Les Pauls - I'm a convert(ish)

JDOD

JDOD

therecordingrebels.com
Tried a 2016 LP Traditional today and I really liked it.

Think it looks cool - in a fairly dull burst - I really don't like those ones that are really bright red. Think it was desert burst.

The neck was a huge improvement over that shower of shit I tried last year when I was shopping for my custom. Fairly slim neck - easy to play
It appeared well finished - I really liked the way the binding went over the ends of the frets - although I imagine this would be a pain in the arse if you ever need it re-fretted.
It sounded great, huge difference in the output of the pickups between it and my Crimson though.

Took me a little while to get used to the short scale, but wasn't a problem after a while. I didn't think it was that heavy either.

It was about 1600 quid... which is a shit load of cash.

Drawbacks - The LP studios that were there are about 650 quid - now that seems really reasonable to me. Question would the pickups and essential hardware on a 2016 Trad and 2016 studio be the same?
If so, then you're paying the thick end of a grand for a pretty burst and some binding.
I'd have expected a coil tap for this sort of money.

I do want to do back and try a couple more models when I have more time.

Oh and I also saw this thing which I'd not come across before. Cheapest real Gibson that I've ever seen - under 600 quid!
les paul.jpg
 
JDOD said:
Question would the pickups and essential hardware on a 2016 Trad and 2016 studio be the same?
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. The hardware will mostly be the same. The Traditional might get better tuners than the Studio. Bridge and tailpiece will be the same. The pickups and switches/wiring will be better, or at least more varied with a Traditional. I don't know about 2016s, but Studios usually come with pretty standard 496/490 pickups, or something like that. Pretty good, but basic, regular ol medium/hot humbuckers. No problem. They sound great. Traditionals can be had with the more tasty stuff, like from the Burstbucker range and 57 Classics. Traditionals are also usually wired, well, traditionally. Studios might have plug-and-play pickups and PCB pots and mounting inside the cavity. Traditionals are wired and soldered the old fashioned way. And lastly, modern Traditionals are not chambered. Studios are. The rest is all visual fluff and playability. Binding, better finish, better neck finishing, better fretjob, etc on the Traditional.

IMO, the Traditionals are the best Les Pauls made right now. Customs are great, Standards are standard, Classics are meh....but Traditionals are what you think of when you think Les Paul. They're the most "Les Paul" of the Les Pauls these days.
 
The main thing that attracted me to my Classic (back in '99) was the neck. At the time, it was the only Gibson model that offered what they called their "60's slim taper" neck. I think that now it's offered on a bunch of models. I think that it feels just right. Not that baseball bat kind of profile that I always used to associate with LP necks.

But I agree that the Classic (even the reboot of the Classic line in the last couple of years) have always been the red-headed stepchildren of the LP line. I love mine dearly, but it's always had its issues. The stock pickups were too hot for their own good, the clearcoat is all blistered over the Gibson logo, and I damn near lost the headstock several years back (but that seems to be an issue with Gibson's use of mahogany necks...I've seen lots of pics of headless LPs and SGs). But still it's the guitar that I've spent the most time with, and the one that still feels best in my hands.
 
Tadpui said:
The main thing that attracted me to my Classic (back in '99) was the neck. At the time, it was the only Gibson model that offered what they called their "60's slim taper" neck. I think that now it's offered on a bunch of models. I think that it feels just right. Not that baseball bat kind of profile that I always used to associate with LP necks.

But I agree that the Classic (even the reboot of the Classic line in the last couple of years) have always been the red-headed stepchildren of the LP line. I love mine dearly, but it's always had its issues. The stock pickups were too hot for their own good, the clearcoat is all blistered over the Gibson logo, and I damn near lost the headstock several years back (but that seems to be an issue with Gibson's use of mahogany necks...I've seen lots of pics of headless LPs and SGs). But still it's the guitar that I've spent the most time with, and the one that still feels best in my hands.
Click to expand...

Yes, all of that.

I like Classics myself...after some tweaks. They do have great neck profiles and a good overall feel. But those fucking pickups...ugh. 500T. So hot. Blistering hot ceramics. I think the modern Classics have friendlier pickups.

Does yours have the "green" inlays and tuners? A lot of those late 90s, early 00s Classics have inlays and tuners that have turned greenish.
 
Greg_L said:
Yes, all of that.

I like Classics myself...after some tweaks. They do have great neck profiles and a good overall feel. But those fucking pickups...ugh. 500T. So hot. Blistering hot ceramics. I think the modern Classics have friendlier pickups.

Does yours have the "green" inlays and tuners? A lot of those late 90s, early 00s Classics have inlays and tuners that have turned greenish.
Click to expand...

