R8 Peach Deal

TINMAN82 · August 2020

Don’t think we’ll see another blow out of these proportions any time soon.

(obviously I’m tempting fate deliberately as I missed out)

Panama_Jack666 · August 2020

Sold mine (or more accurately traded). It was a great move for me as I got my now number 1 guitar (Telecaster).

I do miss it! It was a nice guitar - but not as good as my R7. However, it was an excellent example of a Les Paul! Brilliant weight and played really nicely. Love the neck profile on them!

I am a sucker for a plaintop and this just did it!

https://i.imgur.com/pLBTje5.jpg

Ossyrocks · August 2020

I bought two R8’s from Peach and an R9 secondhand. I still have the first R8 I bought and it’s a keeper. The best LP I have ever had. The other two have left the building, but they were excellent too.

The keeper R8 is iced tea and only 8lbs 5oz. For the first time ever, I have kept it totally stock as I love the way it sounds.

Rob

Hattigol · August 2020

@terada Do you still have yours? Think you acquired a few...

roberty · August 2020

Sold mine for this. I loved it and in all honesty it was probably a bit nicer to play but I'm used to the 57 baseball bat on this now. I just have to wear it a bit higher!

Image: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/R-8CnvBU7voge0P0P724yx3HnRRuOZ_vZEM4jG7NUboAy5hVqGOwqon17kpYc3XSRClVCA8FxMsuGxgMQJwQwfiLZ2GF_EpXixy4bXQaaTxltdZvYZTllSiv7OUeaWvhyS1TLE6qEhhD8iZuKX3GEIG5Wv4MkLuKy2MGQ0ba3hycmD21SeBJNATvtXsDEjwYPgxoByRTaK-u93QuQjSxKqBu44CiD-eYs_nuZOFoghbblgpvt69xUld0m3nGX8A_a-JlZy__Z3z0PDaYXJoCTO6QT2kxifYgHMsBtvEH3Y37ScMAA_ZWAjRWd7nT09dErCZXgWZO1pH7WbIChqduHkpbOeOqiMy16IwzN3XZ1HoCkuMJXePox-2aGj1_eOREOu4Hql2CdYkykv7T9pm4CPW7mZJ9SMUtpuf3bLRjmr9pvnJkkJsKAcQQhsJmToX-iTh9KtJ0W5y35R97yYrAXCQeeKKPe6JH2g9jy4CRsek5c2_hvq_gQAI54Q2XQjvQdCzCkuAIp-rTPYrcTq63MCRg0oC2ziP5p_kvGeTSwUWiaQ43iMGzsK8B9ZnelUnMnUZHIfKhY8SInJhyUbgxAoiD-dBNGjJDGr6d2K9lGLfWKwDP9wGk5P4tn6efKPPBAdZFn8ZQQcSkTsw-47jy-m61QJPze1oK4k9I3GcepHgLqEUCG1akVuoBgNT8NQ=w1422-h1896-no?authuser=0

merlin · August 2020

I sold mine within a few months. I kind of loved it but really prefer my Feline...

Nerine · August 2020

Peach don’t seem to have quite as many LPs in as they did previously? Anyone noticed that on their website? Like they’re moving away from Gibson a little bit??

TeleMaster · August 2020

Nerine said:

Peach don’t seem to have quite as many LPs in as they did previously? Anyone noticed that on their website? Like they’re moving away from Gibson a little bit??

The pandemic and shut downs have slowed the supply right down.

Nerine · August 2020

TeleMaster said:

Nerine said:

Peach don’t seem to have quite as many LPs in as they did previously? Anyone noticed that on their website? Like they’re moving away from Gibson a little bit??

The pandemic and shut downs have slowed the supply right down.

Ah. I should have probably realised that. I’ll hold off visiting until the stock has grown a bit. Cheers.

hyperben · August 2020

Nerine said:

Peach don’t seem to have quite as many LPs in as they did previously? Anyone noticed that on their website? Like they’re moving away from Gibson a little bit??

