NGD: Gibson CS Historic R4

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Buc McMaster

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Traded a Fender CS '57 Stratocaster for this R4 gold top and, I must say........."Good call!" I've never been a fan of humbuckers in any guitar so the dual P90 configuration was appealing and the wrap around tailpiece was the clincher. Very impressed with the fit & finish. I good contrasting companion to my Telecaster.........

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Cal Nevari

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Traded a Fender CS '57 Stratocaster for this R4 gold top and, I must say........."Good call!" I've never been a fan of humbuckers in any guitar so the dual P90 configuration was appealing and the wrap around tailpiece was the clincher. Very impressed with the fit & finish. I good contrasting companion to my Telecaster.........

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Stunning! Happy NGD!
 

Buc McMaster

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Thanks, folks! It's a great player. I prefer .009 and have tried a set of Pyramid Classics HP with good success (my string for the Telecaster). Tonight I strung it with a set of NYXL and think I might like these better on this instrument. Installed a MojoAxe compensated tailpiece........intonation wasn't bad but this did improve it enough to matter to me. Still a little tweaking to do with the action but it feels solid, rings nicely acoustically and sounds awesome with the 1974X.

Don't ya just love a guitar honeymoon?

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Buc McMaster

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What makes R4 so desirable for someone who doesn’t know? Thanks for any replies..
Desirable for some, not so much for others (like any other particular guitar you could name). For me it's the P90 pickups and the wrap tailpiece. I don't care for the 'girth' of a humbucker tone......too fat and undefined for my ears. P90s have a lot of muscle yet retain a lot of clarity. The wrap tail is pure function........easier string bending, simplicity at its' finest. And there's the visual thing for me as well.........the guitar looks uncluttered, straightforward and clean. Gibson's Historic '56 is pretty much the same guitar with an ABR-1 bridge added..........nice, but visually 'busy' compared to the '54. Of course, your mileage and preferences may vary................
 

guitarzan2525

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Traded a Fender CS '57 Stratocaster for this R4 gold top and, I must say........."Good call!" I've never been a fan of humbuckers in any guitar so the dual P90 configuration was appealing and the wrap around tailpiece was the clincher. Very impressed with the fit & finish. I good contrasting companion to my Telecaster.........

View attachment 125714
All that tone comes from being a southpaw....:)
 

Phony iommi

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Desirable for some, not so much for others (like any other particular guitar you could name). For me it's the P90 pickups and the wrap tailpiece. I don't care for the 'girth' of a humbucker tone......too fat and undefined for my ears. P90s have a lot of muscle yet retain a lot of clarity. The wrap tail is pure function........easier string bending, simplicity at its' finest. And there's the visual thing for me as well.........the guitar looks uncluttered, straightforward and clean. Gibson's Historic '56 is pretty much the same guitar with an ABR-1 bridge added..........nice, but visually 'busy' compared to the '54. Of course, your mileage and preferences may vary................
Tremendous assessment of the guitar.
R4 Gold top in my meaningless opinion trumps a ‘59 for all the reasons you stated.
How is the hum factor in the rhythm and treble position on the instrument?
 

Buc McMaster

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Tremendous assessment of the guitar.
R4 Gold top in my meaningless opinion trumps a ‘59 for all the reasons you stated.
How is the hum factor in the rhythm and treble position on the instrument?
Well, thanks.....and I agree.

There's a little of the typical single coil racket but not at any annoying level. I crank the 1974X to stage volume, for short periods so as not to assault the neighborhood......pickup noise is minimal. There's still a mid-range hump, which seems typical of the P90. I'd like to dial some of it out......eq pedal is the least expensive route but I'm pedal-phobic and am considering a change of pickups.........we'll see. But I'm certainly digging the guitar as is!
 

Phony iommi

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Well, thanks.....and I agree.

There's a little of the typical single coil racket but not at any annoying level. I crank the 1974X to stage volume, for short periods so as not to assault the neighborhood......pickup noise is minimal. There's still a mid-range hump, which seems typical of the P90. I'd like to dial some of it out......eq pedal is the least expensive route but I'm pedal-phobic and am considering a change of pickups.........we'll see. But I'm certainly digging the guitar as is!
In my experience the only P90 pickups that don’t have noise are the “stacked” ones such as mojotone and others. They are nice and quiet but they lose some of the unique characteristics along the way. I’d suggest the EHX Hum Debugger if you do go the pedal route, it works like a charm without squashing tone like noise gates and limiters can sometimes do. Just my opinion on that one, I never had any luck with noise gates.
 

paul-e-mann

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Traded a Fender CS '57 Stratocaster for this R4 gold top and, I must say........."Good call!" I've never been a fan of humbuckers in any guitar so the dual P90 configuration was appealing and the wrap around tailpiece was the clincher. Very impressed with the fit & finish. I good contrasting companion to my Telecaster.........

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A lefty! Very nice! :yesway:

If you dont like the P90's you can easily swap in mini humbuckers. :yesway:
 
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