high-priced Gibbies

Being serious, I think it's a little different if you're getting a Custom - 'cos you're getting something truely unique and designed to your own specification.

If/When I have £2K to spend on a guitar; I just know I would want something more unusual than a Les Paul - coupled with the fact I actually find LPs quite uncomfortable to play - its a no-brainer really!
 
JDOD said:
Being serious, I think it's a little different if you're getting a Custom - 'cos you're getting something truely unique and designed to your own specification.

If/When I have £2K to spend on a guitar; I just know I would want something more unusual than a Les Paul - coupled with the fact I actually find LPs quite uncomfortable to play - its a no-brainer really!
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Unusual like....never mind. That's cool man. No problem. :thumbs up:
 
Greg_L said:
Unusual like....never mind. That's cool man. No problem. :thumbs up:
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Well, like that Hayman that I didn't buy when I went for an Ibanez RG instead. I remember my mate who I was in a band with at the time telling me that I would find 21 Frets limiting for lead work. I agreed with him at the time.
 
Every time I see people playing a guitar slung that low my wrist hurts. Thumb-over FTW!

I'm going to research the inverse nut to floor lameness ratio of acoustics and electrics. I think he may be on to something there.
 
It feels cool to play those expensive things. My life as it is now i couldn't justify much more than a 1000 / 1500 for a guitar. But i will say the feeling i got playing three chord punk tunes on a $14K gold top of some vintage i can't recall at the moment in a boutique shop in Edmonton was pretty cool. I felt like a pretty bad ass rock star.
 
I've got a 2014 LP Studio, & I think it's a great guitar. It's plain-jane, no binding, just a basic Lester. If I'd had the $$$ I'd probably got a Traditional or something a little more high-end, but again, my Studio IMHO, is a great guitar....I know there are better guitars out there, & most of 'em cost way more than what I paid for mine (around $1,100), but again, I love my LP Studio, no matter what....

 
minerman said:
I've got a 2014 LP Studio, & I think it's a great guitar. It's plain-jane, no binding, just a basic Lester. If I'd had the $$$ I'd probably got a Traditional or something a little more high-end, but again, my Studio IMHO, is a great guitar....I know there are better guitars out there, & most of 'em cost way more than what I paid for mine (around $1,100), but again, I love my LP Studio, no matter what....

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Nice. I almost bought one with a similar finish years back - except it had gold hardware and I figured that was asking for trouble, although it looked nice...
 
Armistice said:
Nice. I almost bought one with a similar finish years back - except it had gold hardware and I figured that was asking for trouble, although it looked nice...
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Thanks man, the finish is desert burst. I wanted the midnight blue Traditional, but couldn't swing the $$$ at the time...And believe it or not, I bought this thing online, without even seeing or playing it....yeah, I took a big chance, but if I didn't like it or something was wrong with it, I could've sent it back....Apparently, turns out I got lucky, as I've read all kinds of horror stories about these guitars, I've read about guys playing 100 of 'em, & only find one or two that they actually liked...Myself, I think this guitar plays as good if not better than any guitar I've ever owned, but I'm just a hack too, so my opinion may not be worth shit either....

I do wish I could've got one with the binding, bells/whistles, but bottom line, I really, really like this guitar...
 
minerman said:
I've read about guys playing 100 of 'em, & only find one or two that they actually liked...
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That was me, literally. Before scoring my Gold Top, I played at least 100 Les Pauls and SGs across the price spectrum over several months. That's no exaggeration. It was at least 100. The only Les Pauls not in consideration were the $4-5k and up historic reissue custom shop stuff. Regular LP models from Studios to Customs were in play. Of those 100 or more, I had it narrowed down to about a half dozen bonafide perfect guitars for me.

