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I had been wanting a
Byrdland for years. I had read
about them and seen pictures of them but never even held one
until I saw this one. The thinline body,
coupled with short scale was exactly what I wanted (I've
never had a good reach and a lot of extended jazz chords are
outside my ability). When I fist
played this one it felt so good. I
went back to Denmark Street again and again -
each time it felt right. But this
was expensive and I always like to have a choice so I spent
several months looking for and trying a few more.
Some guitars work for
you and others don't. Somehow, this one
made playing easy and it was a really good one.
Authenticated as all original and without damage or repairs
( I sat in Vintage and Rare darkened workshop and examined
every square inch with a Black Light, looking for past
damage or repair) but it was all 100%. Not
only was it good, it looked fabulous -
typical rich matured natural cellulose and Gibson's famous
Gold on the hardware, worn thin over the years.
But best of all, those '57 paf buckers.
When you play a genuine '57 paf (and in 1965 they were)
it is magical. So much warmth
- so much bite - and of course, the Byrdland has
its Bridge pickup mounted much nearer the Neck pickup for a
really jazzy combination.
I played, we haggled,
I played some more. A week or two
later I went back to collect it. There it
was, the perfect spec: 1965 (one of the
best years) Florentine cut, Natural,
all original with original Lifton case.
It never
disappointed. Its only issue -
it was quite narrow at the nut and made fingering a little
tight. Only when I discovered my
"perfect neck" (see #010) could I even consider
selling this fantastic guitar. |
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