I get lost in the Gibson Les Paul forest.

[Lazarus1140]

There are 17 pages of Les Pauls on the Gibson website, and the range of prices confuse me. I mean, I understand that a signature model will cost more so the named guitarist gets his cut, and I get that some models have binding here and there while others don't, but otherwise I am baffled by the menu.

I haven't owned a Gibson of any kind since I sold my 225 to TGWIF, and I've never owned a Les Paul, so I think the time has come. But I don't want to spend a fortune. So I went to a GC to try out a 2018 "Higher Class" Studio ($1,649 list - less $200 retail). It actually sounded good to me and I appreciate the weight relief, but I can't adjust to the plain 12" radius neck.

Then I tried another model (that's right - I can't remember what it was) that was also weight relieved, was factory Pleked, had a 10"-16" compound radius, and was about $1,000 more expensive, but I didn't care for the tone.

If they're like Fenders, six identical models all in a row will all sound and feel at least slightly different. Do you have to spend over $3,000 to get into serious archtop tone territory?

 

[Mr. B]

Re: I get lost in the Gibson Les Paul forest.

If you are just looking for good Les Paul tone, the neck radius is not really going to effect that. If you want a compound 10-16" radius (which is not normal for Les Pauls) then it will severely limit your choice of models.

 

[PS412]

Re: I get lost in the Gibson Les Paul forest.

Sounds like you want a gibson but ibanez arz line may work for you.

 

[Wattage]

Re: I get lost in the Gibson Les Paul forest.

12" Radius is standard on LP's anything else you are looking at will be a special model, HP build or something like that.

Why not find an LP you like and have a quality tech do a refret to the radius you want? You might not find a lot bridges out there to support a flat radius for an LP. Least not in my experience.

***I guess the new Standard has a compound radius, I thought it was only the HP models***

 

[greekdude]

Re: I get lost in the Gibson Les Paul forest.

Sounds like you want a gibson but ibanez arz line may work for you.

I got my LP side covered with a 700 EUR ARZ800. Never looked again at the gibson site.

 

[greekdude]

Re: I get lost in the Gibson Les Paul forest.

12" Radius is standard on LP's anything else you are looking at will be a special model, HP build or something like that.

Why not find an LP you like and have a quality tech do a refret to the radius you want? You might not find a lot bridges out there to support a flat radius for an LP. Least not in my experience.

I thought the norm was 10" ?

 

[dystrust]

Re: I get lost in the Gibson Les Paul forest.

I thought the norm was 10" ?

Vintage Les Pauls were 12", but a lot of the newer Gibsons are 10". I've never measured my LP, but my Explorer is 10".

 

[PS412]

Re: I get lost in the Gibson Les Paul forest.

I got my LP side covered with a 700 EUR ARZ800. Never looked again at the gibson site.

Yea I have an arz ir 20 fb. Nice guitar. I also have a 07 ish les paul custom, also a nice guitar. It all depends on the day as to which is "better".

 

[romeorose]

Re: I get lost in the Gibson Les Paul forest.

Neck radius is only important if you play chords, you will want vintage 7.5 or 9.5 like old fenders. If you Shred like me you will want a 16" straight radius. Advantage of 12" and higher radius is you can have lower action and do crazy 2 step bends anywhere without choking or fretting out.

If you like Les paul but can't live with 12" radius then check out ESP ltd1000 like a Paul, or maybe Jackson monarck kinda like a Paul, but both more playable for shred.

Best Les Paul is the 2018 traditional. $2,400 zzounds or Sweetwater. They have NO weight relief, and they got original bridge and orange drop capacitors. No crap like zero fret or robo tuners. Just a Les Paul the way they used to always be made.

 

[Wattage]

Re: I get lost in the Gibson Les Paul forest.

Vintage Les Pauls were 12", but a lot of the newer Gibsons are 10". I've never measured my LP, but my Explorer is 10".

Never saw an LP with a straight 10" radius, there are new models with a 10-16 compound.

If you can live with an Epiphone the Trad Pro LP's have a 14" radius but the bridge measures a 12" radius

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: I get lost in the Gibson Les Paul forest.

If they're like Fenders, six identical models all in a row will all sound and feel at least slightly different. Do you have to spend over $3,000 to get into serious archtop tone territory?

IME 6 similar models in the same class won't sound and feel that much different, but they will have nuanced differences. Differences are huge only if you are comparing like the bottom of the line with the top of the line.

So you are wanting archtop tone from a solid body? I think you would need to find an ES Les Paul for archtop tone. Specs looked like those would be great guitars - had A3 in the neck, laminate top so controlled on the feedback.

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: I get lost in the Gibson Les Paul forest.

Mine has a 12 inch radius

Maybe you need to look at an ES Paul
If you want an archtop tone
They are in the 3K range

They will commonly knock off 1/3 if you really want it

 

[LLL]

Re: I get lost in the Gibson Les Paul forest.

I get lost in the Gibson Les Paul forest.

I agree.

So:

 

[Mincer]

Re: I get lost in the Gibson Les Paul forest.