For me, I found that the mid-priced models were generally the best. At the time, Gibsons weren't quite yet laughably priced. They were expensive, but not anything like they are now. Those mid-price LPs like the Classics, Traditionals, and a few Plain Top Standards consistently had better build quality and feel than the Studios, Jrs, and Specials, and they obviously had fancier looks. They also came with nicer pickups. The Customs are next-level awesome, but they are all bling and at that time I didn't want to pay for bling. Some of the Studios were great, but they all had a rough kind of unfinished feel to them. So I landed on my Traditional Gold Top with slim 60s neck profile. Burstbucker 3 in the bridge and 57 Classic in the neck. There is not one single solitary thing that I would change about that guitar. It looks perfect, it plays perfect, it sounds perfect. It's perfect. I haven't even messed with the setup. It was just right, right out of the box. But it took some looking and patience. I think it was $1899. Pretty expensive, but I don't care. I was treating myself to a great guitar and I got one. Since then I've also piled up a few SGs and my Hallmark Mosrite clone. I play them all, but when I go back to the Gold Top I'm reminded of what a great guitar it is.
 
minerman said:
I've got a 2014 LP Studio, & I think it's a great guitar. It's plain-jane, no binding, just a basic Lester. If I'd had the $$$ I'd probably got a Traditional or something a little more high-end, but again, my Studio IMHO, is a great guitar....I know there are better guitars out there, & most of 'em cost way more than what I paid for mine (around $1,100), but again, I love my LP Studio, no matter what....

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That's a nice looking guitar, minerman! My LP studio is a 2014, too, but mine is wineburst instead of the desert burst. Got mine online as well; if the wineburst (or whatever) wasn't $100 cheaper as a demo model, I would've sprung for that desert burst...love that finish! They are good, no frills, heavy chunks of beautiful tone. Another few weeks and I'll have my nut fixed (replacing it completely) and then it will spend more time in my hands instead of in the case because the tuning won't get screwed after a couple of string bends...
 
minerman said:
Thanks man, the finish is desert burst. I wanted the midnight blue Traditional, but couldn't swing the $$$ at the time...And believe it or not, I bought this thing online, without even seeing or playing it....yeah, I took a big chance, but if I didn't like it or something was wrong with it, I could've sent it back....Apparently, turns out I got lucky, as I've read all kinds of horror stories about these guitars, I've read about guys playing 100 of 'em, & only find one or two that they actually liked...Myself, I think this guitar plays as good if not better than any guitar I've ever owned, but I'm just a hack too, so my opinion may not be worth shit either....

I do wish I could've got one with the binding, bells/whistles, but bottom line, I really, really like this guitar...
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I've got a tobacco sunburst Standard from about the 90s sometime which I bought about 8 years ago, unplayed & unseen, from a mate who lives 1000 km north and who was selling it to finance a motorbike for his kid... :eek: Lucky it turned out OK, or I'd have had to go way the hell up there and either repossess the bike, or the kid... :D
 
Greg: Yeah man, you were one of the guys I was talking about, & you actually helped me pick this thing out if you remember...I'm really happy with my Lester, the only thing I've really had to do to it is to raise the action just a hair so it didn't buzz when I play slide....Every string change I check the intonation, & so far, it's been a solid guitar...

pikingrin: Thanks man, this was my 2nd pick, I first had a 2013 studio in midnight blue but it was like $300 more, & was basically the same guitar IMO. I almost picked the wine red one (like you have) instead of this one, but to be honest, if either of them played & sounded like this one, I'd be happy either way. I've not had any problems out of mine with the tuning like I've read a lot of guys having. I love my LP, maybe someday I'll get another one, but even if I don't this one's good enough for me....Post us a pic dude!!!
 
Here ya go, Miner...
LPstudio.JPG

It's a phone pic so it's not great but it's a great guitar. I had a run on it after I took the pic and damn, I missed it. Even though it pops out of tune it still sounds good. Does yours have the coil splitting knobs? I don't ever jack with them but I suppose they could come in handy for something. Maybe.
 
minerman said:
Greg: Yeah man, you were one of the guys I was talking about, & you actually helped me pick this thing out if you remember...I'm really happy with my Lester, the only thing I've really had to do to it is to raise the action just a hair so it didn't buzz when I play slide....Every string change I check the intonation, & so far, it's been a solid guitar...

pikingrin: Thanks man, this was my 2nd pick, I first had a 2013 studio in midnight blue but it was like $300 more, & was basically the same guitar IMO. I almost picked the wine red one (like you have) instead of this one, but to be honest, if either of them played & sounded like this one, I'd be happy either way. I've not had any problems out of mine with the tuning like I've read a lot of guys having. I love my LP, maybe someday I'll get another one, but even if I don't this one's good enough for me....Post us a pic dude!!!
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Dude...those blue ones look nice, too... That'd be a tough call if money wasn't involved.
 
