Opinions on the cheaper Gibsons

underdog

I have a Gibson LPJ (not a junior but essentially a studio with maple neck) I paid £300 for it used (think they're about £500 these days) and it's brilliant. Prefer the non shiny look and feel of it, and I also own more expensive Gibson's and the LPJ stacks up against them very well.

underdog

breakstuff said:

My LPJ has quite a chunky neck.Very comfortable,and that coming from someone with pretty small hands.

Yeah mine also has a fat neck, it's really nice and comfortable.

munckee

I have a harley benton 335 with seymour duncan vintage blues pickups and some gibson tuners on, total cost less than £300 for a great semi hollow, better than the sheratons I played and 10% of the gibson price.

thegummy

munckee said:

I have a harley benton 335 with seymour duncan vintage blues pickups and some gibson tuners on, total cost less than £300 for a great semi hollow, better than the sheratons I played and 10% of the gibson price.

Really?

Harley Benton seems to be the only single coil Precision Bass available for under a grand but it's actually under 100 quid so I've always thought it surely can't be good at that price, can it?

darthed1981

munckee said:

I have a harley benton 335 with seymour duncan vintage blues pickups and some gibson tuners on, total cost less than £300 for a great semi hollow, better than the sheratons I played and 10% of the gibson price.

That is some strong praise....

So are the generally that good or did you get a lucky pick?

munckee

Don't know if it was just luck or not, they were very well reviewed, I bought an E35 which is no longer available, I tried sheratons and dots and preferred the harley benton. I suppose if I put those pickups and tuners on the epiphones they may have sounded better but I would have spent twice as much.

It was a bright shiny thing with cheap knobs but I sanded and polished the finish bought an all-parts pickguard and some vintage style knobs.

Someone else might think its rubbish but it stays in tune, the neck feels great I didn't have to file the frets and it plays great.

Edit, not a brilliant picture but the finish looks a lot better after sanding (scouring in fact!)

https://i.imgur.com/iNS7oSd.jpg

p90fool

Low end Gibsons often look fairly cheap and nasty, with ugly wood and crappy finishes, which can make them seem poor value compared to blingier guitars for the same money. 
I will say though, having stripped a very nicely finished "mahogany" Epiphone of its finish, it was just a glass-like layer of poly over a veneered blob of the weirdest, damp-feeling balsa-like substance I've ever seen. 

It looked like a nice guitar, but basically had a similar construction to a Smartie, and no amount of pickup swapping helped it.   

Cheap Gibsons sometimes look a little crude, but they're real guitars made out of real wood, and often sound excellent. 

darthed1981

munckee said:

Don't know if it was just luck or not, they were very well reviewed, I bought an E35 which is no longer available, I tried sheratons and dots and preferred the harley benton. I suppose if I put those pickups and tuners on the epiphones they may have sounded better but I would have spent twice as much.

It was a bright shiny thing with cheap knobs but I sanded and polished the finish bought an all-parts pickguard and some vintage style knobs.

Someone else might think its rubbish but it stays in tune, the neck feels great I didn't have to file the frets and it plays great.

Edit, not a brilliant picture but the finish looks a lot better after sanding (scouring in fact!)

https://i.imgur.com/iNS7oSd.jpg

Proper pedalboard there, lump of wood, that's how it's done

munckee

darthed1981 said:

munckee said:

Don't know if it was just luck or not, they were very well reviewed, I bought an E35 which is no longer available, I tried sheratons and dots and preferred the harley benton. I suppose if I put those pickups and tuners on the epiphones they may have sounded better but I would have spent twice as much.

It was a bright shiny thing with cheap knobs but I sanded and polished the finish bought an all-parts pickguard and some vintage style knobs.

Someone else might think its rubbish but it stays in tune, the neck feels great I didn't have to file the frets and it plays great.

