HNGD!

[Amp360]

Forgive the mess but this guy arrived today! I was at the garage the day these were released and really wanted one right away. So far I love it! Very unique in many ways. The case is amazing as well!

 

[jb_abides]

Congrats!

It looks right at home there, enjoy.

 

[renderit]

You know what?

I thought those looked like, well, something.

But seeing it sitting there next to your 'mess' (which I love as well) it is kinda growing on me!

What kinda tonez this thing got?

It kinda looks like between SG and LP?

 

[corpse]

Genius is frequently a cluttered thing.
Looks like a platypus.
Very cool.
I know this does not vex you but what is the weight?

 

[Hiwatts-n-Gibsons]

You know what?

I thought those looked like, well, something.

But seeing it sitting there next to your 'mess' (which I love as well) it is kinda growing on me!

What kinda tonez this thing got?

It kinda looks like between SG and LP?

Not really. I have no issue with the Tulip body. If they put a regular open book or even a Firebird/Trini kinda headstock on there I would dig it. The only guitars I like the Explorer headstock on are Explorers.

I will say that is a sweet guitar though, and does seem right at home.

HNGD!

 

[Amp360]

Genius is frequently a cluttered thing.
Looks like a platypus.
Very cool.
I know this does not vex you but what is the weight?

6.05 lbs, according to my postage scale.

****** EDIT SORRY I WROTE WAY TOO MUCH ******

I liked it from the first time I saw it, and I dig the headstock. The quality is there, and the grains and fretwork are beautiful.

The neck has a long tenon - like an old Les Paul, which surprised me. I also assumed it would be an Explorer neck stuck on a different body, which I can tell you it's not.

The neck is unique. It is much smaller by the nut and gets much more significant as you move up the neck. I'm not talking about the radius, but the neck is like an ice cream cone. It's not skinny, but it's not a baseball bat either. I can't really describe it other than to say I like it.

The body is super comfortable to play in, and it's beyond light.

The case is one of the coolest cases I've seen Gibson do in recent years - especially on a non-historic guitar.

Tone-wise, it has the Gibson thing, but it's different. It doesn't sound like an LP or SG. It's a different thing, which also makes it worth having. I know toanz are subjective, depending on the map even more so. It's less midrange than an SG, with more twang on the lower notes. I tend to play as clean as whatever I'm playing lets me get away with, and one thing I like on this (as well as a new Special I got a few weeks back) is that the attack on the notes is responsive to my style, something which a lot of guitars lack and one thing Gibson is good at!

I would prefer something else for a modern rock/metal guitar, and although it would work for classic rock, I would probably buy an SG or LP. This being said, the Theodore is great for recording as it sits between the classic Gibson toanz; it is incredibly versatile in that if your style lends itself to country or blues you can pull sounds that are Fender enough out of it.

If you're playing extended sets, it's super light and well-balanced, and I like the simple volume/tone layout. I've seen some folks saying a P-90 neck/humbucker bridge, ala BFG, would have been cool on these. They could have done the other way with the P-90 bridge and HB neck. If you're into changing things, there are HB-shaped P-90 style pickups (or "pups" for you TGP folks!).

The guitar has 57 Classics, which is unusual nowadays, but the bridge is a plus model. I don't know what that means, but it sounds good. I had a few SGs with 57s and loved them, had a set in an LP and didn't like them at all. YMMV.

The binding is perfect, nubs and all. The inlays are super cool and I like the binding/traps vs the Historic dots. I do wish it had the white button tuners. If there was a way to put white buttons on the Grovers or whatever they are I would do it in a minute!

For me, I generally play them as they come. The nut and setup are nice. It was almost in tune despite arriving on a below-freezing day (no waiting to open here), and when I popped the case open, it was way nicer than expected - my Moderne was the same way a few years ago, the photos didn't do it justice.

I also want to say that in person it's way better looking than in the photos I've seen - or even in the ones I've taken.

I happened to be at Gibson the day the first three hit the floor and almost bought one on the spot but couldn't figure out a color.

I'm considering putting a B5 on it, but I want to play it before doing something like that. I don't like the knobs, so I'll probably put regular speed knobs on it.

I think it would look cool with white plastic, so maybe over the winter if it snows I'll make a new guard for it.

 

[Amp360]

Here's a better photo:

 

[corpse]

The geometry on my 69 GT changed substantially as you went up the neck.
'59ish at the nut and big- almost 52 tele big- at the 12th fret.
That had to be tough to manufacture.
Where are they building Theo's?

 

[jb_abides]

Where are they building Theo's?

The Original Collection Standards are made on the same USA Nashville line as everything else USA.

The now deprecated Archive Collection with P-90s and walnut center strip was made in the Custom Shop.

...

I appreciate them trying runs of new 'throwback' shapes including the Victory... too bad no lefty ones!

 

[Amp360]

The one thing I'll say is sometimes (in my experience) the lower run USA models tend to be a little nicer than the larger production runs. The Moderne I bought on pre-order was as close to perfect and super lightweight as was my Tikibird.

Gibson makes great guitars in production and CS.