Collectors choice - Any good?

designerseye88

I see a lot of Les Paul Collectors choice guitars around. Some which seem to go for high prices i.e Skinner burst and others which don't. Does anybody have any experience with them? and how do they rate them? 

koss59

They’re no different to regular historics apart from the tops resemble the guitars they’re modelled after. Therefore some will be great and some not so.

designerseye88

koss59 said:

They’re no different to regular historics apart from the tops resemble the guitars they’re modelled after. Therefore some will be great and some not so.

Are there any years that are worth considering over others? 

koss59

The only year I’d avoid is 2012 as they possibly used laminated fingerboards. That would only bother me for possible resale though. Personally I wouldn’t ever spend more on a collectors choice. Hence why I have an R7 though, I wasn’t prepared to pay thousands more for a fancy top.

wishbones

Collectors Choice 12A, aged goldtop, weights vary, mine's a comfortable 8.5lbs. Best LP I've owned and I've owned plenty over 50 years.

mburekenge

koss59 said:

The only year I’d avoid is 2012 as they possibly used laminated fingerboards. That would only bother me for possible resale though. Personally I wouldn’t ever spend more on a collectors choice. Hence why I have an R7 though, I wasn’t prepared to pay thousands more for a fancy top.

same here. 

Hyster

I owned a CC and a 2005 faded at the same time, the CC was nice, very nice ...but I moved it on and I've kept the faded.

Powerslave

As per Koss59, above - a CC is no guarantee of a stand-out LP. In many respects, it should be - but, it's not (to be fair, that should be the case for any Custom Shop LP but it's not).

The CC's from 2013/2014 are possibly the ones to give your consideration to as I think they were taking a little more time and effort over them - the Custom Shop was soon churning them out, and I'm sure any potential superior quality dwindled as a result.

Ironically, some of the 2012 CC's are deemed the most collectible runs in spite of the fact that they may have laminate fingerboards. For some reason, the collector's choose to see past this possibility for such models but will beat you down for this very reason if it's just a regular 2012 CS LP!

I'm open to the possibility of snagging a "Greg Martin" should one become available.

As an aside, "Skinnerburst" wasn't a CC - it was an artist run, and so immediately (particularly if signed) will attract a higher relative value.

They still lose a chunk if bought from new, though.

designerseye88

Powerslave said:

As per Koss59, above - a CC is no guarantee of a stand-out LP. In many respects, it should be - but, it's not (to be fair, that should be the case for any Custom Shop LP but it's not).

The CC's from 2013/2014 are possibly the ones to give your consideration to as I think they were taking a little more time and effort over them - the Custom Shop was soon churning them out, and I'm sure any potential superior quality dwindled as a result.

Ironically, some of the 2012 CC's are deemed the most collectible runs in spite of the fact that they may have laminate fingerboards. For some reason, the collector's choose to see past this possibility for such models but will beat you down for this very reason if it's just a regular 2012 CS LP!

I'm open to the possibility of snagging a "Greg Martin" should one become available.

As an aside, "Skinnerburst" wasn't a CC - it was an artist run, and so immediately (particularly if signed) will attract a higher relative value.

They still lose a chunk if bought from new, though.

Thanks, So whats the difference between a collectors choice and an artist run? Im guessing and artist run is based on a particular guitarists model i.e STP burst, Skinner burst, The beast etc and a collectors choice is just based on a 59 i.e Danger burst? 
My reason for asking is i've seen a rather nice STP burst for sale at a decent price and I'm wondering wether to use the money I have allocated for a 50's Les Paul junior on the STP burst instead. 

xchrisv

The CC #15 Greg Martin model is my favourite - I’ve played several and they’ve been really consistent. Just a killer Les Paul. They open up beautifully with high quality PAF replicas in them... it can be pretty transformative. 

designerseye88

chrisv said:

The CC #15 Greg Martin model is my favourite - I’ve played several and they’ve been really consistent. Just a killer Les Paul. They open up beautifully with high quality PAF replicas in them... it can be pretty transformative. 

