Gibson Does it Again (Literally): RD Artist vs. RD Standard Reissue

Gibson's groundbreaking RD Artist was a radical departure for the company, having active electronics (by Moog) with compression and expansion as well as maple necks and bodies and a 25.5" scale length. The fretboards were ebony with block inlay (or rosewood w/dots on the standard), the neck thin, the frets low and wide. Not popular at the time, they have become cult guitars... and you either get them or you don't. Gibson is hoping that those who do outnumber those who don't with their latest "reissue", the RD Standard.

While I don't have a vintage RD Standard to compare side by side, I DO have a '78 RD Artist. Before anyone cries foul, remember that the differences between the original Artist and Standard were mainly cosmetic (other than the rosewood fretboard on the Standard vs. the ebony on the Artist and the Moog electronics; I'm not going to compare the pickups/circuitry).  Both the original RD Standard and Artist had a 25.5" scale length, thin maple necks, wide/low frets and maple bodies- those are the things that make vintage RDs what they are, and are what gives the instrument its unique feel. The electronics are problematic and almost feel like an afterthought now, but the mechanics of the original guitar are fantastic.

RD Artist (L) and Reissue

The first thing that fans of the original RD bemoan is the 24.75" scale length of the reissue (next being the mahogany neck/body). While it is true that later vintage RDs dropped the longer scale, connoisseurs of the RD prefer the 25.5" . As it might be difficult to envision what the difference in scale length really means (or looks like), here's a picture of the original 25.5" RD resting in the case of the reissue:

Obviously, the neck on the original is going to be longer.  What is not obvious is the impact of this upon the feel of the guitar... the original RD feels tight and slinky, the reissue slightly floppy). Additionally, the neck on the originals is very thin (53/64" at first fret vs. 15/16" on the reissue), and it seems even more so due to the length of the neck.  At the 12th fret, the Artist is an even 1", whereas the reissue is 1 5/64". While not a "baseball bat", the neck on the reissue does feel much thicker than the original, which helps to rob the reissue of the original's vibe.

Moving on t\o the frets, we find that the guitars are completely different.  The original has frets that are about 1/32" high by about 3/32" wide; the reissues are much taller (1/16"... twice as high!) and more narrow (5/64"). When coupled with differences between the neck sizes, the two guitars play nothing alike.

Below:  The reissue's frets, right, the original.

One other issue that I'd like to point out is the "slab body" of the reissue (visible in the side by side pic at top). While there is a bevel on the back of the reissue, it completely lacks the fin bevel of the original RD series (Artist and Standard). It does make a difference in how the guitar plays, but moreover, it makes the reissue seem cheap, which given its $2600 MSRP, is almost insulting and shows their lack of respect for their own instrument (an aside:  they did this on the 80's Explorer reissues by not smoothing out the top curve of the body into the neck and not widening the headstock- they are not loving tributes, just recycled modern Explorers with the 3 knob arrangement & no pickguard.)

                                                                                 
Left, Original RD Standard w/Bevel from VintageguitarUK


It's up to Gibson to decide what a reissue is, of course, and on its own, the RD Reissue is not a bad guitar.  It feels good, fit and finish are good, the case is nice (and smells like vanilla cake), and the guitar looks cool if you like RDs.  However, it does not feel anything like an original RD. The action is nowhere near as low, the neck not as fast, and the guitar feels like what it is:  A Les Paul studio minus one tone knob with dot inlays and an RD style body, which makes one ask how a guitar can be considered a reissue when so few specs are like the original  There is good news, however... the extortionate $2600 price tag is now being blown out by the online retailers at $999, which isn't bad for an American made guitar of decent quality.
Links:
Vintage Guitar's RD page
Wikipedia entry for the RD
 Gibson's propaganda page for the reissue RD
                                     Hey! What do those Knobs and Switches Do? (manual scan)
                                     While I'm at it, here's the RD 77 active electronics schematic