About 6 weeks ago they had about 12-14 Custom Shop LPs. They all sold very quickly! So don’t think they’re moving away from Gibson.

hyperben · August 2020

I couldn’t find a 2017 R8/R9 that worked for me. None of them quite sounded right to me... Recently got a 2019 model, it rings like a tuning fork and it hits the spot perfectly, easily on a par with my vintage Gibson stuff.

tomajoha · August 2020

I’ve seen more poor R8/R9s from the ‘2017 Blowout’ than good ones. Mostly due to poor QC: gappy tenons( like the worst of norlin era bad),
badly scraped binding with very pronounced lips,
sharp frets,

ALOT of file marks on the fretboard(like they’d used a rasp file for the final finishing)

heavy grain sinkage into seemingly very porous/pitted mahogany

As @hyperben points out: the ones I’ve played, although often quite ringy, the also sounded quite thin, and pups swaps didn’t resolve this issue.

I think all things considered this puts them in the ‘avoid year’ category for me which is a shame as they were relatively cheap( for a Gibson CS), had excellent specs and looked the real deal.

Ive gone back to a secondhand 2013 R8 which is impeccably built (for a gibson) and sings.

So for all those reading this zombie thread who missed out - you really didn’t IMO.

Now please can we close the thread? PRETTY PLEASE?

ps: I have nothing against norlin era Gibson’s - is take one over a 2017 one any day.

Jonathanthomas83 · August 2020

No, because many of us like our shit 2017 R8's and want to keep talking about them.

crunchman · August 2020

tomajoha said:

I’ve seen more poor R8/R9s from the ‘2017 Blowout’ than good ones. Mostly due to poor QC: gappy tenons( like the worst of norlin era bad),
badly scraped binding with very pronounced lips,
sharp frets,
ALOT of file marks on the fretboard(like they’d used a rasp file for the final finishing)
heavy grain sinkage into seemingly very porous/pitted mahogany

As @hyperben points out: the ones I’ve played, although often quite ringy, the also sounded quite thin, and pups swaps didn’t resolve this issue.

I think all things considered this puts them in the ‘avoid year’ category for me which is a shame as they were relatively cheap( for a Gibson CS), had excellent specs and looked the real deal.

Ive gone back to a secondhand 2013 R8 which is impeccably built (for a gibson) and sings.

So for all those reading this zombie thread who missed out - you really didn’t IMO.

Now please can we close the thread? PRETTY PLEASE?

ps: I have nothing against norlin era Gibson’s - is take one over a 2017 one any day.

I'd have to differ. I've owned 3 Custom Shop reissue Les Pauls. Overall, the 2017 is the best of the three.

Also, this thread is not allowed to die.

tomajoha · August 2020

Grrr @crunchman. If you want to adopt the thread I can heartily recommend it - it practically constitutes being ‘vintage’ now, one lady owner etc....

SteveF · August 2020

I didn't really get on with the VOS finish, so ended up selling mine. I later bought a 2019 Standard and a CS Strat. Might look at a gloss finish R8/9 at some point.

danishbacon · August 2020

I quite liked my 2017 R8 when I had it, but I’ve not had the chance to try too many LPs. was @hyperben ‘s Has recently sold on eBay too by the looks of it, wonder if anyone from the forum picked it up?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133439488366

https://youtu.be/JT8NDi2ePwI

Barnezy · August 2020

tomajoha said:

I’ve seen more poor R8/R9s from the ‘2017 Blowout’ than good ones. Mostly due to poor QC: gappy tenons( like the worst of norlin era bad),
badly scraped binding with very pronounced lips,
sharp frets,
ALOT of file marks on the fretboard(like they’d used a rasp file for the final finishing)
heavy grain sinkage into seemingly very porous/pitted mahogany

As @hyperben points out: the ones I’ve played, although often quite ringy, the also sounded quite thin, and pups swaps didn’t resolve this issue.

I think all things considered this puts them in the ‘avoid year’ category for me which is a shame as they were relatively cheap( for a Gibson CS), had excellent specs and looked the real deal.

Ive gone back to a secondhand 2013 R8 which is impeccably built (for a gibson) and sings.

So for all those reading this zombie thread who missed out - you really didn’t IMO.

Now please can we close the thread? PRETTY PLEASE?

ps: I have nothing against norlin era Gibson’s - is take one over a 2017 one any day.

Completely wrong.

This was the year Gibson tried to improve the accuracy and quality of the LP reissues, in a last ditch attempt to win back fans and increase sales in a critical year for the company. The 2017 R8 is a R8/R9/true historic hybrid, and for me the ideal LP.