Thanks for the feedback, Yeah Im just not sure whether to go for an R9, CC or LPJ (1950's)

Powerslave

chrisv said:

The CC #15 Greg Martin model is my favourite - I’ve played several and they’ve been really consistent. Just a killer Les Paul. They open up beautifully with high quality PAF replicas in them... it can be pretty transformative. 

That's good info, thanks!

I just need to find one now!

Powerslave

Regarding Artist Run vs CC . . .

Hands-up, I'm no expert here and someone who is may wish to correct me. However, my thoughts  . . .

I guess the Artist designation can occur if there is (obviously) a very strong artist connection to a specific guitar, particularly if they can get that artist involved in the process and, for the icing on the cake, get the artist to sign a limited number of the run (aged + signed = top dollar). Skinnerburst was a great recent example, and Pearly Gates was also another serious example.

That's not stopped artist runs happening where the artist hasn't really been involved, or only on the periphery.

The CC series casts a wider net across all historical LP's, and leaves Gibson not having to worry about artist involvement and the like (the owner might be an anonymous collector, so little to be gained in that regard). However, there have been some CC's which have "reproduced" artists guitars so I guess it comes down to what Gibson think they can get most buck for, or how inclined a famous owner is to get involved and actually put their name to the run.

Hope that helps, or doesn't add to the confusion!

bodhi

Hyster said:

I owned a CC and a 2005 faded at the same time, the CC was nice, very nice ...but I moved it on and I've kept the faded.

Same here.   All the historics I've owned are long gone in favour of the Les Paul Standard Faded.

designerseye88

bodhi said:

Hyster said:

I owned a CC and a 2005 faded at the same time, the CC was nice, very nice ...but I moved it on and I've kept the faded.

Same here.   All the historics I've owned are long gone in favour of the Les Paul Standard Faded.

So i have to ask, What makes the LP standard faded so great? Apologies for my ignorance but I don't know a lot about the LP Standard faded? Can you enlighten me? 

mburekenge

It amuses me that even in the upper echelons of gibsons stratospheric pricing range, people still have to replace the stock pickups

bodhi

designerseye88 said:

bodhi said:

Hyster said:

I owned a CC and a 2005 faded at the same time, the CC was nice, very nice ...but I moved it on and I've kept the faded.

Same here.   All the historics I've owned are long gone in favour of the Les Paul Standard Faded.

So i have to ask, What makes the LP standard faded so great? Apologies for my ignorance but I don't know a lot about the LP Standard faded? Can you enlighten me? 

In my subjective and personal opinion, which I arrived at while owning various historics and fadeds at the same time and A/B'ing them to death:

The fadeds generally feel and sound livelier and more organic than guitars with grain filler and a thicker nitro finish.

None of the fadeds I own exhibit that very annoying thing where you play some notes on the fretboard and they just go "plink".  All the notes on my fadeds ring out clearly with good sustain all across the fretboard.

The fadeds are more responsive to upgrades and tweaks.  When I tweak them I actually hear the differences, and don't wonder if I'm imagining it or not.  That, and their original price points, made them really good candidates for upgrades and such if you like that sort of thing.

The historics were really nice guitars, but at two or three times the price, they didn't give me more than the fadeds did, and sometimes actually less.

But then I also currently own a Gretsch Panther with a poly finish, and it's a lovely guitar.  Every bit as good as the fadeds, and actually more versatile.  Very different thing, though, so...

All just IMHO.  No guarantees implied.  Whatever works for you works for you but might not work for the next guy.

ellwood

The Faded I bought from @photek and then had to sell was stunning. Can only hope I get the chance to buy it back one day!

designerseye88

bodhi said:

designerseye88 said:

bodhi said:

Hyster said:

I owned a CC and a 2005 faded at the same time, the CC was nice, very nice ...but I moved it on and I've kept the faded.