Edit, not a brilliant picture but the finish looks a lot better after sanding (scouring in fact!)

https://i.imgur.com/iNS7oSd.jpg

Proper pedalboard there, lump of wood, that's how it's done

Weighs a tonne : ) 

DeeTee

I'm a huge fan of the faded Gibsons. I don't like a lot of bling on guitars anyway, but the faded ones are no nonsense rock and roll machines. They seem more resonant to me as well. I'm not sure if that's the really thin finish or just in my head though.

As for buying second hand, I totally get your worries. Can I suggest buying through the classifieds on this site? There are a ton of knowledgable people who will jump in and say if something seems dodgy. 

DB1

You could also get  (on here) the names of a few recommended stores/dealers that sell used guitars - I'm Midlands-based so probably won't be of much use in that respect, but I would imagine that there's a few dealers who are within an hour's drive of you that FB members could probably vouch for.

Rabs

robgilmo said:

Are they all nitro finished?

Yes..  All Gibsons are (with the exception of the new wax finished acoustics).. The faded and tributes are just really thin.. Probably just a coupe of layers.

JayGee

thegummy said:

I was in a similar boat to you - I realise that brand names don't matter but I was scared in to believing that nothing else can get that Les Paul sound by reading countless forum posts and the likes (not necessarily this forum) of people saying that.

As much as people are saying the low end Gibsons are fine in their own right, if you look at the same priced PRS or even a higher end Epiphone, you'll see immediately that you're giving up a lot to get the Gibson logo at that price.

It might take you buying a Gibson to avoid that "what if" feeling. If I didn't I'd probably have a paranoia that it would be better. As it happens, when I replaced the pickups in both, I put paf style humbuckers in the PRS because it feels more like a classic LP with the chunky neck and it definitely gets me the classic tones I wanted.

Ummmm... Sort of.

As well as the Les Paul Tribute I’ve got an early PRS SE single cut soap bar, Youngest Son has a PRS SE single cut and a top-end (I can’t remember the model but it’s the one with the USB output, Shadow nanomag “acoustic” transducer, and built-in tuner as well as a super blingy top and top-of-the-range for Epihone hardware and electrics) Epihone Les Paul.

It’s inarguable that the PRSii are ridiculously well made and finished for the money, they play very well, sound great, and have held up well to 10 years or so of quite hard use, the Epiphone (headstock shape aside) is also very well executed (and has the gadgets into the bargain). What the Gibson gives up in slickness and shinyness it more than makes up for in charm and even shipped with a soft case/gig bag that puts the PRS gig bags (which used to be pretty the benchmark for that sort of thing) in the shade. If you go for the stripped back looks and “woody” feel (which obviously I’ve fallen for a bit) the Gibson stands up pretty well and doesn’t feel like it’s built down to a price.

LooseMoose

Another vote for the Tribute models. I got one from Coda and unless they performed any pre-delivery wizardry to it, it shows to me that a lot (not all) of Gibson’s QC problems may be behind them. Amazing guitar for the £££.

thegummy

JayGee said:

thegummy said:

I was in a similar boat to you - I realise that brand names don't matter but I was scared in to believing that nothing else can get that Les Paul sound by reading countless forum posts and the likes (not necessarily this forum) of people saying that.

As much as people are saying the low end Gibsons are fine in their own right, if you look at the same priced PRS or even a higher end Epiphone, you'll see immediately that you're giving up a lot to get the Gibson logo at that price.

It might take you buying a Gibson to avoid that "what if" feeling. If I didn't I'd probably have a paranoia that it would be better. As it happens, when I replaced the pickups in both, I put paf style humbuckers in the PRS because it feels more like a classic LP with the chunky neck and it definitely gets me the classic tones I wanted.

Ummmm... Sort of.

As well as the Les Paul Tribute I’ve got an early PRS SE single cut soap bar, Youngest Son has a PRS SE single cut and a top-end (I can’t remember the model but it’s the one with the USB output, Shadow nanomag “acoustic” transducer, and built-in tuner as well as a super blingy top and top-of-the-range for Epihone hardware and electrics) Epihone Les Paul.

