Les Paul with maple neck?

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Victory Pete

Victory Pete

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I have a chance to buy a 1977 Les Paul Custom. It has 2 humbuckers. It has an ebony fretboard with a maple neck. I played it and it seems to be very trebly. I dont have any electrics with ebony fretboards. I think I would like to have it, it is very different from my 2 LP's. Any thoughts on this guitar would be appreciated, including fair price, it is in mint condition although the gold hardware is corroded.
VP
 
Greg_L said:
That's nothing a little talcum powder won't fix.
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Seriously? You're honest to god still dwelling on a months-old internet argument?

Victory Pete said:
I have a chance to buy a 1977 Les Paul Custom. It has 2 humbuckers. It has an ebony fretboard with a maple neck. I played it and it seems to be very trebly. I dont have any electrics with ebony fretboards. I think I would like to have it, it is very different from my 2 LP's. Any thoughts on this guitar would be appreciated, including fair price, it is in mint condition although the gold hardware is corroded.
VP
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I've never seen nor heard a LP with a maple neck. I thought that mahogany was the standard material that they used for LP necks. So you say that it's bright sounding? I guess that the brighness of the ebony combines with the brighness of the maple in the neck for a doubly-bright result. And maybe the pickups are voiced for brighness, who knows.

One thing to note about LPs of this era is that they are very, very heavy. This is before weight-relief holes were being drilled inside the guitars. So it's going to be one heavy hunk of wood for sure. And the maple neck would probably make it even heavier, though not by much.

Sorry, I have no idea about value.
 
Tadpui said:
I've never seen nor heard a LP with a maple neck. I thought that mahogany was the standard material that they used for LP necks. So you say that it's bright sounding? I guess that the brighness of the ebony combines with the brighness of the maple in the neck for a doubly-bright result. And maybe the pickups are voiced for brighness, who knows.
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They did make them with (3 piece I believe) maple necks for a bit, but this ended by the 80's, which I guess fits the bill. Would definitely be heavy.

They even make them ALL maple now! Kinda cool really (wish they had block inlays though)... behold

http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/Les-Paul/Gibson-USA/Les-Paul-Studio-Raw-Power.aspx

Would like to get one but Australian prices are mental.

So VP, do you mean that when it's plugged in, it's treble-y? Or are you talking about acoustically? I really like ebony boards for their snappy tone, but I wouldn't call it brightness per se. Might be that the pickups are giving up a bit (I'd forgive that in a 40 year old instrument)?
 
slowmotion said:
They did make them with (3 piece I believe) maple necks for a bit, but this ended by the 80's, which I guess fits the bill. Would definitely be heavy.

They even make them ALL maple now! Kinda cool really (wish they had block inlays though)... behold

http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/Les-Paul/Gibson-USA/Les-Paul-Studio-Raw-Power.aspx

Would like to get one but Australian prices are mental.

So VP, do you mean that when it's plugged in, it's treble-y? Or are you talking about acoustically? I really like ebony boards for their snappy tone, but I wouldn't call it brightness per se. Might be that the pickups are giving up a bit (I'd forgive that in a 40 year old instrument)?
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Through my amp it has more treble than my other LP's ,I think I liked it, I could always change the pickups. I dont remember about the weight, my LP's are a little more than 9 lbs. I would like to weigh it. The owner is my sisters boyfriend so I have access to it. He actually complained about the binding on the back from digging into his chest. Customs have binding on the back.
VP
 
You talking maple neck, or maple fretboard? The 70's customs commonly had maple necks, the boards were rare. Ebony is generally brighter than maple, so I don't think a maple-boarded Custom would be terribly bright sounding. Maple is a nasal bright, rather than piercing, to my ear. More maple equals honky and fat sound, IME.
 
ermghoti said:
You talking maple neck, or maple fretboard? The 70's customs commonly had maple necks, the boards were rare. Ebony is generally brighter than maple, so I don't think a maple-boarded Custom would be terribly bright sounding. Maple is a nasal bright, rather than piercing, to my ear. More maple equals honky and fat sound, IME.
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Maple neck, ebony fretboard. Thanks
VP
 
It's a Custom. It's gonna be bright. The pickups are probably Shaw's. They'll make it brighter. Customs are rock machines.

The market is slumping a bit right now. I paid $1500 for an '81 Custom a few years ago. I thought that was a pretty good deal. I think between there and $2k depending on condition for a '77. It's Norlin era - nothing special.


lou
 
Sky Blue Lou said:
It's a Custom. It's gonna be bright. The pickups are probably Shaw's. They'll make it brighter. Customs are rock machines.

