Ok... Les Paul guys... school me.

dpeterson

dpeterson

Axe-Master
I went to Nashville over the weekend with a friend, and went to a few music stores and tried out some les pauls. Mostly interested in standards. We tried a few, held a 5k custom shop model, didnt try it out. None of them really felt that nice, my Anderson Drop top destroys them in playability (tone is subjective), as we were in different places. But for $2500+ nothing felt like $2500.. you play one of my Andersons and you will feel where the cash went.

Then at Gruhn guitars there was a 1960 $138,000 Standard that was in a case.. not sure what to think about that.

I've always been a strat / super strat guy... just something makes me want a les paul, maybe it's my beginnings with Ace, or just all the folklore...
 
they definitely have their own sound. I lusted after a '57 reissue LP Custom Black Beauty with 3 pickups (gold hardware) for many years.
I finally was able to buy one. It was a sweet guitar. But not $5k sweet. It looked great hanging on my wall.
Had to sell it after the financial bubble burst a few years ago.
I can say I had one, but I guess I was expecting more.... (I've always wanted a new Corvette too, but I think I'd end up having the same feelings as I did about the LP)

I bought a JTV-59 and am really pleased with it's LP sound (and shape). I'm getting more satisfaction from it than the '57 reissue.

Just my .02
 
I used to be an Ibanez guy with 8s gauge, who can only play on think neck, not even strats. I had a Les Paul Studio for a short period in my early 20s, but the neck was too fat, so sold it.

A few years ago the first round of Slash VOS customshop came out. It had thinner neck, and the action is insane low and easy to play on with 10s. I bought it.
Since, that's my main guitar. My other guitars play great too (Ibanez custom, Peavey custom shop, Fender G5 VG), but when I plug the Les Paul in I feel home tonewise.

Or I just grown up. :)
 
MesaGuitarGuy said:
.... (I've always wanted a new Corvette too, but I think I'd end up having the same feelings as I did about the LP)
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Exactly ... since you were a kid you wanted one but as an adult you find the quality and performance lacking compared to more modern European cars. ... But wouldn't it still be fun to drive a Corvette ... for what it is? :)
 
maschoff said:
Exactly ... since you were a kid you wanted one but as an adult you find the quality and performance lacking compared to more modern European cars. ... But wouldn't it still be fun to drive a Corvette ... for what it is? :)
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I did test drive them, but decided on a BMW Z4. Still happy with that decision
 
I bought a 2006 Heritage Cherry sunburst on Ebay in 2008 and got a decent deal on it. It played fairly well and sounded okay, but I never clicked with it. It mostly gathered dust hanging on my wall. Last year Sweetwater got Les Paul Customs in black with all chrome hardware which is the exact color I have always wanted in a Les Paul. I sprung for it, listed the sunburst on Ebay and hoped I had made the right choice.

The moment I picked it up to play it I knew fate was on my side this time. The feel, the action, and the tone were so much better (at least in my preference) that it was like the sunburst was a counterfeit. I think it's just the luck of the draw, and that in any given run of Les Pauls, most of them will be very good but a few will stand out in the eyes/ears of the player. This probably holds true for most guitars. I have a great EJ strat, Suhr Modern, and one of the JTV-59's (korean) and the Les Paul is just the guitar that I want to play most of the time.

Unless there is a specific tone consideration, it's always my go to guitar now. I like the weight of the Suhr better, and truthfully it's a bit easier to play above the 15th fret, but the Les Paul is just what feels the most "right" in my hands.

I've picked up and played several Les Paul's over the years, but this is the only one that has totally clicked for me.
 
Comparing the drop top to a LP is a little strange; two very different beasts. Playability is going to be very subjective, I would think, so probably shouldn't be a big factor until you get used to the feel of a non-S-type guitar, IMHO.

I'm not a finesse player so many guitars people might consider to have great "playability" are not very good for me. That is, I'm not a shredder who needs the Ferrari of guitars to do what I need to do. I'm a musician who likes to create music.

Thankfully I'm not a stickler for a specific set-up, as I feel the nuances of different guitars are the primary reason I love the instrument. I like the variance in tone/feel so to me, that's a bonus. I guess what I'm trying to say is it might be good to embrace the difference and see what comes out of your fingers.

My LP has a fat neck and I don't have very big hands but I like what I play with it. When I play my telecaster with a V-style neck and single coils, I play very differently because that's how the guitar works for me. Still, I love them both. Then I go to my Ibanez RGs and everything gets turned upside down! Fast necks? What the heck?!?!

Anyway, if you want something to hang on your wall, any pretty/expensive LP will do. If you want a player, well, you'll probably need to get your hands dirty and plug a few in. I wasn't even considering the one I bought until my girlfriend told be to try it because it "looked pretty." I was in the market for an SG Standard Historic Reissue of some sort and the one I almost walked out with sounded absolutely terrible and felt just as bad to me. I plugged the "pretty but I wouldn't be caught dead with it" LP in and it sounded like a beast. Scratch and dent sale, too, so, yeah, I'm obviously not concerned with looks/status over playability/tone.

The punchline to this whole thing: It was a wine red LP studio with belt buckle scratches on the back. Oh well, saved me over $1000.

I would consider what you hope to accomplish by getting a LP-style guitar and go from there. If it's tone, you may not need to spend as much as you think. If it's status, that's a can of worms. Good luck!
 
I have an Epiphone Slash model. It has long-tenon neck joint, alnico 2 PAF's, a big neck (mandatory for me) and good action. I played the Epi, a 57 reissue and a 58 reissue into a Marshall 410h for about 2 hours. The Epi was right in there with them in tone and mojo. In fact, I liked the Epi bridge pickup better than the Gibsons.