Some people may have had average guitars, but that's the same for any year.

Mine is absolutely fantastic and would actually seek out a 2017 if I wanted another, if for nothing else than the great spec and necks.

tomajoha · August 2020

No wanting a bun fight but that’s not quite correct, it was in fact the year Gibson needed to raise cash and very fast due to credit downgrades and circling the drain. From what I’ve gleamed they made a whole boat load of the limited runs in short order and released a crap tonne of surplus stock that had been sat in distribution centres. I think the speed of production combined with a very unhappy time in the custom shop due to lay offs and high volume production runs meant a lot of sloppy guitars. 2017 was the last hurrah of Henry J before they got him out.

Jonathanthomas83 · August 2020

Be lovely to have some substantiated links to prove all of this, of course. Right now, it's all speculation as far as I'm concerned. I personally enjoy my 2017 R8. Until I try something better, I won't be convinced it's as shit as you're making it out to be.

danishbacon · August 2020

Wasn’t there a lot of professing that these would be widely available for £1500?

HandwrittenHero · August 2020

Can’t remember the exact time Henry J went. I can remember though the 2017s were a spec
change with the folding in of TH features. 2017 and 2018 are the same specs and it’s 2019 with the 60th anniversary R9s that are definitely new era (cosmetic changes eg moving of silkscreen script, actually matter change of unpotted pickups)

Anyway, not quite comparing apples to apples but I have a 2018 R9. I tried a couple of 2018s when shopping for it and didn’t get any stinkers, just went with the one that felt right.

All anecdotal obviously. My suspicion is it’s a very small number of people who’d commit to trying multiple different custom shop guitars beyond what the store(s) close enough to them have in stock.

Just as added for more recent Gibson, supply lines with Covid is definitely a thing. I’ve wound up dealing with Gibson directly re my 64RI SG with the missing screws, but also as part of looking at my options there’s no 64RI SGs in any U.K. stores as of a couple of weeks ago and all stores look to have lowish stock on Gibson stuff generally not just Peach.

tomajoha · August 2020

@Jonathanthomas83 if your happy with that that’s all that matters. I didn’t say your guitar was shit, you did.

I said that in my experience if the ones I have owned and seen, that generally the build was poor compared to the other years Ive played and owned. I hope you got a good one as they do exist. If your any doubt remove the neck pup and look in the cavity to see the tidiness of the tenon work ( I have see multiple 2017 where the gap can be seen even without remove the pup!) all the other things I’ve mentioned will be quite apparent to your eye/fingers IF your guitar has them. If none of those things bother you then you pays your money and takes your choice.

As for unsubstantiated claims into Gibson’s great cash grab and the lay-off/low morale at the CS at the time - google to your hearts content there’s many worthy threads from respected dealers and Gibson fanboys documenting what was happening at the time. Peace

crunchman · August 2020

tomajoha said:

@Jonathanthomas83 if your happy with that that’s all that matters. I didn’t say your guitar was shit, you did.

I said that in my experience if the ones I have owned and seen, that generally the build was poor compared to the other years Ive played and owned. I hope you got a good one as they do exist. If your any doubt remove the neck pup and look in the cavity to see the tidiness of the tenon work ( I have see multiple 2017 where the gap can be seen even without remove the pup!) all the other things I’ve mentioned will be quite apparent to your eye/fingers IF your guitar has them. If none of those things bother you then you pays your money and takes your choice.

As for unsubstantiated claims into Gibson’s great cash grab and the lay-off/low morale at the CS at the time - google to your hearts content there’s many worthy threads from respected dealers and Gibson fanboys documenting what was happening at the time. Peace

The neck angle is good on my 2017. It was wrong on the 2010 R8 I had previously. The bridge was a couple of mm out of position on the 2010 as well, although that might have been a function of the neck angle. Because the bridge was so high, it might have affected the intonation.

The 2017 is a different sound to that 2010. It's got more top end bite, and not quite as fat, but the 2010 was a one trick pony. The 2017 is more versatile.

The other one I had before the 2010 was very light weight, but just sounded thin. I swapped pickups and everything but it didn't matter what I did, it just sounded thin without the guts to the sound that you normally get from a Les Paul. I sold it on consignment in Chandlers. It was back in there not long afterwards.