Yeah, mine has those pretty gross looking tuners and fret marker inlays. They tinted them to give them an aged look right out of the factory. But unfortunately the "new aged" look doesn't age very well itself. Actually mine aren't too gross. They definitely have a tint to them, but they're not too bad. I've seen pics of a few that were absolutely seasick green. Maybe if I put mine next to a Standard or Trad, I'd notice how tinted they really are.

My finish is a Honeyburst, which was really gorgeous when it was new. It hass faded substantially since (even though this guitar has hardly ever seen daylight), and now it almost looks like a single-color top. There's still a little bit of burst to it, but not a lot. Another example of a "new aged" look that doesn't age particularly well.
 
Tadpui said:
Yeah, mine has those pretty gross looking tuners and fret marker inlays. They tinted them to give them an aged look right out of the factory. But unfortunately the "new aged" look doesn't age very well itself. Actually mine aren't too gross. They definitely have a tint to them, but they're not too bad. I've seen pics of a few that were absolutely seasick green. Maybe if I put mine next to a Standard or Trad, I'd notice how tinted they really are.

My finish is a Honeyburst, which was really gorgeous when it was new. It hass faded substantially since (even though this guitar has hardly ever seen daylight), and now it almost looks like a single-color top. There's still a little bit of burst to it, but not a lot. Another example of a "new aged" look that doesn't age particularly well.
Click to expand...

Haha. One of my bandmates has a 98 Classic, I think it's a 98, and I think it's a great guitar. Feels great, plays great. It's been painted black so I don't know what it's original finish was. He says it was "Cheetos Orange". Lol. The 500T pickups were ghastly though. He liked them for a while, but 57 Classics live in there now and the guitar sounds much better to me.

His has the greenish inlays and tuners. You're right, you don't really notice them so much until a regular Les Paul is also in the same room, then you'e like "wtf". :laughings:
 
Cheers, so its really down to whether you think the traditional wiring, Binding, better finish, better neck finishing, better fretjob and visual stuff is worth a grand.

Got to admit, when looking at the Studios, I wasn't exactly coveting them and I'm normally not into "visual fluff" I like to keep things basic - but the Studios weren't saying "I Am A Les Paul" to me. One of the reasons I briefly considered a Chibson.

I'm not gonna be making any major purchases until the end of the year (and that might be another amp as opposed to a guitar) but, given the size of the purchases (>£1k) I want to take the time to try everything out and be really sure of what I want.

Suppose its a never ending conundrum really that just comes down to a feeling of what you want to own purely as an ornament and how it will make you feel emotionally rather than any objective analysis of relative strengths and weaknesses.

You could spend 100 quid on your favourite pickup and do a really good set up on a Studio and you don't have anything demonstrably "less good" than a Trad... but then if you think of it like that you might as well get an ML2 and stick your favourite pickups in that.... just won't feel the same as having the real thing though will it..
 
JDOD said:
Cheers, so its really down to whether you think the traditional wiring, Binding, better finish, better neck finishing, better fretjob and visual stuff is worth a grand.

Got to admit, when looking at the Studios, I wasn't exactly coveting them and I'm normally not into "visual fluff" I like to keep things basic - but the Studios weren't saying "I Am A Les Paul" to me. One of the reasons I briefly considered a Chibson.

I'm not gonna be making any major purchases until the end of the year (and that might be another amp as opposed to a guitar) but, given the size of the purchases (>£1k) I want to take the time to try everything out and be really sure of what I want.

Suppose its a never ending conundrum really that just comes down to a feeling of what you want to own purely as an ornament and how it will make you feel emotionally rather than any objective analysis of relative strengths and weaknesses.

You could spend 100 quid on your favourite pickup and do a really good set up on a Studio and you don't have anything demonstrably "less good" than a Trad... but then if you think of it like that you might as well get an ML2 and stick your favourite pickups in that.... just won't feel the same as having the real thing though will it..
Click to expand...

I think that the Studio is a fine guitar, for the reasons you mentioned. A little updating and you could have a damn close approximation of a Standard. Admittedly, I do kind of look at the Studios as 2nd rate, but that's psychology and not really based in any reality. Although I do think that body and neck binding is an important part of the look and feel. It's hard to justify one way or the other with guitars...they're as much art as they are tools. So much is subjective about them.
 
Tadpui said:
It's hard to justify one way or the other with guitars...they're as much art as they are tools. So much is subjective about them.
Click to expand...
^this^

It kind of typifies the psychological conundrum that I have.
If you were to show me a generic Les Paul copy and a studio copy, something like an ML2, I'd think the Studio style guitar looks nicer - 'cos I just like minimalist stuff... the fact that its a real Les Paul just makes me like it more!
 
The Les Paul Traditional is a "return to form" for Gibson, IMHO. It would be my first choice if I was in the market right now (which I'm not), for reasons already mentioned in this thread so I'll not repeat.

