70's Les Paul Content

Jeff_H

Jeff_H

Dean Hardtail Fanologist
Boy, I wish I had the funds right now to do something like this. It's exactly what I'm looking for in a 70's Les Paul Standard. Why do I want what many consider to be an inferior product from the Gibson Catalog, because a lot of the music I love from the 70's and 80's was made with these inferior guitars, Ace Frehely had one just like it before he started playing his Customs, and lastly....I'll probably never be able to afford a true "vintage" guitar, so for me this is a close as I can come.

I'll invest $1400-to a little over $2k in one...especially one that is all beat up and has playwear...why? Because if it has playwear, then it must sound and play pretty good.

This one went for $1,375, and is a 70 or 71. Great looking guitar, IMHO.

1770_1.JPG


eBay Linky
 
Re: 70's Les Paul Content

Ok, here is where my lack of LP knowledge comes in...what's wrong with the 70's LP's? For that price, it sounds like a steal to me.
 
Re: 70's Les Paul Content

Gibson was bought, or taken over, by Norlin in the late 60's/early 70's...cant' remember exactly when. It was a change from the "traditionally owned" Gibson. Similar to when CBS bought Fender, and many feel that strats after this period are inferior to previous ones.

Gibson, because of new ownership, went to cheaper manufacturing techinques...including pancake bodies, a thin layer of mahogany sandwiched inbetween two layers of mahogany...thinner cuts of mahogany are cheaper. As a result, these guitars are not "vintage correct" as compared to the 57-60 bursts. They are therefore considered inferoir.

Maybe they are, maybe they aren't. All I know is a ton of great guitar players made a ton of great music playing them, and it's the music I grew up with. They can't all be bad.

For a 70 or 71 in that condition with no headstock repairs, it's a killer deal. Regardless of what people think, it's a piece of wood that's aged and mellowed for 30+ years.
 
Re: 70's Les Paul Content

I've owned two 70s Gibsons and they were both great. '71 LP Deluxe, '74 SG Standard. I only sold them because I was young, broke and stupid. I'd love another 70s LP Deluxe.
 
Re: 70's Les Paul Content

Norlins are infamous for alot of things

The aforementioned pancakes
Backbreaking mass weights
Headstock angle change
Neck volutes
multi piece non symmetrical maple tops on burst/clear finishes
Grover tuners
Different top carve to the body
Full width (curved) binding in the cutaway
Different color/shape inlays

And a few others...

But like any Gibson from any era (and well pretty much any guitar manufacturer) some sound awesome, and play awesome, and some sound or play like crap.

But they get a bad rap because all of the changes to the original Les Paul design. Late 60s and early 70s Gibsons are actually pretty well regarded. Its the mid 70s up to the mid/late 80s era thats generally said as the "worst".
 
Re: 70's Les Paul Content

yes, like JeffB said, they started making garbage in mid 1975, mine has some of the appointments, but not all the bad appointments, they finally started making better guitars after 1993, but inbetween those years (late 1975/1993) there was a TON of crap shipped out of the factory
 
Re: 70's Les Paul Content

I owned this pair of '78s and they were great guitars - variations on a theme. When everybody thought the world was running out of mahogany, Gibson made some with maple necks, like my goldtop. It was also lighter, and those two features combined made it brighter. The tobacco burst had the traditional mahogany neck and was a bit heavier and thicker-sounding.

Some of the changes were actually improvements but get dissed by purists anyway. The neck volute comes to mind - it was simply to reinforce a historically weak area of the guitar with no negative impact on tone or playability.

These two guitars are tied for #2 on my "never shoulda sold it" list.
les+les+jmp.jpg
 
Re: 70's Les Paul Content

yea my paul's got a 3 piece maple neck w/ volute, and i must say, it's deep, AND bright i love it
 
Re: 70's Les Paul Content

That guitar has a center seamed top.

I guess it could be a 70 or 71, but I wouldn't lay money on it.

As far as paying a "premium" price for a Norlin guitar... If it speaks to you- cool. If you're paying a premium price for the privelege of owning a 30 year old guitar- you're silly.

My issue with Norlin LPs (and most Norlin guitars in general) is that they're generally not good. They're a big part of the reason the "vintage" guitar industry got going... "they don't make 'em like they used to."

If I had to choose guitars- without playing them, between a "recent" (say... post 94 or so) LP and a Norlin- I would take the "recent" guitar most any day of the week. I would most definitely choose a post 02 Standard above all else.

Trust me, I love "vintage" guitars. I don't consider Norlin guitars "vintage," they're just old. I've owned plenty of them in the past 15 years, and I don't really miss any of them.
 
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Re: 70's Les Paul Content

bigalthethird said:
I've seen very few 70's LPs that I liked. 80's ones were better though, IMO.
Click to expand...

I've played many more 80s LPs that I liked than 80s LPs.

One of my buddies has an 80s LP Jr that's his main guitar. I don't like it all that much, but he thinks it's golden.
 
Re: 70's Les Paul Content

Again like anything and everything else out there you've got to play it.

I don't care if it was made by mutants in the sewers of Chicago if it rocks it rocks simple as that. Years ago when my friend was doing tech work for Tesla those guys were going nuts for 70's LPs and we were kind of laughing about it but obviously they found something they liked about them. My only real gripe is the weight of most of them (can't say I ever liked most of those funky bridges either) because when it comes down to it they are all somewhat unique and individual so find one that speaks to you.

I am digging that one Jeff but you know the Ace-thing is sort of inescapable for me at this point too as is the Steve Jones envy. I would never turn down a decent aged white LP Custom from the 70's if I had the cash.
 
Re: 70's Les Paul Content

The 70's LP's are not that bad. Dean Deleo uses nothing but '78 LP Standards (except for a few teles and lp jr.s). Stone Gossard used '70s LP's early on with Pearl Jam. The late '70s LP can be pretty good, you just got to find the good ones.
 
Re: 70's Les Paul Content

They're just something that I like. I may buy one and absolutely hate it. If I do, I'll sell it and move on, just like with the 1998 57' RI Goldtop that I bought. It just didn't speak to me, even though many consider that year, or year range to be some of the best RI's out there.

I've been looking locally (until recent back problems stoped me) in pawn shops, music stores, local adds to see if I can find one to play. The only thing I found was a 72 LP Goldtop Deluxe at Guitar Center. It was a bit heavy, I'd say 10 lbs. Decent shape overall. I liked the way the neck felt, the frets were pretty worn down, indicating it was a player, which is good. Didn't care for the Mini Buckers, but I'd bet a set of Seymour's Mini's would have perked it up just fine. I liked the neck carve and the over all feel.

What I didn't like was that GC wanted $3800 for it, and wouldn't consider much less. The Mgr said he MIGHT consider $3k....that's just too much.

I probably won't get the chance to buy the one I play, because eBay will probably be my best source when I'm ready. Again, they're just the guitars of my musical hero's, and I'd like to have one or two.
 
Re: 70's Les Paul Content

One of my all time guitar heros with his
'78 LP Custom.:bowdown:
Sykes1.jpg

John Sykes.

Got great tones on the Whitesnake and Blue Murder discs.

And just think.
Gibson now makes a customshop replica of a '78 LPC. :banana:
344357.jpg

Sale Price: $7,399.99


Too rich for my blood. So, I went with the Edwards instead. :bigthumb:
 
Re: 70's Les Paul Content

Dammit, Jeff, stop posting this Les Paul content!!!!!!!
 
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