Calling all les Paul fans, advise needed

musicman100

Gretsch fan boy through n through however I’ve been wanting a decent les Paul for ages but always scared to pull the trigger as I don’t know much about the years/models to avoid etc. 

so which years 80’s onwards to date were good for standards and custom shops and what to avoid. 

I do like the wine red and lighter bursts colours.

thanks,

dave

Kittyfrisk

I reckon most Gibson Les Paul owners are similarly confused about Gretsch's & the multitude of model numbers 
As usual, physically try as many actual guitars as you can.
Hope you can find what you are looking for  

musicman100

Kittyfrisk said:

I reckon most Gibson Les Paul owners are similarly confused about Gretsch's & the multitude of model numbers 
As usual, physically try as many actual guitars as you can.
Hope you can find what you are looking for  

Yeah I could talk all about gretsch but I don’t know much about Gibson other than two I own, 1990 Gibson Chet country gentleman and a 1982 custom shop Chet nylon 

Funkfingers

I am enormously fond of my 2006 Standard P90 LE. It took several years to convince the previous owner to relinquish his grip on the thing.

Snags

As far as I can tell the good year stuff is all just marketing bollocks and forum wankery.

Check the usual places for an idea of price, then find ones you like the look of and try them, see if they spark.

ArchtopDave

You basically need to try some Les Paul's out, and hopefully find one that suits you. They do vary in sound and feel, and what suits one person, don't suit someone else at all.

musicman100

Snags said:

As far as I can tell the good year stuff is all just marketing bollocks and forum wankery.

Check the usual places for an idea of price, then find ones you like the look of and try them, see if they spark.

Ok fair enough, cheers

dazzajl

The first big question has to be do you want a great Les Paul or do you want a Gibson? There is obviously an overlap there but there are many many more great LPs out there if it doesn’t have to be Gibson. 

spirit7

Personally speaking, I’d avoid 2006-2019ish for USA models.  CS’s of any vintage are consistently great. 

musicman100

dazzajl said:

The first big question has to be do you want a great Les Paul or do you want a Gibson? There is obviously an overlap there but there are many many more great LPs out there if it doesn’t have to be Gibson. 

Hi mate, yeah I think I want a Gibson 

jdgm

Norlin sold Gibson in 1986 and after that the build quality generally went up....until it started going down again, some say from about 2006, others say later. I have a 2009 LP Custom with P90s which is everything it could possibly be IMO.  The company was sold again in 2018 (?). 

Some LP Customs from certain times in the last 10-12 years have Richlite fingerboards.  I think it was 2015 they put the Min-Etune system on some LPs....forum experts please correct me if I'm wrong.

And there are always plenty on ebay!

 

dazzajl

musicman100 said:

dazzajl said:

The first big question has to be do you want a great Les Paul or do you want a Gibson? There is obviously an overlap there but there are many many more great LPs out there if it doesn’t have to be Gibson. 

Hi mate, yeah I think I want a Gibson 

Well, contrary to common wisdom, I’d buy the prettiest one I could find. They’re so variable that unless you’re going to take the time to go on a shopping tour, it’s a total lottery. At least if you love the look of it, you’re going to pick it up and play it. 

musicman100

dazzajl said:

musicman100 said:

dazzajl said:

The first big question has to be do you want a great Les Paul or do you want a Gibson? There is obviously an overlap there but there are many many more great LPs out there if it doesn’t have to be Gibson. 

Hi mate, yeah I think I want a Gibson 

Well, contrary to common wisdom, I’d buy the prettiest one I could find. They’re so variable that unless you’re going to take the time to go on a shopping tour, it’s a total lottery. At least if you love the look of it, you’re going to pick it up and play it. 

Yeah true 

musicman100

jdgm said:

Norlin sold Gibson in 1986 and after that the build quality generally went up....until it started going down again, some say from about 2006, others say later. I have a 2009 LP Custom with P90s which is everything it could possibly be IMO.  The company was sold again in 2018 (?). 

Some LP Customs from certain times in the last 10-12 years have Richlite fingerboards.  I think it was 2015 they put the Min-Etune system on some LPs....forum experts please correct me if I'm wrong.

And there are always plenty on ebay!

