Re: R7's and R8's are steals now!
^ I didnt know either. R), R6, R7, R8 and R9, but i did find THIS:
QUOTE-"the R series is built to the same exact standards as the originals. I think a regular Les Paul Standard from today has some modernizations to it. I know the pickups are different for sure ... they use 490T and 498T ceramic pickups. The R series is supposed to be a point-by-point reconstruction of an original from whatever year, 1957, etc. Vintage-style pickups, too. My R8 is the best Les Paul I've ever played, and it has Bustbucker pickups in it. I've owned four LP's, one of them being an original Black Beauty Custom from 1969, that had the original Pat. pickups in it. The R8 kills it, though.
The disclaimer that I'll give, though, is that Gibson is so inconsistent. Just because it's an "R" series guitar doesn't mean it will be a good one. I played other R8's side-by-side with the one I ended up getting, and the others weren't nearly as good overall. Bottom line ... try before you buy. There is nothing in the world like a great Les Paul, but you really have to try them first. A lot of them are real dogs, sorry to say.
Doc
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#14
06-25-2008, 01:10 PM
Tuco
Member Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Pacific NW, USA
Posts: 76
I'm gonna be as brief as possible.
The Gibson Custom Shop Historic Les Pauls are Gibson's best attempts at recreating the iconic Les Pauls of the '50s. Since the official program got started in the '90s, they have used many original examples as templates for their reissues. However, and the real nitpickers will agree, Gibson's Custom Shop has consistently failed to get all of the details right. Complaints have ranged from incorrect top carves to wrong glues in assembly to lack of Brazilian Rosewood to lack of top notch electronics to the dreaded truss-rod condom, and the list goes on and on. However, most would agree that they are a better choice for a "replica" than any of Gibson's other efforts.
When compared to Gibson's other LPs, the Custom Shop gets first choice of the woods. While machines do much of the rough carving, the CS instruments do get a lot of hand shaping and other personal attention.
The Custom Shop's program has undergone a number of changes through the years. Instruments from the '90s are well respected for their accurate neck shapes (for some reason, the necks took on more shoulder in the 2000s). However these same instruments had their flame "enhanced", something the original LPs certainly did not have.
Also, the ABR-1s on the 2002 instruments lack a retaining wire, just like the originals. But that only lasted one year.
In 2003, the marketing department decided that people were getting a bargain on the R8s, because while they sported flame tops often as good as the R9s, but the retail price was cheaper. So from 2003 forward, the R8 has been a plaintop burst (there are a few exceptions here and there).
Quote:Originally Posted by shawntp
also - were there really that many differences going on in Les Pauls between 1956-1960?
I imagine p90 to humbucker but I for one have never understood the market for each individual year and the changes implemented in the various reissues.
No, there weren't many differences in the original LPs between '56 and '60, except for the switch to humbuckers in '57 and the switch to a slim-taper neck in '60. Some will argue that the switch in humbuckers from long to short magnets was a profound change in PAFs, but there seem to be many detractors to this arguement.
One should keep in mind that guitar production in the '50s involved much more hand work than today. Today's computer aided machines allow tighter tolerances and specs. Instruments from the '50s and '60s will vary more when it comes to necks shapes, top carves, and hardware placement.
Quote:Originally Posted by smolder
So - an R9 can be a reissue, a historic, and a custom shop or not? Would a classic be called an R7, R8?
The R* designations are reserved for the Gibson Custom Shop Historic Reissue program.
Hmm, that's a lot more than I thought I would say, and there's a lot more I could say, but unfortunately, I don't have time at this moment.
#15
06-25-2008, 01:14 PM
MikeB_18
Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Southeastern, PA
Posts: 358
Quote:Originally Posted by smolder
So - an R9 can be a reissue, a historic, and a custom shop or not? Would a classic be called an R7, R8?
An R9 is a Historic model as are the rest of the "R" guitars. All Historics are made in the Custom Shop.
No, a Classic is a standard production USA model, although not to confuse you but I have seen a few Classic's that are made in the Custom Shop, however they have a stamp on the back of the neck" -END QUOTE
