Gibson - RD Custom Ebony

When it was released in 1977, the Gibson RD (for Research & Development) was the first model from the manufacturer to integrate an active circuit created by Bob MOOG himself, in addition to an elongated 25.5" scale length ideal for players who tend to drop their tuning.

Available in 3 versions when it was released: Artist, Custom and Standard (the only one that was entirely passive), the RD owes its cut to a cross between the Firebird and the Explorer, and benefited from a Moog circuit powered by a 9V preamp including compression and a volume boost. Unfortunately, this circuit took up a lot of space, so a certain amount of wood had to be removed from the instrument.

It was not a success and the model was discontinued in 1982, the circuit was reused on the Les Paul Artist without gaining more recognition.

But the appearance of the model in the hands of Dave Grohl, Jimmy Page or the Nameless Ghouls of the group Ghost aroused a renewed interest in the RD which was reissued between 2007 and 2011.

The public's enthusiasm made the model highly sought after and Gibson wanted to pay tribute to its model through its Custom Shop.

The result is this magnificent and formidable RD Custom in Ebony color highlighted by a gloss nitrocellulose varnish. Taking up the characteristics of its elders Explorer Custom and Firebird Custom, we find a mahogany body with multi-ply binding and aesthetics supported by a black pickguard with a reminder of the binding.

The neck is made of solid mahogany and supports an ebony fingerboard for maximum precision and brilliance in the attack, a real highway to riffs. To support the pleasantness of the game, the 12" radius opens the doors to the craziest playing techniques without any hindrance.

For a massive sustain and an excellent resonance, the glued neck is supported by a combination of Tune-o-Matic bridge and Grover Rotomatic tuners.

The little extra of this RD comes from its 25.5" scale length (usually 24.75" at Gibson) adding precision especially when using lower tunings and other drops and allowing the use of more classic string gauges.

Saturation lovers will be delighted to find the famous pair of Gibson 490R (neck) and 498T (bridge) microphones for their most energetic riffs, while maintaining warmth and definition.

In order to protect this unique beauty, the guitar is delivered in a perfectly adapted Custom Shop case.