Buying a lifer (Gibson)?

Crazyblue1779

I’ve always had relatively cheap guitars ( many of which have been great!) and I’m not the worlds best player by a long shot, but in the next few months I hope to be in position where I want to spend a decent ( for me anyway ) chunk of change on a guitar that I intend to be a lifer. 

Of all the guitars I’ve owned and played I always come back to a Les Paul ( I currently have a Vintage V100 and an LTD EC256) and it’s a Les Paul that I will be buying. 

And ,for better or worse, and as illogical as it may be given some of the horror stories I’ve heard, I want it to be a Gibson. I know there a other brands etc (and do enjoy my LTD) but I think I’ll regret it if don’t have the right name on that headstock. 

The only thing is ( at least going by eBay/ Reverb prices) I’m wondering if my budget ( hopefully £1500 at a maximum) will even be enough?

 Standards seem to go for £17/1800  on there which seems crazy when new ones are  only a few hundred more. 

Or is there anywhere better to look?

As I said this’ll not be for a few months at least, but it’s a big spend for me and something that I want to get right. 

Any advice or input is really appreciated!

idiotwindow

Les Paul Junior.

Whitecat

I think you could find a Henry J era Traditional for around £1500 if you are patient. 

abw1989

If you can get around the fretboard being not rosewood but granadillo (and can still be had as dark as rosewood) then have a look for a Les Paul Signature T. They are 90% a Les Paul Standard but come up for around £1000, I managed to get mine for around £950. Some have the electronic tuners so keep an eye out if you don't want that, but they all come with coil splits which is nice.

http://aws2.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/Les-Paul/Gibson-USA/Les-Paul-Signature-T.aspx

guitars4you

You should be able to find a nice used Standard to fit your budget - Or look at the Traditional and/or Classic

Models that are between 2010 and 2020, then you might need to look at the finer detail of the spec/features as the guitar might have the same model name, but be a different guitar, if it is say 2012 or 2013 etc  - Gibson changed such details on an annual basis

For a while the Traditional was more like a Standard and the Standard was some 'modern' based LP

I don't think you'll find an LP Standard pre 2005/6 for under £1500 but after this date then they are available 

AlexO

What type of neck profile do you prefer?
LP standards vary quite a bit year
50's have a larger rounder neck (standard on the trad models)
60's slim taper (also standard on a classic)

The standards from I think 2007-2011 had a asymmetrical neck which didn't work for me at all but you may like it.

jimmyguitar

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224174669679

Nice and lightweight and a Standard... only a touch over budget

Barquentine

I had a look around Facebook Marketplace and found quite a few Les Pauls in your price range. Good luck, I'm sure you can find what you're looking for.

Strangefan

No such thing as a lifer, you make a guitar a lifer by playing it to the point you feel at home and don't want to play anything else, you can't know that at the start unfortunately 

Stevepage

I bought a nice 2016 LP traditional plaintop for under your budget last year. It's more standard than the standards of that year and plays/sounds great. 

If you're adamant on getting a standard though, £1500 is a good budget but you may have to keep your eye out because they don't come up for that price often

Crazyblue1779

AlexO said:

What type of neck profile do you prefer?
LP standards vary quite a bit year
50's have a larger rounder neck (standard on the trad models)
60's slim taper (also standard on a classic)

The standards from I think 2007-2011 had a asymmetrical neck which didn't work for me at all but you may like it.

I’m pretty flexible, as long as it’s not mega thin. 

I actually really like the slimish neck and big frets on my LTD, but I prefer the tone and the heft of the Vintage.  

I had actually thought about getting a full thickness LTD EC1000 but the illogical part of me still wants a Gibson. 

mikeyrob73

@Crazyblue1779 ;;;
i went down the " only a gibson will do" rabbit hole and owned several , Classic , standards and studios and ended up selling them all when i got my Tokai ( i think its the ULS128) 

it blew them all out of the water. Yes its not got Gibson on the headstock but its an amazing guitar 


https://www.fretsguitarcentre.co.uk/contents/en-uk/p3059_Tokai_LS128F_Love_Rock__-_Heritage_Dark_Cherry.html

Crazyblue1779

mikeyrob73 said:

@Crazyblue1779 ;;;
i went down the " only a gibson will do" rabbit hole and owned several , Classic , standards and studios and ended up selling them all when i got my Tokai ( i think its the ULS128) 

it blew them all out of the water. Yes its not got Gibson on the headstock but its an amazing guitar 


https://www.fretsguitarcentre.co.uk/contents/en-uk/p3059_Tokai_LS128F_Love_Rock__-_Heritage_Dark_Cherry.html

I’d genuinely not considered something like this, but maybe it should be an option. Especially as it’s a lot easier to buy new. 

