Gibson LP aficionado's needed

B

buckethead

New member
I seriously looking into getting a well built year of a LP used. About the time when Juszkiewicz took over and moved the factory to Memphis. So somewhere in the 1987 being the earliest till 2000. I am not concerned with the LP being a standard , custom or supreme. I just want a great build year. My budget is about 3k ish
 
Re: Gibson LP aficionado's needed

IMO 1986 ones are magic. I have a 1986 factory second Custom, and Slash's #1 tobacco burst Standard (not the Max or Derrig, the plaintop sunburst he got from Gibson) are 1986 factory seconds as well. They must be late 86, right when Juskiewicz was taking over and improved quality- right before he banned factory seconds.They can be identified by the "SEC" stanp on the back of the headstock.

They should be well under 3k as well
 
Re: Gibson LP aficionado's needed

thnkx jmh, im gonna call norms guitar rare guitars and see if he has any, and sadly also call guitar centers in so cal and see if they have and in the vault.

:reporter:
 
Re: Gibson LP aficionado's needed

DO NOT...I REPEAT...DO NOT buy ANY guitar based on year!!!!

That's just crazy...

Buy a guitar because it's good not because you read on the internet that some special year is better than some other year.

If I were you and your budget is 3k ish I'd look at used Historic/VOS guitars.
 
Re: Gibson LP aficionado's needed

thats a fair statement guy, but take into consideration what garbage what the 3 joint cbs fenders were, and the late 70's through early 80's gibby were and just garbage. Of course im gonna try before i buy and i know what to look and listen for. That being said i dont know much about the good "years " of gibson much. I buy to play and i see alot of session time and i would like some before hand general notice. which is why i ask for Aficionados not just plain ol joes for some advice.
 
Re: Gibson LP aficionado's needed

CBS Fender and Norlin Gibson were by and large all junk...I know there are a lot of guys that own 70's Gibson and Fender and love them but that doesn't make them good guitars and on the flip side being from that era doesn't make them bad guitars either.

I have a 1982 Gibson Moderne that is hands down one of the finest solid body guitars I've ever played much less owned but it is/was not without it's issues as well.

On the flip side I have a 2005 R8 Les Paul that's just as fine an instrument but has better fit and finish in terms of construction and has MUCH better stock electronics than the Moderne had.

Both are great guitars but I bought them based on playing them...not the year they were build.

My only point is that the wood, construction and other parts are what make a good guitar...I would NEVER buy a 70's Gibson sight un seen but I would buy one if it was a good played that sounded good.

I would however buy a 2000's era Gibson sight un seen because no matter what you read on the internet Gibson is making some fine guitars these days and sure there are turds here and there and there are great guitars that have issues...maybe a bad factory nut or a crappy set up but those things can be fixed and just FWIW I have yet to play a Historic/VOS guitar be it a Les Paul, SG, 335, Jr, Special, V, Explorer, whatever that wasn't a damn fine instrument.
 
Re: Gibson LP aficionado's needed

the guy who invented fire said:
I would however buy a 2000's era Gibson sight un seen because no matter what you read on the internet Gibson is making some fine guitars these days and sure there are turds here and there and there are great guitars that have issues...maybe a bad factory nut or a crappy set up but those things can be fixed and just FWIW I have yet to play a Historic/VOS guitar be it a Les Paul, SG, 335, Jr, Special, V, Explorer, whatever that wasn't a damn fine instrument.
Click to expand...

Sorry buddy, but I'm going to have to disagree with you here. The SG Custom and 2 LP Special DCs had their own issues and they were all post 2000. The SG Custom shouldn't have left the factory with misaligned binding (of course the seller did a darn good job of hiding that in the initial pics). Just the other day I played a handful of ES instruments and most of them had some fit and finish issues.

There's one ES-335 I'm looking at at a local store that seems to exhibit none of those issues and that one I may be persuing, but long story short is do not trust a Gibson sight unseen.
 
Re: Gibson LP aficionado's needed

Go play a bunch, and buy the one that you think is best. But I have to agree that with that budget, your best quality in a newish guitar will be a used Custom Shop model.

If resale is a factor, go play a bunch of Norlin Customs, and get the one that is all original that you like the best. It's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard of, but Norlin guitars are going nowhere but up in value. (It's dumb because their lower quality is a big part of the reason that the older ones originally became worth so much.) They are not like the old ones, but they are fine guitars. On the whole, better than, or at least equal to, what Gibson is building now IMHO (Custom Shop excluded).

If I had to bet on a range of years that can be reliably counted on to be well made, while still being affordable, and being a sound investment monetarily, it'd be the early to mid '90's. Gibson's quality was still on the upslope after the purchase from Norlin. They had something to prove at that time, and they were trying hard to make a quality product in order to get the brand's reputation back. Yet those years are only just now starting to hold value or increase in value. Get 'em before they get hot.
 
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Re: Gibson LP aficionado's needed

I will say this again: If it FEELS good, and SOUNDS good, it IS good.

Year of a Les Paul has little/no relevance. AT BEST it has a weak ciorrelation with co9nstruction features.

Norlin = 3 piece Maple necks, for example. As a group, some of the stronger ones ever made, brighter, and a very nice compromise between 50's baseball bats and 60's tooth picks.

A Les Paul is made of so many different pieces of wood any two made the same day can be night and day.

Pick it up and play it. Don't even LOOK at the year or ask until you have decided how you think and feel about the acoustic tone and the feel of the neck.
 
