No, I don't think they need to go that radical because the problem can easily be remedied with a better cut nut or better nut material. Guitar techs fix them all the time in just a few minutes. They don't need to redesign the guitar, just make a better nut.
Gibson rolling back prices and features for 2016
- Thread starter Tadpui
- Start date
No, I don't think they need to go that radical because the problem can easily be remedied with a better cut nut or better nut material. Guitar techs fix them all the time in just a few minutes. They don't need to redesign the guitar, just make a better nut.
ido1957
9K Gold Member
Maybe we need Muttley to comment on some of his experience with different string guages affecting nut cutting. Can you factory cut a nut for 9's 10's and 11's that will work for all three (probably most popular) string guages?
Is the neck angle causing this issue? I've never had the problem with any of my Strats that I can ever recall.
Also - back in the late 70's I owned 3 LP's and none of them ever had a problem with the nut. None were new though so they may have been fixed before I got them but you never know.
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Plus I never used a tuner just a tuning fork...lol.
Is the neck angle causing this issue? I've never had the problem with any of my Strats that I can ever recall.
Also - back in the late 70's I owned 3 LP's and none of them ever had a problem with the nut. None were new though so they may have been fixed before I got them but you never know.
---------- Update ----------
Plus I never used a tuner just a tuning fork...lol.
It's the split headstock. The D and G make a sharp kink towards the tuning peg. The B too, but a little less. It's not so much a problem for the D because it's wound. But the G and B can stick. New Gibson nuts are cut very minimally and very shallow. They barely have slots at all. Maybe they do that to give you years of nut adjustments. I don't know. It just doesn't work well for brand new guitars. I look at old vintage SGs and LPs all the time, and they all have deeper cut nuts with wider slots. Maybe over the years they have been fixed and worn in, but they all stay in tune perfectly. So IMO they don't need to change the angle, or change the headstock shape, they just need to cut the nut to work with that headstock shape. It can be done, like I said, techs do it all day every day.
ido1957
9K Gold Member
You're so right - my old LP's had way deeper slots in the nut. The strings on my new one were "almost" sitting on top of the nut.
Back to the 2016's - Long and McQuade seem to have caved and brought it 6 new 2015's in the last month (or so) in the store I go to. Maybe they needed stock, but man those are going to be hard to move - and they are not all Studios or LPJ's. We're talking higher priced stuff.
Checked out a few 2016s just now. Not bad. All the shit we hate - the wide necks and robot tuners - are gone, but the brass zero-nut is still there. The chintzy clip on pickguards are still there. Some of them still had the retarded scribble on the headstock. Some didn't. But the necks feel right and regular tuning machines are back in place. The prices were back down to 2013/2014 levels.
ibleedburgundy
The Anti-Lambo
I don't understand what about these guitars warrants $3K. Gibson cranks these things out from a chunk of wood to a finished guitar in 18 days in groups at a time. A hand made classical guitar or a violin - I get why that would run into several thousand dollars.
JDOD
therecordingrebels.com
That's good, one thing about Les Pauls is they should actually feel like Les Pauls and not some sort of ESP. Weird that they kept the zero fret but ditched the robots. I thought the robots would be quite popular, they're obviously pretty expensive too!
JDOD
therecordingrebels.com
I did see a video recently where Rob Chapman was talking about his latest model and it's pricing, it's by far his most expensive guitar, think it's about £750. It's MIK but he said the only way he could make it more expensive would be to add profit.
I'm finally getting worn down and am gonna try a couple of Les Pauls this morning to see if I can work out what the fuss is about!
I think the ones I saw were some weird special run. They had 2106 stamped on the headstock, but still had the brass zero-nut. I checked out more day before yesterday, and they were like normal Les Pauls.
JDOD
therecordingrebels.com
I just played a 2015 Les Paul. Standard and a Less (thin) version.
I thought they were both shit.
The Zero nut just looks weird.
The robots are a kinda cool novelty, they didn't turn very smoothly by hand, just don't see the point when everyone has a tuner pedal and a snark these days.
They did sound nice. The pickups and the wood are both clearly really good.
All that aside, it basically had the feel of a guitar which should be 500 quid not 1500 quid. Neck was horrible, when I pick up a guitar I like, I just play don't need to be playing anything in particular, I just play. It didn't make me feel like playing. I was fiddling with the guitar but without really wanting to play anything or knowing what to play - I actually played some pieces that I knew to get a feel for it which I almost never do.
I thought they were both shit.
The Zero nut just looks weird.
The robots are a kinda cool novelty, they didn't turn very smoothly by hand, just don't see the point when everyone has a tuner pedal and a snark these days.
They did sound nice. The pickups and the wood are both clearly really good.
All that aside, it basically had the feel of a guitar which should be 500 quid not 1500 quid. Neck was horrible, when I pick up a guitar I like, I just play don't need to be playing anything in particular, I just play. It didn't make me feel like playing. I was fiddling with the guitar but without really wanting to play anything or knowing what to play - I actually played some pieces that I knew to get a feel for it which I almost never do.
JDOD
therecordingrebels.com
Oooo, futuristic 22nd century guitars, the zero fret will obviously be popular over the next century.
