Learn More About What Makes “CME Spec” Models So Special!

Chicago Music Exchange’s relationship with Gibson Custom Shop reflects a shared philosophy—individually crafted guitars, built by hand. Before each new “CME Spec” Custom Shop batch goes into production, our guitar gurus join forces with Gibson to select new top woods, finishes, fingerboard materials, neck profiles, pickups, hardware—you name it—everything that goes into each “CME Spec” guitar.

From figured koa Les Paul Standard tops to custom-colored SGs, customers at CME will always see extra-special, historically inspired instruments hanging on our showroom wall, each hand-picked at Gibson Custom Shop for this year’s “CME Spec” guitars. While there are a few visual hallmarks that can help any customer distinguish “CME Spec” models from the rest of our Gibson Custom Shop options, there’s also much more to each “CME Spec” model than meets the eye!

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What Sets “CME Spec” Guitars Apart

Even before you get any of our “CME Spec” guitars in hand, there are a few visual, sonic, and tactile upgrades you might be able to spot, which we’ve chosen to make “CME Spec” guitars extra special—including the “Gibson Custom Shop x CME” medallions for all Les Paul Standard and Les Paul Custom models.

“With our ’59 Les Paul Standards, we’re trying to recreate as best we can the ‘soul’ of an original Burst,” said CME Senior Sales Specialist David Azizinamini (aka “David A.”). “We like tops with what’s called ‘flecking’ or mineralization. Because that’s what the real ones looked like—they would not have all been perfect. These deposits in the wood give it character.”

While we always keep historical instruments in mind, “The idea is also to take guitars that would have never existed For example, you never would have seen a ’59 Les Paul Standard with a V3 neck—or, say, a ’57 Les Paul Goldtop with a V2 neck, since the model generally would have had a bigger neck profile in 1957—but, you can find both among our ‘CME Spec’ models.”*

^{_{* (Note—Any “CME Spec’” guitar with P-90s uses Gibson P-90s.)}}

Featured "CME Spec" Gear Demo Videos

Gibson Custom “S” Buckers—CME’s Signature Sound

The most important sonic distinction between Gibson Custom Shop and “CME Spec” models is that "CME Spec" models come equipped with Custom “S” Buckers.

Unlike the Gibson Custom Buckers, our Custom “S” Buckers are both wax-potted and under-wound, providing more headroom than typical Gibson Custom Buckers, while the wax potting locks the internal parts of the pickup together, preventing microphonic vibrations and eliminating feedback.

Being under-wound the Custom “S” Bucker bridge pickup has a little bit more warmth, with fewer “ice-pick” frequencies, so guitarists needn’t rely as much on the tone control—plus, the neck pickup never gets muddy and always cuts in the mix, making it an ideal pickup for playing lead guitar. 

“Carmelita”—CME’s Preferred Gibson Custom Shop Neck Profile

Referring to the name given to an original Gibson Les Paul Standard ’59 Burst, the “Carmelita” neck is a touch thinner than a typical ’59 Les Paul neck, with its worn shoulders distinguishing it.

Just as Gibson customers sometimes refer to the ’58 Les Paul neck as being like a “baseball bat,” we like to tweak the metaphor a bit to describe the “Carmelita” profile as being like a ’59 neck that’s been worn in like a “baseball glove.”

That is to say, just like a baseball mitt gets worn the more you use it, the “Carmelita” neck feels like it’s been worn over decades and decades of being played.

Beyond Les Paul Standard and Custom models, when it comes to other Gibson Custom Shop “CME Spec” models, you’ll usually find our preferred Gibson Custom “S” Bucker pickups in humbucker-equipped “CME Spec” electrics. Although these pickups are not exclusive to CME, what makes each of these “CME Spec” guitars special is often custom finish colors and hardware combinations, which are unlike Custom Shop models you’ll find anywhere else!

