How much do Les Paul customs go for at the moment ?

Moltisanti

i had a look on ebay sold listings and saw prices from as low as £1300 up to £2500... what seems to be the going rate for a good condition custom from late 70s onwards ? and which years have the slimmer neck ?

Deijavoo

I seen a 1990 go for £1300 over the weekend on eBay. A nice '68 VOS go on here for £1800.

chrisj1602

There's a few different versions, there was the regular USA model, then production moved to the Custom Shop in 2004, I've had 2 of these, loved them. These have a 50s neck. Then there's the '57 Re-issue models which will go for more and have bigger necks again. I've seen people listing CS models as RI models and all sorts so you need to be careful. If you want a 60s neck, might be worth looking at a Classic Custom from the run last year. Cheaper too.

hywelg

I got £1850 for mine back late last year, though it was a quite rare and very nice flame top in HCSB. Black one go for less, maroon ones are just about the cheapest stock one. Good white ones, especially if they've yellowed a little bit go for bigger money than black simply cos they're quite rare.

The later Custom Shop versions do seem to be a little more valued, though I'm not sure they're any better made, its just the CS association I think.

Every one I tried, and a few 336/339/356/359's and loads of others have this sticky feel to the lacquer when your hands get warm that I found very annoying. Mine was reasonably light at 9½lbs but it was still too heavy to gig with for long sets or maybe I'm just a wuss.

Deijavoo

I REALLY wanted a classic custom. I for one actually liked the look of baked maple but after trying one I found that the tone was too trebly for my tastes.  Was a bit gutted after such cool prices. 

chrisj1602

Deijavoo said:

I REALLY wanted a classic custom. I for one actually liked the look of baked maple but after trying one I found that the tone was too trebly for my tastes.  Was a bit gutted after such cool prices. 

What about trying different pickups?

fretfinder

Gotta watch the weight with Customs, unless you like gigging with an anvil strapped to your shoulder - the one sold on here recently weighed 11.5 pounds!!

ICBM

fretfinder said:

Gotta watch the weight with Customs, unless you like gigging with an anvil strapped to your shoulder - the one sold on here recently weighed 11.5 pounds!!

That's about right. The guitarist in my band has a couple, one with two pickups and one with three - I can't remember the exact weights but both are around 11lb, the three-pickup one is slightly heavier, and better-sounding.

Oddly enough the heavier one feels lighter on a strap! The balance is slightly different and it has a shallower neck angle.

ChrisMusic

I hope that you don't mind me asking here, but @ICBM you said that he has both 2 & 3PU Customs.

I have heard said that 3 HB PUs don't sound as good as 2 HBs because of magnetic coupling etc, so you, or he, are the perfect people to ask for an opinion.

I am contemplating pickup experiments to see whether this is true, but your other guitarist does an A/B of tones in substantially similar guitars all the time.

Can you help with an answer to this, with your customary eloquence & technical prowess, please.  

[-O<

Moltisanti

i know if i get one it will be home use only, i accept that i'm far more comfortable playing strat type guitars live, but i still want a Custom to play in the house

ICBM

ChrisMusic said:

I hope that you don't mind me asking here, but @ICBM you said that he has both 2 & 3PU Customs.

I have heard said that 3 HB PUs don't sound as good as 2 HBs because of magnetic coupling etc, so you, or he, are the perfect people to ask for an opinion.

I am contemplating pickup experiments to see whether this is true, but your other guitarist does an A/B of tones in substantially similar guitars all the time.

The 3-pickup one sounds better - or to be accurate, different! (I do think better, and so does he.) It's more open and somehow "musical" sounding, even in the front and back positions which are the same on both guitars - the middle is obviously different, but the middle sound on the 3 is especially great. The 2-pickup one is tighter and more aggressive, but somehow more one-dimensional. The problem is that I don't know for sure that the difference is purely the pickup, since the guitars weigh differently and have different neck thicknesses - not much, but enough that both could be a factor. The weight difference is greater than the weight of the pickup vs. the hole in the wood, before you ask . And they are otherwise identical - both are pre-Historic CS '57RIs of a similar age.

ChrisMusic said:

Can you help with an answer to this, with your customary eloquence & technical prowess, please.  

[-O<

You mean usual retentive micro-analytical geekness?

ChrisMusic

ICBM said:

ChrisMusic said:

Can you help with an answer to this, with your customary eloquence & technical prowess, please.  

[-O<

You mean usual retentive micro-analytical geekness?

That's the same as I said isn't it? - maybe paraphrased?

A great answer I can get my teeth into and my brain around, so thanks @ICBM.  Just right.

(maybe we share the same character flaws? - but I like to think of them as strengths, & where would the world be without them?) 

)

ICBM

ChrisMusic said:

where would the world be without them?) 

)

Happily playing their instruments without a second thought as to why they might sound different/better if they just change this little thing that someone on an internet forum said might make a difference?

rpr

Guitar Guitar have a very nice '77 Custom in natural in stock-£1995

http://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/electric_guitars_detail.asp?stock=com-EH127XF53

Moltisanti

that's not too badly priced for GG, it must be in bad nick

chrisj1602

There's a white custom shop one on eBay for £1700.

ICBM

Moltisanti said:

that's not too badly priced for GG, it must be in bad nick

It is: "Shows signs of its age with several chips and dings on top and neck. Lots of buckle rash on back and tarnishing to gold hardware. Two holes evident on top where non-original Bigsby was fitted."

It's also, as they correctly say, "unusual" - it has a maple fingerboard... which is certainly rare but not at all desirable, and is also in poor condition. And it's a particularly nasty-looking example overall, with a typical low-grade 1970s top with no real figuring, and the 3-piece laminated maple neck which most people don't like on a LP and which looks quite odd on a natural finish.

So in short it's an example of a weird LP variant that almost no-one wants, from the least desirable period of vintage Gibsons, in one of the least attractive colours and in rough condition. I bet it weighs a ton too...

For two grand? )

For what it's worth I think that the Norlin period is often unfairly maligned, and you can find some very nice guitars from it - I also like maple necks on Les Pauls, and don't particularly mind heavy ones, as long as they're not ridiculous... but that's a perfect example of why Norlin gets a bad name.

Moltisanti

exactly what i thought, ibet they would price a decent late 70s one at closer to £3000

[Deleted User]

rpr;33760" said:

Guitar Guitar have a very nice '77 Custom in natural in stock-£1995http://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/electric_guitars_detail.asp?stock=com-EH127XF53

That reminds me of Hondo copies which were prevalent at the time. Euggghhhh.....

ChrisMusic

If you have a few quid to spend take a look at - New Kings Road Guitars

http://www.newkingsroadguitars.co.uk/guitarshop/Home.html

His home page slide show has a 3 pickup Black Beauty for £80k

and one LP for just £180k !!!

He does usually have several customs for around £2k4 (now), so it's not all mega-bucks, but his prices seem to have gone up substantially since the new website, I was surprised when I just looked as they had been just over £2k iirc, which had seemed OK for a dealer.  He has / had some guitars from Richie Sambora's collection too.

There are often a few odd-ball guitars on here, so it's worth popping in occasionally, if just for curiosity.

Moltisanti

were i that London i would have a look, but i'm up here in t'north