I think I want a Gibson LP

meltedbuzzbox

Sync said:

If you want a Gibson Les Paul, then nothing else will do. Plenty of technically better and even more expensive alternatives of similar styling but they don't have the GLP heritage. Even just to hang a LP Standard on the wall, it's worth getting one, plus cheaper than many other art alternatives.

How do corks smell?

stonevibe

Heavy, shorter scale, bad upper fret access, no body contouring, dodgy headstock angle, small frets and too much bling.

Other than that I like them.

axisus

To be honest I like the look of the faded finish that they did some years back. No everyone's thing, but it is mine!

Sync

meltedbuzzbox said:

Sync said:

If you want a Gibson Les Paul, then nothing else will do. Plenty of technically better and even more expensive alternatives of similar styling but they don't have the GLP heritage. Even just to hang a LP Standard on the wall, it's worth getting one, plus cheaper than many other art alternatives.

How do corks smell?

Real good......but not as good as a Gibson LP

stimpsonslostson

I've always fancied one (& definitely can't afford one)- I've had two bad Epi's, which put me off somewhat. I took my Mrs into a guitar shop & she encouraged me to try a REAL one... I now get "it" and purchased a LOVELY Vintage Lemon Drop for £200 which is keeping my GAS under control until those lottery numbers come up.

fretfinder

meltedbuzzbox said:

Sync said:

If you want a Gibson Les Paul, then nothing else will do. Plenty of technically better and even more expensive alternatives of similar styling but they don't have the GLP heritage. Even just to hang a LP Standard on the wall, it's worth getting one, plus cheaper than many other art alternatives.

How do corks smell?

"I love the smell of Gibsons in the morning... smells like, victory."

kelv_w

love the smell of nitro  You should try out the Reissues, totally different league from the USA models. 

mudslide73

stonevibe;336399" said:

Heavy, shorter scale, bad upper fret access, no body contouring, dodgy headstock angle, small frets and too much bling.



Other than that I like them.

All true but as I've said many times around here... it all melts away when you hear what comes out of the speakers. It's like classic rock on toast. Phwooaarr!

jd0272

mudslide73 said:

stonevibe;336399" said:

Heavy, shorter scale, bad upper fret access, no body contouring, dodgy headstock angle, small frets and too much bling.



Other than that I like them.

All true but as I've said many times around here... it all melts away when you hear what comes out of the speakers. It's like classic rock on toast. Phwooaarr!

Yup. Had mine years for good reason.

(Then, you'll discover LP Juniors, and they're WAY better     ).

stevenguitars

the secret to buying a les paul is never buy new!

you can pickup an excellent traditional or even and r7 for good money these days 

jd0272

stevenguitars said:

the secret to buying a les paul is never buy new!

you can pickup an excellent traditional or even and r7 for good money these days 

Wisdom.

DrBob

jd0272;336577" said:

mudslide73 said:

stonevibe;336399" said:Heavy, shorter scale, bad upper fret access, no body contouring, dodgy headstock angle, small frets and too much bling.







Other than that I like them.

All true but as I've said many times around here... it all melts away when you hear what comes out of the speakers. It's like classic rock on toast. Phwooaarr!
















Yup. Had mine years for good reason.



(Then, you'll discover LP Juniors, and they're WAY better     ).

And all once again I find myself agreeing with Jase ;-)

DulcetJones

axisus said:

OK, a question - should I blow the GAS fund on a guitar that I don't need, with no trem (I don't like no trem!) purely on a whim?

Or, do what I did(un-intentionally):  Buy a used/altered beyond vintage value LP at a discount and have a Kahler installed!

http://i1295.photobucket.com/albums/b634/jim9guitars/LPKahler_zps8b526797.jpg

The previous owner swapped out the stock soapbar pick ups with humbuckers, chiseling out the holes to make them fit!  I've posted about this before but this was my workhorse guitar for several years, when I sold it on I got an amount that added up to what I paid initially for the guitar and what the Kahler costed.  And I had I a great guitar for all that time.  I miss it sometimes, but I don't play gigs that would require a machine like this now.  The bar is not on the guitar in this pic, but you get the idea. 

