Members CrowShack Posted December 21, 2010 Members Share Posted December 21, 2010 I bought this guitar off HC (not photo of mine but just like it). It arrived in great condition (except the original owner had never changed the strings since he bought it new 2 years ago ) but... it's just not doing it for me. The tone is flat / dull, and just non-musical. It has some sustain but it's kind of twangy and pinched sounding. I know it would benefit from a set-up, etc but I don't want to sink any money into it without knowing it'll help. I mean, times are tough and obviously money's tight if I had to resort to a used Studio Faded to get my LP on . Are there any well-known issues or standard upgrades worth doing, especially in terms of pickup, bridge, or nut? I have tried it with 9s and 10s and it's still just lifeless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hivedestruction Posted December 21, 2010 Members Share Posted December 21, 2010 The ones I've played felt and sounded great. Edit: I should add the 2 that I played were when they first came out and they were putting burstbucker pro pickups in them. They've since switched to something else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members misterstomach Posted December 21, 2010 Members Share Posted December 21, 2010 something about the faded series of gibson guitars is wrong. a friend of mine asked me to help set the intonation on his sg faded. he dropped it off at my house and i had it for a little while. that thing sounded terrible and didn't play all that well either. it seemed really cheap. i've played a faded studio LP as well that i thought sounded pretty bad. comparing to other les pauls, even regular studio LP's, it sounded bad and played bad. maybe some of them are alright though. hope you can get it up and running well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members murch33 Posted December 21, 2010 Members Share Posted December 21, 2010 I know it would benefit from a set-up, etc but I don't want to sink any money into it without knowing it'll help.Doing a setup doesn't cost any money. Just the cost of strings if you don't have a set lying around. Everything else is just making adjustments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RoboPimp Posted December 21, 2010 Members Share Posted December 21, 2010 my buddy has one and it is the best sounding LP I've heard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Naterel Posted December 21, 2010 Members Share Posted December 21, 2010 Ive had one for 5 years and it plays and sounds great, that being said I got it set up, changed the tuners, and put in a new nut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CrowShack Posted December 21, 2010 Author Members Share Posted December 21, 2010 my buddy has one and it is the best sounding LP I've heardDo you know what kind of pickups he has in there?@murch: I did a rudimentery set-up for string-height & intonation, but I'm not a pro luthier by any means, don't have the tools.I usually pay like $65 for a good setup... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members melx Posted December 21, 2010 Members Share Posted December 21, 2010 something about the faded series of gibson guitars is wrong. a friend of mine asked me to help set the intonation on his sg faded. he dropped it off at my house and i had it for a little while. that thing sounded terrible and didn't play all that well either. it seemed really cheap. The one in my local shop had a twisted neck, it was impossible to set up.... it went back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members murch33 Posted December 22, 2010 Members Share Posted December 22, 2010 @murch: I did a rudimentery set-up for string-height & intonation, but I'm not a pro luthier by any means, don't have the tools.I usually pay like $65 for a good setup... I would think that if you've got the strings where you want 'em and everything's in tune and intonated you'd be 90% of the way there. If you still don't like how it sounds I guess the pickups and/or wiring might be the next thing to think about. Is the "twangy and pinched" sound that you're complaining about audible when you play it unplugged? Or just when it's amplified? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Poltergeist Posted December 22, 2010 Members Share Posted December 22, 2010 i love my LP Studio but it definitely likes fresh strings. i tune to Open B so i use Ernie Ball Not Even Slinkies (.12-.56 with a wound G string which is brilliant, imo)... works like a charm! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CrowShack Posted December 22, 2010 Author Members Share Posted December 22, 2010 Good question, I just went and played it acoustically... It sounds pretty good with a bright new set of 10s on there, but I think I can still hear a bit of that flat tonality even unplugged. It definitely doesn't like to stay in tune, maybe that's part of what makes it sound "unmusical". So nothing on these that is notoriously bad / always replaced? I'm thinking about the tuners/nut now, any specific brand recommendation Natty? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Poltergeist Posted December 22, 2010 Members Share Posted December 22, 2010 yeah the tuners are {censored}. i wanna get some Schaller locking tuners on mine, as i have them in my Tele and they're amazing. having a graphite nut also helps the intonation significantly. need to get me both of these still. