Last week I scored one of the ultra rare 1982 Matsumoku Epiphone '59 Les Paul's. For those not familiar with it Matsumoku made semi and hollow body guitars when Epiphone moved production to Japan. But nobody's really sure how the Les Paul Epis came about. There doesn't seem to be any contract for Mat to build them. Yet here they are. Well a few of them anyway.
Today I took mine to Guitar Center for a shoot out with a $5800 Gibson Custom 2013 1959 Les Paul Reissue. Mine was almost identical. The only significant differences that I could see were
1. Epiphone tuning pegs instead of Kluson
2. The paint on the back and sides of the Gibson are a bit clearer revealing more of the wood grain
3. The wood on the front of the Gibson was a bit nicer
4. Mine says Epiphone rather than Gibson and
4. The round plate on the back identifies the Gibson as a reissue.
In fact if you made those modifications and asked an experienced player which was an original '59 they'd probably pick mine because its obviously been around a lot longer than the Gibson. The $5800 Gibson played just a little bit better. But a good set up might remedy that. And they were close enough that after swapping back and forth a few times I sometimes forgot which one I was playing (through a Vox AC30).
But when it came to tone I have to admit the Gibson was superior. They were in the same ball park but mine sounded a bit muddy by comparison. Each note on the Gibson was distinct and clear. Here's what the specs on Guitar Center's website say about it.
Quote:
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Gibson-Cust ... ductDetailGibson Custom's new Custom Bucker accurately recreates the original PAFs of the late '50s, using Alnico III magnets and unequal turns of 42 AWG wire in each coil for that characteristic PAF "bite." These pickups clean up beautifully at the guitar's volume controls, while Bumble Bee tone caps assist in that warm, singing "woman tone" when you roll back the tone controls.
What recommendations would you give me to make my '59 sounds as good as the Gibson? Assume that I am going to scrap all the electronics and start over. I play blues so let's say that I am trying to recreate Clapton's "woman tone". BTW I have another guitar with SD Whole Lotta Humbuckers and the Page wiring set up. How can we max out the potential on this one?