My lovely wife gave me a Friedman Pink Taco for my birthday. 20 watts of hand-wired tube tone.

Quick video I made after the unboxing:

https://youtu.be/cI6omITgJUY

Sweet!  


Everyone's wife should be giving them a Pink Taco!  

Hey, did you ever sell that Fullerton Strat?  Still diggin' the NF3?

Hey man - thanks for listening. The Fullerton was tough to sell. I think because it had a refret job with jumbo frets. I think most people buying a Fullerton want original vintage frets. I ended up trading it to a friend for a Les Paul custom shop.

Yeah..I am still loving the NF3. Don't you have two NF3s?

Good deal.  What type of custom shop LP?  I just picked up a used R8.  My first LP.  Lemonburst plaintop.  2014.  

I sold my first NF3 when I got the blue one--I still have the blue one.  Keep on rockin'!  Sounds great.

Thanks man! Congrats on the R8. How do you like it? Did you keep the maple or rosewood NF3?

Mine is a 2003 CS Class 5 plain top. I contacted Gibson and gave them the serial number and a picture, and they said that it was a special order made for Sam Ash and "small run" was produced. Class 5's usually have a flame top.  It's a heavy mofo at 9.75 lbs, but it sure does sound good. I am very happy with the trade. I never liked the pickups in the 57 reissue.

Here's what Gibson sent me:

The serial number is consistent with a 2003 Custom Shop Les Paul Class 5 Plain Top model in Cherry Burst finish. This was made in a small run for Sam Ash stores in 2003. Here are the specs-

BODY    
Top Species:    Carved Plain Maple
Back Species:    weight relieved mahogany
Binding:    Single-ply Cream Binding

NECK    
Species: 1-piece Mahogany with long neck tenon
Profile:      50's Rounded Neck Profile

FINGERBOARD    
Species:    Rosewood
Scale Length:    24.75"
Number of Frets: 22
Nut Width:    1 11/16"
Inlays:               Acrylic Trapezoid Inlays

HARDWARE    
Plating Finish:    Nickel
Tailpiece:    Stopbar
Bridge:    ABR-1
 
Tuners:    Grover

ELECTRONICS    
Pickups:    Zebra '57 Classics
Controls:    2 Volume and 2 Tone Control, 3-Way Selector Switch

Hey, that looks REALLY nice!  Congrats!  I bet it will sound fantastic through your new PT.  I think Friedmans and Les Pauls were made for each other.  While many of the LP flame tops are quite beautiful, I really prefer the plaintops, especially a vintage look.  Here are a couple pics I took of my new (used) one:





It's got some very cool wavy grain and some mineral streaks which I love.  Sounds really pure too.  The 2014s have the Custombucker pickups, and while I don't have any ownership experience with Les Pauls, I can say these pickups sound very articulate and nice.  Mine weighs in at 8.5 lbs which is a good weight for me as I am used to lighter Fenders.  Oh, and that NF3 you mentioned is the maple neck.  Here is a pic from this summer:

Beautiful! The perfect Les Paul IMO. Love everything about it, especially the slight flame.

BTW...I plugged in the Les Paul to the PT-20 and it is heaven. I felt like Billy Gibbons playing Madison Square Garden.

Very nice amp, Congrats!
seems like the perfect wattage
Sweetwater has a nice demo of the amp

Thanks. yeah that Sweetwater video is what sold me on the amp.

Congrats, well played!

What speaker do you have in the Mesa cab? EVM12L? C90? V30?

Thank you. It's a ported 1-12 Theil Mesa cab with a EVM 12.

Oh man, that's one of my dream cabs. Now I am jealous.

Doesn't Mesa still make this cabinet? I bought mine in 1989.

Yeah, but they no longer load them with EVM12Ls. The EVM12L made that cabinet what it was, IMHO. The C90 and V30 are completely different animals.