Black Cherry

Gibson Les Paul.   Last January (2014) I finally got a Les Paul: in particular, a Gibson Les Paul Studio Pro, in Black Cherry Pearl.  It’s an interesting color.  Most of the time – including its pictures on Gibson’s website – it just looks black.  Depending on how the light strikes it, it’s usually black.  But bright, direct light shows a deep, dark metallic red color.  It has a rosewood fretboard with trapezoid inlays.  The headstock has a Gibson decal with the Les Paul script:  not the diamond inlay of the Custom, nor the idiotic “Les Paul 100” handwritten script the 2015 models have been blemished with.

            My immediate reaction was to replace the bridge humbucker with a 500T pickup.  For some reason I can’t fathom, Gibson no longer sells any guitar with this pickup.  They used to put it in Les Paul Classics, Explorers and Flying V’s.  No more.  It’s a good thing they still sell it, period: it’s their hottest pickup, and dropped in this LP and blazing through a tube Marshall, the sound is incredible.  It’s hotter than the EMG81s in my Explorer. 

            One thing I do find odd, though.  I haven’t been to L.A. and its Sunset Strip guitar stores since 2010, but I have visited the flagship Sam Ash and Guitar Center stores in Manhattan, which are much larger than the rest.  Moreover, they have the same “Platinum Collection” boutique section of rare and valuable used guitars which us amateur guitarists can’t afford.  But I’ve never seen a Black Cherry Les Paul like mine in any store: I had to special order it from Gibson.  Nor have I seen the Manhattan Midnight Sunburst Les Paul Traditional, which would have been my second choice (though I have seen them sold online).  Neither paint color is on the palette since 2014. 

Black Cherry Soda.  About the same time I got this guitar, I also fell in love with black cherry soda.  So far the best I’ve tasted is Canada Dry’s Black Cherry Wishniak, which is difficult to find.  Shoppers Food Warehouse carries it, but not consistently, in the two liter bottle shown above.  Rutters, a Pennsylvania version of WaWa, seems to stock it in 20 oz bottles.  

Black Cherry Beer.  A good “beer” is Mike’s Hard BlacK Cherry Lemonade.  Mind you, while this is technically a flavored beer, it tastes like black cherry soda with a kick.  If you’re in the mood for something that tastes like beer, look elsewhere.  If you’re looking for a great tasting black cherry alcoholic beverage, it’s hard to beat this one.