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IRG Posted December 22, 2010 Members Share Posted December 22, 2010 SOme of these models (maybe all of them?) are chambered, some different from others. That could be a part of it. Most of the LPs made now are chambered, besides weighing less, the are supposed to be more resonant. But it could possible have something to do with how they did. Earlier ones had like swiss cheese holes in them, more recent ones have entire cavities. The earlier models had burstbucker pickups, not sure what they're using now, but most Studio models have the 490 pickups in them which IMO are a bit lifeless. I had them in a LP Special, and they didn't do anything for me. I have an Epi LP Tribute which has Gibson '57 Classic+ humbuckers in it, and they sound great. So a pickup exchange might help, perhaps significantly depending what's in there now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Naterel Posted December 22, 2010 Members Share Posted December 22, 2010 yeah mine, is the swiss cheese model with the burstbuckers. Those pickups are Alot of them come with really bad set ups from the factory, {censored}ed strings, or like Melx said some have horrible wood Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Reaganomics! Posted December 22, 2010 Members Share Posted December 22, 2010 Every one of the faded SGs/LPs I've played sounded surprisingly dull to me, but it was probably just ancient strings. The 'twangy' and 'pinched' thing sounds like the pickups are wired out of phase. Do they sound really quiet and/or weak? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Naterel Posted December 22, 2010 Members Share Posted December 22, 2010 Im thinking of getting one of their Studio Flying Vs down the line, I cant see how you could {censored} one of those up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Poltergeist Posted December 22, 2010 Members Share Posted December 22, 2010 Every one of the faded SGs/LPs I've played sounded surprisingly dull to me, but it was probably just ancient strings.The 'twangy' and 'pinched' thing sounds like the pickups are wired out of phase. Do they sound really quiet and/or weak? my pickups are stock on it and are dead quiet. i wanna get some 57's for it 'cose they're my favorite pickup, but these sound good too. they feedback with fuzz, but its rare for a guitar not to. they sound a bit bassier and warm than most LP's. i like that they're chambered 'cose i have the habit of "shaking" my guitar's body/neck to manipulate drones, and it really reacts well to that, whereas my totally solidbody Tele doesn't do much. i dunno. might not be everyone's cup of tea, but i like it alot. i never regreted buying it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CrowShack Posted December 22, 2010 Author Members Share Posted December 22, 2010 Every one of the faded SGs/LPs I've played sounded surprisingly dull to me, but it was probably just ancient strings.The 'twangy' and 'pinched' thing sounds like the pickups are wired out of phase. Do they sound really quiet and/or weak? No, they actually only sound good when both are used together; there's one spot--about 80% neck, 20% bridge--that sounds ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Reaganomics! Posted December 22, 2010 Members Share Posted December 22, 2010 Sorry, I didn't mean out of phase with each other. I meant that each pickup is individually wired wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IRG Posted December 22, 2010 Members Share Posted December 22, 2010 No, they actually only sound good when both are used together; there's one spot--about 80% neck, 20% bridge--that sounds ok. This doesn't seem right. IMO, humbuckers should sound pretty good in any of the positions. I know mine do, in either neck or bridge, or both. I might suggest you have a tech check out the pickups, see what's up with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SnorkelMonkey Posted December 22, 2010 Members Share Posted December 22, 2010 The faded series is hit or miss. IMO Gibson used it as a dumping ground for stuff that should have been labeled seconds. That said there's some incredible playing guitars that were manufactured under the moniker but one should really have a look over before purchasing. OP, yours sounds like a setup might cure its ills? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lolque? Posted December 22, 2010 Members Share Posted December 22, 2010 The faded series is hit or miss. IMO Gibson used it as a dumping ground for stuff that should have been labeled seconds. That said there's some incredible playing guitars that were manufactured under the moniker but one should really have a look over before purchasing. /thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Harry_Manback1 Posted December 22, 2010 Members Share Posted December 22, 2010 The faded series is hit or miss. This has been my experience as well. I've got one of the "swiss cheese" chambered ones from 2005 and absolutely love it. I've played several of the newer ones at GC and they sound/feel like different instruments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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