I don't know anyone that can keep all of the LP models straight. I mean, it helps that there is the traditional series and the HP series now, but even with them, it is confusing. It would be gret if there was just a traditional model and an HP model, and the rest you get to specify when you order it.

 

[Chris0709]

Re: I get lost in the Gibson Les Paul forest.

Don't discount the effect of neck profile. If the radius threw you off on a slim neck maybe a thicker neck profile that's offered on some would be more comfortable. That being said, I usually go slim and flat or thick and curved, not the other way around, but everyone is different.

 

[Aceman]

Re: I get lost in the Gibson Les Paul forest.

First, WTF is "serious arch top tone" ???? You are playing Les PAuls, not 335's. Get that crap right out of your head. A Mahogany maple cap rosewood board rosewood neck Les Paul standard should be a deep warm, low mid pumped sound with a nice but not overly pronounced high end. There should be gobs of sustain. Acoustically. It will not 'snap' or chime like a Strat. It will also not have the acoustic woody tone or bass of an arch top.

Now that we have that out of the way...point two. They will mostly sound the same no matter what other goofiness Gibson did. Out of any, say, ten, there will be a darker one, and perhaps a brighter one. Let's say two darker sounding ones. I agree that the sonic mojo of wood that goes into LP's is way more complex than Strats. yes - the seven middle ones will all sound a little different here or there. That's just what happ[ens when you have a mahogany slab, 1-3 pieces of maple, a piece of rosewood (or who knows what) and some more mahogany. You might hit warm pieces, bright pieces, dead pieces, lively pieces, etc. So if you are listening that close listen close.

Important note: IGNORE THE PICKUPS!!!! This being a pickup forum you may have noticed they get replaced from everything from Seth's to Blackouts and everything in between, including wiring and magnet surgery.

As for Gibson's chopping about with holes, chambers, solids, and whatever else $h!tdickery they have done upon the guitar - IGNORE THAT!!!!!!! Don't even ask. Pick it up, feel, it. Play it. Let the sound sink in. Feel the resonance and hear it with your hands and your ears. Then decide. A crap ton of people had THE MOST RIGHTEOUS SOUNDING LP EVER!!!!! And then a decade later found out they had short tenon weight relieved guitars. Suddenly the guitars tone instantly mysteriously died. Don't be 'that' guy.

If it feels good, and sounds good, it is good.

Remember - a 2 x 4 with a SuperDistortion sounds pretty much the same as a 59 Black Beauty with SuperDistortions, when both heard through a cranked JCM800.

This whole "Which of the 37 flavors of Les Paul is for me" is part of Gibson's's business stupidity. There are so many damn Oreo flavors these days I just buy the store brand sandwhich cookies. How did we ever make Live at Leeds, Zoso, Deguello, Don't Look Back, ALIVE, and Appetitie for Destruction without all of these super awesome choices???

Answer: You chose Studio, Standard, or Custom and got on with the business of making music - that's how.

 

[voggin]

Re: I get lost in the Gibson Les Paul forest.

From 2012 on, the Les Paul Standard had a compound radius. If I were you, I'd look for a used 2012-2014. You might get your best price on a 2014: it had a "120 anniversary" inlay on fret twelve, which some people, especially purists, didn't like, so that year might be a bit cheaper.

If you go used, you can probably get a used standard for the same price as a new studio.

If the radius isn't a deal killer from your point of view, a used studio is a great place to start with Les Pauls. I have a 2010 studio, chambered, the same year as my standard, which is chambered as well. It is every bit as good a guitar as the standard: the cost difference is in the fancy finish, binding, etc. But I put a pair of Whole Lotta Humbuckers in my Studio, and it is just a fantastic guitar. And you can get used studios all over the place at a good price, which saves you the money to put in your flavour of pickups. You also don't have that, "Oh, crap! Can I take this out to play? What if it gets damaged" concern if you're bringing a $600 used studio (I got mine for $400, compared to $1500 for my used standard).

Interestingly, I always thought binding was purely decorative, but my studio, which I bought used, has a few dings exactly where the binding would have been, so I guess binding has a function as well.

 

[voggin]

Re: I get lost in the Gibson Les Paul forest.

P.S. The other great thing about a used studio is you'll always get your money back if you decide you have to have a blingy-er model. Just keep the stock pickups if you swap: upgraded pickups don't increase the value of a used LP. Most Studios come stock with a 498b/490n set, which has fans and detractors. Individually, I like both pickups, but I had a hard time dialing them in together on my amps (but that could just be me, although I know others have expressed the same problem.)

 

[Aceman]

Re: I get lost in the Gibson Les Paul forest.

A Les Paul Studio is all the Les Paul you really need....

 

[Lazarus1140]

Re: I get lost in the Gibson Les Paul forest.

Well, it must have been a Standard that I tried and liked the compound radius neck, but the body was absolutely dead. I need to try a few more of those. The GC I visited is the smallest one I've ever been in ... very limited inventory.

Post 4 is a nice read:

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?199723-Chambered-LPs-vs-Weight-Relieved