Slackmaster2K, LP Custom Question

gibs

gibs

New member
Not really just for Slack, but for anyone who has one......I got to mess with one in Dallas......and I totally dig the ebony fret board....I also loved the wine red.......

BUT...I'm leery of the gold hardware somehow......so tell me.....does it hold up?......or start looking kinda bad.....I'm not really a gold hardware kinda guy, but I guess I could be one if I was sure it would still look good in X years.....I don't gig out, so the thing wouldn't have any travel abuse for sure.....

Same store had a Standard in wine red with the chrome hw, but obviously no ebony board......but I loved it....less binding, and not as cool a headstock........neck different but still close to the custom......lotsa mojo....

I am not a huge fan of bursts, just personal taste, and the wine red did a thang on me on both of them.......probably the purists think that's shit, though, lol.......

I didn't crank either guitar, just fiddled around unplugged....the store was full of shredders at the time, using the two available "customer" amps.....but both sounded about the same acoustically.....I might add, I'm no lead player, but the few generic riffs I have had a great sound bouncing off the wood of these things, as did the chunka chords I managed....

So really, two questions: Will the gold hold up?...and can I really justify an ebony board if i'm not a very good "lead" player?...it seemed way different from the rosewood....harder or something....kinda slippery, actually......

Thanks to anyone who replies......I WILL have one of these models within the next two weeks......economically, probably the wine red Standard.....but if I get manic, maybe the wine red custom.......gibs
 
Sorry Gibs, not Slack here. He got called off to a meeting.

I've owned a few customs. The last one I sold was 1990. Black, and all gold coloured hardware.

That's a relatively new one though. What were you looking at in the store, new or used?

I can try to answer the two questions.

"So really, two questions: Will the gold hold up?"

Who cares if it does or not. Hold up to what? For how long? Just play it, if it goes silver, replace it. Cheap enough even using genuine gibson replacement parts.

"..and can I really justify an ebony board if i'm not a very good "lead" player?...it seemed way different from the rosewood....harder or something....kinda slippery, actually...... "

Ebony board? or the binding or bit of inlay? Sorry , got me confused there.

Lead/smeed. The only thing affecting the playing is the player, not the instrument.

No doubt, some guitars are easier to play than others, but there is a division between what the instrument is capable of, and what the player can play.
 
Thanks E........

Both brand new in the store....well, I didn't check the S/N's, but at least not previously owned.....

Re: gold hardware....that is evidently one of the reasons the Custom is more expensive, so if it rubs off , I'd kinda like to know in advance...it would make the chrome on the Standard make more sense...

Re: ebony fretboard.....I loved the look of it more than the feel of it, but I didn't hate the feel either, just feel confused by the use of it, I guess.....I've always had a preference for rosewood over maple, for instance....to me, that's a real obvious difference.....so I assumed that the ebony may have been used for the benifit of really good players as opposed to a great cosmetic look....not being a great player, it's one of the things I wouldn't know....and again, the bony is one more reason for the price difference between the Custom and the Standard....the binding on the neck was the same as the Standard.......inlays were flush on both...........

I think there may be a couple of other features that determine the price diff between the two....the rounded necks are slightly different, and the binding on the body of the Custom is HUGE.....and I wish the Standard had the cool headstock.....so I guess it all comes down (if I get a definitive answer about the hardware) to mainly the headstock and the hardware....lol.......gibs
 
I'm not saying it's what's happening in this thread, but nothing irritates me more than comments like "the only difference between a studio and a custom is some trim and an ebony fretboard." The people who say that haven't discovered the greatest secret in guitar history, they simply own cheap guitars and are trying to justify their purchases. I'm not against cheap guitars, almost all of my crap is cheap...but there are some serious differences between the LP models besides what you read in the brochure.

First and foremost, if there are big differences between the LP Custom and the LP Standard, then why does Gibson list such similar stats in the brochure? Think about it. If they made comments implying that the LP Custom is a considerably better built guitar than the standard, for instance, then they'd be dogging one of their own instruments. I think you'll find that most companies have very simple product brochures that make their $200 models sound just as mouth watering as their multi-thousand dollar models.

Second, the Studio is a stupid guitar. Stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid. If you've got a studio, then you didn't want a Les Paul in the first place. I know we're talking about standards and customs, but I thought I'd throw that in there.