Same here.   All the historics I've owned are long gone in favour of the Les Paul Standard Faded.

So i have to ask, What makes the LP standard faded so great? Apologies for my ignorance but I don't know a lot about the LP Standard faded? Can you enlighten me? 

In my subjective and personal opinion, which I arrived at while owning various historics and fadeds at the same time and A/B'ing them to death:

The fadeds generally feel and sound livelier and more organic than guitars with grain filler and a thicker nitro finish.

None of the fadeds I own exhibit that very annoying thing where you play some notes on the fretboard and they just go "plink".  All the notes on my fadeds ring out clearly with good sustain all across the fretboard.

The fadeds are more responsive to upgrades and tweaks.  When I tweak them I actually hear the differences, and don't wonder if I'm imagining it or not.  That, and their original price points, made them really good candidates for upgrades and such if you like that sort of thing.

The historics were really nice guitars, but at two or three times the price, they didn't give me more than the fadeds did, and sometimes actually less.

But then I also currently own a Gretsch Panther with a poly finish, and it's a lovely guitar.  Every bit as good as the fadeds, and actually more versatile.  Very different thing, though, so...

All just IMHO.  No guarantees implied.  Whatever works for you works for you but might not work for the next guy.

Thanks for the info that's really helpful. If you're ever thinking of selling I'd love to hear from you! 

designerseye88

bodhi said:

designerseye88 said:

bodhi said:

Hyster said:

I owned a CC and a 2005 faded at the same time, the CC was nice, very nice ...but I moved it on and I've kept the faded.

Same here.   All the historics I've owned are long gone in favour of the Les Paul Standard Faded.

So i have to ask, What makes the LP standard faded so great? Apologies for my ignorance but I don't know a lot about the LP Standard faded? Can you enlighten me? 

In my subjective and personal opinion, which I arrived at while owning various historics and fadeds at the same time and A/B'ing them to death:

The fadeds generally feel and sound livelier and more organic than guitars with grain filler and a thicker nitro finish.

None of the fadeds I own exhibit that very annoying thing where you play some notes on the fretboard and they just go "plink".  All the notes on my fadeds ring out clearly with good sustain all across the fretboard.

The fadeds are more responsive to upgrades and tweaks.  When I tweak them I actually hear the differences, and don't wonder if I'm imagining it or not.  That, and their original price points, made them really good candidates for upgrades and such if you like that sort of thing.

The historics were really nice guitars, but at two or three times the price, they didn't give me more than the fadeds did, and sometimes actually less.

But then I also currently own a Gretsch Panther with a poly finish, and it's a lovely guitar.  Every bit as good as the fadeds, and actually more versatile.  Very different thing, though, so...

All just IMHO.  No guarantees implied.  Whatever works for you works for you but might not work for the next guy.

Thanks for the info that's really helpful. If you're ever thinking of selling I'd love to hear from you! 

bodhi

ellwood said:

The Faded I bought from @photek and then had to sell was stunning. Can only hope I get the chance to buy it back one day!

Was that his 2011 Traditional Faded?  I have one just a few serial numbers away from the one he had, and it's been my favourite guitar for maybe 5 or 6 years now.  I also own @photek's old 2007 Standard Faded and @Blaendulais' old 2005 Standard Faded.  Both killer guitars.  The 2005 is still bone stock, and I'm mulling over whether I should throw some upgrades at it, because I suspect it might prove to be better than the 2011 with the right pickups - I'm not sure the stock Burstbucker Pros bring out the best in these, although they do sound pretty good in this particular guitar.

designerseye88 said:

Thanks for the info that's really helpful. If you're ever thinking of selling I'd love to hear from you! 

You're very welcome.  I'm not planning on selling any time soon, but these do still come up on Ebay and Gumtree from time to time.

I'm not knocking the historics at all, btw - my experience was just a little bit different from the relatively small selection of guitars I've owned and could compare.