A local store has a '77 Gibson RD.

[Prages]

http://www.fretnfiddle.com/images/prod09a/GibsonRD.jpg

It's in really good shape. It's tagged at $850.

I played it.

What a crappy feeling guitar that thing is. It feels like an old 70s no-name Japanese guitar that you'd find in old JC Penny's catalogs.

I thought that maybe $850 for a fairly rare Gibson might be a pretty good deal, and granted, the guitar might sound great, but it felt horrible. I couldn't put it down fast enough.

[Aahzz]

I love the looks of those, particularly in Silverburst - I wonder how many good ones are out there, and if the crappy outnumber them by a large margin...

[Mark Wein]

http://www.fretnfiddle.com/images/prod09a/GibsonRD.jpg

It's in really good shape. It's tagged at $850.

I played it.

What a crappy feeling guitar that thing is. It feels like an old 70s no-name Japanese guitar that you'd find in old JC Penny's catalogs.

I thought that maybe $850 for a fairly rare Gibson might be a pretty good deal, and granted, the guitar might sound great, but it felt horrible. I couldn't put it down fast enough.

Sometimes the old guitars in really good shape are that way because they weren't good enough for anyone to love them enough to play a bunch in the first place.

[Aahzz]

Sometimes the old guitars in really good shape are that way because they weren't good enough for anyone to love them enough to play a bunch in the first place.

Good point

[Prages]

Yeah, this one, I can't really pinpoint what didn't feel good about it.

It had good action all the way up the neck. It just felt like a really cheap guitar.

Of course, I'm not a big fan of the way most SGs feel either, and this one did kind of remind me of the way lower end SGs feel, only worse.

[Help!I'maRock!]

rip electronics out, put into playable guitar.

[Prages]

rip electronics out, put into playable guitar.

I don't know what pickups are in it, but weren't Dirty Fingers the big thing around that time?

Regardless, if I were going to buy a Gibson for just the hardware and electronics, I'm pretty sure I could find something like a beat to death Vintage Mahogany with Burstbuckers for cheaper.

[Prages]

And like I said, the guitar is perfectly playable. It actually has pretty good action. No complaints there. It just feels bad.

[Help!I'maRock!]

I don't know what pickups are in it, but weren't Dirty Fingers the big thing around that time?

Regardless, if I were going to buy a Gibson for just the hardware and electronics, I'm pretty sure I could find something like a beat to death Vintage Mahogany with Burstbuckers for cheaper.

it should be a Bill Lawrence designed system. possibly active.

[Prages]

it should be a Bill Lawrence designed system. possibly active.

Hmmm....

Maybe I should have plugged the thing in then? :D

[Help!I'maRock!]

Hmmm....

Maybe I should have plugged the thing in then? :D

yes. but i agree with your method in general. if it doesn't inspire me unplugged then i'm certainly not bothering to plug it in.

in this case, i'd have plugged it in because RDs had interesting electronics that were discontinued because the guitars the system was installed into were awful. most people got about as far as you did. so i'm curious if they actually sound good.

[Prages]

yes. but i agree with your method in general. if it doesn't inspire me unplugged then i'm certainly not bothering to plug it in.

in this case, i'd have plugged it in because RDs had interesting electronics that were discontinued because the guitars the system was installed into were awful. most people got about as far as you did. so i'm curious if they actually sound good.

If the guitar is still there the next time I go in, I'll make a point to plug it in and give it a go.

[Chihlidog]

Im with both of you on this. I play a guitar unplugged first. If I dont like it unplugged I am never going to bond with it.

[Denverdave]

I looks like a misshapen Explorer...

[Help!I'maRock!]

I looks like a misshapen Explorer...

its actually a misshapen reverse firebird.

[Prages]

I actually don't hate the shape. When they blew out the reissue Silverburst a year or so back, I was very tempted to buy one. If the reissue feels at all like the original, I'm glad I didn't.