Nashville, TN (November 16, 2011) -- Gibson Custom announced the expansion of its Collectors Choice series with its second release: the 1959 "burst" serial numbered 9-0629, aka "Goldie." Currently valued in the high six figures, the original "Goldie," as its affectionately named by its owner, was one of less than 700 models of the famed Les Paul originally made in 1959. For the new recreation of this one-of-a-kind instrument, Gibson Custom worked directly with the current owner to analyze the guitar and recreate it down to the tiniest detail.
Each Collectors Choice guitar is a near-perfect recreation of a specific serial number from the guitars built in 1959. With so few made, Gibson Custom recognized the need for a historically accurate recreation of a handful of these much-sought-after, nearly mythical, guitars. The recreation process involves passion, skill, science and community as Gibson Custom works directly with high-end collectors and engineers to methodically build guitars like "Goldie," capturing the tone and feel of the guitar and enabling enthusiasts to actually own what few have seen and fewer have held.
Gibson says that "Goldie" is an exciting opportunity not only because it is such a gorgeous Les Paul, but also because its ownership is extremely well documented, with only the first few years of its existence after heading from Gibson's Kalamazoo factory to its first owner near Deer Park, Texas, remaining slightly hazy. Having resurfaced in the early '80s at one of the first Dallas guitar shows, "Goldie" has graced the collections of several noted burst aficionados including Vic Da Pra and Tom Wittrock, the guitar is currently in the care of an anonymous collector and on loan to Gibson Custom. The guitar has also been extremely well cared for in its 52 years on this planet, suffering some of the minor nicks and dings that all well-played instruments experience in half a century of use—all precisely recreated by Tom Murphy's hand aging—but no breaks, repairs, or modifications. Also, this '59 Les Paul Standard's finish has naturally mellowed to a sweet, rich, golden "unburst," a luscious deep "green lemon" amber tone at the center with just a hint of darkening around the edges, giving it a look that many collectors adore. To precisely recreate the appearance of the original in the top of Collector's Choice™ #2 9-0629 aka "Goldie" Gibson Custom has hand selected figured maple with a broad, elegant flame and "slip matched" the two pieces to present the same degrees of depth and dimension. Hand-finished in nitrocellulose lacquer and hand aged, this top is partnered by a light one-piece mahogany back which has faded to match the original's soft, mellow reddish-brown.
The playing feel of Collector's Choice #2 9-0629 aka "Goldie" is ensured by a precise analysis of the neck profile of the original 1959 Les Paul Standard upon which it is based, and its perfect recreation in the one-piece quarter-sawn mahogany neck of this Custom Shop creation. The result is a gorgeously rounded late-'50s profile that measures approximately .900" at the 1st fret and .990" at the 12th. The rosewood fingerboard is bound in vintage-accurate and aged plastic, as is the body top, and a genuine nylon 6/6 nut and vintage-style tuners with single-band green keys grace the headstock. To recreate the tone of this rare Les Paul, Gibson Custom has selected a Burstbucker 1 for the bridge position and Burstbucker 3 for the neck, a pairing that accurately reflects the mismatch in output that was often found in original PAF sets. Together, they present a woody, throaty tone from the neck, and impressive chime and clarity from the bridge.
"Were extremely grateful that the current owner was so passionate about sharing his find that he was willing to work with us—lending us a highly valuable and incredibly rare guitar—and help us make this a reality," says Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar. "A unique feature of the Collectors Choice Series is that every one of the guitars made in 1959 has its own unique personality—its own fingerprint. Modern production techniques used today obviously didnt exist, so each of the less than 700 59 Les Paul Bursts created has its own tone, its own feel and its own overall "vibe." Working with dedicated collectors like the current owner of "Goldie," we are now able to truly capture and offer a limited number of what are literally one-of-a-kind guitars."
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Hotone Wong Press
Cory Wong Signature Volume/Wah/Expression Pedal
Renowned international funk guitar maestro and 63rd Grammy nominee Cory Wong is celebrated for his unique playing style and unmistakable crisp tone. Known for his expressive technique, he’s been acclaimed across the globe by all audiences for his unique blend of energy and soul. In 2022, Cory discovered the multi-functional Soul Press II pedal from Hotone and instantly fell in love. Since then, it has become his go-to pedal for live performances.
Now, two years later, the Hotone team has meticulously crafted the Wong Press, a pedal tailored specifically for Cory Wong. Building on the multi-functional design philosophy of the Soul Press series, this new pedal includes Cory’s custom requests: a signature blue and white color scheme, a customized volume pedal curve, an adjustable wah Q value range, and travel lights that indicate both pedal position and working mode.
