A good Les Paul... priceless

[BloodRose]

There is a lot of Gibson slagging online.. And, I get it and I've seen it. Prices climbing at crazy amounts and guitars being very hit or miss. Some of you know my story with my "2008" model. Was a nightmare getting it and then a pos once I did get it..
However.... For a change of pace.. When you get a good one.. Holy smokes!!!!
Starting from beginning.. I wanted a black Les Paul. When the trad pros came out, I loved the feature set of those. I played many black ones and couldn't find one that was special.. At my local GC, they had a wine red one. Played it and it just felt and sounded... Special.. couldn't get that guitar off my mind.. But dang it, I wanted black.... Anyhow, after a couple weeks of just pining for that guitar,I said , I'll go back.. if they have it, it's mine.. went back and dang it, it had a couple more scuffs on it from people molesting it in the store.. AND.. I am also VERY anal retentive about my guilts being pristine..
So.. struggled with this. But played it again and it just sounded and felt so right.. so I bought it..
I've since put a set of Duncan WLH pup set it it.. And,as much as I feel that I'm a Charvel guy, every time iplay that Gibson, it's just..... wow..

Anyone else had a guitar like that? Where it just makes magic when you play it? Im not a great player, but I get more compliments with that guitar and seem to be able to play way over my head with it..
Share your stories...

 

[STLMTLHD79]

Re: A good Les Paul... priceless

Well, i am not really a fan of much Gibson has put out in the past 10 years or so. I have owned many good Pre-2000 Gibson's. I have a 1988 LP Custom that will go with me to my grave. The neck is perfect, the vintage Duncans that came with it sound amazing and it looks great. I haev owned it for 22 years and dont ever see it going out of my hands.

 

[Gtrjunior]

Re: A good Les Paul... priceless

I also have a 2012 Les Paul + that was perfect right from the factory....well, I swapped pickups right away. It had Burst Bucker Pros and I went with BKP Rebel Yells. And now I have a Super Distortion and PAF 36th anniversary.
Besides that I replaced the cheap nut with a bone nut and it’s about as perfect as it gets.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Re: A good Les Paul... priceless

I have one favorite Les Paul that stands head & shoulders above the others. Has been my #1 LP since I bought it new back in '83. Long tenon neck and the wood is just supernaturally lively & toneful. Its one of a scant handful of guitars which I consider lifetime favorites that I'd never willingly part with.

 

[PS412]

Re: A good Les Paul... priceless

I have a 07 custom silverburst bought new all stock. I believe 490r in the neck 498t in the bridge. No tuning issues or anything. I love it. It is the go-to. Loved it as soon as I picked it up of the shelf. When I plugged it in to try it out I was playing it hard and the store manager came over and told me to stop. " I have to sell that thing" he said. Imagine"thing". I put the cash on the amp, he walked away. He came back when the amp hit noon.

 

[chadd]

Re: A good Les Paul... priceless

I had a black trad pro that was awesome, best sounding and playing guitar I ever owned. Then I bought an R7 and sold that Trad Pro. The R7 sounds better, no doubt and I would have kept the black one but it was a 60s neck and the R7 neck is huge. My honeyburst trad pro is closer in that regard and my wife bought that one for me a few years ago, so it gets to stay.

 

[AlexR]

Re: A good Les Paul... priceless

I have several Gibsons.....but many more 'gibson burst clones' since I've strated scratch building. It would be great to live in the US and right handed.....but I'm neither and historics just don't get to where I am - so I have taken to making them. Luckily for me about $2k in materials gets me either of these 2 beauties, plus the hours of enjoyment crafting something that is both aesthetically pleasing as well as functional for years to come.....and these are the ones with super expensive vintage wire pickups too so are by far the most expensive.....


I did have some more current Gibsons, but once I got into the Norlin era purchases the modern ones just didn't cut it so they got sold off. Here is my 75 Custom (with 70-74 features). I also have an 80 Deluxe and an 85 SG to complete the lineup.

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: A good Les Paul... priceless

Yes....many times. All of my G&Ls feel very special...like a part of me.

I have three 335s, and one feels just perfect. All of them are good, no complaints at all. And the best one is this last one I bought. I got it for a song, because it had a repaired headstock break. But probably the biggest reason GC couldn't sell it--one of the saddles of the tune-o-matic had popped up, causing buzzing and tuning instability. Nobody caught it. Easily corrected, and now a great sounding and playing guitar.

Earlier in my career, I didn't like Les Pauls...they just didn't fit my style and my music. My LP Special with P-90s was great, but Customs and Standards really didn't do it for me. In the late '90s I couldn't afford one, but found a great deal on an Ibanez GR520 Ghostrider, and I liked that better than any Les Paul I'd played in years. That filled my need for thick humbucker tones.

But in 2002, Les Pauls started finding me, and I got addicted. I had some money, and found a pair of mid-'90s 1960 Premium Plus Classics at great close-out prices. Then I got my two Supremes. They had headstock repairs and I bought them for pennies on the dollar. I had good relationships with the guys at my local GCs, and found some others at unbelievable prices.

And then I got a Historic Reissue...and the addiction turned to obsession. I have now have four. All of them are fantastic guitars, but my two 1960 Plain-top Tobaccoburst VOS models from GC are amazing! The '59 RI I have has incredible flame, but I haven't bonded with it because of the fat neck. The G0s fit me perfectly! One is just a little better than the other...I guess there's "special"...and then there's "SPECIAL".

