Was 2008 a good or bad year?

fastonebaz

For Gibson les pauls.?

Asking for a friend. 

Dominic

Ahh ,thought we were talking about the venerable wines of Bordeaux ; was a good year for Chateau Haut Brion according to Parker's last tasting notes .

Jack_

I think I lost my virginity that year.

Which rallied the guys at the Gibson plant, they were pleased for me.

stickyfiddle

I don't think it was especially good or bad (compared with any other single year between 1990 and now, apart from 2015, and to an extent 2014)

But worth noting 2008 was the first year they started experimenting with the spec on the Standard, deviating from the 2002-2007 Standard spec (roughly equivalent to the post-2008 Traditional), and included the asymmetrical neck profile, locking jack socket, PCB control wiring, locking tuners, bridge and tailpiece, and probably some other unnecessary guff I've forgotten.

mudslide73

There's good and bad in every year - especially with LPs. Mine's from 95 which isn't a massively well regarded year but I love it dearly.

not_the_dj

Every guitar they made in January was rubbish, Feb they improved, March they hit their stride, April is where you should look, May were good, not sure what happened in June, July were awful, August everyone went to the beach, September back on track, October they slipped up, November no one cared and December, well just don't go there ;-)

guitarfishbay

The vanilla smell in the case will long since be gone if it’s a 2008.

munckee

England didn't make the euros in 2008 and it was the collapse year which lead to the global recession.  Therefore Gibson employees may have been depressed and not had so much eye for detail, conversely they may have worked harder witnessing large scale job losses. Tough call.

Skipped

Pre 2012 Historics are good value for money IMO.

A 2008 Historic does not have the celluloid inlays, or the naked truss rod, or the hide glue. And it has the Burstbucker 1 and 2 set. 

Quality celluloid inlays look great and the best available are not expensive. (£50 from crazy parts). That is the main upgrade that would be on my mind. 

Burstbuckers are great, versatile pickups  and flatter the Historic Les Pauls IMO.

The Fijian Mahogany back did not arrive until 2012, so the average weight of a 2008 Historic will be a bit higher. But should be no problem finding one around 9lbs or just under.

Most important of all......they were churning these out in huge numbers. 2013 onwards are seen as more desirable and have a price premium. So if you buy a 2008 R7 or R8,  bargain hard.

I sold my (mint) 2007 R8 in the Classifieds for £1650.