Advice on buying a Les Paul

Freebird

Logie said:

I've had around a dozen Les Pauls and my '89 CMT was the pick of the bunch closely followed by my two 95 Standards and my two 2003 Standards. I've had four post '04 Les Paul's and they were OK but there was just something they lacked. Just my personal opinion but I've had enough of them to get a feel for them. If it was my money I would be looking for a Standard from 2002-2004 and you can pick those up for around £1200 which would save a wad on an R8! 

Yep, you can find brilliant used Les Pauls for around £1200-£1350, just be prepared to watch and wait.

p90fool

It depends what you want. For some people a late 50s LP is the holy grail and anything which doesn't exactly replicate that is "crap", but I vastly prefer what Les Pauls became, with a decent heft and powerful pickups. 

It's really not hard to find a good, 10-20 year old Les Paul in reasonable nick for a third of the price of a reissue of dubious value. 

Gimme 10 pounds of mahogany and maple and a 498t and I'm happy, you can keep your hide glue and weedy humbuckers.

If you're like me good Les Pauls are two a penny, and no great hardship to track down. 

pmbomb

@p90fool interesting, can you be more specific on what you look for? models/links?

I've a '97 Classic goldtop, £1200 from ebay. It rocks.

stonevibe

My advice is if you sit down and play, then buy a heavy one. Or if you can lift a reasonable amount, then buy a heavy one.

If not buy a lighter one.

Other than that find one with a good neck and frets you like.

But most importantly, buy one you like the sound and feel of.

Everything else is just cosmetics / personal taste.

57Deluxe

when considering a LP - buy a Tele instead!

Freebird

p90fool said:

It depends what you want. For some people a late 50s LP is the holy grail and anything which doesn't exactly replicate that is "crap", but I vastly prefer what Les Pauls became, with a decent heft and powerful pickups.

I love my '89 Les Paul Standard with factory fitted Bill Lawrence "circuit board" pups. I bought it with the intention of switching them out, but I couldn't do it in the end. They've got great necks on them too.

bodhi

My favourite Les Paul model is the Standard Faded.  I've owned various Gibson Custom Shop guitars, and they were all nice, but if you buy a good Standard Faded at a decent price and upgrade it to your own liking, they're hard to beat.

There are forum members here who own for real 50's Gibsons and have expressed the same opinion as I hold.

Only thing is, they have crept up in price over the years more so than comparable models, but with good reason.

Logie

I had a 2005 Standard Faded and it was a really nice guitar to play but I think there's a mystique about them that has pushed the prices up well beyond an equivalent, more expensive to buy new Standard. I had my honeyburst 2003 at the same time and it was a slightly different playing experience due to the stripped down finish of the faded but I didn't detect any extra mojo coming through the amp. Nice guitars though and if you get one with a good top they look fantastic.

bodhi

Yes, agreed - there is a lot of hype that has developed around the Standard Faded, which has pushed up the prices.

Mileage will always vary, and all opinions should be taken with a pinch of salt.

I will add that I don't think the stock Burstbucker Pros bring the best out of those guitars.  I personally don't like that combination at all - brittle, harsh, and lifeless.  Hence the need to invest in some upgrades.  IMHO, of course.

hotpickups

I wouldn't rule out late 70s/early 80s les Pauls @Bill_S . There is some bad press on forums about quality but that shouldn't stop you buying one. I have a 1981 Les paul I.e. a Norlin. However it plays like a dream and the quality is there as far as I'm concerned. Seasoned musicians have commented on how it sounds and plays too. If you're buying for investment though then probably not the guitar to do so. Mine won't ever be a collectors piece but then I'm not a collector

Logie

I quite like the SD JB, 59 pairing in a Les Paul to sparkle it up a bit but there are so many pickup makers offering better PAF types than stock it's like a sweet shop. I never felt the need to swap out the 498, 490's though and they get a fair bit of bad press for being muddy and lifeless ( I think I might be in a minority of 1 concerning those )  

Jalapeno

As well as Peach and Coda - Andertons - reputedly the biggest Gibson UK dealer.  When I got my 2012 Goldtop (in 2013, so it was "old" stock) they gave me 6 to play and choose from.

Also with up to £3k play with - check out what Custom Shop loveliness World Guitars have in stock.

Bill_S

Much appreciate all the advice and leads here... I must admit I’m sorely tempted to pursue a good used example in the £1,500 bracket, and save the rest for, er, another guitar!