I’m not going to lie, I am a bit fixated on the Gibson thing though. 

Just out of interest, what is it about the Tokai that you prefer?

Ben_McCarthy

There’s a tokai ls80 in the classifieds here which looks great, but more money but I don’t think you’d regret it. The old tokais are really great guitars 

mikeyrob73

If only a Gibson will do then you will never be happy till you have one, i was only adding my experience. 

stuartdd

Crazyblue1779 said:

AlexO said:

What type of neck profile do you prefer?
LP standards vary quite a bit year
50's have a larger rounder neck (standard on the trad models)
60's slim taper (also standard on a classic)

The standards from I think 2007-2011 had a asymmetrical neck which didn't work for me at all but you may like it.

I’m pretty flexible, as long as it’s not mega thin. 

I actually really like the slimish neck and big frets on my LTD, but I prefer the tone and the heft of the Vintage.  

I had actually thought about getting a full thickness LTD EC1000 but the illogical part of me still wants a Gibson. 

I understand the appeal of the Gibson badge I've owned 4 Gibson Les Paul's (Standard, R8, R0 and a special run) made between 2009-2017. They are all very nice guitars and not plagued by any of the quality control issues that seem to pop up quite frequently.

Facebook and this forum are the best places to look for deals in my experience. You should be able to find a used standard closer to £1200-£1300 and traditional models slightly cheaper. If you would rather the comfort of buying from a dealer, the larger ones tend to pick up Les Paul's as trade-ins quite often so keep an eye out on their websites.

The good thing is if you buy it second hand at a decent price and after a couple of months decide you don't like it, you can sell it at little-to-no loss and try the next one, cycling through guitars like this is probably the best way to find a 'lifer'. From my experience the 2 things you may find yourself not liking on certain Gibson Les Paul's is the weight and the neck profile, but there are plenty around that should have the combination that suits you.

 LTD EC1000's are a steal second hand and I really like mine, but it may not scratch that Gibson itch

DrJazzTap

mikeyrob73 said:

@Crazyblue1779 ;;;
i went down the " only a gibson will do" rabbit hole and owned several , Classic , standards and studios and ended up selling them all when i got my Tokai ( i think its the ULS128) 

it blew them all out of the water. Yes its not got Gibson on the headstock but its an amazing guitar 


https://www.fretsguitarcentre.co.uk/contents/en-uk/p3059_Tokai_LS128F_Love_Rock__-_Heritage_Dark_Cherry.html

To the OP, this is in spades. I had a Es130 and it smoked every other 335 I tried.
Second hand Japanese Tokais are a steal! I have an SG, and as much as I love it and all that. I'd sooner spend my money on a Tokai. 

Cranky

If it's truly a lifer, then the name on the headstock matters a little less.  That name goes partly to markups and resale.  You might just the same look at the name "Gibson" after a while and wonder if you played it too safe by going with the crowd.

Maybe it's the neck shape, radius and 24.75" scale length, not specifically the LP, you're after?  Or maybe check out the p90s LP, which for some reason is one of their cheaper models (I prefer p90s to humbuckers, so to me that's a win-win).

TTBZ

I agree on at least trying something like an MIJ Tokai. I do understand the appeal of the Gibson logo, but when I had a MIJ Les Paul I never once had GAS for another LP, it was just awesome and whenever I played a Gibson I didn't feel like it was any better. Only reason I foolishly sold that was needing to pay off a parts guitar build! I have a Gibson SG Standard at the minute but would happily trade for a nice MIJ LP. I kinda like having something a bit different too and not just another Gibson, even though it's basically the same thing

Skipped

If possible, I would save a little more before buying. Or sell one of your guitars.

A 2017 R8 has just been sold in the classifieds after being listed with an asking price of £2,200. This begs the question. What is the realistic value of a pre 2013 R8 or R7?  These guitars don't have the nicer celluloid inlays. They don't have the hide glue. They have a trussrod sheath. But they are excellent guitars and Gibson turned them out in huge numbers for 20 freaking years.

dazzajl

I bought a fabulous Standard a few years back on here for under your budget and it’s probably more a buyers market now. So they are definitely out there and you should be able to find something you adore. Oddly, I never loved playing it as much as the Vintage 100 I have now but there’s no doubting it was a much nicer guitar. 

When it’s about fulfilling a dream, it has to tick every box and leave you thrilled. Not wishing you hadn’t cut a corner.