Metropoulos Forum

I was in Ithaca, NY wine tasting with my wife and another couple and decided to drop in at Rumble Seat Music. They had the Skinner Burst in the display case and after talking to the guy about Joe Bonamassa and the bonaburst, he told me he had a guitar I needed to check out. He walked towards the case, unlocked it pulled-out the Skinner Burst and set me up with an amp in the back room. I don't think I'll ever forget that moment, playing a real burst for the first time.

When I asked to take a picture of the serial number he told me to keep an eye on the online forums for the guitar as a "big name player" just bought the guitar. Really excited to find out who bought it.

Wow. Beautiful guitar.

That is one thing every guitarist should have a chance to do. Play a burst.

Wow! Awesome!

It is quite the experience. Talk about putting modern guitars into perspective. Wow. I swear every setting and every pickup combination sounds like a choir of angels singing on a great burst! An unforgettable experience to play one.

george

Any time you are in Ithaca, definitely take the trip to Rumble Seat Music. After I played the guitar, I kind of looked around online and there is one story of a 13 year old boy eyeing-up the skinner burst and the guys took it out of the case and let him play it.

Even if you don't get to play something, they just have an awesome collection of vintage stuff you don't see every day.

Just found out who bought the guitar, Joe Bonamassa! He debuted the guitar at the Warren Haynes jam at the House of Blues in LA.

This has been confirmed by the man himself, see his response here: http://www.jbonamassa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=18594" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

VelvetGeorge wrote:Wow! Awesome!

It is quite the experience. Talk about putting modern guitars into perspective. Wow. I swear every setting and every pickup combination sounds like a choir of angels singing on a great burst! An unforgettable experience to play one.

george

How does your Gil Yaron measure up to the burst(s) you've played?

I compared directly in Nashville several weeks ago and was very, very pleased. The Gil Yaron seemed about 90% of the way to the real thing, and it was a really great original '59.
I don't know how anyone could ever replicate 50 years of aging in the woods and adhesives. But I fully expect the Gil to take on the characteristics as it ages.

The one thing that was noticably better in every way on the real '59 was the way the pots worked. Every setting is a classic, very useable tone. Literally! I am actually thinking I may need some old Clarostat so I can close the gap a bit. It already has real NOS caps.

I can't recommend the Yaron highly enough if you want a serious burst made specifically to your desire. It's a love affair with this guitar for me.

George

VelvetGeorge wrote:I compared directly in Nashville several weeks ago and was very, very pleased. The Gil Yaron seemed about 90% of the way to the real thing, and it was a really great original '59.
I don't know how anyone could ever replicate 50 years of aging in the woods and adhesives. But I fully expect the Gil to take on the characteristics as it ages.

The one thing that was noticably better in every way on the real '59 was the way the pots worked. Every setting is a classic, very useable tone. Literally! I am actually thinking I may need some old Clarostat so I can close the gap a bit. It already has real NOS caps.

I can't recommend the Yaron highly enough if you want a serious burst made specifically to your desire. It's a love affair with this guitar for me.

George

Now what do I tell my kids when it's time for college ?

Ha! In all seriousness, I have already started my "I can't wait to get a Yaron burst" fund. It may take awhile... but it's a heckuva lot cheaper than the real deal! Awesome that you got to play the real thing sixpakldp. Jealousy on this end...

Well I will say that Rumble Seat still has a 1960 burst in the store with a bigsby at their store . . . http://www.rumbleseatmusic.com/vintage% ... igsby.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

It's never too late to take your wife, girlfriend, etc to Ithaca for a romantic trip (and by romantic trip I mean, "Hey honey look! A guitar shop! Let's stop in real quick to check it out! I'll only be ten minutes I swear!) And if your single, then hop in the car and drive!

I didn't play the 60 burst, but I did get to hold it. The 59 was extremely lightweight compared to my 2003 LP Standard Plus and somehow the 60, even with the bigsby, was even lighter than the 59.

Yea, a lot of people will get a historic, have it aged, neck reset, top carve made more prominent, repainted, more vintage accurate binding, have it frozen and then heated for checking,

and for probably less, they could just buy a Gil Yaron.

Man, if I wasn't 17, I would be saving up cash for a Gil Yaron.

Ydna wrote:Yea, a lot of people will get a historic, have it aged, neck reset, top carve made more prominent, repainted, more vintage accurate binding, have it frozen and then heated for checking,

and for probably less, they could just buy a Gil Yaron.

Man, if I wasn't 17, I would be saving up cash for a Gil Yaron.

Amen to that man. I'm 21 and in school, so I'm in the same boat. Gil's instruments are true instruments if that makes sense. I've always said there is a huge difference between a guitar that is just a guitar, and one that's a true instrument.

Gil definitley makes the top of the line Les Paul.

If I were to get one, I'd have it look brand new, with a really nice top, and then gig it as much as possible.

I might be getting a really good job over the summers during college, which would give me enough cash to buy one.

But I could really use a 1967 Camaro RS/SS with a 396 and a 4 speed muncie.

Either way, I'd be one happy camper.

What is the going rate for one of Gil's bursts?

There used to be a price on Destroy All Guitars, it was around $9,000 if I remember correctly. The price varies though, depending on how much aging you want and also the top. You can go with a plain top, or a really intense flame top.

Saw this link for Gibson Collector's Choice #3 Les Paul http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electri ... -Babe.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. Just noticed that this was the lightweight 1960 with a bigsby I got to hold. Apparently Joe B. also owns this. Pretty cool that I got to check out both these guitars at Rumble Seat.