Drifted. If you've browsed our collection of wiring harnesses, you've seen the term used often. In this blog post, I'll explain what it means and why we think these caps are so special. First, a little background: When we decided to offer harnesses, I wanted to do something different that would appeal to players with USA Les Pauls like a Traditional, Classic, or Standard at a more affordable price point. There were already plenty of vendors selling harnesses with with Luxe reissues, Russian PIO, or other new caps, but the vintage in-spec caps were expensive, and that limited the majority of the market for those to Historics. When we came up with the idea of drifted vintage capacitors, I knew...
This is Part Three. If you missed Parts One and Two, click here. Who the heck is Lonnie Gilbert? Well, that would be me. I'm the one who answers your email when you have have a question. I'm the big cheese. Here's a big shout out to the most amazing guys who help me bring CreamTone to you: First, of course is Chris, our Product Development Director, who just happens to cut pickguards like nobody's business! Art, who helped design our brand and keeps us at the top of Google when you need something for your guitar. John, who winds pickups that sound like they came down from heaven. And Alex! Halfway around the world in Croatia, you make amazing things, and I'm happy that...
If you missed Part One. Click here. Let's take a look at the electronics and bridge pickup in Number One. But before we do, listen to her in the hands of her master. Turn it up loud! In this video, Jimmy didn't have any wheels under his pickguard, and his pots didn't push or pull. And if you watch closely, his bridge pickup had a cover on it! He loved to play the shell game with the bridge pickup cover. At that point, the harness was still original, and the bridge pickup hiding under the cover was a T-Top. We're sure about the pickup in the video because it was filmed in 1973. More about that later. Now back to the Gibson reissues and...
CreamTone presents an absolutely amazing guitar. Arguably, one of the best replicas of an original '59 Burst ever: Jimmy Page's Number One as she was when Led Zeppelin IV was recorded! Now, hold on... It's not fair to call a Burst original when irreversible mods have been made to the guitar: its original bridge pickup was destroyed and replaced; its neck was shaved and refinished which resulted the in loss of the serial number on the back of the headstock. Doesn't that kill its value? Not if the time was the late 60s and early 70s, and the guys making the mods were Joe Walsh, Jimmy Page, and Virgil Lay. A young luthier named Dan Shinn started working for Mr. Lay in 1979. No one thought much...
We often get a message asking if the shade of cream matches exactly on all of our parts. If you’re shooting for a vintage vibe for your guitar, you don’t want the plastic to match perfectly! Rather you want a nice compliment of cream tones. The original 50s parts didn’t match, Custom Shop Historic parts don’t match, and vintage-correct repro parts don’t match perfectly and here's why: They're made using different techniques such as heat molding, dry-cutting sheet material and stamping. Each one of these processes can alter the color of the plastic. Lighting and viewing angles also come into play. And of course, the age and wear on vintage guitars further contributes to the differences in the shades of...