Re: Gibson LP aficionado's needed

Thanks guys for your input i really appreciate it.
Just to clarify though, the reason im asking for a certain vintage, is for the simple reason.
I need to narrow the search as to what i can realistically afford and demo. So to a extent i need some guidance and advise. i wont be buying anything off the internet and i can only travel as far as las vegas if push come to shove for a demo.
 
Re: Gibson LP aficionado's needed

I dont get when people pitch a fit about not buying a Les Paul just because the binding was not perfect or what ever. My '09 Les Paul Custom sounds and feels fantastic.....is everything perfect on it? no of course not, but do I let those things get in the way of me playing it? Heck no! I rock the crap out of it!

Not buying a guitar because the bingding it 100% perfect is stupid. As long as it feels good and sounds good, then it's good Is anyone in the audience or whatever going to notice if the binging on your les paul is not flawless? or are they going to notice if the finish is not perfect? no they are not. Stop pissing and moaning and go ROCK!

......end rant lol
 
Re: Gibson LP aficionado's needed

Just buy a pretty guitar, chicks don't care how they play or sound.
 
Re: Gibson LP aficionado's needed

I'll throw my lot in with TGWIF. Late 80s and early 90s are, by and large, good, but only because Henry J. was young and hungry and had a chip on his shoulder. There are still dogs out there-even from the heady 'Norlin recovery' years. My 93 is the slickest LP I've ever owned BUT I'm still going to let it go.

There is no real reason-it's warm yet bright, the refret is good (enough...grr), the color is individual and the top is almost maple-on-roids-even. It just isn't my 3pc top pancake 73 LPC. That thing, man...it's just me. Maybe a late 80s/early 90s is more you.
 
Re: Gibson LP aficionado's needed

Some statements made in this thread just need to be ignored.

1. there are magic years for production. Sorry, it just doesn't happen (apart from the golden age perhaps, but thats an unattainable type guitar for the masses so irrelevant to this thread). There are many that say the early 90's was great, but my first LP was a 93 and that sucked and was just dead.

2. Norlin LP's are junk. This is just so wrong I don't know where to start. They don't quite sound like the 50's ones to be sure, but there's plenty of good tones to be had from this era.......the Norlin Custom for example.
 
Re: Gibson LP aficionado's needed

There are no 'Magic' years. You need to judge your guitar on the guitar itself.

Anyone saying anything else is full of it
 
Re: Gibson LP aficionado's needed

AlexR said:
Some statements made in this thread just need to be ignored.

1. there are magic years for production. Sorry, it just doesn't happen (apart from the golden age perhaps, but thats an unattainable type guitar for the masses so irrelevant to this thread). There are many that say the early 90's was great, but my first LP was a 93 and that sucked and was just dead.

2. Norlin LP's are junk. This is just so wrong I don't know where to start. They don't quite sound like the 50's ones to be sure, but there's plenty of good tones to be had from this era.......the Norlin Custom for example.
Click to expand...

Ya i dont get why people say the norlin era gibsons are junk. Some of the best Les Paul players played on norlin era gibsons......John Sykes, Randy Rhoads......
 
Re: Gibson LP aficionado's needed

buckethead said:
thats a fair statement guy, but take into consideration what garbage what the 3 joint cbs fenders were, and the late 70's through early 80's gibby were and just garbage. Of course im gonna try before i buy and i know what to look and listen for. That being said i dont know much about the good "years " of gibson much. I buy to play and i see alot of session time and i would like some before hand general notice. which is why i ask for Aficionados not just plain ol joes for some advice.
Click to expand...

No you really don't.

'Garbage'? Hardly. Try finding as nice a piece of mahogany as I've got on my supposedly ****ty Norlin-era '78 LP Deluxe on a modern off-the-rack Gibson. Or the rosewood board for that matter.
 
Re: Gibson LP aficionado's needed

I really like my Historic Les Pauls. I have a '58 plaintop (2005), and two of the Guitar Center 1960 plaintop TobaccoBurst VOS models (2009, 2010); and then early this year, I bought a used 2006 '59 Iced Tea Burst figured top. If you can find a used Guitar Center G0 plaintop model, they are terrific values. If you like a bigger neck, then I'd say go for the '57 goldtop, or the '58 plaintop. Used, these plaintop models should all be well under your budget.

If you really want some figure in the top, a used Elegant or Class 5 model from the Custom Shop. Spectacular tops, but a different animal from the Historics. Same goes for the Supreme model. The Supreme was introduced in 2003, and the two I have are jaw-dropping gorgeous. I've seen used ones in the $2,200 to $2,700 range. Both the Supreme, and the Elegant models are chambered. And the Supreme has a maple cap on the back--so it is REALLY different than a Standard or a Custom. No control plate on the back--rewiring is MAJOR job, so take that into consideration if you want a platform for pickup swapping--a Supreme is probably not the guitar for you.

And if you want to do some pickup swapping, you might want to check out the LP 1960 Classic--those 496R/500T pickups are just waiting to be exchanged for a set of Seths, Antiquitys, or Pearly Gates pickups. My two are Classic Plus models from 1996 and 1997. They have gorgeous vintage-looking tops and the ABR-1 bridge (later versions have the Nashville style); and they don't have the hideous snot-green inlays. And I love the Classic's Slim-Taper neck. Mine seem to be a little fuller than most, and they fit my hand very well. I think the mid-'90s versions are the best, especially the Plus and the Premium Plus models. They don't have the same resonance as the Historic models, as they are fitted with a short neck tenon, but mine have about 90% of the feel, tone and vibe of the Historics--and they have that beautiful flame.

I would claim that Gibson's best years are from about 2003 to 2011. But like others have said, you have to find the guitar that speaks to you. The year it was made isn't really that important.

Bill
 
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