it probably seemed clean enough at any time to someone actually in the shop. But a gentle clean up would really bring out the depth of the relic instead of leaving it like it's been drug through La Brea and left there. Wouldn't be surprised if it came out of some place like Cascade Cigar and Tobacco Lounge or similar...
Most of the deep brown yellowing of the lacquer is from age and particularly from ultraviolet exposure, not smoke. Smoking tars clean straight off with alcohol. They can cause some light staining, but not like that. Being in the window of the cigar store it was probably exposed to direct sunlight and got a lot of UV. I work with plastics and ha've seen many plastic and lacquer finished go dark brown from UV, even when nowhere near smoke.
I know where there is a cigar shop/jam room in SC. These guys hang around smoking - watching old ROCK videos with guitars, amps and drums set up around the shop for impromptu jam sessions.
All that tar from the smoke must of protected the finish from checking, it would probably clean up better than you think with the right tools and compounds. I know you don’t want to , but cleaning it would make a awesome video
You know your stuff when it comes to dating & authenticating Gibson guitars. I'll be tuning in to your channel more often. Thanks for the video, great job.
It's actually amazing it sounds as good as it does? because that cigarette tar permiats everything. it gets inside the pick-ups, the pots, and everywhere else. and can effect how it plays.
i have a 81 custom cherry burst, i still have all the black plastics, but i converted it to cream plastics that i bought from george gruhn, and nice 90s brown case. i still have the chain saw case though. i hate them. i put cream dimarzios on it paf neck super distortion bridge. it has a great sound
@Trog can you make a video or comment about aria pro, and greco 1970s lawsuit guitars please I have found a couple that I like and I want to know about them
You can't duplicate that, it's got to be earned over time. there's simply no short cut to natural aging. that's what makes this guitar so AWESOME!!! and new relic's a joke. and it's why I would never own a relic guitar.
The cleans on this guitar immediately made me think of Midnight Rider by The Allman Brothers band. Which very much fits the look of this guitar. Sadly, I looked the song up and found that the last of the artists passed away in April of this year (2024).
I’m guessing the humidity would be controlled in a cigar shop, the guitar may have never left the store. This is physically better than a well traveled gigging rig. The smelly portion more likely is the fabric of the case! Looks and sounds amazing. Hope it goes to a good home.
Would truly watch an episode of you doing a total cleaning and polishing of this ole girl. Would be very interesting, before and after…Great episode, Trogs! ⭐️⭐️👍👍⭐️⭐️
my classical guitare is on stage 4 ^^ Litterraly marqued by long life of respect and good play it's a classical but it's my favorite i play 2 o 3 hours every day she have 12 years old and i love her little scratch all on the fretboard
That is absolutely beautiful! The real thing and I love it. Plus, riffs from both Sabbath AND the Sword! Brilliant Trogly. Probably my favorite episode so far. Thank you!
Funny coincidence... In the spring of 1981 - around the 99th day of that year when this guitar received its serial number - I was going through my cigar phase at 16. I had gotten lucky when I bought a perfect batch of the Dutch Masters brand. Whilst puffing away on my front porch but not inhaling, I would read guitar catalogues, contemplating purchasing a Gibson Les Paul Custom. 🚬📖🎸
It’s like the nicotine acted as a plasticizer on the nitro and prevented it from checking. The missing ingredient Gibson has spent years and countless dollars trying to find…
My 89 RG 550 had nitro (lol, Stryper/Desert Yellow, but nitro!) and in the 10 or so years it had existed, it had already developed checking on the headstock sides. People blame Gibson for: guitars in general having built in intonation issues, for Mahogany being brittle, for nitro being nitro. It's like blaming Fender for "causing" single coil hum.
The first one I ever saw Ace Frehley waa using one. But this truly is a tobacco burst. The bindings are yellow from the nicotine from the cigar shop. I'm surprised the case doesn't smell like an ashtray. Beautiful guitar.
Break out the black light for this one. that is an AWESOME guitar, it's actually not a relic. this guitar got it's battle scars naturally just the way it should be. it reminds a person of a really cool piece of antique furniture. I'm a huge fan of this guitar even with the brass nut. all guitars should have a brass nut on them as far as I'm concerned. even if they make the tone a little brighter. if this guitar could talk I'd sit all day listening to it's stories. I'm one of rare people that still smoke. so I would be okay with the smell. if it isn't overpowering. the fact is this can't be duplicated. there's simply no short cut to natural aging. you have to put in the time to achieve this. this isn't a relic guitar it's an actual aged guitar. and it's the reason I will never own a relic guitar. I can spot even the best relic job a mile away. that guitar needs to remain in the condition it's in. it would be a crime if someone bought that guitar, and cleaned all that natural aging off of it. and with all the morons out there I could just see that happening. that would be a shame and a crime for sure.
My '76 Custom looks a lot like that. It has the "wine" finish" but it's really yellowed out like this one. Mine exhibits considerable checking. All 100% original, even the 300K ohm pots and the T-Top pups with gold plated nickel covers. Barely any gold left. It's hard to believe it may be worth more in such rough shape. It plays great and sounds great, I wonder what it's worth?
Coming to cleaning the neck. Bought 1992 LPB-1 Gibson Les Paul Bass. Had super gunkie neck. Cleaned it and found hidden crack in neck that didn't see when buying. Not a headstock brake. But crack about 2" long in the middle of neck at headstock. At about truss rod cover on back side. Not all the way through. Can't see crack in truss rod cavity. So not that bad just a crack that was hidden by so much sticky gunk. Doesn't affect playing. Stays in tune. Great bass except for that crack. Kind makes you feel blind🦮 not seeing 👀it from get go. But was hidden by junk. Then once found it when back to look a pictures. Could bearly see that start of crack but looked more like shine lines in picture and not a crack. Til I cleaned and found the whole thing. Believe seller know this was here but didn't disclose it. And was away too late to complain. Well that's my gunkie neck story. And that stuff was hard to remove but nice and smooth now. And came with original hardshell case. For 1000 bucks who would have even thought this could happen. A way different look a crack up and down the middle. Disappointed but still great rare bass. It was a short run of them this style. Flat not arched. Still big headstock. Things that changed with the LPB-1.🎵🎶🎵👍✌️😎
I used to work in a place that had a smoking room with orange walls. I was tempted to leave my white custom in there for a few weeks/months to yellow it a little.
Can someone share a link to some info on the Gibson LP custom richlite era? I'm looking to get a LP custom soon but I can't seem to find any useful info on this subject. I'm sure trogly has some info on one of the vids I'm just not sure which one