Musicman20 · August 2020

Fifty9 said:

We’re they ‘seconds’? Some seem to have been but I can’t find anything wrong with mine.

Not sure why I still have this quote in my reply, but it still kinda applies.

I was not impressed with the quality and sent mine back. It certainly did not wow me when I opened the case and I found a few QC issues that don't exist on my £700 Baja Telecaster, never mind a high end Les Paul.

Shame, because I really wanted one!

Hattigol · August 2020

I have to say that I feel blessed to have such limited, techy, nerdy knowledge about the minutiae of guitars and set-ups.

It really makes things so much easier being able to pick up a guitar and go either 'hell yeah' or 'naaah'...

My 2017 R8 was just wonderful.

Boromedic · August 2020

I'm picky, my R8 was and still is perfect, no issues whatsoever and the best bit is it sounds amazing. The even better bit is I did some work to my Standard and now it's just as good even without the historic features. A great Les Paul is a great Les Paul regardless of era, the best bit of the R8 is it's lighter but TBF I don't really mind the weight of the Standard.

I'm just a Gibson ho.....

terada · August 2020

crunchman said:

tomajoha said:

I’ve seen more poor R8/R9s from the ‘2017 Blowout’ than good ones. Mostly due to poor QC: gappy tenons( like the worst of norlin era bad),
badly scraped binding with very pronounced lips,
sharp frets,
ALOT of file marks on the fretboard(like they’d used a rasp file for the final finishing)
heavy grain sinkage into seemingly very porous/pitted mahogany

As @hyperben points out: the ones I’ve played, although often quite ringy, the also sounded quite thin, and pups swaps didn’t resolve this issue.

I think all things considered this puts them in the ‘avoid year’ category for me which is a shame as they were relatively cheap( for a Gibson CS), had excellent specs and looked the real deal.

Ive gone back to a secondhand 2013 R8 which is impeccably built (for a gibson) and sings.

So for all those reading this zombie thread who missed out - you really didn’t IMO.

Now please can we close the thread? PRETTY PLEASE?

ps: I have nothing against norlin era Gibson’s - is take one over a 2017 one any day.

I'd have to differ. I've owned 3 Custom Shop reissue Les Pauls. Overall, the 2017 is the best of the three.

Also, this thread is not allowed to die.

Having played most of them

, I would also disagree, I think maybe you've been turned off them due to starting the monster thread

.

(also agree this monster thread should never die)

Whitecat · August 2020

Happy to report the one I got is still outstanding. I have no desire to change pickups so haven't looked under the neck to see if the tenon join is wonky or not, but everything else about the guitar is ace. The fact that it was from Peach probably contributes to the win % since they rejected bad ones and did full setups on the ones they did take. But very happy, unlikely to ever sell it, it's a proper Les Paul you can grow old with and hard to see what could really be improved.

Hattigol · August 2020

terada said:

crunchman said:

tomajoha said:

I’ve seen more poor R8/R9s from the ‘2017 Blowout’ than good ones. Mostly due to poor QC: gappy tenons( like the worst of norlin era bad),
badly scraped binding with very pronounced lips,
sharp frets,
ALOT of file marks on the fretboard(like they’d used a rasp file for the final finishing)
heavy grain sinkage into seemingly very porous/pitted mahogany

As @hyperben points out: the ones I’ve played, although often quite ringy, the also sounded quite thin, and pups swaps didn’t resolve this issue.

I think all things considered this puts them in the ‘avoid year’ category for me which is a shame as they were relatively cheap( for a Gibson CS), had excellent specs and looked the real deal.

Ive gone back to a secondhand 2013 R8 which is impeccably built (for a gibson) and sings.

So for all those reading this zombie thread who missed out - you really didn’t IMO.

Now please can we close the thread? PRETTY PLEASE?

ps: I have nothing against norlin era Gibson’s - is take one over a 2017 one any day.

I'd have to differ. I've owned 3 Custom Shop reissue Les Pauls. Overall, the 2017 is the best of the three.

Also, this thread is not allowed to die.

Having played most of them , I would also disagree, I think maybe you've been turned off them due to starting the monster thread .

(also agree this monster thread should never die)

@terada I am down on one knee. Please may I have your blessing to marry that guitar?

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