I Bought Another "Cheap-ish" Lester....

Nostalgic Distortion

Nostalgic Distortion

New member
image.jpg

Well technically it's a 2016 L.P. Special Plus, & it was a floor model, but I still got one heck of a deal on it!!! The bound neck & lighter weight inherent to "Capless" L.P. Special's were the main selling points for me however there's a few things that I'll have to change or buy upon arrival...

This is going to come with a gig bag instead of a hard case which just won't work for me. Not because I plan on gigging it extensively or anything mind you, but because my 8 month old is just bloody psychotic in his walker, LOL!!! Also it comes stock with Kluson button tuners which in my experience are kinda hit or miss so they might have to be replaced? I mean generally I'm not super picky about tuners or their gear ratio but I do like the to function properly! Lastly this guitar comes loaded with a uncovered 498T/490R set. Definitely not my favorite humbuckers in the world but I can live with them for a while if need be....



Overall I'm pretty excited about it! It's probably not a guitar that I would have bought new for full price but I figure for what I spent on it ($500 SHIPPED!!!) I can afford to address some of these aspects of the sale that I wasn't crazy about? I'm hoping that I can get myself a used L.P. case locally because buying them used online SUCKS!!! You typically pay nearly as much for the shipping as the case is worth....
 
Last edited:
Re: I Bought Another "Cheap-ish" Lester....

Sounds like fun!

I put locking tuners on everything, but save original parts if you do swap in case u sell it down the road.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk
 
Re: I Bought Another "Cheap-ish" Lester....

That is a score. Give the pickups some time you might learn to like them. I find them best for 70's arena rock and 80's metal. Go bust you out a bit of Aerosmith or AC/DC with that axe.
 
Re: I Bought Another "Cheap-ish" Lester....

thats a good deal on a cool guitar. i had a special for a while and it sounded great once i swapped pups. i didnt have issues with the tuners but did need to touch up the nut slots a bit.
 
Re: I Bought Another "Cheap-ish" Lester....

Glad to see I'm not alone.

My Epi Les Paul has Grovers and they're terrific, very stable, accurate and smooth.
My 339 has Klusons and they're a mess. Easily the worst hardware in the guitar IMO.

I can't wait to drop a set of locking tuners on it and forget about them.
 
Re: I Bought Another "Cheap-ish" Lester....

Nostalgic Distortion said:
Also it comes stock with Kluson button tuners which in my experience are kinda hit or miss so they might have to be replaced? I mean generally I'm not super picky about tuners or their gear ratio but I do like the to function properly!
Click to expand...

The 'Gibson Deluxe' Kluson-style tuners can be hit and miss. I've played good ones, and had some stinkers too. The stock tuners on my SG Standard had horrible post wobble, so keeping that guitar in tune was a chore. I replaced them with a set of Gotoh SD90s and it's been much better since.

Diego said:
Glad to see I'm not alone.

My Epi Les Paul has Grovers and they're terrific, very stable, accurate and smooth.
My 339 has Klusons and they're a mess. Easily the worst hardware in the guitar IMO.

I can't wait to drop a set of locking tuners on it and forget about them.
Click to expand...

I'm not familiar with the Kluson tuners that Epi uses, so I can't comment on them specifically. Have you been able to identify the specific issue? I stumbled on the issue with my SG's tuners during a string change one day and it was suddenly obvious why that guitar would never stay in tune.
 
Re: I Bought Another "Cheap-ish" Lester....

If the nut is clean you shouldn't have any issues with those tuners at all, I use them on several guitars with zero issues.

I freaking love that guitar ND, good luck with it
 
Re: I Bought Another "Cheap-ish" Lester....

Nice score. Sounds like a great test bed for pickups. I have an LP Studio I got for a similar deal and have used it to learn as much as I can about pickups and wiring options. Almost my de facto #1 because I use it so much.
 