Greg_L said:
The Gold Top finish is by far the best sounding finish on a Les Paul.
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I used to have a '76 "clown burst" les paul custom. Those clown burst finishes sound really good. They sound better than black and better than white. Gold top finishes sound good but clown burst finishes will give gold tops a run for their money in the tone department.
 
pikingrin said:
Dude...those blue ones look nice, too... That'd be a tough call if money wasn't involved.

Does yours have the coil splitting knobs?
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We've got the same guitar man, except the finish....mine has the coil taps too....The blue LP I was really wanting was a 2013 Traditional IIRC, but can't remember exactly what p'ups were in it, I don't think they were the 490T/490R that are in the one I have...It had white pickguard & p'up rings...


Here's a pic of one:


It would've ended up costing me about $3-400 more, & I just didn't have the coin to spare at the time....I could've waited, but there was a lot of shit happening in my life at that time, so it was pretty much either "grab it now, or much later"...And about 3-4 months after I got it, started going through a divorce, so if I hadn't grabbed it, I probably wouldn't have gotten it, or I wouldn't have got some of the gear I've accumulated since that shitstorm.:)

FWIW, this guitar is a lot better looking than the one I have, but I'm pretty confident mine would hold it's own against it playing & sound-wise...I fuckin' love that color though, I've got a blue MIM Strat & a blue 4-string bass too.....I even painted my new music room blue....If you didn't know already, blue is my favorite color.....:D

I had it narrowed down to about 3-4 of 'em....the blue traditional, a wine red studio with '57 p'ups (I think that's what it had in it), & the desert burst that I have...so I picked the "middle" priced one...

You ever think about swapping the butterscotch p'up rings/pickguard/selector cover for white??? I'd thought about doing that....And, I took my pickguard off a couple months ago...
 
jimistone said:
I used to have a '76 "clown burst" les paul custom. Those clown burst finishes sound really good. They sound better than black and better than white. Gold top finishes sound good but clown burst finishes will give gold tops a run for their money in the tone department.
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I might be inclined to agree with that. I love those clownburst customs. Ace Frehley! :D
 
Greg_L said:
I might be inclined to agree with that. I love those clownburst customs. Ace Frehley! :D
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Yes.
As a matter of fact, it was routed for a middle pickup (home made) and had 3 cream colored dimarrzio SDH'S installed. It was the late 1980s and I got it cheap. The local radio shack went into the music equipment business briefly and then liquidated their inventory. I asked " how much for the butchered les paul?" They wanted $200...I offered $100 and left with it. It needed a new nut and the middle pickup was dead. It was in great shape except for the middle pickup alteration ( which was done pretty well for a homemade job). I played it for years and sold it for $500.

Man, I wish I could buy it back now for $500.!
 
jimistone said:
Yes.
As a matter of fact, it was routed for a middle pickup (home made) and had 3 cream colored dimarrzio SDH'S installed. It was the late 1980s and I got it cheap. The local radio shack went into the music equipment business briefly and then liquidated their inventory. I asked " how much for the butchered les paul?" They wanted $200...I offered $100 and left with it. It needed a new nut and the middle pickup was dead. It was in great shape except for the middle pickup alteration ( which was done pretty well for a homemade job). I played it for years and sold it for $500.

Man, I wish I could buy it back now for $500.!
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So someone actually tried to make it into an Ace custom? That's hilarious. His middle pickups didn't work either. Neither did his neck pickups for that matter. On his smoker guitars the neck pickup wasn't even there. It was a trap door with a Super Distortion looking sticker on it. :D

I know he's fucking corny as shit, but goddamn I love Ace!
Smoker__99a.jpg
 
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