Gibson Les Paul - Which is which?

Elwood

After having a look at LPs online I've been finding it quite hard to tell the difference just from photos. How do you guys get on trying to identify? The only thing i've done is black out the truss rod covers (please don't judge my epic paint skills).  All photos are from the Gibson website. The models are:

Les Paul Traditional
Les Paul Standard
Les Paul Traditional Pro
Les Paul Historic 58
Les Paul Historic 59
Les Paul Historic 60

But which is which?

stickyfiddle

R0
Standard
R8
R9
Trad
Classic

nick_s

60
Standard
58
59
Trad
Trad Pro

Elwood

stickyfiddle said:

R0
Standard
R8
R9
Trad
Classic

I can tell you none of them are a classic

RandallFlagg

stickyfiddle said:

R0
Standard
R8
R9
Trad
Classic

I agree this, except the last one isn't a Classic. Pretty easy really. Toggle switch colour is one easy giveaway

Brize

1. Les Paul Historic 60 (Double-ring tuners, reflector knobs)
2. Les Paul Standard (Nashville bridge, Grover kidney-bean tuners)
3. Les Paul Historic 58 (ABR-1, top looks less fancy than model below)
4. Les Paul Historic 59 (ABR-1, top looks fancier than assumed R8 above)
5. Les Paul Traditional (Nashville bridge, Kluson green keys, lower Les Paul script)
6. Les Paul Traditional Pro (Plain top, uncovered pickups, Grover keystone tuners)

usedtobe

Gawd knows! I don't think they even know anymore. At a guess, every year, they put guitars specs in one bag, and model names in another bag, and draw one from each bag in turn, and that spec, is that model, for the next year. Then they do it all again, every year.

olafgarten

R0 
Standard
R8
R9
Trad
Trad Pro

olafgarten

olafgarten said:

R0 
Standard
R8
R9
Trad
Trad Pro

I didn't look before I posted this but the Image URLs are a giveaway. 

ICBM

I'd buy 5, whichever it is. It looks the nicest.

Actually I do know which they are for the same reasons Brize posted, and I'd still have the Trad. There's a Trad and an R9 in the shop currently… the Trad is much nicer and a third of the price.

Voxman

I'm totally confused by all these versions and their various differences.  I'm intrigued by ICBM preferring the Traditional to an R8 or R9.  

Strangefan

1, Les Paul built in a factory, major difference is the marketing 
2,Les Paul built in a factory,  major difference is the marketing 
3, Les Paul built in a factory,  major difference is the marketing 
4, Les Paul built in a factory,  major difference is the marketing 
6,Les Paul built in a factory,  major difference is the marketing 

Kylef

I did this blankly without looking at anyone else's.

In in order of your list - 5,2,6,4,3,1.

RandallFlagg

Strangefan said:

1, Les Paul built in a factory, major difference is the marketing 
2,Les Paul built in a factory,  major difference is the marketing 
3, Les Paul built in a factory,  major difference is the marketing 
4, Les Paul built in a factory,  major difference is the marketing 
6,Les Paul built in a factory,  major difference is the marketing 

Thinly veiled, "I wish I could afford a Historic, but can't so will deride them as same as regular build" 

p90fool

Brize said:

1. Les Paul Historic 60 (Double-ring tuners, reflector knobs)
2. Les Paul Standard (Nashville bridge, Grover kidney-bean tuners)
3. Les Paul Historic 58 (ABR-1, top looks less fancy than model below)
4. Les Paul Historic 59 (ABR-1, top looks fancier than assumed R8 above)
5. Les Paul Traditional (Nashville bridge, Kluson green keys, lower Les Paul script)
6. Les Paul Traditional Pro (Plain top, uncovered pickups, Grover keystone tuners)

This ^^^

If you like Les Pauls the differences really aren't that hard to spot, and most of us who spend between 1.5 and 5 grand on a guitar know what features we want and are prepared to do a little homework.

If you can throw that much down on a guitar without knowing or caring what the differences are, good on ya, but I can't.

Bridgehouse

Voxman said:

I'm totally confused by all these versions and their various differences.  I'm intrigued by ICBM preferring the Traditional to an R8 or R9.  

Just keep focus on those Lemonburst R8's - nothing for you to see here

Philly_Q

I thought the same as @Brize, @olafgarten and @nick_s, but there was a bit of educated guessing going on.

It was all about the bridges and the tuners.  I spotted the reflector knobs on the '60, but I've never realised before that they use double ring tuners on anything.

Based on these particular pictures I'd choose the R0, but in practice I'd go for the one with the biggest neck.  So long as it wasn't too heavy. You know, all the usual shit I say on every LP thread....

p90fool

RandallFlagg said:

Strangefan said:

1, Les Paul built in a factory, major difference is the marketing 
2,Les Paul built in a factory,  major difference is the marketing 
3, Les Paul built in a factory,  major difference is the marketing 
4, Les Paul built in a factory,  major difference is the marketing 
6,Les Paul built in a factory,  major difference is the marketing 

Thinly veiled, "I wish I could afford a Historic, but can't so will deride them as same as regular build" 

I could've bought an Historic, but the only meaningful difference for a player between those and a Trad is 500k pots wired 50s style.

That is the single biggest reason for the difference in tone between two guitars priced a couple of grand apart and it costs 20 quid to sort it.

Of course there are loads of other inconsequential detail differences and a groovy "custom shop" backstory and certificate, but they're just cosmetic and/or irrelevant unless you just have to have a skinnier, bendy bridge and a thicker white border on your truss rod cover.

In truth, there is one detail which I would like which is exclusive to Historics and thats the thinner, 50s-style neck binding, but I'll need a refret soon enough so my stupidly wide nibs will be History anyway.

ICBM

Voxman said:

I'm totally confused by all these versions and their various differences.  I'm intrigued by ICBM preferring the Traditional to an R8 or R9.  

In the pics, the Trad looks the nicest because it's a darker colour. The Standard also is but the top is a bit too stripy and it has the ugly wide headstock. The reissues are all too cherry bordering on 'clownburst', although the 59 is the nicest-looking. The Trad Pro just looks cheap.

In the shop, the Trad feels much nicer than the R9 - it's heavier, but the R9 doesn't feel solid enough, even though it actually is and the Trad is weight-relieved (I think), the neck profile is nicer (the R9 has an uncomfortable baseball bat, especially at the top of the neck), the R9 has some carving irregularity on the top that just isn't good enough on a five grand (new) guitar, and overall it just sounds… meh. OK, but nothing special. The Trad sounds like you expect a Les Paul to sound. The R9 *does* have a nicer top and colour but that's all it has going for it. For near enough three times the price second hand it should be better in every way, and it isn't - not even close.

Unless you just want to hang it on the wall...

Jack_

I have a Trad Pro from a few years back and it doesn't have a plain top. Might be AA rather than AAA, but it's stonking value for money.

Strangefan

RandallFlagg said:

Strangefan said:

1, Les Paul built in a factory, major difference is the marketing 
2,Les Paul built in a factory,  major difference is the marketing 
3, Les Paul built in a factory,  major difference is the marketing 
4, Les Paul built in a factory,  major difference is the marketing 
6,Les Paul built in a factory,  major difference is the marketing 

Thinly veiled, "I wish I could afford a Historic, but can't so will deride them as same as regular build" 





Oooooh Sir how wrong you are ill stick with my guilds, xxmwahxx