Jason's FS Thread - Friedman Plex & Gibson 59 Tribute Humbuckers Added

[LucSulla]

OK - Let's add a few new things as of March 29, 2026. 

First up is a Friedman Plex. I bought this around when they came out, and it has never left the house since. I'd be surprised if I have 10 hours of playing time on it. I have no idea how much it sounds like a late 60s Plexi, but it sounds pretty damn good and is a lot different than other Friedman's. It's more open, raw, and pretty unforgiving, which makes me feel like it's pretty spot on for a late-60s Plexi based on what I've read. Master Volume works far better than it should, to the point that I kind of made my Fryette PS-2A redundant. I just made a different board with this amp in mind which had effects that sound good through the front of a Plexi. 

Because there is no effects loop. The circuit is that old school. 

The Variac setting is rad, but even the 50 watt setting isn't exactly subtle if you don't want it to be. Cleans up beautifully with the guitar's volume too. 

I want to love this amp enough to keep it, but I'm a Bogner Helios guy. If you're familiar with a Helios, this amp is like the perfect step between Where the Helios' second channel on the high input takes things and where the second channel stops when using the low input. It's probably a more authentic Plexi experience as well, but the Helios is just a better amp for gigging than the Plex for the kind of stuff I'm doing. I know I'll miss it, but I've just got too many amps that sit around the house and never get used. This one is probably the most desirable of the bunch, so off it goes. 

Asking $2100 shipped CONUS with PP friends, Venmo, etc. 

Next, I have some Gibson 59 Tribute Pickups I took out of a 2014 Les Paul Traditional. They were a little too chimey and uncompressed for me. I think they sounded great for that sound, but that isn't really what I dig. There is a bit of lore around these. They were only used in the 2014 and 2015 Les Paul Traditionals before Gibson switched back to the 57/57-plus combo in 2016. The rumor mill on the forums said Gibson liked them so much that they stopped putting them in Trads and went to putting them in Reissue series guitars the next couple of years. What I know for certain is that they are potted, unbalanced, and have Alnico II magnets (which means they are not the same as the $1k 59 Reissues Gibson currently sells, which are Alnico II). 

I can also say for certain that they are much different than the Burstbuckers and 57/57+ pickups. They are much clearer and, like I said, chimey. It's almost like a little telecaster slipped in there when I had them in a Les Paul. 

Asking $300 for the pair shipped. I'll get some picks up later. 

 

 

Edited March 29 by LucSulla

[RobB]

Dang. Dang. Dang. If I didn’t have something Jackson-y on the way…

Dang!

[Travis]

Dang. Dang. Dang. If I didn’t just pull the trigger on something Les Paul-y an hour before you posted this…

Dang!

[django49]

 

[tbonesullivan]

Oh man, if I didn't have the JEL-50, I'd be going for that JEL-20, especially with those old production EL84s. That really adds to it, and with the "Sat" switch, you can really get some gnarly tones at lower volume levels. I believe it's a mod that adds some type of clipping circuit to make it sound like you're driving it hard when you're not. Great build quality, and WHO DOESN'T LOVE A RED AMP?

[Dave Scepter]

22 minutes ago, LucSulla said:

OK, gang - 1982 Les Paul Custom Natural. For you guys, $3500 shipped CONUS via the usual, no-fee electronic methods. 

I wrote a ton about it on Reverb with a lot more pictures. 

https://reverb.com/item/87242512-gibson-les-paul-custom-norlin-era-electric-guitar-1970-1985?publish_confirmation=true

Cool guitar... You should do the glue/toothpick trick for the pickup ring holes... "1 less write up"

Just my 2 cents~

[LucSulla]

1 minute ago, Dave Scepter said:

Cool guitar... You should do the glue/toothpick trick for the pickup ring holes... "1 less write up"

Just my 2 cents~

I have done that in the wood. It's the screw heads that are worn out. I'm not an over tightener, so I have made it work, but somebody who owned it was. Probably why I also had to do the toothpick trick as well, because a few hole were stripped as well. 

I don't know why people think a little plastic ring needs to be torqued down like it's holding a wheel on a hub that will be flying down the interstate. 

[Jakeboy]

Any trade needs or desires for that Octapussy?

[LucSulla]

17 hours ago, Jakeboy said:

Any trade needs or desires for that Octapussy?

Probably not, but not a hard no. Depends on what ya got!

[Dave Scepter]

20 hours ago, LucSulla said:

 

Dude, how about a straight across trade for a case of eggs?.. no low balling, I know what I have... 🤣

[LucSulla]

3 minutes ago, Dave Scepter said:

Dude, how about a straight across trade for a case of eggs?.. no low balling, I know what I have... 🤣

If I still ate eggs and did't live in rural Mississippi, this might be tempting, lol. 

I swear anyone who owns a few hens around here is cleaning up. Even our department accountant was trying to get me to buy eggs from her BFs hens. Lotta chicken cloacas working overtime around here. 

[murkat]

On 2/14/2025 at 6:32 PM, LucSulla said:

OK, gang - 1982 Les Paul Custom Natural. For you guys, $3300 shipped CONUS via the usual, no-fee electronic methods

Solid good deal!

[kurtsstuff]

I was/am going to comment that when I first saw those pickups in your reverb ad..I instantly thought "Schallers".

Back in the early 80's I used Schaller pu's in all my guitars for quite a few years..until I went to the dark side and fell in love with EMG85's lol

 

Edited March 4, 2025 by kurtsstuff

[LucSulla]

Cleaned out a bunch of older posts. 

I just put a down payment on a Banker. I don't need to make it all up by selling stuff, but I'm clearing out some more gear to try to cover as much of it as I can. 

First thing is breaking down this massive pedalboard that I have. That will get posted soon along with some pedals that are just collecting dust. A couple are kinda rare, most are just tried and true classics. I'm moving on to a smaller board to go with my Nano+ board and a lot less pedals. Just tired of fighting signal gremlins and lugging a two-tier board with ramps and a buffer bay. 

I may post a couple of heads hear too. For what it costs to ship the damn things, I'd probably be open to driving a pretty good way to meet an interested party. Living near Memphis, I'm kinda close to a lot of you. We'll see how that goes. 

I guess tune in Saturday or Sunday for a bunch of stuff that most of you probably don't want enough to deal with either, haha. 

[LucSulla]

Bump. Everything is in the OP.

[LucSulla]

Bump for the addition of a Friedman Plex ($2100) and Gibson 59 Tribute Humbuckers ($300) added to the OP. 

Plex pics in OP. 

Edited March 29 by LucSulla

[LucSulla]

Le bump with pics!

 

Edited April 14 by LucSulla