$700.00 Gibson Les Paul CM . . . your opinion ?

[AniML]

Re: $700.00 Gibson Les Paul CM . . . your opinion ?

In the end its up to the individual buyer. But for your consideration, I got this for the same $...

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?314363-NGD-barely-used-LP-edition

 

[kherman]

Re: $700.00 Gibson Les Paul CM . . . your opinion ?

$700 starts putting me in MIJ territory. Edwards, Greco, Burny, Tokai, etc..
Other choice would be a Epiphone LP Tribute Plus or Epi Bjorn Gelotte LP Custom.
Both nicely featured guitars. I'm not a "In Flames" fan. I just like that LPC's features.
Heck, I would probably even take the Epi Tommy Thayer over that Gibson.

You could find a really nice used Carvin CS3 or CS4 in that price range as well. Especially, if you're wanting to stick to USA made.

I think there's just too many nicer optioned guitars once you get into the $700+ price range.

 

[Nostalgic Distortion]

Re: $700.00 Gibson Les Paul CM . . . your opinion ?

You know if you wait until after X-mas & tax time there's going to be hundreds of these for sale barely used on Reverb.com? If I get one that's my plan, wait make offers, & eventually bring one home for about $400? At that price it's a cool addition to the collection and it wouldn't break my heart to mod the hell out of it!!!

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: $700.00 Gibson Les Paul CM . . . your opinion ?

$700 starts putting me in MIJ territory. Edwards, Greco, Burny, Tokai, etc..
Other choice would be a Epiphone LP Tribute Plus or Epi Bjorn Gelotte LP Custom.
Both nicely featured guitars. I'm not a "In Flames" fan. I just like that LPC's features.
Heck, I would probably even take the Epi Tommy Thayer over that Gibson.

You could find a really nice used Carvin CS3 or CS4 in that price range as well. Especially, if you're wanting to stick to USA made.

I think there's just too many nicer optioned guitars once you get into the $700+ price range.

Yeah the Tribute I played had Gibson pickups, hardware, and electronics
Sounded awesome

 

[BloodRose]

Re: $700.00 Gibson Les Paul CM . . . your opinion ?

For $700, Gibson's going to use the cheapest materials and least amount of labor humanly possible. You're paying for the name. How different is it from an Epi? Why buy a bottom-of-the-line Gibson, when you can get better guitars for that much money?

Yeah, guitar with minimal features prolly made of last of the bin wood. $150. Gibson sticker on headstock: $550

Yeah the Tribute I played had Gibson pickups, hardware, and electronics
Sounded awesome

The Tributes, IMO are awesome! Locking Grovers, Gibson pickups (love em or hate em, could resell. ) Orange drop caps, and I quality pots. Great deal...

I don't want to, but I really like the Tommy Thayer Epis.. Love the metallic pearl paint job, upgraded pickups etc...

 

[Condemnedsoul]

Re: $700.00 Gibson Les Paul CM . . . your opinion ?

And if we jump up a couple of hundred dollars, we find this magnificent guitar with good necks and simple finishes besides flat black.

Do you want your LP with P90's -

http://www.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/2016/USA/Les-Paul-60s-Tribute.aspx#LPST60TSECH1

or Humbuckers -

http://www.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/2016/USA/Les-Paul-50s-Tribute.aspx#LPST5HTHDCH3

 

[Zarg]

Re: $700.00 Gibson Les Paul CM . . . your opinion ?

I'd rather get a used lower end or a little higher than that gibson for the money

 

[hydro]

Re: $700.00 Gibson Les Paul CM . . . your opinion ?

You know if you wait until after X-mas & tax time there's going to be hundreds of these for sale barely used on Reverb.com? If I get one that's my plan, wait make offers, & eventually bring one home for about $400? At that price it's a cool addition to the collection and it wouldn't break my heart to mod the hell out of it!!!

Very good point. One nice thing about the cheaper Gibsons is that you aren't going to lose sleep over modding it. Or let's say you are gonna go on tour and you don't want to bring your expensive guitars with you to get ripped off, etc. And if you wait for used ones then you can get into a good beater guitar for under $500. Kind of nice to get one that is a little banged up already so you won't feel bad when you spill beer on it or drop it.

 

[blueman335]

Re: $700.00 Gibson Les Paul CM . . . your opinion ?

Very good point. One nice thing about the cheaper Gibsons is that you aren't going to lose sleep over modding it. Or let's say you are gonna go on tour and you don't want to bring your expensive guitars with you to get ripped off, etc. And if you wait for used ones then you can get into a good beater guitar for under $500. Kind of nice to get one that is a little banged up already so you won't feel bad when you spill beer on it or drop it.

You don't need a cheap Gibson to have a beater guitar. There's lots of guitars in that price range.

 

[Nostalgic Distortion]

Re: $700.00 Gibson Les Paul CM . . . your opinion ?

I don't know, I think that guitar with a properly cut/new nut and a Schaller Signum Bridge would be a pretty badass humbucker Jr??? The 61 Zebra in the bridge actually sounds good so I'm not sure I'd replace the stock pickup & while the Schaller doesn't resonate quite as well as the Lighting Bolt Bridge, it does improve your intonation & playability quite a bit!!!

