Advice on Les Paul buying.....

Fretwired

Go and play as many as you can - you will eventually find the 'guitar' for you or you'll find you like the look but hate and feel and playability and will have saved yourself £2K. The advantage with older guitars is they will have been 'played in' and had any issues resolved. Clapton said he always looked for a guitar with wear. It usually meant it was a good instrument.

I wouldn't spend £2K or more without a decent road test.

And if you want the tone, but don't want to spend lots of cash second hand Studios are great guitars. I've had two - both sounded great.

Bennyboy-UK

Although I'm firmly busying myself with Hamers these days, I did have a fantastic LP Standard which is one of the guitars I do miss.

It was a black LP Std from 1990/91 IIRC (which I bought to replace an 86 SG Std which was stolen in about 98) which I played for a number of years as a main guitar. It was picked out of a few LPs for sale by Stu at Music City in Worcester who is a family friend.

I eventually sold to generate cash for a Mortgage deposit

I know where that guitar is, and did enquire about buying it back, however the owner has dropped it - TWICE - and taken the headstock off both times.

That was sad to me and I thought it was a shame, as I do look after my kit.

I will be getting another one though, and likely be aiming for that era (1990 - to maybe 1995?) as I had a good experience with this one - but clearly that only one guitar.

Must admit I'm out of touch with more modern Gibson stuff.

Good luck with that LP hunt!

dazzajl

100% percent agree that you definitely need to get the one you dream of and not what anyone else suggests. 

The lower end, plainer finish and non bound models often feel much nicer to me and can sound as fabulous as any other. But a dream guitar has to set your heart alight as well as do the job. 

Also, you might be one of those people who loves a LP but just never really bonds with one. Would be good to know you gave it the very shot if that’s the case. 

TADodger

Doodlegame said:

TADodger said:

Doodlegame said:

I also have quite a few other guitars along with my dad's, but these are my two main guitars.  

Could you not consider selling some / any of your ‘quite a few’ other guitars to kick off you LP savings pot?

Not really, Ibanez (electro+ RG), explorer and modded copy strat are all that are mine, and I love and play them all.

I'm considering doing up cheaper guitars and doing something good with them+ selling them on or whatever but I'll look into it... haha

cheers though!

I am a fine one to talk really as I struggle to sell any of my guitars.

However, buying more doesn’t seem to pose such a problem

TTBZ

ICBM said:

Doodlegame said:

Why would you go for a custom over a standard? What are the differences and is it worth the extra money?

The ebony fingerboard is the main difference from a playing point of view - it gives the note attack a slightly harder edge. But they always seem to be heavier as well - Gibson seem to reserve the lighter wood for Standards - and have a bigger headstock which I think scoops the tone a bit... really! The mass of the headstock does have a real effect on the tone by altering the resonance of the neck.

Put it all together and you get a guitar with a bigger, more powerful and ringing tone than a Standard, which tend to be ‘woodier’ and more midrangy, more suited to bluesy classic rock than heavier hard rock. But interestingly Customs also have a clearer clean tone which makes them quite snappy and funky-sounding for clean chords... not what you always expect from a Les Paul.

I also think they look much better than a Standard - I’m not really a fan of flashy wood tops or sunbursts. I’m not a big fan of gold hardware either, but it’s mostly the pickup covers I don’t like and they sound better off anyway.

As you can probably tell, I really like them and I’d always take one over a Standard, everything else being more or less equal... although unfortunately they do tend to be a bit more expensive usually.

Wiz. Customs are the best Les Pauls, scientific fact. They also look the coolest. I'm not a huge fan of gold on anything except a Custom. I prefer double cream pickups on them. Even though I tell myself I've gone off them, a proper black Custom is my holy grail dream guitar. Unfortunately the prices are insane.

dazzajl

merlin said:

You could buy mine. It sounds amazing, has a wonderful neck and looks beautiful. It will age in a lovely way too. And it's not hideously expensive!

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/157081/fs-gibson-les-paul-traditional-2014-120th-anniversary#latest

HOW??!!??!? do you still have this 

Doodlegame

Bennyboy-UK said:

Although I'm firmly busying myself with Hamers these days, I did have a fantastic LP Standard which is one of the guitars I do miss.

It was a black LP Std from 1990/91 IIRC (which I bought to replace an 86 SG Std which was stolen in about 98) which I played for a number of years as a main guitar. It was picked out of a few LPs for sale by Stu at Music City in Worcester who is a family friend.

I eventually sold to generate cash for a Mortgage deposit

I know where that guitar is, and did enquire about buying it back, however the owner has dropped it - TWICE - and taken the headstock off both times.

That was sad to me and I thought it was a shame, as I do look after my kit.

I will be getting another one though, and likely be aiming for that era (1990 - to maybe 1995?) as I had a good experience with this one - but clearly that only one guitar.

Must admit I'm out of touch with more modern Gibson stuff.

Good luck with that LP hunt!

It's so sad how some people treat gear, I hate seeing people destroy guitars, good or bad, accident or deliberate.

Regularly see Matt Bellamy chucking his £5k Mansons at a silver jubilee (?) Marshall head...  How many kids dreams is it to own one of those guitars.. hell I love them, I'll have it if he doesn't want it!

Good luck to you in your hunt too though man!

Doodlegame

TADodger 

However, buying more doesn’t seem to pose such a problem

I mean, you do need them...! 

Doodlegame

dazzajl said:

merlin said:

You could buy mine. It sounds amazing, has a wonderful neck and looks beautiful. It will age in a lovely way too. And it's not hideously expensive!

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/157081/fs-gibson-les-paul-traditional-2014-120th-anniversary#latest

HOW??!!??!? do you still have this   




if only I had the money....

dazzajl

Doodlegame said:

dazzajl said:

merlin said:

You could buy mine. It sounds amazing, has a wonderful neck and looks beautiful. It will age in a lovely way too. And it's not hideously expensive!

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/157081/fs-gibson-les-paul-traditional-2014-120th-anniversary#latest

HOW??!!??!? do you still have this   




if only I had the money....

The same here chap