Re: Tell Me About Les Paul Customs Please
I have never found a Custom that I could really bond with, so that puts me in the camp of the Standard/Classic/Special. But somehow, I seem to have wound up with 10 LPs, and I do have favorites out of that bunch.
Hands down, the two Custom Shop/Guitar Center Historic 1960 Tobaccoburst VOS LPs are my favorites. One in particular, really stands out. These two, and my full gloss Washed Cherry Historic R8 feel like the Les Pauls that I found hanging on the walls of the pawnshops I visited back in the mid-1960s--the ones from the Fifties with the $150 price tags. (Doh!!) They just have a feel and resonance the others can't match.
I've upgraded my two mid-1990's 1960 Classic Plus models to get about 90% of the vibe of the Historics; with Antiquity and Seth Lover 50th Anniversary pickups, RS Kits and lightweight tailpieces. Great sounding guitars, with the moderate figure you'd see on the vintage guitars in Iwanade's Beauty Of the Burst book. Still, in terms of the acoustic resonance, the Historics have an edge--and I attribute that to their long tenon.
My short-tenon Elegant sounds and feels suprisingly close to the 1960 Classics even with its chambered body and coumpound radius ebony fingerboard. The factory Classic '57s sound sweet and warm, with less twang and bite than the Historics' Burstbucker 1 & 2 sets. The typical faster attack of the ebony fingerboard is muted by the chambered body; so not much to choose between this guitar and the 1960 Classic Plus' rosewood board and weight-relieved body. And they all weigh in at 9.1 lbs., even the chambered Elegant.
I have two of the now discontinued Classic Antique Series. Both are from the 2007 Guitar Of The Week series; identical except for the finish. Both are chambered, with Slim-Taper necks, and a Classic '57 and Classic '57 pickup set. They were relatively inexpensive as Pauls go; but I got great deals on both of them, and making them excellent values. Both play well, and have the same level of body resonance as the Historics--shocking, since the have the short tenon. They are very lightweight, obviously chambered, and at high volume they feel alive in my hands--like a 335 would. The Classic Plus in the bridge is all about rock and roll, and has a thick midrange tonality that is incredibly FAT. The Fireburst finish is cool; the other's Tom Morgan Graphic is jaw-dropping--you love it or hate it. (And it gets A LOT of attention from women!!)
Finally, I have my two Supremes, which are as close to a Custom as I've gotten. Honestly, I'm not sure I would have bought these guitars; but both of them had repaired headstocks and I got them dirt cheap. Both repairs are very stable, and I don't think they have any effect whatsoever on the tone. The Supreme has a heavily inlayed real MOP ebony fingerboard, but unlike the Custom it has a chambered body, and it has a second flamed maple cab on the back of the body. There is no cut-out for the control cavity--you have to go in through the over-sized jackplate--a total PITA. These have their own neck profile, which is neither '59 nor Slim Taper. It's good, but after playing the other guitars it feels weird to me. These are short tenon necks, and with all that maple, there's not much body resonance. The tone is what I would characterize as "classic" LP Custom tone: fast attack, focused, and with excellent sustain.
The Root Beer Supreme has Seth Lovers and an RS Kit installed--a major improvement over the factory pots and 490R/498T. The other big improvement came from fitting a LW Gotoh aluminum tailpiece. It not only lowered the weight from 9.3 to 9.1 lbs., but added a bit of top end "air" to the guitar. I think these changes have made the Supreme a more versatile guitar. The Supreme really does have it's roots in the hard rocking Custom, and the LW tailpiece and the Seth have made it a bit more "civilized and cultured"; able to fit in anywhere. It is nearly as versatile as my 335, and I think that is saying something. The 8.9 lb. Heritage Cherry SB Supreme is still unmodified, but I think a set of Pearly Gates and a LW Tonepros Tailpiece I got for it will have a similar effect. Now whether these mods constitute "improvement" is entirely a matter of taste; so YMMV.
My first Les Paul was my only LP for 25 years. I'd really love to have my 1975 '55 Special Reissue back, but I had to sell it. It was about four months old when I bought it. Alembic was selling a kit to upgrade P90s around that time, and I have always suspected that the original owner installed that kit. Those pickups were hot, fat and agressive--nasty even. They were noisy as hell too, even after I sheilded it, but they sounded wonderful. I learned to love the plainess--it seemd like a good stablemate to my plain-jane D-18. I'm not a big fan of Norlin-era Gibsons, but they did a pretty good job on this one.
The one Custom that I did fall in love with was the 1968 Tri-Burst model the Gibson Custom Shop was building for Guitar Center a few years ago. On paper, these matched up very well to the Custom Shop '59 Historic LP--for about $1500 less. The color might not have been my first choice, but there can be no argument that these were drop-dead gorgeous guitars. All of the ones I played were set up well and sounded great, and I loved the 1960 Slim-Taper necks. But sadly, the ones I looked at all weighed in at a minimum of 10 lbs., too heavy for my tastes. Darn shame, too.
If there is one universal truth, it is that you must try a guitar before you buy it. In the Seventies, I probably played 15-20 LP Customs and just couldn't seem to find one that I liked--and then the '55 Special fell into my lap, and it was love at first sight. I'd wanted a guitar with the elegance and bling of the Custom; it turned out that the guitar with the pedestrian looks and working class roots won me over with it's tone and playability.
And with the plaintop Historics I have, there is still a sense that these guitars are working man's guitars--not built to be hung on a wall and displayed. I love bling as much as the next guy, but when it comes down to it, it is the tone that is the most important issue.
Good luck.
Bill
mg: Jeebus, I'm praying for him it's not a forgery! 