Assuming you can do the nut and setup yourself it's only like $120 over actual cost. That's not too bad if you get the guitar for around $450 to begin with...

 

[HiFiRebel]

Re: $700.00 Gibson Les Paul CM . . . your opinion ?

If it were a $450 guitar I wouls be all in. But for that price, I could hop up an Epi. The Gibby still needs better pups.

 

[hydro]

Re: $700.00 Gibson Les Paul CM . . . your opinion ?

You don't need a cheap Gibson to have a beater guitar. There's lots of guitars in that price range.

Agreed, but if you want a Gibson (for whatever reason) then it's a good opportunity. There's a comfort level for some people with the brand, and the cheaper Gibson USA models I have played are pretty decent, stack up well to imports.

Maybe I am just old and set in my ways, but I know I like 2 humbucker guitars with Gibson-ish specs and styling. Epiphones can be great, but I still don't think they are as consistent as Gibson USA. The one Epi I had was REALLY good but I have picked up some in shops that were unplayable. That was like 4 or 5 years ago though and I have heard that Epi's quality has continued to improve.

That all being said, if I was in the market for a $500-700 guitar right now, I'd be looking at an import Dean Z....

 

[BloodRose]

Re: $700.00 Gibson Les Paul CM . . . your opinion ?

I have found Epis to be a lot more consistent than low dollar gibsons. Especially fretwork... Now Im talking about the Epi Lp standards and up. Especially any of the special run models, like the 60s tribute or...(not the bolt on neck ones) Ive been impressed with even some of the low price Epis of late. Came real close to buying a Jr that was about $299

 

[BriGuy1968]

Re: $700.00 Gibson Les Paul CM . . . your opinion ?

Meh... I find it to be kind of boring and lifeless. I get the whole concept of having a single humbucker guitar (even though it wouldn't really be my thing) but as others have said, seems like for $700 you could get a whole lot more, or if that's all you want you could find it for a whole lot less. Either way, that one looks like a bad deal to me.

I've been pretty impressed with the Epis I've played. I even picked up a $99 LP Special I P-90 back at Christmas because it felt so good and it was so cheap. With a new bridge (and eventually tuners) it's great... and still less than $300.

 

[Surgeon]

Re: $700.00 Gibson Les Paul CM . . . your opinion ?

Wow, just found out these sell for 1000$ (canadian but still) at bestbuy (no brick and mortar stores around here so I can't compare the real street prices)... there are tons of great guitars around for that price that are way better IMHO, and we're not even talking about the used market. Count me out.

 

[blueman335]

Re: $700.00 Gibson Les Paul CM . . . your opinion ?

Agreed, but if you want a Gibson (for whatever reason) then it's a good opportunity. There's a comfort level for some people with the brand

Agreed, some players have a comfort level with Gibsons because most of their more expensive guitars are pretty good, and some guys like to flaunt the Gibson name on the headstock. But what can you expect from a bottom-of-the-line Gibson, and who's impressed by it?

What a $700 Gibson tells you is that:

- The public always buys more cheap guitars than expensive ones. This was true in the 1950's for Gibson and is still true today. The higher end Gibsons aren't moving like management would like, so they're making cheap ones to improve sales and cash flow. Fender's done very well having American-made and cheap imports both labeled Fender.

- If their $2,000 & up guitars are worth it because of the quality of materials & workmanship, what do you think you're getting for $700? Gibson's still making a good profit on those. Some of those guitars will be better than others. If you think Gibson quality control is hit-or-miss on their better guitars, you had better look real close on their low-end ones before you buy one. Their goal is to get those out the door as cheaply as possible; any extra time and effort on those noticeably eats into profit.

 

[VinceT]

Re: $700.00 Gibson Les Paul CM . . . your opinion ?

In that price range, I'd quite happily turn my attention from Gibson to Reverend.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[hydro]

Re: $700.00 Gibson Les Paul CM . . . your opinion ?

I still think if you find a well made low end Gibson used under $500 it's a good deal. Someone made the point earlier that you can find used LP studios in the $700 range.

The used market for Gibsons is a little cheaper than it has been, I think; there are so many in circulation and when Gibson reduced prices and 86d the robo tuners and other "improvements" it made their new 2016s more attractive.

I do find their low end USA strategy interesting. Maybe it's to try to build brand loyalty in a new generation of players who can't afford a $3K LP standard. Maybe they are trying to keep their factories running... maybe they are just throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks.

 

[blueman335]

Re: $700.00 Gibson Les Paul CM . . . your opinion ?

I do find their low end USA strategy interesting. Maybe it's to try to build brand loyalty in a new generation of players who can't afford a $3K LP standard. Maybe they are trying to keep their factories running... maybe they are just throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks.

Yeah, there's some shifting in focus. It seemed like they were aiming for yuppies with lots of disposable income, but those guys buy just so many guitars. The market for 'average Joe's' is infinitely larger. There you make money in volume, not high unit prices.

 

[DinoTrousers]

Re: $700.00 Gibson Les Paul CM . . . your opinion ?

I seem to be in the minority, but I kinda really dig it. I'm more likely to look for a used Studio Faded (one of my favorite Les Paul series, actually), but if I had $700 to spend on a guitar, I would be very interested.