Walked out of the store with the Epi for 550.00 bucks. The two $2700.00 Les Pauls stayed behind.

I really don't care what the label says - I just want it to play.
 
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My main guitar:

Gibson Guitar of the Month: LP-295 Goldtop

Why? It is full out rock. It's got the looks (although I replaced the girly pickguard)
The Bigsby is awesome. Stock pickups.

It doesn't do cleans as beautiful as my tele or strat or Suhr, it isn't as honest and "raw" as my tele, it isn't as sophisticated as the Suhr, but it's got character and for some reason I always grab this one (or the tele). Much more often than the Strat and Suhr.

The good thing is, the price has gone up. I bought it (new) quite cheaper.
 
I have a few really sweet gibson's including a custom shop lp.

I recommend starting by trying the high SG's first. They have thinner necks and a lot of folks find them easier to play than a les paul when coming at it from the strat world.
 
IMHO, with Les Pauls you have to try at least 20 to find that one. "When you do, you will know". I still remember the resonance and feel in my first one, stupid I sold it. I am also a strat/superstrat player btw and I would recommend trying a 56 Gold Top (or similar) with P-90s. Not a strat, but they got both the fatness and heavyness of a Les Paul and a bit of spank and chime. IMHO.
 
I had a '71 LP Goldtop that was absolutely amazing. Sounded great, played beautifully and it was played/gigged by 1 owner for 25 years. He sold it to me because A.) He wanted it to be used and B.) it was too heavy for his bad back. I loved that guitar. Unfortunately, tragedy struck one day in college and there was a high-school music festival hosted by our music department and some idiot unlocked all the storage rooms for these kids to go in/out of. I picked up my guitar for jazz band and it had clearly been dropped as the neck joint was loose enough to flex 5 cents on every note.

I spoke to a guy at Gibson and he's like, "Oh man, we'll fix that right up for you. We normally don't do repair work on second-hand instruments, but I'm going to give you the RMA for that one." I waited 2 weeks and nothing... I called them and some other guy answered the first guy's phone saying "he doesn't work here anymore" and "A loose neck joint won't even cause that issue. You're plucking too hard on the strings. I took it over to the strobe tuner and it's fine. There's nothing wrong with this guitar except that you need new tuners, a new bridge, and a new nut". I had him send me the new hardware without removing the original stuff. He sent me green plastic tuners as replacements for my nickel ones and when I received the guitar back, it had 3 broken knobs; completely shattered due to poor shipping packaging. I called them back and they claimed the knobs were broke when they got it and they only had plastic tuners now. Luckily, I explained this entire thing to my insurance guy and got 2 letters from certified repairmen that the guitar was in fact damaged and Gibson didn't know wtf they were talking about.

I attempted to replace that guitar and simply couldn't find another LP that was even close. Gibson is junk now. They have idiots working in the shop and you're paying top dollar for your headstock to say "Gibson". If I'm paying $2k+ for a guitar, I'm going to a good quality luthier, not a corporation. /end rant
 
Sid, if you still have the '71, I have the guy to fix it for you.

Jay Kolanda at NTL in Nashville. Jay is a former Gibson Pro Custom Shop luthier, and the best in the biz. He's fixed geets for me I never thought had a chance, and at a great price.

murkat@gmail.com
 
Sidivan said:
Gibson is junk now. They have idiots working in the shop and you're paying top dollar for your headstock to say "Gibson". If I'm paying $2k+ for a guitar, I'm going to a good quality luthier, not a corporation. /end rant
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You can apply this for any big brand today I'm afraid so, at the exception of Yamaha and a few others (PRS ?, Levinson ?) who stayed stable all over decades. Since 2011 I use a 400 Euro second hand Fame Forum IV, which is first class lutherie by a Polish company. It plays like hell and is stockmounted with Schaller PU's. I would not change it even for any new $10k Gibson or Fender, I know I'll get pissed off. In 2005 I got me a E1800 worth G&L Asat special custom as they sold out in Germany where I was working at the time (at Musik Schmidt in Frankfurt), that axe would blow off all the Fender stuff they had laying around at 3-4 times that price (and they do have some guitars at Musik Schmidt). But it remains a matter of taste I guess.
 
svl said:
Sid, if you still have the '71, I have the guy to fix it for you.

Jay Kolanda at NTL in Nashville. Jay is a former Gibson Pro Custom Shop luthier, and the best in the biz. He's fixed geets for me I never thought had a chance, and at a great price.

murkat@gmail.com
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I do not. I traded it to my normal repair guy (who thought maybe he could take the neck off and fix it). I got a great LTD Baritone Viper out of his personal collection for it. I know I know.. "YOU TRADED A '71 LP FOR AN LTD?!". The key there is: out of his personal collection. It's a gorgeous guitar.. after he replaced the nut, the tuners, rewired and shielded everything and god knows what else.

Edit: It should be said that my insurance did approve the claim after awhile and I bought the broken guitar back for $400 to part it out. So, essentially, I got that LTD for $400. In the end, I came out great financially, but I do miss that guitar.
 
Historically, Gibson quality control has been all over the map. I've seen some that were wonderful. I've seen others that should never have been shipped from the factory. Especially if you're a Strat guy who's going for the LP, you should hold out for one that feels and sounds right to you.

Once you get into the $138,000 category, you're paying for rarity, demand and name. Something like that is for investment, not playing.

All IMO. :)
 
Geshh... unaffordable for me so I'm eyeing an slim neck Agile LP copy... I heard good stuff about them besides the price so, I'll try my luck there.
 
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