Would you still buy a Gibson?

57Deluxe

seems is so many options these days and lineup changes annually, that that special thing of just buying a Fender Strat or Gibson Les Paul has gone. I remember when the only options for a Fender Telecaster in UK were Blond or Sunburst or Black for a Strat...

rossi

in the early 60's I bought a Watkins Westminster amp from a   2nd hand store for a tenner .That was a lot of money and I had to borrow some cash from family . a good middle class job like a teacher would bring in £20 a week ,low wages probably about £7 .Even Hofners,Burns  were pricey .The much loved Jap crap was a bit cheaper but usually unplayable 

tony99

57Deluxe said:

seems is so many options these days and lineup changes annually, that that special thing of just buying a Fender Strat or Gibson Les Paul has gone. I remember when the only options for a Fender Telecaster in UK were Blond or Sunburst or Black for a Strat...

that's a weird headstock on that strat, not seen that before

Wolfetone

Nope. Now that they have sorted the headstock out, it will be Epiphone if I wanted to buy a Gibsonesque guitar. 

Creed_Clicks

The irony being I am now considering buying one, but perhaps used, so as to "stick it to the man"!

JayGee

tony99 said:

57Deluxe said:

seems is so many options these days and lineup changes annually, that that special thing of just buying a Fender Strat or Gibson Les Paul has gone. I remember when the only options for a Fender Telecaster in UK were Blond or Sunburst or Black for a Strat...

that's a weird headstock on that strat, not seen that before

Ah, the good old days. When Cut’n’Paste was what it sounds like rather than something you did with a computer...

[Edited: Because bloody ipad...]

DeeTee

I would, but I'd want to try first. I always got that some Les Pauls felt right and some didn't, but didn't really understand why until @ICBM explained about the wide variety in neck angles. Now that I know what I'm looking for, I'd need to see it in the flesh.

I've never really understood why "entirely hand made" is a sign of quality. I'd prefer machined parts assembled and finished by hand, I think.

Mudcrutch

I’ve recently got back into playing again during lockdown after a long hiatus due to arthritis in my hands.
My son wanted a electric guitar and I thought a bass might be good exorcize for my fingers and something we could do together over face time.
A good friend recommend a fender Squire £200 bass said his sounds as good as his early 70s Fender version.
So I bought one and was so pleased with itI bought a few 6 string Fender Squires.
Build and Sound quality is so much better than the Squires of the mid 80s.
 I discovered Harley Benton guitars because of the German site link my friend sent me for the Bass and 
have since bought a few of there look a like Gibson vintage classic guitars and can’t fault them.

Tall_martin

I was looking for a prs/ prs se or Gibson/ 
ephophone.

I went for a prs in the end

lots of tales of Gibson woes- poor set up, net breaks and general poor quality control paired with lockdown and not being able to try one ment I chose not to buy a Gibson. 

Im very happy with my Choice 

Creed_Clicks

In my other thread, I had been looking for a used one. But the new tributes look good. Hard to know what the QC is like...

Tall_martin

The Gibsons I was most taken by were the good top tribute from thoman and a second hand high performance  sg on eBay.

I’m sure I could return the tribute if it was rubbish, but there would have been the return postage.

sg looked awesome and they sounded ace on YouTube.

but,but,but what if they were not quite right?

every prs story seemed to end in great quality control and sound.

tribute
https://m.thomann.de/gb/gibson_les_paul_tribute_sg.htm

Sg the one I looking at was the pink fade
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gibson-2019-SG-High-Performance-Blueberry-Fade/293598234269?hash=item445bd1869d:g:dvAAAOSwSkpeJbwe

NelsonP

melod said:

Maybe some older people in the forum could confirm what it cost to buy a strat in the 90s or 80s...

No strats but virtually everything else.....
https://imgur.com/a/xajog99

Multiply the prices by 2.7 to adjust for inflation....

Marshall 1987 50w superlead head was £324 in 1988
£324 x 2.7 = £875 in today's prices
Current retail is £1200 (!)

Ibanez RG550 was £449
£449 x 2.7 = £1212 in today's prices
Current retail is £899

I am now officially an older person.

ThePrettyDamned

I have had some real issues with QC in the past, on custom shop, memphis and regular factory models. Some minor, some pretty shocking.

But then... I played a les paul raw power studio, and despite being made from maple entirely it was honestly one of the greatest guitars I've played. Still kicking myself... 

Then the bfg. Brilliant concept. Some iffy QC. Bet some were absolute crackers.

Yes, I'd buy one. Sadly, there isn't anything quite like the cool of a Gibson headstock.

What would I do for a pick guard free explorer, or a nice plain top lp with satin finish... 

Not sure I'd buy one unseen. 

Creed_Clicks

Do PRS do an SG alike ...  

Boromedic

I've got 3 and they're all great, two of them I bought blind. One of them has been in the hands on Jon at Feline, I'm sure he'd have mentioned if anything was amiss. I've got no complaints though. YMMV and all that

TTBZ

Creed_Clicks said:

In my other thread, I had been looking for a used one. But the new tributes look good. Hard to know what the QC is like...

Yeah I do quite like the look of the 2020 tribute in satin tobacco burst! Bit more interesting to look at than a Studio with the wood reveal binding and also has the rounded neck profile rather than slim taper. I'd want to play one first though for sure and I'm not sure on that ultra modern weight relief, wondering if it impacts tone and sustain noticeably.

ThePrettyDamned

If anyone has a lzzy hale sig and wants a victim to take it from them...  

Arktik83

Creed_Clicks said:

Do PRS do an SG alike ...  

Nearest thing would be a PRS Mira.

dindude

Mostly I’m not a Gibson man, the headstock / name / history doesn’t hold much for me, it’s all a little too leather and denim, and the guitars themselves I struggle with the ergonomics and they have a few too many design flaws. I’m a Fender man.

But, I like to have at least one guitar that is set neck / mahogany, because they do have a sweet sweet tone you can’t get elsewhere - I’ve been through quite a few Gibson’s, and non-Gibson’s, and recently bought a 2019 Les Paul Special - sadly, the build is no better than Henry-era despite the hype of JC - there’s some small details that are frankly shocking, how do they not know how to build a guitar after all these years! Beggars belief. 

But then, the example I have is light as a feather, plays lovely, sounds amazing, smells like ice cream, looks ace. I forgive it - I’ve said it before, as a manufactured item, they’re often disappointing, as a living breathing musical instrument, they’re often fantastic. Overall, I really wish they would sort out the QC once and for all, but I’d take one over a PRS S2 every day of the week (having owned enough PRS too).

MagicPigDetective

I bought a 2019 Les Paul 60’s Standard blind. Beautiful guitar, amazing finish, qc etc. It does need work to the nut and does hum abit at times, though that might be normal, the jury’s still out on that. But I would not have picked up these things if trying out at a shop, they only came apparent after a few weeks and can be sorted in time. I knew it was a gamble, but I took as I rarely get a chance to be near guitar shops that stock them. I bought from Peach as they gave me confidence of good service. You can always send it back it it’s not up to scratch. Before buying I read every review and forum post I could find. The reaction was generally that the new standards were high quality.