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Re: gibson sonex

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Posted by Dwight Listmayer (from: ) on October 30, 2004 at 16:34:32:

In Reply to: Re: gibson sonex posted by Lee on October 30, 2004 at 15:50:19:

: Was the Sonex the only Gibson with a bolt on neck? that wasnt one of the best models that Gibson made, and the coil tapping is an excellent idea if you need a thinner gibson sound, but ive always gone for the fat P90's or the high output Humbuckers.

Yeah, the Sonex, available as 180 Custom, Deluxe or Artist had a composite body and a bolt on neck. Almost sounds a bit like Danelectro talk. Speaking of which, Gibson's original factory coil tap switch really wasn't a coil tap, which as you said splits or thins out the sound to single coil. Gibson, for some unexplained reason, wanted us to think that, while they responded to or competed with the new Martin electrics in the early 80's, and that is the info they gave to writers, publishers, and filtered down to the players. But, in reality ... BIG DIFFERENCE. Hold on to your humbuckers!!!, the switch is not a coil tap, it is not true polarity or phase reversal, it makes a series connection between the two humbuckers, and blows just about anything off the face of the Earth with just that - Earth shattering sound.

I had the pure pleasure of playing my buddy's 1981 Les Paul XR-1 this summer, and it did just that. It gave me a chance to analyze the "mystery". It has been wrongly described in history, but is wired in series like my similar Guild S-100 Polara. By all means, check either of these deadly axes out. Cheers. Strat man Dwight

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: : Was the Sonex the only Gibson with a bolt on neck? that wasnt one of the best models that Gibson made, and the coil tapping is an excellent idea if you need a thinner gibson sound, but ive always gone for the fat P90's or the high output Humbuckers. : Yeah, the Sonex, available as 180 Custom, Deluxe or Artist had a composite body and a bolt on neck. Almost sounds a bit like Danelectro talk. Speaking of which, Gibson's original factory coil tap switch really wasn't a coil tap, which as you said splits or thins out the sound to single coil. Gibson, for some unexplained reason, wanted us to think that, while they responded to or competed with the new Martin electrics in the early 80's, and that is the info they gave to writers, publishers, and filtered down to the players. But, in reality ... BIG DIFFERENCE. Hold on to your humbuckers!!!, the switch is not a coil tap, it is not true polarity or phase reversal, it makes a series connection between the two humbuckers, and blows just about anything off the face of the Earth with just that - Earth shattering sound. : I had the pure pleasure of playing my buddy's 1981 Les Paul XR-1 this summer, and it did just that. It gave me a chance to analyze the "mystery". It has been wrongly described in history, but is wired in series like my similar Guild S-100 Polara. By all means, check either of these deadly axes out. Cheers. Strat man Dwight

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