Chet's Gibson CG

[smokymtguitar09]

I have five (5) Chet guitars and they are all of very good quality:
(1) '93 dark brown Gibson CG with a Ray Butts neck pickup and stock Gibson bridge pickup reversed so the string pole screws are more forward. It has a sweet sound, and more volume than my Gretsch models. Yes, it has a Gibson sound.
(2) Gretsch 6122-59 is burgundy, nicely figured maple, and a StaLock behind the nut and fine tuning at the Bigsby. It is a bit heavy, records very good, and a pleasure to play. I don't think the TV Jones Supertron neck pickup sounds quite like the Ray Butts model of old I've heard, and it must be shimmed on the treble side to tilt it for more string balance when playing with a thumbpick. Still combined with the Filtertron bridge pickup has a very pleasing sound, more like the original '59 Gretsch.
(3) The orange Gretsch CGP is a good compromise between the Gibson and Gretsch Chet guitars. If you can only have one electric Chet guitar this would be a good choice. It is smaller, lighter, more acoustic with the thicker body, and is very comfortable to play sitting or standing. It was a novel idea, but I don't use the stereo jack and switch at all.
(4) The Gibson nylon string, natural color, solid body CE is heavy and has too much bass string sustain, but does have a unique sound using the original Hex pickup and electronics.
(5) The Gibson Studio CE, developed by Kirk Sand, is much more playable with a radius neck, fan bracing, and longer 26 " scale. The Hex pickup had to be replaced and it did not sound as good as the original. I replaced it with a Prismatone II using the original Gibson electronics that sounds somewhat better than the original HEX.

I've been lucky to be able to collect these guitars. I have found they all have their own voices and as I play either one it usually gets me going in some direction of a tune or lick I should learn. This is true for other guitars I have, and even sometimes trying out guitars I get an inspiration from the sound and feel of a guitar.

[Eddie Estes]

If you have a good Gibson CG then you have a great guitar. My issue with Gibson is how inconsistent their quality is some years and the their customer service.

Gretsch now make a consistently good guitar. The guys at Terada are great craftsmen. I have a 1980 Gretsch and it is a great guitar. But my dad had to go through about 12 at the music store to find a good one.

The Studio Classic was a great guitar until Gibson went cheap and changed it to something with a hole in the back and some funky western bridge on it. I guess they were tired of paying Kirk a royalty.

[smokymtguitar09]

Eddie,
My Gibson CG is a transition model of 1993 when they added the half-moon fretboard markers and other features that I've never known. I think they made it lighter, but I'm not sure. Mine came with a Letter of Authenticity signed by Chet. It did not have an arm rest and I bought one ( an original Gibson) from Kirk Sand at the convention then installed it myself. I changed the straight Bigsby handle to the bent type, and of course, many years later I installed the Ray Butts pickup at the neck. I recall you got a Ray Butts PU for your earlier model Gibson.

When I first got the Gibson there were some fret problems and after taking it to a couple of different luthier's before I got that corrected. Mike Voltz and Eric Kirkland worked on the nut at the Gibson booth for some bass string buzz I was experiencing. They basically filled and re-filed the nut slots.

Since then it has been a good guitar and still has low mileage for a 20 year old guitar, with minimum fret wear. I've used it on several CDs. Adding the Ray Butts made it a sweeter sounding guitar, at least for my taste.

I would like to know what other changes they made on the Gibson '93 model.

[smokymtguitar09]

Here is a photo that shows my Gibson and Gretsch Chet guitars as well as my vintage '70 Gibson ES-355, Taylor 912C, and some of the Godin GC Classical Multiac.

[albertgen]

I have an Orange Gibson CG which I love, I like the thinner body. I think it sounds better with 9's. I also have the Gretsch Nashville classic which is great too. I am curios about the shimming of the pickup. I at one time had a Gibson CEC but traded for a Studio CEC which in my opinion is a better guitar. I had trouble with the bass string ringing forever but it was pretty cool to play,but you had to experiment to get the best sound out of it. I originally bought the Gibson CG in 86 but it was too heavy and almost black,I didn't like it too well. It also had the knob right in the way of the vibrato handle. Al

[smokymtguitar09]

Al,
I have not yet shimmed by 6122-59 Supertron pickup, but I intend to eventually. It was something Paul Yandell suggested I could do by making a shim to fit between the underside of the treble side of the pickup and the bottom of pickup cavity. It would be cut & try to get it so the bass side sits lower under the strings.

I would like to hear from anyone who has shimmed the pickup in that manner before I attempt it.

[albertgen]

Yes, I remember hearing something about that a while back, I would be interested to know how it turned out! Al

[albertgen]

I kinda wish they had bigger frets on both guitars, pull-offs sound better and are easier to do. Chet Atkins once said that and it is true because I tried it on my old Tennessean. Al