Re: I Bought Another "Cheap-ish" Lester....

dystrust said:
I'm not familiar with the Kluson tuners that Epi uses, so I can't comment on them specifically. Have you been able to identify the specific issue? I stumbled on the issue with my SG's tuners during a string change one day and it was suddenly obvious why that guitar would never stay in tune.
Click to expand...

Their ratio just doesn't work for me. They're very jumpy, and the nut is correctly set so the issue is not there.
They're not very good compared to the Grovers in my Les Paul, and flat-out suck compared to the Fender locking tuners in my Tele. That thing's really solid.
 
Re: I Bought Another "Cheap-ish" Lester....

Thanks guys!!! When I eventually get around to changing the pickups I think I might go with a set of Phat Cats or a SH-16 bridge & a Phat Cat neck?

As for the tuners, personally I think if you're nut is cut & lubricated properly just about any tuners can be made to work just fine. I mean I have an old acoustic that has what I believe are 6-1 ratio tuners on it, that thing stays in tune for weeks at a time!!! On the other hand I've got a L.P. Junior that has 18-1 Schaller locking tuners on it, until I addressed the nut on it the thing wouldn't stay in tune for more than 5 minutes at any given time no matter what I did.....
 
Re: I Bought Another "Cheap-ish" Lester....

For the record, I would not call a $600 guitar cheap. I am still playing my $375 80' Iceman decades later and it still outplays some of my high-end stuff.
 
Re: I Bought Another "Cheap-ish" Lester....

how much is $375 in those dollars worth today?
 
Re: I Bought Another "Cheap-ish" Lester....

Securb said:
For the record, I would not call a $600 guitar cheap. I am still playing my $375 80' Iceman decades later and it still outplays some of my high-end stuff.
Click to expand...


Hence the "ISH"...

Don't get me wrong $500 is a lot of money!!! That's roughly a months mortgage & car payment for a fair amount of the American population. Obviously not if you live in Manhattan but there's a fair amount of people here living off less..

However $500 is responsibly cheap for a all Mahogany set neck Gibson in this condition. I'm pretty sure it would have been a good deal even in 1980? Of course I really wouldn't know, I was born about 3 days before Lennon was shot...
 
Last edited:
Re: I Bought Another "Cheap-ish" Lester....

In '87 I paid $750 for my brandy new LP Custom that included tax and the chainsaw case
 
Re: I Bought Another "Cheap-ish" Lester....

Wattage said:
In '87 I paid $750 for my brandy new LP Custom that included tax and the chainsaw case
Click to expand...

In 1987 my biggest accomplishments were fingerpainting, picking my nose, & sleeping through the night without wetting my big boy bed....

LOL!!!
 
Last edited:
Re: I Bought Another "Cheap-ish" Lester....

I like the Specials but prefer the P90's. I do some browsing for a good deal on a P90 special or a junior special fairly frequently. Haven't come across anything that made me bite yet.
 
Re: I Bought Another "Cheap-ish" Lester....

image.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpg

I got the guitar on Monday & after living with it for a couple days I've got to say I'm pretty happy about the purchase! I mean with the flat top, bound neck, & tummy cut it reminds me more of an S.G. Standard than a L.P. but it's a great player!

As for the tuners they aren't great but they function just fine so I think I'm going to leave them for a while? They're gear ratio isn't very high but it stays in tune rather well & to be honest after all the G-Force systems I've had to remove/replace over the past few years it's kinda nice to buy a Gibson & for that not to be a priority.....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

idsnowdog
What does $25 buy?
2
Replies
22
Views
412
Artie
Artie
T
Do you have cases for all your guitars?
2
Replies
28
Views
442
NotDemanic
NotDemanic
Ascension
NOS Wasburn Chicago Custom body and neck project
Replies
7
Views
226
Artie
Artie
S
Another pick thread
2 3 4
Replies
70
Views
2K
JMP/HBE
JMP/HBE
W
Locking tuners and strings with low tension
2 3
Replies
52
Views
804
JMP/HBE
JMP/HBE
Back
Top