As much as I like my PRS (SE CU 24), I have a Les Paul shaped hole that needs filled (snigger).
Financially I'm still a few months away from buying, but I've decided (when I've saved enough) to give into my urges and live the childhood dream of owning a fully fledged Gibson Les Paul. I'll be buying used (limit will be an absolute max of £1500) and obviously I want to get the best I can for my money.
I know there's a lot of discussion lately about Gibson's QC and that any era of Les Paul can have great examples and rather less fantastic ones, so I'd be looking at buying from a dealer rather than a private sale ( I'm in N Ireland, so I'm limited in terms of travelling to try, I will be keeping any eye on the few local sellers there are).
Are there any UK based used retailers that have a particularly good reputation?
Also are there any years/models etc that stand out about the rest? I'm not fussy, and not after a case queen, I just want a decent Les Paul \m/
Comments
however, don’t rule out private sellers. You may find a good deal here or at the Les Paul forum classifieds.
if you want a ‘fully fledged’ LP I would wait a little until used historics are in budget for you. Among the non CS stuff look out for a standard faded.
The classifieds here does seem full of pretty genuine people .
You can find them .. this one went on eBay last week @ £1500
Won't last forever though, its just a bit of a weird time for Custom shop les pauls.
Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
Also watch the market for a while so you know values. Buy well and your money on the whole is safe. If the guitar doesn't work out for you, you can move it on without much loss.
Both mine were about 30% less than Reverb dealers were asking for similar. This matters as that 30% is your hit if you sell on.