Third, every single guitar plays differently. I haven't been too excited about any new Les Paul that I've picked up. But I like my old one. It's a 1980 which was supposedly a bad year. Go figure.

Ok, there are some serious difference between the custom and standard that I didn't notice being mentioned:

- The custom is heavier. That should have been pretty noticable right off. I seem to remember there being an extra 1/4" of mahogany under the maple cap, but don't quote me, it could simply be a more dense wood...well, it WILL be a better hunk of wood regardless for the extra price. The Les Paul feel to me can be described as "smooth and heavy." When you've got it in your hands there's no doubt that you're holding something solid, but it's not clunky or awkward. This is why I piss on the Studio. The Standard is a nice guitar but the Custom is what I think a Les Paul should feel like.

- The custom is the "fretless wonder". The flat frets feel a little different. Some say it's harder to bend a note on a flat fret but I've never had that problem. One of the nicest things about the Custom is how slick the fretboard is....your fingers just breeze across the frets effortlessly.

- The custom of course has the ebony fretboard, another reason why the neck just feels so damn slick. Man it's nice to play on ebony, especially if you use a little guitar honey from time to time.

- The custom has the sweet ass headstock that's just unmistakable. It's ok to be a little superficial from time to time, right? Then the trim is pretty nice I suppose. The gold hardware is gold colored.

Ok, to answer your questions:

The gold rubs off after a while, yes. Not in big chunks, but in little tiny flakes. I was thinking about recaping the humbuckers a while back but then I suddenly pulled my head out of my ass. I've gotten uglier over the years, so my guitar should too. It's called character.

I don't think the gold hardware is much more expensive, and that's not really one of the biggest costs of a les paul custom. I can take pictures of what mine looks like if you want. I got it used in 1993 or something. Much of the wear was already there at that point, but it was definately a pretty well played guitar.

Then I agree with Emeric. Whether you're a lead player or not, you should know what feels better to you, and you obviously prefer ebony.

Anyways, I'm not sure it's too wise to plop down money on a new Les Paul period. $2000 for a Custom is pretty damn steep. I got mine for a grand used and love it.

You've got a strat or something too right? One thing to keep in mind is that a Les Paul guitars make Les Paul noises, and you better like those noises. Lately I've been wanting to make different noises. I'm not even considering getting rid of my LP, but it's kind of a bummer that it's my only nice guitar. The solo in my tune "Monday", for instance, was played with my old Ibanez which has a couple DiMarzio HS-4(?) single coils. Plays like a limp dick but the sound was closer to what I wanted, and it wasn't a sound my LP could make.

(*NOTE* I'm biased. There is a chance that I've fallen in love with my Custom simply because I own it. Maybe it really feels like shit but my brain is trying to justify owning it. Hehe)

Slackmaster 2000
 
I appreciate your feedback very much....no, I didn't notice a weight difference between the two, doesn't mean it wasn't there, though.....as you mentioned, no two are gonna be the same as the next two...my freakoid old tele weighs a little more than 10 lbs...more than most teles.....needless to say I play sitting down when I wanna play it....and I'm sure that would be the case with a les paul......my strat is a rather svelte 7 lbs.....(I weigh these things by weighing myself on the bathroom scales, noting my weight, then pick up a guitar while still on the scales and subtract the diff.....not very scientific....)

I've got a mom and pop store within 60 miles of here that occassionally has some used quality stuff...so maybe it would be wise to check that out.....if a Custom could be had for a bit less, all the better for me....and yeah that headstock is cool as hell.....maybe I'll get lucky..........odds are there won't be a wine red guitar there, but I could definitely live with a white or black.....

The hardware issue seems like something Custom owners deal with ok....a fair trade off for the tonal qualities I would imagine....



Thanks for the time.....gibs
 
gibs-

Yes, the gold plating is going to wear off (You know it as well as I do. I think you just need to hear someone else say it). Especially if you play it alot.

I've got a jones about gold hardware myself. I don't like it. First, because I just don't like the way it looks, even new. Second, I know it's going to eventually rub off and make an expensive guitar look even cheaper.

Gold hardware is for people who really like the way it looks and/or plan to keep the guitar in it's case, in storage, and never play it.

Give me chrome, any day of the week.
 
It looks like Slack's a little sore about Studios costing half that of his overpriced model.

I think rather than say "stupid, stupid, stupid...", something a little more substantial or factual is in order. Got anything a little more scientific to say about it?

