As owner of the Custom Shop Theodore, I think Gibson made a wise choice in making a very diverse instrument in a different price range. I do like the neck, with binding and squared inlays.
It looks so different (in a very good way) when played standing up with a strap on. The tulip ears are not as noticeable and dare I say it even cool. Would love to see a standard p90 version.
Ben, I think your reviews are one of the best, if not the best, on RU-vid! You do a thorough deep dive mentioning and pointing out things that I would never even considered. Your SG review has educated me so much that I know exactly what to look for when I move up to a Gibson. Thank you, Chris
Man! I really like the control graphics you add! The best I’ve seen! 🔥🔥🔥🔥 love you see people come up with new ways of doing things! Keep it up brother!
🤣Lol, that was funny! My kids say it looks like one of those goldfish shaped cheese crackers. But in person it's really a very, very beautiful guitar that grows on one the longer one stares at it -- and did I mention the fact that it plays like a wet dream?
@@msaintpc i think your brats are right "Golden Cheddar Dust " is an official finish option (the guys at murphy labs spend 3 days straingt eating cheetos to hand smear the color and realy bring out the grain)
@@msaintpc ..."plays like a wet dream"?...and like a wet dream you dont want anyone to know and ridiccule you for having one -!(obvioulsy i jest in good fun)
The model have grown in me. I like it, it remembers me to a Tele (a model that I love). Yeah, the tulip shape looks kinda funny, but I would play that, looks very comfortable.
@@CompanyGrip 57s just have a smoother tone. A little less highs than the burstbuckers. And for this guitar I think they're a great fit. I really expected this guitar to sound like an SG. But it's a little different, and it's the pickups. This guitar begs to get the Junior treatment. A single P90, no pickguard, wrap tail bridge. I'd buy in a second.
As a fan of early Rickenbackers, I’m drawn to this shape. The only Gibson I have is an SG, which I like very much but for one thing: the way everything feels shifted to the left. Seeing this guitar on your lap, it seems more like sitting with a Telecaster. I wish I could swap the trapezoid inlays for the dots on the CS version, though (and add the walnut stripe). It sounded really good. Nice demo.
Enjoy your style, relaxed and informed with great playing and well presented. The guitar sounds good (gotta love those 57's), I like the finish and detailing too. Sadly, I just don't think I can grow to love the tulip shape.
Damn, great demo..now i want one! To me, the USA is spec'd out more to my liking than the CS. Heck, a USA Gibson with a really nice case for 2 grand..good deal. Also..long neck tenon & 57's..hell yes...
I tend to agree! I haven’t played a set of 57s since this old SG Future Tribute I had a few years ago. Didn’t like the guitar much, but it sounded monster… loved those 57s. Only reason I regretted selling it. 😆
Thanks buddy, you did a really great review. I've been looking at this new issue as it is a good price point. I love that early 60's Supro that's in the display case behind you when you're playing. I'm going to dive into your previous posts... New sub from an old man in Northern Canada.
Thank you for checking out my video! Yes, please, dive in! Hope you enjoy the channel. Thank you, the Supro is not as old as it might look, but it’s a limited edition that has meaning to me. Cheers!
You’re right. I noticed that I excluded that detail when I recorded the video. I actually recorded it twice because the first time I didn’t have the audio mic on. 🙄 then I redid the whole video and left that detail out. 😂 just can’t win sometimes!
So, if I understand correctly, navigating your "location" along the the fretboard (for lack of a better term), is far more similar to a Les Paul or a 335 and quite different from an SG where the headstock seems farther away. This would present a major advantage in comfort in my view if you're debating between the Theodore and the SG
Thanks for your comment, and sorry for the delay! For me, it’s all about where the pickups sit between the strap buttons, right? For example, the Iommi SG button, being at the end of the horn is closer to the Theodore than a DC LP, so they hang similarly. But when lapped, the Theodore’s body cut has it sitting closer to LP, but with the neck feeling and sitting closer to how an SG neck is with the abundance of access. I hope that makes sense. Thanks for checking out the video!
I like it quite a bit actually, but I understand the styling being a turn off for some. But it’s got killer pickups and a nice neck. Also - I like oddball Gibson’s… 😜
Any mixed feelings between the Theodore and Satan's Guitar is best resolved by buying both models!🙂 My son has both and says the Theodore is so smooth that it almost plays itself.
They are using the same necks that they make for the current run of Explorers. Thats why the heel is different from the Custom Shop version. That way all they have to do is push start on the CNC with no new programming.
I like them personally. I like simple guitars, like the Tele. Or the Les Paul Jr. Guitars like that. They’re easy to work on and less to go wrong with them. And this is just a unique shape that you don’t see often. That’s cool to me.
Your model looks better than the cherry one. I think it would benefit from losing the horns and have it follow the pickguard to create a tear drop looking body. It might still look bad/weird but I think it would be more intriguing.
Dammed if you do, dammed if you don't. If you're Gibson, this is you. Try something new, and everyone hates it. Don't, and they accuse you of resting on past successes. I like it.
I'd like to see Gibson try a different approach to headstock design. I like the inline peg placement, but the styling doesn't work for me. What Gibson really has going for them is they can do a traditional, oversize headstock with all the inlays and artistic touches. Modern and minimal are fine, but Gibson's one of the only companies that can do the opposite without being corny. With this particular headstock, I think if it was a little longer, and the side panels were more like a slanted rectangle... So it looks like a traditional headstock, just longer, narrower, and slanted a little. With plenty of room for the Gibson brand and all the trimmings! There's similar retro/modern hybrid approaches to designing trapezoidal, staggered trapezoidal, 4+2, 2+4 headstocks that are a little oversized, with Gibson curves and colors. Just my 2 cents. It seems to me Gibson never really nailed the modern headstock design. I say just use a modern peg placement, and go with a traditional Gibson look and feel.
This seems like a guitar that would be easy to make Lefty, it’s just a slab, they could do the routing on the backside to keep the round horn on the same side… but what do I know. Cheers!
Yeah, I'm in the are you kidding me camp. It looks like an unfinished wood shop project from a very unmotivated high school stoner to me. The fact that Gibson has the balls to charge 2K for this is unsurprising. Then again, it costs money to play authentic,< LOL< I'm just so used to traditional shapes, new stuff rarely excites me. I love LP's, SG's, 335's, and even the Explorer. Also, like most, I'm a sucker for Strats and Tele's. The one impressive thing about this Theo is the 57 Classics. You can never go wrong with a set of those babies. I also much prefer the Grovers over any other tuners. I've always had great luck with them. The only thing I'd add to your video is this. I rarely suffer from tuning instability with any Gibson or Epiphone. The key for me has always been just a tiny but of nut sauce or even pencil lead dust in the nut slots in a pinch. Enjoy your new baby and thanks for the thorough review.
Thanks for checking it out! Yes - if people spend the time to set up their rigs and properly lube the friction points and wind strings correctly, stability can become a non-issue. Cheers!
Sooooo. A Les Paul /S.G. Hybrid…. At least Gibson didn’t make another High End Les Paul model…. Oh wait!!!! The first was. And I love my Gibsons. Looks like someone at Gibson found an old Rickenbacker catalog and went “ Hmmmmm, didn’t do too well as a “Rick”, let’s try it a a Gibson.
