gibson 70s or 90s?

[jamie_eyp]

i looking for a les paul used
i saw that 70s gibson les paul (deluxe or custom) has a low price
but i heard that 70s gibson is suck,3pc maple neck,and very many pc body,but anyway,somebody said it still sounds good
and then,i focus on 90s,not too vintage,but has high opinion
so what about 70s between 90s,or i need a 21st century?

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: gibson 70s or 90s?

In general, I have found that the Gibsons of the late '80's and the '90's are better made guitars than the ones from the Norlin years. IMO, they are now as bad as they have ever been – worse than they were under Norlin.

There are always exceptions, however, and you must play a guitar to know whether or not you really like it. What I would do is just try as many Les Pauls as you can, and buy the ones that appeals to you the most, regardless of when it was made.

 

[AlexR]

Re: gibson 70s or 90s?

Personally I'd pick the 70's, but thats just because I have 2 guitars from that era and they are great. I've not tried enough from this era to know whether the above comment on the Norlin quality is accurate or not, but certainly the ones I have don't exhibit flaws.....just the nice aged patina you get with well loved guitars.

Tonally, they do sound a bit different to the 50's/60's. They tend to have a more compressed and present tone, like they were unwittingly shaped for some of the heavier music that became made in this era.

Funnily enough the only Gibsons I've had that have been dogs were made in the 90's

 

[Oinkus]

Re: gibson 70s or 90s?

Would take a 70s over a 90s any type but that is just my personal preference through hands on experience.

 

[hydro]

Re: gibson 70s or 90s?

I have two early Norlin era SGs and I love them. However, there are a lot of people who report poor quality from this era. My understanding is that many of the "Norlin" guitars that had problems were made after the plant moved from Kalamazoo, MI. to Tennessee. Many of the more experienced craftsmen left at that time. I don't know if this is true or not, but for what it's worth both my 74 SGs were made in Kalamazoo and I wouldn't give them up for anything.

 

[AlexR]

Re: gibson 70s or 90s?

Well, they opened up the new plant in Nashville, and had both going from 75 until 83. Certainly the 75 watershed is where they moved a little further from traditional specs, but like all things you have to take guitars individually.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: gibson 70s or 90s?

If I were going to buy a Les Paul is go for a Historic/VOS from 2005 to 2012 but if 70s or 90s were my only options I'd likely go 90s. That said if you can play first the do that...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[superpete]

Re: gibson 70s or 90s?

play them both if you can, but imo the early 90s were a great time for gibson.

 

[Condemned soul]

Re: gibson 70s or 90s?

Do not count the Norlin area guitars out of the race until you have actually tried it.

This is one time an internet rumor could work against you.

 

[hydro]

Re: gibson 70s or 90s?

I personally love the features of the mid 70s SGs - speed knobs, harmonica bridge, grover style tuners, slim neck, small pickguard, tarback pickups, and on mine, unbound ebony fretboard. Durable and built to survive atomic war. To me these were all improvements on the late 60s - early 70s SGs that had some pretty weird designs, after Gibson departed from the classic SG designs of the early 60s.

But Les Pauls seem to be a different animal completely, it seems like the changes Gibson made to the Les Paul in that period were not as well received, and then there are the questions about quality associated with that era.

In the end I would agree with all the posts that say don't reject a guitar of any era without playing it and checking it out first. One nice thing about the Norlin era stigma is that at one time, it created some bargains for guys who just wanted player's instruments but didn't want to overpay for vintage status. I was one of those and got lucky twice, but I have heard horror stories too.

Good luck and I hope you find the axe that's right for you -

 

[uOpt]

Re: gibson 70s or 90s?

Very early 1970s do not have pancake body, maple neck or laminated neck. You need to look a bit closer.

Generally I like the 1970s customs. Not so sure about clownburst deluxens.

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: gibson 70s or 90s?

All Gibson Les Pauls are at least "good."

Go play a bunch of them and buy the one you want. Don't listen to the internet.

 

[Aceman]

Re: gibson 70s or 90s?

Ignore everyone who gives you ANY answer based on the freaking DECADE!!!!! They are ignorant idiots.

AT the end of the day, there are ONLY two things that matter; How it FEELS and how it Sounds. If it feels good and sounds good, IT IS GOOD!

And the sound can be changed to a great degree. You may care about looks - fine.Then pick a pretty one and don't worry about the rest.



We can sit here and dicker about this decade or that decade, or this period or that period. The bottom line is that most Les Pauls are constructed like brick $h!thouses almost always. General principles may have varied over one period or another; neck profile, wood, chambering, blah blah, blah. The bottom line is that a large number of your favorite guitar tones were recorded with some Les Paul or another. 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's 00's.