Cory’s near-perfect pursuit of tone and pedal feel presented a significant challenge for our development team. After countless adjustments to the Q value range, Hotone engineers achieved the precise WAH tone Cory desired while minimizing the risk of accidental Q value changes affecting the sound. Additionally, based on Cory’s feedback, the volume control was fine-tuned for a smoother, more musical transition, enhancing the overall feel of volume swells. The team also upgraded the iconic travel lights of the Soul Press II to dual-color travel lights—blue for Wah mode and green for Volume mode—making live performances more intuitive and visually striking!
In line with the Hotone Design Inspiration philosophy, the Wong Press represents the perfect blend of design and inspiration. Now, musicians can channel their inner Cory Wong and enjoy the freedom and joy of playing with the Wong Press!
Reverend Vernon Reid Totem Series Electric Guitar - Shaman
Silos features six presets, tap tempo, one full second of delay time, and three voices—two of which are styled after bucket-brigade and tape-delay sounds. In the $150 price category, it’s not unusual for a digital delay to leave some number of those functions out. And spending the same money on a true-analog alternative usually means warm, enveloping sounds but limited functionality and delay time. Silos, improbably perhaps, offers a very elegant solution to this can’t-have-it-all dilemma in a U.S.-made effect.
A More Complete Cobbling Together
Silos’ utility is bolstered by a very unintimidating control set, which is streamlined and approachable. Three of those controls are dedicated to the same mix, time, and repeats controls you see on any delay. But saving a preset to one of the six spots on the rotary preset dial is as easy as holding the green/red illuminated button just below the mix and preset knobs. And you certainly won’t get lost in the weeds if you move to the 3-position toggle, which switches between a clear “digital” voice, darker “analog” voice, and a “tape” voice which is darker still.
“The three voices offer discernibly different response to gain devices.”
One might suspect that a tone control for the repeats offers similar functionality as the voice toggle switch. But while it’s true that the most obvious audible differences between digital, BBD, and tape delays are apparent in the relative fidelity and darkness of their echoes, the Silos’ three voices behave differently in ways that are more complex than lighter or duskier tonality. For instance, the digital voice will never exhibit runaway oscillation, even at maximum mix and repeat settings. Instead, repeats fade out after about six seconds (at the fastest time settings) or create sleepy layers of slow-decaying repeats that enhance detail in complex, sprawling, loop-like melodic phrases. The analog voice and tape voice, on the other hand, will happily feed back to psychotic extremes. Both also offer satisfying sensitivity to real-time, on-the-fly adjustments. For example, I was tickled with how I could generate Apocalypse Now helicopter-chop effects and fade them in and out of prominence as if they were approaching or receding in proximity—an effect made easier still if you assign an expression pedal to the mix control. This kind of interactivity is what makes analog machines like the Echoplex, Space Echo, and Memory Man transcend mere delay status, and the sensitivity and just-right resistance make the process of manipulating repeats endlessly engaging.
Doesn't Flinch at Filth
EarthQuaker makes a point of highlighting the Silos’ affinity for dirty and distorted sounds. I did not notice that it behaved light-years better than other delays in this regard. But the three voices most definitely offer discernibly different responses to gain devices. The super-clear first repeat in the digital mode lends clarity and melodic focus, even to hectic, unpredictable, fractured fuzzes. The analog voice, which EQD says is inspired by the tone makeup of a 1980s-vintage, Japan-made KMD bucket brigade echo, handles fuzz forgivingly inasmuch as its repeats fade warmly and evenly, but the strong midrange also keeps many overtones present as the echoes fade. The tape voice, which uses aMaestro Echoplex as its sonic inspiration, is distinctly dirtier and creates more nebulous undercurrents in the repeats. If you want to retain clarity in more melodic settings, it will create a warm glow around repeats at conservative levels. Push it, and it will summon thick, sometimes droning haze that makes a great backdrop for slower, simpler, and hooky psychedelic riffs.
In clean applications, this decay and tone profile lend the tape setting a spooky, foggy aura that suggests the cold vastness of outer space. The analog voice often displays an authentic BBD clickiness in clean repeats that’s sweet for underscoring rhythmic patterns, while the digital voice’s pronounced regularity adds a clockwork quality that supports more up-tempo, driving, electronic rhythms.
The Verdict
Silos’ combination of features seems like a very obvious and appealing one. But bringing it all together at just less than 150 bucks represents a smart, adept threading of the cost/feature needle.
EarthQuaker Devices Silos Multi-generational Time Reflection Delay Pedal