Nomad

stimpsonslostson said:

I've always fancied one (& definitely can't afford one)- I've had two bad Epi's, which put me off somewhat. I took my Mrs into a guitar shop & she encouraged me to try a REAL one... I now get "it" and purchased a LOVELY Vintage Lemon Drop for £200 which is keeping my GAS under control until those lottery numbers come up.

I did something similar a few months ago when I decided to get a new guitar after 30-odd years using a Gibson Marauder. Tried a couple of Epi LPs and felt they were somewhat bland, trawled Youtube and discovered the Lemon Drop (Roy Fulton's vids) but didn't like the distressed look. Then found they had introduced a non-distressed 'reissue' version and ordered one unseen, unplayed, unheard. A tweak of the action and change to speed knobs and I'm really impressed with it.

Fast forward a bit and I'm in and out of GG trying effects pedals, and always ask for a humbucker guitar. First time, I get a LP Studio. Fat neck, high action, nasty fret ends, dull sound - 800 quid of yuck. Next time, I ask for a humbucker guitar, but not the one I had the last time. I get a 600 quid Gibson LP with a nasty matt/stain purple finish. Better action, slightly better sound, but nothing to write home about. I ask to try one of the dear ones - a 2.3K jobbie with a nice flame top. Action similar to the 600-quid one, but with the characteristic LP sound more evident. I'm mainly interested in neck pickup - mellow but with a bit of top end - and the dear LP was the only one that had that. The 600 and 2.3K guitars felt like the action would come down nicely and the necks felt similar to the Lemon Drop (70s profile?).

The LP Studio couldn't get close to the Lemon Drop in terms of sound (very dull and not at all what I expected - maybe it was a duff one). The 600 quid purple stain one was closer but not  as lively - about what I expected sound-wise from a bottom end 'real Gibson'. But what struck me most was how small the difference was between the 2.3K pretty LP and the Vintage. I've hankered after a real LP for years (a couple of decades), but I came away wondering why I would want to spend about 2K extra on something that might sound slightly different from what I have, but isn't necessarily better and most certainly is not night and day.

While part of me still likes the idea of a real Gibson LP, my hankering for one has been eliminated - the Lemon Drop is just too close to the 2.3K guitar for me to justify trying to find the extra money. The law of diminishing returns was thrown into sharp relief that day. I sniffed the corks, they were all red wine, and the cheapest bottle was in near-as-dammit the same league as the dearest bottle.

fretfinder

Nice story and great to hear you're happy with your Vintage although it might be worth trying a few more high-end Gibson Les Pauls before dismissing them out of hand. I know Gibson have their quality control issues and that a good setup will always help but... Over the years I've had a good few R series LPs, half a dozen Standards, a couple of Studios and a couple of Epis. The R7, R8 and R9s have blown away the Standards hands down in my opinion, never mind the Studios or Epis. I've heard that the Vintage LPs are good guitars for the money and I'd like to try one but I would be very surprised if in my opinion it came even close to a decent Gibson Les Paul. You're absolutely right about the value thing though, a £2k Les Paul is not really 10 times better than a £200 copy and the law of diminishing returns certainly applies, as you say. But for me the difference is well worth it.

xmrchi

There is something special about having a mid to high end les paul, if we looked at it with just our heads every one of us would probably be playing a high end Les paul copy, not made by gibson, but having that name in pearl on the headstock in me evokes a feeling I don't get from any of my other guitars.

It was the guitar I dreamed about when I was a kid, and that plays a significant part, I walk into the front room see that guitar as it makes me smile, I don't get that from a prs etc.

Reverend

What is the deal with the Gibson Tribute LPs?

FelineGuitars

There are a few nice Gibsons that I do like , although I'd still rather reach for one of our Lions every time.

Jon (Axisus) has seen them in the flesh in the past so he knows what they are like .

We do still have a few nice 20th anniversary models available though: http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/1529/feline-20th-anniversary-model-unleashed/p1

xmrchi

@FelineGuitars  god dam your wood choice is fantastic!!!

underdog

Must say, having just put down my LP vermillion after 9 days of not playing due to holidays, a good les Paul is hard to beat.