New or older Les Paul

Doug77p

Doug77p

Member
I have been thinking about getting a Les Paul have played some older one. There is a music store that I go to some times that sell the older les Paul's in my area but the I go to guitar center and play some of the newer ones mmm not sure what to get. Any advice. Thks
 
What do you consider "older" in terms of years?

Try not to get caught up in opinions like "Older Gibsons are better. Newer ones suck.".

A good guitar is a good guitar - doesn't matter what year it was made. Find the one that's right for you. I've got a '94 LP Classic Premium Plus and a '15 ES LP. I like them both despite their different dates of birth.
 
A nice playing new one is better than a crappy playing old one and vice versa.

Can’t generalize about guitars, each guitar can and will be different.

Probably paying more for an older one on average, and just becasue it’s old doesn’t mean it’s good
 
So many Les Pauls out there, its an impossible question. I have owned at one point or another:

78 LP deluxe
56 reissue
2013 trad pro II
ES Les Paul
2015 LP
2012 LP Jr

I still have the trad pro II, but the others are nice too.
 
Play a lot and pick the one you like best. Gibson's vary a lot between individual guitars. There are some gems and some not so much.
 
It's been around for 65 years, so you have a pretty good range of options in terms of what to get. The first thing is determining what you like, as they've come in many different neck profiles, finishes, and weights over the years.

That said, late model Tributes are awesome and inexpensive. I bought a 2017 recently and it's the first time the LP has really clicked for me. The Studio Faded is also excellent.
 
I got 4,

Fav in order
R8 I got about 4 years ago
73 gold top deluxe converted to humbucker
R9 I got 4 years ago
Slash custom shop (basically an r8 with a piezzo)

Sooo... what that tells me is you should try a few a pick your favorite. My fav on paper shouldn’t be the best but it is to me...
 
I second the option of the Traditional Pros. I own a 2014 model. I ended up putting some new Graph Tech Ratio locking tuners on it and an Emerson prewired pots/bumble bee capacitor kit on it. It feels, sounds, and responds great now. The neck is more like a 58-59 (somewhat chunky). With the new pots/capacitors, the tone controls are really responsive. I've played a lot of Les Pauls over the years, but this one is really special...you just have to find the one that's right for you. BTW, I got this one and a few others from Sweetwater...they are really good with helping to find a great instrument (also have a Deluxe Tele (Modded) and a '63 335 (killer) that I purchased from them. Good Luck!
 
The price of new Les Pauls are out of control. Buy used, and save yourself some serious money. I currently have 5 Les Pauls
2000 Les Paul Standard
2003 Les Paul Classic
2006 Les Paul Standard Faded
2014 Les Paul Trad Pro II
2008 Les Paul Special DC

In the past I have owned others as well, dating back further than these listed. All played spectacularly, but only because I kept the ones that did. There were alot of duds that I had purchased as well and moved them on quickly.
Out of all the guitars listed above only 2 were purchased new. the 2000 standard and the 2014 Trad Pro. the 2000 was well under $2000 new when I bought it. and the trad pro was around $1500, purchased new.
If you go to buy new today you are spending over $2000.00, not worth it IMO. Buy used, and let someone else take the depreciation hit.
Guitar centers website has a ton of used Les Pauls, and the great thing with them is you can return it to any GC in the country if you don't like it. Great way to find "your" Les Paul.
 
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Supposedly early '90s era are "good quality wood". But just as everyone has said, you really have to play it to know for sure. I have played some new LP's that were "plek'd" that I felt like needed a good set up. I owned ''90's studio" that was one of the best LP's I have ever played. Played that guitar for years before it was "misplaced". Had a real nice ebony fret board and super fast thin, for an LP, neck. I have a 120th anniversary (2014) that sounds great but has tuning issues (the tuning machines are not great). A friend has a LP that weighs 40lbs. I exaggerate...a little. But he loves it, I hate it. Played a nice used one in Birmingham Al. the other day. Don't know what year it was but he turned down $1800 cash with out blinking.
 
Pwrmac7600 said:
The price of new Les Pauls are out of control. Buy used, and save yourself some serious money. I currently have 5 Les Pauls
2000 Les Paul Standard
2003 Les Paul Classic
2006 Les Paul Standard Faded
2014 Les Paul Trad Pro II
2008 Les Paul Special DC

In the past I have owned others as well, dating back further than these listed. All played spectacularly, but only because I kept the ones that did. There were alot of duds that I had purchased as well and moved them on quickly.
Out of all the guitars listed above only 2 were purchased new. the 2000 standard and the 2014 Trad Pro. the 2000 was well under $2000 new when I bought it. and the trad pro was around $1500, purchased new.
If you go to buy new today you are spending over $2000.00, not worth it IMO. Buy used, and let someone else take the depreciation hit.
Guitar centers website has a ton of used Les Pauls, and the great thing with them is you can return it to any GC in the country if you don't like it. Great way to find "your" Les Paul.
Click to expand...
 
I’ve owned six Les Pauls ranging from 1959-2003 and they’ve all been wildly different. My least favorite was a ‘76 Custom and oddly enough, my ‘97 Classic was the best sounding and playing one of the bunch. Some truth I read a few days ago was that “guitars are made out of wood, and some wood wants to be a guitar and some wood doesn’t.” When I buy a guitar, I don’t even plug it in. I play it acoustically and feel the vibrations to see if it’s naturally resonant or if it’s dead.

My guitar tech gave me great advice and said “put the upper bout against your ear and play each string individually. If the guitar resonates and each string is the same volume, it’ll be a great guitar.” He was right.

All that to say, the year doesn’t matter. The wood does. Just play a TON of them and one of them will click and you’ll know you’ve got something special in your hands. Wait for the one that inspires you.
 
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