No stranger to Gibson SGs, CME Senior Sales Specialist Geoff Tinta said, “When it comes to sound, I often point customers to our ‘CME Spec’ editions, since—unlike most of the guitars that come out of Gibson Custom Shop—‘CME Spec’ SGs have Gibson Custom ‘S’ Bucker pickups, which are similar to the ‘Burstbucker,’ but we specifically ordered them to be 10-percent underwound.”

“When you get the ‘CME Spec’ edition, you know that guitar features woods that we spec’d ourselves in collaboration with the Gibson Custom Shop—everything from the wood filler, to the finish, to the aging, to the knobs we chose. Plus, with a ‘CME Spec’ SG, you get a unique guitar that you may have already had a vision for—which, if you were to order it from Gibson, it would be at least 2-3 years before you’d get it. That’s why we design them that way, ahead of time, for our customers. As SG fans ourselves, we’re thinking a lot of the same things about what we want to see when we get a guitar like this—and that’s what our customers want to see.”

The Origin of Gibson Custom Shop “CME Spec” Models

Although CME has cultivated a longstanding relationship with Gibson over the years we’ve been in business, it was only within the past decade that the “CME Spec” name was born—not to mention, its design ethos and signature sonic profile.

“When I took over The Chicago Music Exchange, we were NOT yet one of the chosen Gibson e-commerce dealers,” said CME CEO Andrew Yonke. “We were not even allowed to list our Gibson inventory on the internet. So, my first goal was to get us the e-commerce license that we needed in order to really be successful with the brand. That process took more than a year, and while working that out, I started to forge relationships with the heads of each of the major manufacturing facilities at Gibson, from Memphis to USA, Custom Shop, and even Epiphone.

“CME Spec guitars came after I spoke with Matt Hallam and Rick Gembar at Gibson Custom Shop in Nashville to ask them how far I could push the customization of their guitars to create a truly unique guitar/experience,” Yonke said, “so that, when customers called about what other dealers had our team could tell them WHY what we were offering was not the same.

“In fact, what we were offering was a premium to what the others had. We would spend entire days sifting through pallets and pallets of flame maple tops looking for figuring, flame, and lightweight in every single one of our offerings. Then, we’d do the same with the mahogany backs, then do the same with only dark fretboards, and then the same thing with our specific pickups!”

“So, to have the CME stamp of approval was a huge deal, because no one else was doing that at the time,” Yonke said, referring to the “Gibson Custom Shop x CME” medallions for all Les Paul Standard and LP Custom models, in addition to a Certificate of Authenticity from the Gibson Custom Shop for every “CME Spec” guitar. “I wanted it to be clear that this guitar was a CME Exclusive, and that the name ‘CME Spec’ means this guitar was the result of a true effort on our team's part to ensure it was made with the best materials available, hand-chosen by us to our exacting specs.”

Enter the Golden Age of Electric Guitars with “CME Spec” Editions!

If you’re in the market for a Gibson Custom Shop guitar, consider David A.’s advice: “If you can afford it, get it. Some people will say, ‘I’m not good enough to play this, yet,’ or, ‘I don’t think I deserve it.’ You will always, always, get what you pay for. So, if you can get into a guitar at that price point, you should 100% get into it, because it’s going to inspire you to want to play.’

“We’re now in a Golden Age of electric guitar manufacturing,” he continued. “In 2017, Tom Murphy corrected the carve on Gibson’s Les Paul Standard tops, which is based on a violin carve. Another reason is that the new Murphy Lab finish is the closest they’ve ever gotten to the finish an original Burst had. These are 100% hand-made instruments. And if you tried to get into this level of build in the violin world or the wind instrument world, you’d be spending five figures to get something that’s 50% the quality of this guitar. It’s like the Stradivarius of the electric guitar world.”

Browse our entire selection of Gibson Custom Shop “CME Spec” Les Pauls, SGs, ES-335s—and more!—online or in the CME Mobile App! Then, call CME, chat us online, or stop into our showroom to learn more about Gibson Custom Shop “CME Spec” options available now!

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