I wanna Les Paul

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KimBongIll420

New member
Been rocking a strat for like ever, but wanna get a Les Paul now. I was gonna go pick one out at Guitar Center, but my roomate said the new ones aren't made the right way. So what's the cheapest I can buy one thats made like a les paul is sposed to be made?
 
Re: I wanna Les Paul

Just get a decent Gibson. They are made well, if you want completely historically accurate guitar you'll start looking at about $2400 used....
 
Re: I wanna Les Paul

KimBongIll420 said:
Been rocking a strat for like ever, but wanna get a Les Paul now. I was gonna go pick one out at Guitar Center, but my roomate said the new ones aren't made the right way. So what's the cheapest I can buy one thats made like a les paul is sposed to be made?
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This has been debated over sooo much on this forum. A quick search will wield a lot of results.

If you want my 2c; purists will claim that any new LP is not right, but I believe that there are some great guitars out there. QC hasn't been the best at the Gibson faction, but if you play it first, you can find some real gems. I'm not crazy over the new Standard; the pickups don't do it for me, nor does the neutrix jack and other appointments. I do like the Traditional though, in fact I own one. The standard is chambered, the traditional is weight relieved. Now, that's another debate, usually at the center of "how a LP is suppose to be made". One has resonant chambers designed to be there, the other has holes to relieve weight, but is still mostly solid. The Traditionals tend to feel heavier, and well, more traditional. The 57 classic pickups are also pretty awesome. I kept them in my LP, and have them in my ES339. Good pickups.

The best advice, in my opinion, is not to worry about it to much, and listen to your ears and hands.
 
Re: I wanna Les Paul

What about other brands? Is anyone making Les Pauls the old way that isn't Gibson? Maybe its kinda dumb, but I want one like my heros played back in the day. What about Epiphone?
 
Re: I wanna Les Paul

I have one of the Faded LPs and I can assure you it sounds and plays exactly as you would want a Les Paul to. No it doesnt have the fancy binding and such, but used, they cost about the same as a new Epiphone.
 
Re: I wanna Les Paul

Would that be enough to get a new one without holes or anything? Do they even make them? Does everyone do the holes?
 
Re: I wanna Les Paul

KimBongIll420 said:
Would that be enough to get a new one without holes or anything? Do they even make them? Does everyone do the holes?
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Well, if it makes you feel better; through an overdriven marshall stack, if you could pick, out of a pool of 10 Les Pauls, where 5 had holes and 5 did not, which ones had the holes; you would be my hero.
 
Re: I wanna Les Paul

Not to ignite the whole "only a Les Paul is good enough" flame war, but there are those who swear by the mighty wooden slab. Some of our forum brethren are passionate about having the real thing, and scornfully poop on those who opt out for a less expensive alternative.

Having said that, Agileguy 101 raises a valid point. You can score any number of singlecut alternatives, all of them worthy guitars. You don't have to cough up one of your nads to obtain a decent 'inspired by' model.

Epi has been reduced from a first-line manufacturer to the Gibson budget brand, but hunting for a good one can be fruitful. Try an LP Standard for about $400.

Agile has some models that come quite close, and leave more than enough room in the budget for a pup upgrade.

PRS SE Mark Tremonti's are another way to go, as well as an Ibanez ART 500E, but if you absolutely must have that name on the head stock, a Studio Faded will run about $800 new. If you hunt for a used one, you may get some breathing room anywhere from 500 to maybe 700.
 
Re: I wanna Les Paul

reggie has good points but ill put forth that a gibson les paul studio is no more a "les paul" than an epiphone.


if it was me i would look at a used 1957-1960 gibson reissue from the custom shop assuming you want humbuckers. these are great guitars and made the way they should be. not inexpensive though. the differences between the years are basically finish, neck shape and fret size so figure out which one suits you best.

you can spend alot less than that and get a good guitar. if you want something close to what, say mick taylor played, then a '59 ri is the guitar. its also a few grand used.

there is nothing wrong with an epiphone les paul but it only resembles the vintage gibson models
 
Re: I wanna Les Paul

I'm just going to butt in here to say hooray for Les Paul guitars with P90s.

Earlier today, my local Fender dealer twisted my arm to try a limited edition Telecaster constructed from a species of wood that has never appeared on a Telecaster before. (Shock, horror! Do I hear cork sniffers shrivelling and dying?)

That "historically inaccurate" Telecaster sounded absolutely fan-effing-tastic. I want it. Now.
 
Re: I wanna Les Paul

Funkfingers said:
I'm just going to butt in here to say hooray for Les Paul guitars with P90s.

Earlier today, my local Fender dealer twisted my arm to try a limited edition Telecaster constructed from a species of wood that has never appeared on a Telecaster before. (Shock, horror! Do I hear cork sniffers shrivelling and dying?)

That "historically inaccurate" Telecaster sounded absolutely fan-effing-tastic. I want it. Now.
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but it didnt sound like a telecaster :D

i love humbuckers in a tele but it doesnt sound like a tele
 
Re: I wanna Les Paul

I think the OP is a troll but whatever.

I won't advise anyone on whether they want a "proper" Les Paul. The following is written for those that do. That means no weight relief, no swiss-chessing, no chambering, an ABR-1 bridge with ABR-1 posts, no sleeved on headplate, no extra chunk of wood in the heel.

There are a couple good ways to get that:
  • Older MIJ Guitars such as Greco, Burny, Tokai and a few others.
  • Newer historic line Les Pauls. The cheap ones (R7 gold tops and R8 plain tops) cost $2200-$2500 but are worth it compared to a swiss-cheesed or chambered Nashvilled run-of-the-mill LP Standard that costs $1600 or so. The latter are the overpriced ones, IMHO, unless a flame top is very important to you. You will have difficulty getting a LP that is "proper" and flame top.

Some people have good success with current high-end Les Pauls of Asian origin such as Edwards (made in China but assembled in Japan). I never had one of those.
 
Re: I wanna Les Paul

ip doesnt match any of jerrys, does match some one in memphis though
 
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