The basic tonality and feel is pretty similar no matter when or where it came from, as much as particular prickly people may say it does. Blindfolded you'd never guess any of them was anything except a Les Paul.

Also - any two could vary wildly in tone even if made one right after the other. You have to play it to know if it is too bright, too muddy, too heavy, too thick-necked or whatever for you. If you are not sure of these things you are trying to buy a Les Paul based on your fantasy of what one is or has been said to be.

I LIKE the 70's LP'S. THE REAL QUESTION IS WHY! I like them because they have 3 piece glued maple necks, and heavy as a dump truck. You may feel differently if you actually play one. GENERALLY the 3 piece maple neck is one super strong moro, and brightens up the guitar considerably (but not always). As for the weight, I'm not a sissy boy malnutrition chain smoking emo tragedy. I'm 6' 2" of strapping woodsman and martial artist. I can play that thing for 3 hours hours at ~11lbs and not even notice.

Yes - I agree - Norlin made some seriously meh guitars and did some crazy stuff. But Gibson can do that ANY day of the week (Robot anyone?). Yeah - they had a really nice run in the 90's where things looked pretty good, and when the BB1,2, and 3 pickups showed up - that was a good time too.

At the end of the day, you need to go play it. Any comment of a decade is meaningless except for some general construction principles. Any comment of a period of time is the same. ANY Les Paul could be stupidly mediocre for the cost, used or new. ANY could be grossly over priced because of internet blues lawyers who can't play Mary Had a Little Lamb. ANY could be the ONE for you, or not.

It is about THAT guitar - and not any time period. Going on time period is a serious fail, as is commenting at only the most general levels.

 

[Aceman]

Re: gibson 70s or 90s?

Very early 1970s do not have pancake body, maple neck or laminated neck. You need to look a bit closer.

Generally I like the 1970s customs. Not so sure about clownburst deluxens.

You know what? You people don't blink at dropping a few thousand on a BC rich that looks more like a pop sickle stick and glue project. Yet they balk at a three piece Les Paul Body and glued neck. Interesting.

And that 3 piece neck is stronger than a major league baseball bat - yet we see tons of "Gibson thin neck breaks"

I bend my Gibson necks like Steve Stevens. Nairy a creak.

And I have a 1979 with 3 piece neck.

 

[Aceman]

Re: gibson 70s or 90s?

By the way - Kudo's on the used approach.

 

[uOpt]

Re: gibson 70s or 90s?

You know what? You people don't blink at dropping a few thousand on a BC rich that looks more like a pop sickle stick and glue project. Yet they balk at a three piece Les Paul Body and glued neck. Interesting.

And that 3 piece neck is stronger than a major league baseball bat - yet we see tons of "Gibson thin neck breaks"

I bend my Gibson necks like Steve Stevens. Nairy a creak.

And I have a 1979 with 3 piece neck.

But I said nothing against them, just correcting the OP's oversimplified assumption.

What I really don't like is the new fashion with laminated fretboard.

Also for the record, I hate neck-through guitars.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: gibson 70s or 90s?

FWIW, the Norlin stigma has absolutely nothing to do with the Internet. It has been around since Norlin still owned the company. It's the reason why pre-Norlin Gibsons started becoming valuable in the first place, back in the '70's and '80's. If anything, Norlin-era Gibsons have seemed to gain more respect since the Internet.

 

[AlexR]

Re: gibson 70s or 90s?

Very early 1970s do not have pancake body, maple neck or laminated neck. You need to look a bit closer.

Generally I like the 1970s customs. Not so sure about clownburst deluxens.

2 out of 3 wrong there.

Pancake body came in early/mid 1969. PRE Norlin ownership (19 December 1969 just so you can learn...sold off in Jan 1986)
3 piece neck was in the early/mid 1969 too. Also Pre Norlin ownership.

This should provide you some much needed knowledge for next time you post:

http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/norlin-years/38456-faq-norlin-history.html

 

[Lucid_Lunatic]

Re: gibson 70s or 90s?

90's

 

[chadd]

Re: gibson 70s or 90s?

Buy the guitar for how it plays, not on consensus about production during a decade. I have owned a half dozen Norlin Les Pauls and played a hundred others. Many of them flat out sucked, some were good and a couple were excellent. In the 90s, I think you had fewer guitars that sucked, but not many more that were excellent. Honestly, I think recent and current production is just about as good as it has ever been. But all of that said, each guitar is different and should be based on its own merits.