My G&Ls will probably always be my Number Ones, but I must say...when Gibson does it right, they are very, very good.

Congrats on the new guitars.

Bill

 

[allbutromeo]

Re: A good Les Paul... priceless

I now have several Gibsons, and am up to 5 LPs. I love my Traditional Pro II. It's a 2013 merlot red. When I bought it they had the vintage burst on sale for $200 off, and I managed to get them to apply the same discount to whichever one I decided on regardless of color. At the time they had 4 red ones, three with 50's necks and gold hardware, and one with a 60's neck and chrome hardware. All three 50's sounded better and had nicer looking tops, but the 60's felt better and the phone looked better so that's the one I picked, I don't regret it at all. The guitars sounds awesome, only issues I've had are the neck volume pot is scratchy in single coil mode, and I think the front strap button might be off, it seems to pull the strap end at a weird angle compared to my other LPs

 

[Liam1963]

Re: A good Les Paul... priceless

Own over half a dozen Gibsons (Explorer, SG, Les Paul Trad Pro, Firebird, 2 Les Jr's, CS339, and ES335), and love them all. However, it was the first Hamer, a Chapparal Custom, that I bought new in 1987, that set the tone for me, excellent playability, sleek, Strat style body design, floating Floyd Rose, OBL pickups, all the cool stuff! I've put about 100,000 road miles on that guitar, and it is now living a life of semi-retirement...

 

[Wattage]

Re: A good Les Paul... priceless

You know they keep selling for a reason

 

[Securb]

Re: A good Les Paul... priceless

I've since put a set of Duncan WLH pup set it it.. And,as much as I feel that I'm a Charvel guy, every time iplay that Gibson, it's just..... wow..

My Traditional Pro with the WLHs is now my No. 1 guitar. It is amazing how that guitar plays and sounds. Whenever I hear the Gibson bashing I just laugh and look across the room at my baby.

 

[voggin]

Re: A good Les Paul... priceless

I have four Gibsons. Two Les Pauls (a standard and a studio), an ES 339 and a Lucille.

I bought them all used (well, my wife bought me the Lucille). the only issue any of them had was the 339 had a high fret. $25 later (I won't go near fretwork) and it's perfect.

Of my Les Pauls, the standard has Seths in it, and it sounds the way I imagine a vintage one would (never had the pleasure of playing an original). The studio has the WLH set, and it's a beast.

The 339 and the Lucille are stock. I'm thinking of putting a PG set in the Lucille. The 490/490 are okay, but I think SDs would make her sing.

 

[Gone_Shootin]

Re: A good Les Paul... priceless

The one that got away, the '82 Les Paul Standard I used to own, was like that. I still pine for that guitar.

But, I've been happy with my '16 Standard. It doesn't sound the same, but I still like it. It sounded good with the stock Burstbucker Pros but sounds great with the Custom & Jazz.

Been happy with other guitars I have too, and many of them weren't expensive at all. I've learned over the years that as long as a guitar feels & plays well, and is relatively lively sounding unplugged, it'll sound great with the right pickups.

 

[GuitarGuy503]

Re: A good Les Paul... priceless

Black LPs are very sharp looking......☺

 

[GuitarGuy503]

Re: A good Les Paul... priceless

 

[muttznmongrelz]

Re: A good Les Paul... priceless

I felt the first one I actually bought was "magical"; 1982 Candy Apple Red Standard that weighted 10 lbs 9 oz. Sold that one almost 5 years ago now and it sat at Chicago Music Exchange for sale until early this year when someone finally purchased it. Almost bought it back but I had other guitars and couldn't justify the price that CME was asking. Since then I have bought a few others a Wine Red '93 Studio and '81 XR-1 that didn't stick around for one reason or another, but, I have found a LP Model that I am very pleased with and it's a departure from the Standard Les Paul Formula in that it has a a Maple Fretboard and a Maple Body - 2009 Gibson Les Paul Studio Raw Power. In fact; I like 'em so much I just picked up a third one (Black) that should arrive on Monday!!!

 

[STLMTLHD79]

Re: A good Les Paul... priceless

I just ran across a "priceless" Les Paul last night (see post entitled "An Amazing NGD"). 1999 Japanese Epiphone Les Paul Standard with tons of aftermarket upgrades.

 

[BloodRose]

Re: A good Les Paul... priceless

My Traditional Pro with the WLHs is now my No. 1 guitar. It is amazing how that guitar plays and sounds. Whenever I hear the Gibson bashing I just laugh and look across the room at my baby.

When you find a good one, they are really good.. But, some of the bashing is warranted.. Not all are that good.. I wanted a black one.. None of the black ones I played had the same mojo...
AND... I specially ordered a chicago blue "2008" model a couple years ago and getting it was a nightmare and the first one was crap with many flaws. The second one was visually much better, but had no mojo.. got sold at a loss.
Thats why I posted this thread.. A good one can be very special...

 

[jalguitarman]

Re: A good Les Paul... priceless

I went through a phase where I turned into a die hard Strat guy. But now I love Les Paul type guitars. But I do have to add that I feel that some of the best Les Paul's don't always have Gibson or even Les Paul on the Headstock.