It’s inarguable that the PRSii are ridiculously well made and finished for the money, they play very well, sound great, and have held up well to 10 years or so of quite hard use, the Epiphone (headstock shape aside) is also very well executed (and has the gadgets into the bargain). What the Gibson gives up in slickness and shinyness it more than makes up for in charm and even shipped with a soft case/gig bag that puts the PRS gig bags (which used to be pretty the benchmark for that sort of thing) in the shade. If you go for the stripped back looks and “woody” feel (which obviously I’ve fallen for a bit) the Gibson stands up pretty well and doesn’t feel like it’s built down to a price.

The Gibson gig bag really is quality. In fact, there was a recent thread where someone haga the prs se as an example of a great quality gig bag and I said if they think that's great, the Gibson one will blow their mind.

Aside from that though, I'm surprised to see someone who owns both seeming to prefer the low end Gibson. I wonder if maybe the prs se's from 10 years ago weren't as good as the recent ones? Obviously it's personal opinion to a degree, especially since you mention "charm" (which I admittedly don't know what means but assume it's a very personal thing), I'd just expect anyone with both to see the prs se being quite substantially better pretty objectively.

On the topic of liking the stripped down look, my Mrs actually likes the look of the Tribute more than my other guitars and I do like the look of it myself. I do think it looks and feels cheaper than the prs though.

rockinmark

Musicman20 said:

I agree that a Bernie Marsden PRS SE would be a very good guitar for this price point. Sometimes they are in sales for £500+.

I got a Bernie that I bought off here.   Excellent guitar. Prefer it to Gibsons I've tried.  At the time I too wanted something with Gibson on the headstock, but you pay a premium for the name. The PRS is way to go in my opinion

usedtobe

I love my faded explorer and 2016 les paul 60’s tribute T Amazon special. I love the look of the more expensive models, but I like the look of the cheaper models enough that I don’t feel the need to spend the difference. Ymmv 

pmbomb

Paul7926 said:

Huge thanks to everyone that has responded.

I guess my biggest fear is that the irrational desire to have those 6 letters on the headstock would lead me down a path of not getting value for money.  That is totally dependant on what you pay for those 6 letters and what you get for the money.  

buy well second hand - avoid depreciation and even if strictly you don't get straight vfm your money is still safe.

watch Gumtree, Reverb and eBay for a while, there is continuous turn over. any seller here who has a posting history away from classifieds is probably sound.

a short dialogue with the seller usually gives you a feel for whether they're straight up.

avoid dealers unless you're content to pay their 30% mark up. (my two year old Classic was £1200 from the first owner, dealers ask £1700 for them http://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/128673/dangd-scratching-the-les-paul-itch)

avoid any ad with a hyperbolic over-punctuated title eg "** SUPER RARE *** PLAYERS GRADE CLASSIC VINTAGE LES PAUL ***MUST BE SEEN***!!!!!!"

Teyeplayer

pmbomb said:

watch Gumtree, Reverb and eBay for a while, there is continuous turn over. any seller here who has a posting history away from classifieds is probably sound.

avoid any ad with a hyperbolic over-punctuated title eg "** SUPER RARE *** PLAYERS GRADE CLASSIC VINTAGE LES PAUL ***MUST BE SEEN***!!!!!!"

This^ on both counts. Avoid ridiculous statements about rarity and keep an eye on what guys on here are selling. For example that les Paul studio that was mentioned earlier in the thread or the Sg classic that has just gone for £450 in the classifieds. Both are no doubt great guitars and if they turn out to not be for you, you’ll be able to sell them on without losing a penny at those prices.

kt66

I share your fear of buying used, but there's a simple solution, buy a used one from a well known shop. 
Costs a bit more, but you have that peace of mind.