The necks ARE horrible on the 2015s. They're flat, wide, Ibanez-feeling planks of crap. It's like Gibson made a neck for a shreddytard 8-string and stuck them on Les Pauls, SGs, and Firebirds. WTF. Thankfully they either saw the error of their ways or sales were so bad they had no choice but to undo the entire 2015 line. I've paid close attention to these guitars since they came out. I don't know and haven't seen or heard of one single guitar player that likes them, bought one, or plays one by choice.
JDOD, find a pre 2015 Les Paul Traditional. IMO they don't get any better than those. To me those are perfect modern era Les Pauls. You'll probably still hate them because you hate them anyway, but at least you'll be able to say you tried a good one and just couldn't get along with it.
JDOD, find a pre 2015 Les Paul Traditional. IMO they don't get any better than those. To me those are perfect modern era Les Pauls. You'll probably still hate them because you hate them anyway, but at least you'll be able to say you tried a good one and just couldn't get along with it.
JDOD
therecordingrebels.com
I really do try to like them. I haven't played on an older standard in years, still open minded, now I'm not playing so much metal I might be more open minded, gotta wait for my custom to arrive and see if that cures the GAS first though.
JDOD
therecordingrebels.com
Thing is I own an Ibanez RG570 with a wizard neck and it's great, the neck and the feel suits the guitar. It just feels all wrong on a les Paul.
One thing I liked about the Less Paul was that the reduced weight in the body counteracted some of the balance issue. I still find it cramped and the fretboard access is shit when sitting but it was better.
Lol. I can't believe you're so hung up on sitting. 
I really don't think you're ever gonna like any Les Paul. I don't know why you even bother. You don't have to like them. It's like me with Teles or wanky shred machines. I don't get them, don't get along with them, so I don't bother with them. I walk by a whole wall of Fenders and pointy shred machines to get to the Gibsons.
But, you might like some of the other Gibsons. Don't try a V though. It's not a sitting guitar.
I really don't think you're ever gonna like any Les Paul. I don't know why you even bother. You don't have to like them. It's like me with Teles or wanky shred machines. I don't get them, don't get along with them, so I don't bother with them. I walk by a whole wall of Fenders and pointy shred machines to get to the Gibsons.
But, you might like some of the other Gibsons. Don't try a V though. It's not a sitting guitar.
witm8
Member
Hi, I don't usually view this specific area of the forum so I'm finding some really intersting things to read on this Monday morning - but I thought that I would post on this thread, as I bought a Les Paul Traditional on Saturday, and I've not been able to put it down since.
I went to the Guitar Shop, and spent a good few hours in there, going through the Studios, the 50's, 60's and 70's tribute models, Standard, I even threw in an Epiphone 'Slash' one.
Personal preference and all that, but I liked the chunkey feeling neck on the Traditional - whilst playing the studio, on more than on occasion whilst bending the top e string I clicked off the edge.
The Traditional has got some weight - I mean this is one heavy guitar - and it just 'felt right'
I wasn't taken by the Les Paul 100 signature on the headstock, but to be honest, whilst playing it you can't see it, and that is only a very very minor negative.
The zero nut - that's neither here or there for me. With a allen key you can raise the nut to raise the action if required.
The pick guard - that was the first thing to be removed and it's not going back on - I personally prefer the look of them 'naked'
Now the G-Force tuner. I'm a traditionalist, and I wasn't sure on how I felt about these - However, whilst playing last night in standard tuning, I thought that I would like to play some Rolling Stones - Pressed 3 buttons and within 5 seconds it was tuned to open G - then about 1/2 hour later when I wanted to play something else - 3 botton presses later I was back in standard. Usually I would have messed around for ages to change tunings - and more than likely lost my mojo, but this was brilliant.
The main thing - this guitar plays like a dream. It's set up pretty damn good, but I'll still get it set up by my usual man.
I went to the Guitar Shop, and spent a good few hours in there, going through the Studios, the 50's, 60's and 70's tribute models, Standard, I even threw in an Epiphone 'Slash' one.
Personal preference and all that, but I liked the chunkey feeling neck on the Traditional - whilst playing the studio, on more than on occasion whilst bending the top e string I clicked off the edge.
The Traditional has got some weight - I mean this is one heavy guitar - and it just 'felt right'
I wasn't taken by the Les Paul 100 signature on the headstock, but to be honest, whilst playing it you can't see it, and that is only a very very minor negative.
The zero nut - that's neither here or there for me. With a allen key you can raise the nut to raise the action if required.
The pick guard - that was the first thing to be removed and it's not going back on - I personally prefer the look of them 'naked'
Now the G-Force tuner. I'm a traditionalist, and I wasn't sure on how I felt about these - However, whilst playing last night in standard tuning, I thought that I would like to play some Rolling Stones - Pressed 3 buttons and within 5 seconds it was tuned to open G - then about 1/2 hour later when I wanted to play something else - 3 botton presses later I was back in standard. Usually I would have messed around for ages to change tunings - and more than likely lost my mojo, but this was brilliant.
The main thing - this guitar plays like a dream. It's set up pretty damn good, but I'll still get it set up by my usual man.
I think that one has the wide plank neck. I can tell by how much neck sticks past the E and e strings.
witm8
Member
Correct - this does have the wide plank neck.
Like I said though, this is exactly what I wanted as playing the thinner neck I kept slipping off the side. It's only a few mm's but personally it makes all the difference.