I do not think I've ever had a more woody feeling when playing a guitar!
The one they never made. And they (Gibson) definitely won't. Ever. Period. And the reason is simple: a certain historical \"disagreement\" went taboo-nuts for some, and Zakk... Well he was and always will be a rebel.
A Japanese luthier made this stupidly faithful reproduction, based on a photo published in the November 1998 issue of a guitar magazine, which appeared only there in Japan. It obviously isn't called \"Beer Bottle Caps\", but yeah... And since then, of course the real one belonging to Zakk has received some extra natural relic 🍻 And it's also received some extra bottle caps (see last pic, source Getty Images).
But this guy, he's been friends with him for almost 30 years now, and he's e a die-hard fan of his. Hence the 99.9% faithful \"reissue\" he's done. *Check out that guitar standing next to the \"Rebel\". That one, also Zakk's, is currently what we all know as \"Shattered Glass\" or \"Broken Mirror\".
So he started with an Orville Les Paul Custom. Top-wise, he removed the finish and applied a new one. The finish on the back was removed aswell. He then heavily aged it, he even briefly set it on fire to achieve this. Die-hard fans probably know that the original one belonging to Zakk had an \"accident\" when... a fed-up Ozzy orchestrated to set it on fire.
*And yet, the guitar even appears in Ozzy Osbourne's \"No More Tears\" video, where Zakk pops it from somewhere all of a sudden, among his many others.
The magazine was also used as a reference for the beer bottle caps, and the stickers.
Pickups are the EMG 81 & 85 pair.
*I have all the documentation (photos) from the time it was being built! Being already the 6th guitar, my good friend in Japan made all of them in hopes that it would catch the attention of the people at Gibson. They themselves should have built the model, before Zakk started displaying his next LP model (the Bullseye) in almost all of his concerts. Unfortunately, Gibson has never indulged in such controversial designs, and it's obvious why.
*I've placed a collage at the very end, showing parison between how a pany would be doing it (for $8k, albeit on a Gibson Custom, btw) and just how a dedicated fan & friend would do it. Hint: only friends know the beer they drink 😉
Awesome setup and low action! And with the EMGs, sounds just perfect!
Gonna just call this one a Mint, because although this being an old 90s Orville and btw also on the much heavier side of an LP, and also having a couple of true subtle natural scratches & dents, it's only in the spirit of being a relic'd guitar.
htt ps://youtu.be/CprfjfN5PRs?t=222
(Just delete the space from right after the \"htt\" )