I want a Les Paul but....

spicoli

spicoli

New member
Hey guys, I want to buy a Les Paul.
Specifically, a Custom Shop '57 Gold Top Les Paul.
But I'm curious, are there builders out there that are making a better-than-Gibson-Les Paul? Using the best woods, parts, electronics, etc??

For example, Bill Nash - he's making killer Fender style guitars and basses. I know first hand because I own a Nash '57 P-Bass and it's incredible how much better it is than my MIA Fender Bass.

FYI - I'm not looking for a guy who does Relic jobs like Nash...just someone who is making a better than Gibson Les Paul at a much lower cost.

So, if some one can point me in the right direction, I'd really appreciate it.
 
Re: I want a Les Paul but....

Check out Heritage, Edwards? Who else... I am sure you could find some luthiers and custom shops online if you simply google custom guitars or hand made or "guitar luthier" or something of that nature.
 
Re: I want a Les Paul but....

I don't see the point in an expensive Les Paul that isn't a Gibson. I'm sure the likes of PRS do some better quality LP type guitars, but for a copy Les Paul surely it has to be the real thing?
 
Re: I want a Les Paul but....

Diocletian said:
I don't see the point in an expensive Les Paul that isn't a Gibson. I'm sure the likes of PRS do some better quality LP type guitars, but for a copy Les Paul surely it has to be the real thing?
Click to expand...

I see what you're saying and it's valid. But I'm not really hung up on the whole "Gotta be a Gibson" just like I didn't drop 3k+ on a Custom Shop Fender Relic P Bass when I knew I could opt for an equally fine Nash bass.

I have no issues with Gibson, I already have a Les Paul and love it but I'm concerned with quality and price. That's why I used Bill Nash as an example.
PRS is nice but outta the question...they look nothing like a les paul.

Thanks for your input.
 
Re: I want a Les Paul but....

BluesGuyJ said:
Check out Heritage, Edwards? Who else... I am sure you could find some luthiers and custom shops online if you simply google custom guitars or hand made or "guitar luthier" or something of that nature.
Click to expand...

I'll check out Heritage and Edwards. Thanks man.
 
Re: I want a Les Paul but....

Heritage is the old Gibson facility in Michigan. I think some former Gibson people stayed w/Heritage, although I have no idea if they are still there. Some of my friends have Heritage gtrs; they really liked them.
 
Re: I want a Les Paul but....

Thanks for the heads up thucydides. I also just came across Heatly Guitars. Geez louise...have you seen these? This guy builds really nice looking Les Paul type guitars called "Tradition Series". Beautiful!!
They got good marks on HC and some other guitar forum too. But naturally, thery're not exactly inexpensive since they're fully custom built to the buyer's specs.

Anyhow, I'll be doing some homework to familiarize myself with Heritage and some others.

Thanks.
 
Re: I want a Les Paul but....

spicoli said:
Thanks for the heads up thucydides. I also just came across Heatly Guitars. Geez louise...have you seen these? This guy builds really nice looking Les Paul type guitars called "Tradition Series". Beautiful!!
They got good marks on HC and some other guitar forum too. But naturally, thery're not exactly inexpensive since they're fully custom built to the buyer's specs.

Anyhow, I'll be doing some homework to familiarize myself with Heritage and some others.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Er, that "tradition series" looks to me more like a PRS than a Gibson LP....???
http://www.prsguitars.com/singlecuttrem/
http://www.prsguitars.com/singlecut/index.html


You SURE PRS look nothing like a Gibson? Looks as much like a Gibson as that Heatley one to me apart from the lack of a TOM bridge.

front.jpg
 
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Re: I want a Les Paul but....

I understand the quality of Bill Nash and Ken Smith, doing upgraded Fenders, but with Gibson Historics, there's nothing better, just different. If you owned the R7 and a bunch of others just like it, I'm quite sure you'd keep the Gibson. Gibson has been around for a Century because of that.
 
Re: I want a Les Paul but....

I don't this you can do better than the Gibson historics, statistically.

However, there will be competitor's model where individual ones come out better than a Monday historic. The forums concerned with historics have no shortage of disappointed people, namely in the area of neck shapes, misplaced hardware and sticky paint on the neck.

If you have a lot of time playing guitars you can cruise guitar shops and craigslist. Problem is that possible candidates are from Edwards, Tokai and the like and they are rare here in the U.S. Most people who want them Ebay them directly from Japan, and that is not exactly what I meant with "try many before you buy" :)

In my opinion, the R7 is a bargin. It goes for $1850 and up on Ebay, and given the amount of trouble invested (check out threads about neck tenons) that's pretty cheap. In particular if you compare it with Gibson US standards and, haha, Fender Custom Shop guitars (WTH?).
 
Re: I want a Les Paul but....

Diocletian said:
Er, that "tradition series" looks to me more like a PRS than a Gibson LP....???
http://www.prsguitars.com/singlecuttrem/
http://www.prsguitars.com/singlecut/index.html


You SURE PRS look nothing like a Gibson? Looks as much like a Gibson as that Heatley one to me apart from the lack of a TOM bridge.

front.jpg
Click to expand...

haha...my bad. I totally forgot about PRS's sincle cut model. I thought you were referring to the standard PRS body shape. In anycase, I don't really dig PRS guitars. They're nice but not my cup of tea. And yeah, the Heatleys do look more like the PRS SC models. All nice but might as well get a Custom Shop Gibby since they're all in a similar price range...give or take a few $.

Alot of my reasoning has to so with experience playing some of the best Gibson has to offer and just not really being sold. It seems like it's kinda hit and miss. I've played the best Fender Custom Shops too and some are clearly better than others (all things considered). None of the Gibsons are bad - far from it but the ones that are stellar are really out of reach price wise.

We shall see.
 
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Re: I want a Les Paul but....

I've owned a dozen Pauls over the last 20 years - an Edwards, an Orville by Gibson, two Epis and 8 Gibsons, and my R7 is by some distance the best of them. It is an absolutely incredible instrument.

That said, the Edwards and Orville were better than several of the non-Custom Shop Gibsons - and I'm sure that some dogs slip through the Custom Shop net.

Personally, I can't recommend the R7 highly enough.
 
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