Robert S. said:
You guys are funny.
I'm a Les Paul kind of guy. Not the LPF hardcore kinda guy but they are my guitar of choice. I like the way they look, feel and sound. I have owned a few Les Pauls over the years but I also own or have owned Strats, Teles, PRS, Charvels and a few other guitars as well. If you get down to it I'll play just about anything with six strings as long as it will stay in tune.
You really only have 3 choices when it comes to buying a Gibson LP, the pre 1960s stuff, the post 68 stuff and the post 1986 stuff. Most of us will not be buying a pre 1960 Les Paul any time soon so the choices are really from the two later groups.
The pre 1986 stuff is just fine unless you are really hooked on the pre 1960s specs. There were a few variations including maple necks, pancake bodies, flakey electronics and funky pickups. It's an interesting period for the Les Paul so you have to know what you are getting. Better or worse depends on if you have to have mahogany necks or not. Really they are just different. They can also tend to be fairly heavy guitars and I remember playing a probably mid to late 70s Custom that was seriously heavy. If you are buying a Norlin you need to know what you are getting. Quality wise they are overall fine guitars. Being a Norlin doesn't make a LP good ar bad, just different.
After 1986 Gibson tightened up the specs and from 1987 on they got pretty consistant. There are a few diamonds and a few stinkers but most are very playable guitars. The 1990s LPs are fine guitars and I have seen many killer examples online. My 1995 and 1998 Stds are both killer players.
The new stuff is all good too. Find one that works for you and have at it.
