1990s Les Pauls

spirit7

Morning all — I’m gassing for a nice 1990s LP Standard.  Is it true what people say about their quality?  What should I expect to pay?

stickyfiddle

No. People selling them will tell you they’re “good years”, in reality there are great and terrible and average guitars from every year. Find the spec you like and the era that came from and look for those. Try before you buy if you possibly can.

guitars4you

70's, 80. 90's LP's and there are good and bad examples from every day, week, month and year - IMO no one can say 88 is better to 91 etc - You can find a good example if you try a few out and bide your time - Great players aren't always the best condition - Price will depend on originality, condition, fret wear, case etc but £1300/1700 as a guide line

gubble

1990 is now thirty years ago and i'm seeing more and more people advertise guitars from this decade as vintage which is another topic alltogether.

If i remember rightly Rosetti were the UK distributor for Gibson at the time and i was told by a friend who worked in a shop at the time that the good stuffed stayed in the USA and Rosetti ended up with everything that wasn't good enough for the domestic market. 

That could of course be total rubbish.........

My only experiences with 90's Gibsons (that i'm aware were 90's models) were studios and to be honest they were fantastic with the gold hardware and ebony boards. 

gusman2x

Had a 94 LP std which I definitely regret selling. It was an excellent instrument. Think it was about £800 nearly 10 years ago. So prob £1200-1500?

Snags

Absolutely what @stickyfiddle says. Unless I ever sell my 98 LP Studio, in which case of course the 90s guitars are superior

mudslide73

There's a bit of a "pre 94 is better" thing on the LPF and MyLP. I've got a 95 Std which I love but I don't think it's of a higher quality than a new one. I love the neck shape but I would because I've had one as my main player for 25 years

riffpowers

I’ve never played a 90’s Les Paul that I didn’t love . I own 2 guitars and both of them are early 90’s Gibson Les Pauls .

mark_jwedge

I had a 97 standard on long term loan from a friend. Played fantastically but was astronomically heavy, made the Baja Tele I had at the time seem like a feather weight. Had a very dark sound which may or may not have related to the weight. 

It had a very powerful sound, great for rock and heavy blues which is what I play in the main. 

I loved it and gigged it a lot but in the end I gave it back as I got an R8 which is much more open sounding and had that ‘Tele on steroids’ thing that people talk about so can turn its hand to rock, blues, Americana, pop and even funk. As I (until lockdown) play in a wide variety of bands this made more sense.

But I still miss that guitar for straight ahead punch your ears in the face rock sounds!

SteveRobinson

riffpowers said:

I’ve never played a 90’s Les Paul that I didn’t love . I own 2 guitars and both of them are early 90’s Gibson Les Pauls .

I've got an 89 and a 91. Both excellent.

Voxman

I have a 1990 LP Custom (tobacco sunburst) that is a cracking guitar and I love it. 

7DyingTrees

The only LP I have is a 90s jimmy page sig, and that's fantastic, probably the only LP apart from a faded a mate has, that I've ever enjoyed playing.

Further than that, i can't comment, as have avoided gibsons most of my life as am a superstrat guy

Cookiemonster

Late 80s early 90s were good guitars, but like others have said you really need to try them. My friend had one and the wiring was terrible.

Maybe the late 80s and 90s ones are thought of well due to Slash ? He used them live

roberty

Had a '94 LP Studio with an ebony which I will forever kick myself for selling.  The theory is that before the custom shop opened the USA factory got the best lumber

Was the spec for 90s Standards 490R + 498T with 300k volume pots? That will make the biggest difference

Caffeine_Vampire

My ‘91 studio is in the process of being refinished. My 2 cents worth is that those early 90’s studios have a decent top carve, nice 59’ish neck profile, and allegedly the mahogany and ebony meant for the Customs that was used on the studios to meet demand. The finish (on mine away) was crazy thick and seemed to have an adverse effect on the tone. Having stripped it and played it, there is a notable improvement but not so much so that it’s drastically different from my previous LP’s (2016 standard was the last one). Pots are 300k and pups are the 490R and 498T combo as mentioned above. If you find one cheap (and they can be found) and you don’t mind a little work then you can have a very good LP at a good price but not massively ‘better’ than any other year.

Moloch

I have played many 1990s Les Pauls and own two (a '94 Studio and a '99 Custom). I've never felt that any were anything less than excellent. And no, I'm not talking up my two for sale, as they're in the 'Must Keep' category (especially the Studio, as I've owned that since new).

roberty

I saw a '95 Standard on Facebook for £1250 the other day, it was gone in an hour or so

zedhex

I've had quite a few Les Pauls ranging from 2018, 2005, 1992 and 1979, and played quite a few more owned by other folks. Of all of them, the one that sounded the best is the 1992 - it just had an indefinable quality to the tone. I can hear it on recordings - just by ear, I can tell if it's the 92. It's also the heaviest Les Paul I have, coming in at around 11.5 lbs - it's a beast. I sold the 2018 and the 1979, but I am keeping the 2005 and the 92. I may have gotten lucky, but for my money the early 90s examples are the best sounding.

wrinkleygit

I have a ‘95 Premium Plus fitted with SD Antiqities, some mojo on the top where it was hit by a falling mic stand under a previous owner.
  Plays like a dream & sounds a stunner, bit on the weighty side tho’

John_P

I have a 91 custom that is great - I bought it used from a shop and the previous owner eventually tracked me down hoping to buy it back if I want to sell it,  he still reminds me every 6months or so. 
I wouldn't like to say it's better than my others but there are definitely good ones from that era.   
Difficult as it is these days, you need to try them or buy so cheap it's easy to sell on if you don't bond.  

MartinBush

I've a 91 LP Standard. I've no idea if it's good, great or indifferent as I've veryittle to compare it to. I'd love someone who knows their stuff to tell me one day! Its had a headstock snap so, in effect, it's as standard as they get.