Zakk Wylde Camo Gibson Les Paul

[ZMAN]

A buddy of mine now owns a Pawn Shop. He recently took a Gibson Zakk Wylde Camo edition in trade. He called me and he can give me a killler deal on it. It came in a gig bag without the Gibson case. I have seen it and I am not a fan of the looks but it is a Gibson Custom and it feels realy nice.
Does anyone know what case came with it, and any thoughs on the EMG pickups.
I can pick it up for less than a Studio and they originally sold for $4500 US.
Oh and it is in mint condtion.
This is the Gibson model not the Epi.

 

[Kazz]

Not all that crazy about the looks of those...but Zakk's tone is amazing. The EMG 81\85 combination is very cool. It would be the only active setup I would even try.

Of course for me to buy that guitar I would have to sand it down and refinish it but hey...you have a camaro....you can certainly paint a guitar

 

[ZMAN]

I noodled around on it unplugged and it seems to have a real nice action and I do like the neck. I have never owned an active pickup guitar. Where do they store the battery? I would never touch the guitar and would keep it completely stock. As for the Camaro I am a nuts and bolts guy, not a painter. Rattle cans are the most I will tackle for small parts.
I was looking at it more for an investment. The price is right.

 

[oldguy]

Buy it.
You can always trade it later if you don't like it. If it's in mint conditon I wouldn't change a thing on it. It should hold it's value if you're getting it that cheap.

 

[hubberjub]

I respect his playing but I don't think I could be seen with it in public. If you can buy it for Les Paul Studio money (~$1200) it's probably an easy and quick flip.

 

[ZMAN]

I ran it by the guys on the Les Paul Forum and they all seem to think it is a fake. There are several Chinese sites that list this sme guitar with all the stamps Gibson stamps and logos for under 300 bucks. It is really scary how good they look.
I will have to take a closer look and look for the things they pointed out.
I guess the price they gave for it probably allows for a fake with a little bit of a loss. It is either a diamond in the rough or a good lesson. They know the person who brought it in so if it is a fake he is in big trouble. My friend is 6 2 and 300 lbs.

 

[deeaa]

Those fakes are usually pretty easy to spot.

I love EMG pickups, but not the 81 so much. 85's are great, I'd like an 85/85 set on a les paul, or actually even better 85 bridge and 89 neck so I could also get singlecoil. That's what I have on my Flying-V.

 

[ZMAN]

I had a quick look at it last week. I really didn't have time to go over it. At first glance it seemed pretty good. I have been told these models have an "Unfinished Neck". What actually does that mean? Is there a total lack of finish on it? The one in the store is quite glossy.

 

[ZMAN]

Well an update on the Zakk Wylde. It was a Chinese Fake. They paid too much for it even on trade. There were many indicators. It was a very nice job though. This is the problem with the fakes though, they are sometimes passed off as original to unsuspecting buyers. My friend is new to the Pawn business so this is a lesson well learned.

 

[Kazz]

Well now you should be able to get it even cheaper right

 

[ZMAN]

I posted some pictures of it in the "fake guitars" thread in the General Guiitar talk forum . I played it today to see how it was. It played pretty good but I don't know what pickups are in it. They are not the EMGs. There is no Battery so I think they are just covered Chinese hummbuckers. They sound OK. But it sure looks real.
I am not sure if I want it yet.