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Hopefully yes, but I suppose what I'm really asking is if there are any visual clues to tell one from another.
"You don't know what you've got till the whole thing's gone. The days are dark and the road is long."
Let's take the first one. See those rings? Unmistakable recycled plastic from melted down 1980s Barbie Dolls. Now check the pickup covers. Manufacture was contracted out to a third party who were given a rough verbal description of the shape and size during a cellphone call with a very poor connection. By Stevie Wonder.
Yes?
That is the Historic guitar.
Did I mention that I am a huge Gibson fanboy?
I can't help about the shape I'm in, I can't sing I ain't pretty and my legs are thin
But don't ask me what I think of you, I might not give the answer that you want me to
The Traditional is actually closer in spec to the Custom Shop guitars.
The most important difference with the Historics are that they are all solid, and not weight relieved. They save the lighter (better quality??) mahogany for the Custom Shop and it is the only way to get a solid Les Paul. I think it does make a difference to the tone.
The Historic also has the "Long Tenon" neck joint. How much difference it makes is a matter of much debate on some forums, but the purists think it's important and an important part of the recipe for a proper Les Paul.
Whatever the reason, a good Historic is something special. When I bought my R8, Guitar Village was blowing out Traditionals for around £1300 and I was planning on buying one of them. I tried about 5 of them, and thought I'd try a second hand R8 they had for comparison. The R8 was on a completely different level and I ended up paying the extra and buying that.
Like all Gibsons, the Custom Shop ones are variable. The plaintop 1960 that I had before was nowhere near as good as my R8. I've played a number of other Custom Shop LPs and they are definitely variable.
I also remember playing a stunning Traditional when trying out a pedal in a shop a few years ago. If Guitar Village had had one that good I wouldn't have bought the R8, but I've not played one as good since - and I've tried quite a few.
I wonder what year they will actually produce a nice accurate copy of the original spec guitars, and what the price for that will eventually be. The cork sniffers will still lap it up though.
I can't help about the shape I'm in, I can't sing I ain't pretty and my legs are thin
But don't ask me what I think of you, I might not give the answer that you want me to
Yeah, three grand for a handmade, US-built, supremely high quality replica of the most desirable guitars ever made. It's a fucking scandal.
Get yourselves some Epiphones and pipe down.
If you trust your own judgement, just try some, the Reissue thing is actually a bit of a mug's game tbh, those who spent the money will always tell you it was worth it, but you can never pin them down to why that is. When pressed, they always end up talking about mojo and "better" woods, then they accuse the cynics of having inferior ears if they cant hear the difference.
A good LP is a good LP, slightly thinner nitro and taller pickup rings don't really matter, the actual sonic difference is 20 quid's worth of pots.
Seriously, Historics are nice, but not in any way which actually affects anything or can't be changed cheaply.
A lot of people try a range of Les Pauls in a shop and come away saying that every single Historic was more responsive than lesser models, more alive, more dynamic - but it's often just the fact that the tone caps are soldered to the other lug on the volume pots.
I love a good Les Paul, but because I understand what makes a good 'un within the bounderies of my own personal requirements, I know I simply don't NEED to spend the extra thousand quid for some (admittedly nice) inconsequential details.
Cor, easy tiger. No intention to upset you.
I'm not saying they are not good guitars. I have a 2012 R8! I bought it as I liked the guitar, and I got a good deal, not because it's as close as you can get to the holy grail.
If you want an exact copy, get a replica custom made by a luthier.
My point is that Gibson could produce a much better approximation of an original vintage guitar than they do, straight away, rather than drip feed improvements each year, and charge a ridiculous amount more for those changes.
I can't help about the shape I'm in, I can't sing I ain't pretty and my legs are thin
But don't ask me what I think of you, I might not give the answer that you want me to
Mate, if we all stop p***ing and moaning about Gibson build quality/pricing/design direction other than the unending deification of the Telecaster, that's the guitar forum world pretty much dead on it's arse right there.