I agree that the newest Studios don't do it for me, but it wasn't always like this. Up 'til mid 90's they were just as impressive, had the same heavy dense wood and body dimensions, and used the same hardware except maybe the tuners. The difference was cosmetic, as much as you may not like to hear that. Until someone chimes in with some stats that proves otherwise, we're talking about the same bodies with different window dressing on them.

I see new Standards and Customs on the racks with the same unregulated nuts and uneven fret heights as any other Gibson production models. Rush jobs, most of them. Do you think they use all different assemblers and different production lines for their Custom model than they do Standards or Studios? No, it's the same crew, different day, different duty. The assembler can spend no more time paying attention to detail on a Custom than any of the other products. Time is money at the factory, and they don't discriminate between time lost working on one guitar over the next model.
 
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Yeah I got some more facts:

Fact #1: The studio is an EXTREMELY STUPID FUCKING GUITAR.

Fact #2: The studio is a really lame guitar.

How's that for facts :)

Really though, when you understand how two similar production runs can produce two completely different guitars, then we'll have something to talk about. I listed many of the differences between a Custom and a Standard, and the differences between a Custom and a Studio are even greater, even though the list will be of the same length.

The real reason that I dislike the studio has nothing to do with my having a much more expensive guitar, because I don't. I bought my Custom for $1000, which isn't much over what some of these ridiculous "desiger" studios are going for in some shops. I wouldn't pay $2500 for a Custom, and I didn't even recommend it!

The real reason that I dislike the studio is that it's a lightweight clunker that plays poorly. That's not enough to upset me though, I could really care less if people want to play gutiars that feel so lame to me. What I get angry at are the bullshit comments about the studio being the same as the standard or custom, aside from looks, when I can physically see, hear, and feel considerable differences INSTANTLY. If it wasn't for the similar body shape we wouldn't even be having this discussion. This is an identical argument to this old beauty: "the body of an electric guitar has nothing to do with the sound."

There are plenty of lightweight cheap guitars that sound similar to and outplay a Les Paul Studio. Personally I think that the average Studio is worth about $350-400 for what you're getting. You can damn near pick up an American Strat for the price of a Studio....granted that's talking apples and oranges....or maybe apples and rotten oranges.

(NOTE: Please allow this message to cool for 15 minutes in the refrigerator before serving. The author often comes across just a little too warm.)

Slackmaster 2000
 
Want to hear a cop-out?

"I listed many of the differences between a Custom and a Standard, and the differences between a Custom and a Studio are even greater, even though the list will be of the same length."

List them.
 
Want to hear a quote from somebody who is apparently too lazy to scroll up?

----
Want to hear a cop-out?

"I listed many of the differences between a Custom and a Standard, and the differences between a Custom and a Studio are even greater, even though the list will be of the same length."

List them.
----

Slackmaster 2000
 
My last word, promise

when I scroll up I see nothing but non-objective commentary. I was expecting more, like a fact.

I'm yielding.
You probably have more experience contrasting these models than I do (let's at least hope it's experience and not ego), so I can't counter your opinion with anything more than subjective commentary combined with Gibson's advertisements. When I've played the various LP models as they evolved over the years I struggled to see and hear the differences between some Studios and their more expensive, prettier cousins. Granted, the Custom is a different beast.

Enough abuse for me, lest I feel further emasculated for owning a "stupid" LP Studio.
 
Oh for pete's sake, we all own stuff that other people hate. I appologize if you took my ranting personally. I figured that I had taken it well over the level of insult and into a much more silly place, but I can see where it would still be insulting if I was a fan of the Les Paul Studio.

I hope you don't also own any Peavey gear, because from time to time I go ballistic on Peavey as well. It doesn't mean that I hate peavey owners, it just means that they are a sub class of citizens who deserve fewer rights within our society.

Without recalling the points I made above about raw material selection, I'll leave this debate with one final remark. A mexican strat looks about the same as an american strat. But are they the same exact guitar? I bet they both pop off of very similar CNC machines. So why do they play so differently?

Anyhow, I know I offended you and I kinda feel bad, but not real bad. It is my opinion that the studio is a piece of shit, and I still feel that way no matter how much love you have for yours. We all encounter situations where people don't like what we like, and we all get offended. Such is life.

No hard feelings I hope.

Slackmaster 2000
 
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