Custom shop models are very nice, of course, but generally very expensive. I might be wrong in my perception (and Gibby's marketing department would likely disagree with me), but I think of the Traditional as the flagship Gibson product right now.
 
JDOD said:
^this^

It kind of typifies the psychological conundrum that I have.
If you were to show me a generic Les Paul copy and a studio copy, something like an ML2, I'd think the Studio style guitar looks nicer - 'cos I just like minimalist stuff... the fact that its a real Les Paul just makes me like it more!
Click to expand...

It's not really psychological though. The higher end LPs do feel different. They're more refined, and the build quality is usually better. Studios are great, they really are, but if you grab 5 Studios and 5 Standards, you'll start to get the differences pretty quick. Studios almost feel unfinished sometimes compared to a Standard or Traditional. IMO the consistency is less with Studios than it is with higher end models. Think of a Studio like a workhorse. A grocery getter. They do all the things a guitar is supposed to do, and they do it well. Then think of the Trad or Standard...or Custom...like a Ferrari or Mercedes. They do all the things a Studio does with more refinement, style, speed, flash, sex appeal, etc. Is all that flash and refinement worth the cost difference? That's up to you. But it is more than just binding and a glossy finish.
 
I won't pretend to know the inner circle stuff on Les Pauls, but every one i touch seems to feel different. I had my heart set on a Wine Red LP trad. Like it was my dream guitar for a long time. But, when i found one and played it.

I didn't like it. it didn't feel right to me. It sounded just how i wanted it to. And that was all well and good. But It wasn't what i was looking for. for a guitar to feel like in my hands. It just wasn't meant to be. it might feel great to someone else. Just wasn't for me. And i almost bought because it looked badass and i had built it up in my head that that is what i wanted. But my inner adult was telling me to not do that. A year later i found a dinky little LP, Jr, that felt amazing like a new pair of wool socks in the middle of a Canadian snow storm. Coincidentally it happened to be red. I guess that was my compromise.

In the end, i agree that not only sub species of LP's feel different but each guitar feels a little different from the other. Voodoo i tell you. Gibson Voodoo.

On another note i think the new robo tuning Gibsons just look gross. I am not a fan.
 
My Studio is a great guitar JDOD, but like Greg said, it's pretty stripped-down. Just the bare-bones basic LP. No binding, nothing fancy at all, just a Lester with 2 p'ups (490T, 490R), 4 knobs, & a toggle switch...My LP has the pcb with quick change plugs on the p'ups, but I think it still does a super job for what I bought it for: to play...The only thing I don't like about it is the butterscotch color of the poker chip, p'up rings & pickguard, but that's all cosmetic, & could be swapped out with minimal effort...

I think I actually lucked out on my LP, because I bought it online, & hadn't played it. Yeah, I took a pretty big gamble, but if I didn't like it, I'd sent it back, but it's still here...
 
Yeah, I'll just have to really shop around and try a few of them out at the end of the year. Decided that the ibanez will finally have to shift
 
I think I must be odd, because the LP has been just one of those guitars I've never felt I wanted to own. My main GAS is the Yamaha SG2000 but even that isn't a serious one. I just don't set great store by expensive instruments.
 
Bubba po said:
I think I must be odd, because the LP has been just one of those guitars I've never felt I wanted to own. My main GAS is the Yamaha SG2000 but even that isn't a serious one. I just don't set great store by expensive instruments.
Click to expand...
I seem to get it really bad. I don't spend frivolously though, I do really consider big purchases
 
dainbramage said:
Yeah, the Deluxe tuners really suck. Do they still use them? What I did was change them to Grover tuners on mine.
Click to expand...

I don't know. All of my Gibsons have Klusons or Grovers and I have no complaints with any of them. To me, a tuner is a tuner. As long as it works it's fine. They don't slip unless they're broken. Locking tuners and all that shit are great for quick string changes, but they do nothing for tuning stability.
 
Greg_L said:
I don't know. All of my Gibsons have Klusons or Grovers and I have no complaints with any of them. To me, a tuner is a tuner. As long as it works it's fine. They don't slip unless they're broken. Locking tuners and all that shit are great for quick string changes, but they do nothing for tuning stability.
Click to expand...

Mine (Studio 96 I think) had the "Gibson Deluxe" tuners and they must have all been broken then, because they couldn't hold tune for shit. One of them (I think the D-string) was worse than the others. Once I got the Grover tuners they never slipped. But what do I know; maybe putting new Deluxe's on them would be equally fine.
 
Maybe. All I know is a tuner is a simple worm gear mechanism, and that design will never slip unless something is wrong. You could have gone back with the exact same tuners and been fine.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top