The market is slumping a bit right now. I paid $1500 for an '81 Custom a few years ago. I thought that was a pretty good deal. I think between there and $2k depending on condition for a '77. It's Norlin era - nothing special.


lou
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How do you like yours, You say they are rock machines, how do they compare to a standard?
VP
 
Victory Pete said:
How do you like yours, You say they are rock machines, how do they compare to a standard?
VP
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I have three Les Pauls and they are all unique. I've never played a standard "Standard". I have an early 70's Deluxe that was routed for full-size humbuckers. It had DiMarzio Super Distortions in it when I got it. A bit too much for my tastes. I put in Fralin PAFs. It's got just the right amount of grit now.

My Custom is very bright. It has the stock Shaws. It's almost too bright. It does the classic Lester/Marshall thing quite well. Think Kiss.

My 3rd is a '54 Reissue Goldtop. P90s. No comparison really applicable with the others. More of a blues machine.

They are all typical Les Pauls; fairly heavy, low action, fast playing.


lou
 
Sky Blue Lou said:
I have three Les Pauls and they are all unique. I've never played a standard "Standard". I have an early 70's Deluxe that was routed for full-size humbuckers. It had DiMarzio Super Distortions in it when I got it. A bit too much for my tastes. I put in Fralin PAFs. It's got just the right amount of grit now.

My Custom is very bright. It has the stock Shaws. It's almost too bright. It does the classic Lester/Marshall thing quite well. Think Kiss.

My 3rd is a '54 Reissue Goldtop. P90s. No comparison really applicable with the others. More of a blues machine.

They are all typical Les Pauls; fairly heavy, low action, fast playing.


lou
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I had used super distortions for years until I got my LP classic, It comes with 496R and 500T. I didnt even know what pickups were in it as I bought it but instantly loved the sound. At that point I fired the dimarzios. This Custom I am looking at was described to me by someone as an Ace Frehley guitar. I now have the LP classic and a LP standard , I love them. I might be trading a Laney TT50 3 channel 50 watt head, worth about $1100. I have been criticized for swapping the factory Burstbuckers out of my standard for the 496R, 500T pickups. What are your thoughts on the Burstbuckers?
VP
 
Sky Blue Lou said:
Don't know - never heard 'em.

If you can get a '77 Custom for $1100 worth of amp jump all over it. I would.


lou
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Burstbuckers are fairly new. They are similiar to Classic 57's which are new in name, they used to be called PAF's. What they do with the BB's is try to recreate the sound of vintage PAF's. They do this by deliberately unbalancing the pickups windings, in the old days they were usually unbalanced because of inaccurate counters. Well I noticed that because of this unbalance it reduces the humbucking properties of the pickup. Basically they were noisy. They didnt have enough output either, I am not inspired by low output pickups. I like the punch and sustain of high output pickups. The 500T has high output with out the muddiness of high output ALNICO pickups. The 500T and 496R are ceramic. This deal is not definate yet but I am getting anxious to seal the deal.
VP
 
LP's with maple necks are cool

Hi, I have seen some customs with maple necks.. Nothing wrong with it as a material and nothing wrong with Ebony.. Especially if it 's coming from Gibson..

Fair price I don't know, but The guitars rock.. I'd get it looked over by someone that knows to insure it's not been fixed as far as headstock breaks or anything like that.. Check to see if it's all original.. If not, the price would come down a little unless they have the original parts.. I'm not talking about New frets or nuts, etc, but pickups, etc,.. If you like the guitar, and it sounds good to you, then buy it if the price is right.. I'd look on ebay and see what you can find.. Most gibson LP's, especially the Standards are made with Mahogany bodies and necks, and the bodies typically have Maple to help even out the tone so that the guitar isn't too boomy.. The maple helps the guitar be more articulate.. I like Maple necks on any guitar with Mahgoany bodies personally.. If the guitar seems bright to you then you may want to check it out with different pickups.. I'd strum it withit unplugged in a quiet room and see how it sounds.. If it sounds ok, then you're probably ok.. I also always check any guitar I'm into / or thinking of buying such as an LP with the picukups in the middle on a clean channel first, then the other positions and see if it's bright then, etc,. Make sure the EQ / Bass Treble and Mids knobs are equal or off totally, etc,.. I've been told that having only the Mid EQ button on half way and the treble and bass knobs rolled all the way down is a way to make the tone of the amp neutral? I don't know though.. I'm sure you get the point.. Hope that helps..
Tim
 
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