 

That’s what I was after, cheers 

rlw

2016 onwards is good as they started to repair the damage caused, unfairly, by the 2014s and 2015s.
2016 Traditional is a great place to start.

tone1

Apologies for jumping in….How are Les Paul Standards from the year 2000 generally regarded? 

mankytom

I have a mid 90s lp studio, with an ebony board, which is beautiful - and you could probably pick one up for well under a grand. 

I’ve a 2019 50s standard goldtop which I really like and has seen off some others - I think these can be really nice. Didn’t like the 60s standard or modern as much. 

I’ve also just picked up an R6.  Think it’s a keeper too! But I’ve played some cs lps that didn’t suit me..

my advice would be to play them! 

sweepy

I still think the pre 2012 Les Paul Traditionals are the best all round LP without spending silly money 

guitars4you

As an overview, I'd say that I can find you a good or bad LP from any era, with any year date on it that you want - I'd say there are less 'regular' issues on most/many LP's today compared to the 70's, 80's and 90's but that doesn't mean you won't find a good LP from the Norlin era

My big issue with Norlin era models is the frets - Low and wide - A good re-fret will improve the playability of any Norlin era model, ditto with a good new wiring loom and IMO a better set of p/ups - Some will complain about the headstock pitch/angle and lack of a figured maple top, but Norlin era models do have their fan clubs and I've seen a few 'player' grade examples, with above mods, that are excellent to play

Come to 2002 and up to 2006 and IMO for a production model LP Std then not along wrong with this period - they started to offer many features that LP players had been asking for, for many years - Plenty of good examples out there - Personally I prefer the slightly chunkier 50's neck, but not a shed load of difference between 50's and 60's - But just enough for me to have a preference 

From 2006 until today, far to many changes to home in on one year, one model - For a while the Traditional was really the 'Standard' with regards to regular features , whilst the Standard went off down the lane with modern features that IMO makes it not a Standard - But each to their own 

Ref CS - Far better consistency, no matter what year - Play 2 from the same year and you might favour A over B, and you can apply that to two different CS models from different years - In such a case the hands on test drive is the best way forward - You should not get a poor CS, but you might prefer one to another if you try enough 

Dave - NE show and NW show soon, so you might find something there if you are visiting as per normal

Boromedic

Can only echo the above some great advice, good wood years and eras is just forum and internet bollox. A good one is a good one, and if you want the big G, only the big G will do. A lot of the copies just don't feel the same I think.

Just work out a finish/look you're after, what neck you'd prefer and a weight range you're happy with, and go from there. You don't need to go custom shop, plenty of great Les Paul's in the Standard, Traditional and Studio ranges, even the Tributes or Classics.

You can always change pickups and electrics if you want to go full classic 50s wiring, or stick with modern and something like Aldrich's or similar. So don't get snowed under with that stuff, although some like the 498T/490R combo.

I always go for new tail pieces and bridges which are great but again, they're nice to do not necessary. Shame that the Standard in the classifieds from the early 2000s has just sold, that would've been good for you.

musicman100

guitars4you said:

As an overview, I'd say that I can find you a good or bad LP from any era, with any year date on it that you want - I'd say there are less 'regular' issues on most/many LP's today compared to the 70's, 80's and 90's but that doesn't mean you won't find a good LP from the Norlin era

My big issue with Norlin era models is the frets - Low and wide - A good re-fret will improve the playability of any Norlin era model, ditto with a good new wiring loom and IMO a better set of p/ups - Some will complain about the headstock pitch/angle and lack of a figured maple top, but Norlin era models do have their fan clubs and I've seen a few 'player' grade examples, with above mods, that are excellent to play

Come to 2002 and up to 2006 and IMO for a production model LP Std then not along wrong with this period - they started to offer many features that LP players had been asking for, for many years - Plenty of good examples out there - Personally I prefer the slightly chunkier 50's neck, but not a shed load of difference between 50's and 60's - But just enough for me to have a preference 

From 2006 until today, far to many changes to home in on one year, one model - For a while the Traditional was really the 'Standard' with regards to regular features , whilst the Standard went off down the lane with modern features that IMO makes it not a Standard - But each to their own 

Ref CS - Far better consistency, no matter what year - Play 2 from the same year and you might favour A over B, and you can apply that to two different CS models from different years - In such a case the hands on test drive is the best way forward - You should not get a poor CS, but you might prefer one to another if you try enough 

Dave - NE show and NW show soon, so you might find something there if you are visiting as per normal

Hi mate, cheers for that.