NGD part II, Les Paul VM

[badger71]

I used to have a LP Deluxe a few years back. I loved the all mahogany body sound but wanted a little more juice from the pickups. I've never been a fan of maple tops and, I've never been a big fan of binding on guitars. I know it's the quintesential (sp) LP look, but I've never been a big fan of it. Plus, refretting down the road w/binding is a bitch. Anyway, I let the guitar go and looked elsewhere for a beefy LP sound. A few weeks ago, I ran across a LP that I hadn't seen before, the Vintage Mahogany. I dug the features, but apparently the new ones are chambered. I guess they were solid up until 2006. A few days ago I went into Buffalo Brothers Guitars and they had a 2004 LPVM. No chambering and it only weighs 8.6lbs. The guitar sounded great and I made use of their 100% upgrade policy by trading in one of my guitars and it came home with me. It has a few dings and scuffs, but it plays very well. Here it is:

 

[gravfed]

I've got one of those LP VMs as well. Its a simple straight forward guitar and plays really great after a setup IMO. Congrats!

 

[AmpliFIRE]

I think the worn brown finish is bad@ss.

 

[badger71]

For some reason, I thought all of the VMs were chambered? Either way, those VMs get alot of respect from Les Paul players. I think the worn brown finish is bad@ss.

I wasn't sure, either, until I fished around on the LP forum. I'm also a fan of Mick Ronson (David Bowie Ziggy era guitarist), so I really dig the worn finish too.

 

[badger71]

I wasn't sure, either, until I fished around on the LP forum. I'm also a fan of Mick Ronson (David Bowie Ziggy era guitarist), so I really dig the worn finish too.

This is kinda weird, but I remember reading several reports of something "rattling" inside the chambers in the bodies on these models. lol... Not a big deal or anything, but kinda strange.

Yup, I read something like that too....a kind of "ping" sound coming through the pickups. I'm guessing since this model was created for GC, the quality control may have been lacking in some areas. Fortunately, mine is pretty solid sounding. However, judging by the excessive scratches in the pickguard and minor body dings, I'm guessing mine was gigged by someone who utilized alot of powerful downstrokes. No biggie, since down the road I'll probably replace the black plastic pieces with creme.

 

[gravfed]

I wasn't sure, either, until I fished around on the LP forum. I'm also a fan of Mick Ronson (David Bowie Ziggy era guitarist), so I really dig the worn finish too.

This is kinda weird, but I remember reading several reports of something "rattling" inside the chambers in the bodies on these models. lol... Not a big deal or anything, but kinda strange.

Yup, I read something like that too....a kind of "ping" sound coming through the pickups. I'm guessing since this model was created for GC, the quality control may have been lacking in some areas. Fortunately, mine is pretty solid sounding. However, judging by the excessive scratches in the pickguard and minor body dings, I'm guessing mine was gigged by someone who utilized alot of powerful downstrokes. No biggie, since down the road I'll probably replace the black plastic pieces with creme.

Yeah, I've heard the QC is quite spotty on some of them. I too am going to replace the pickguard and rings w/ creme. Someone had this one for sale on here not too long ago and I thought it looked bad ass.

 

[badger71]

Yeah, I've heard the QC is quite spotty on some of them. I too am going to replace the pickguard and rings w/ creme. Someone had this one for sale on here not too long ago and I thought it looked bad ass.

That was the listing that first piqued my interest in this model.