Gibson Les Paul - Advice Please

[developer]

Ok, after the sound (npi) advice from the panel about electric acoustic guitars (ending in the purchase of a Taylor) and more sound advice about Fenders (ending in the purchase of an American Stratocaster Deluxe), the time has come to look at a Gibson Les Paul.

Prices range widely from £500 to £10,000.

I've learned some are two pick up, some three pick up and that there are some later ones with lighter, hollow bodies, that are frowned upon by the enthusiasts.

Can the panel advise what makes one better than another and what I should be looking for?

Thanks.

 

[Stratman]

The expensive ones are usually but not exclusively 'signature' models, which are exact copies of those played by famous players. Another main difference between the expensive and very expensive models can be the woods used. Super rare, highly figured and aesthetically pleasing woods can be nice to look at but sound no better than the basic mahogany with maple cap. Rare does not equal better.

Like you've already discovered, personal preference is the most important specification. Try as many as you can. Check the weight, Les Pauls are big chunks of solid mahogany, and after an hour or so you certainly know you've had a heavy guitar hanging on your shoulder.

Top Tip. NEVER leave an LP leaning against the wall. It WILL fall over and the headstock WILL break. They have a weak point just behind the nut at the truss rod adjustment. After the routing to make room for the adjuster has been done, there's not much wood left to counteract the string tension and it doesn't take much to break it. Guitar shops are used to repairing them, it's a handy source of regular income

Buying guide

 

[Ted]

Never owned a Les Paul as I always preferred the clean tones of a Strat, however I did find that the centre pickup was all but useless. So if it were me, a pair of humbuckers with a nice valve head unit should give a good rock sound. Of course an ES335 would REALLY give the 'classic' rock sound.
Edit: If he likes to play LOUD, then a hollow body is more likely to give unwanted feedback.

 

[flango]

Customer of mine just bought a sunburst telecaster of 1965 vintage belonging to one Mr Robert Zimmerman saw it in his office just before Christmas it's amazing

Not a musical note in me I'm afraid

Sent from my iPhone using MBClub UK

 

[BlueQuinn]

Get one.

I've got a Les Paul BFG which is about 6 years old now. It was one of the first of the modern 'chambered mahogany' bodies, with a rough, chiselled, unsanded, unlaquered finish, and it is the most fantastic guitar I have ever played. (and I own something like 14) It arrived, by post, in perfect tune. No kidding (Grover machines for the win!). They omitted the finish to reduce the price, but it had the great side-effect of making it look totally bad-ass.
These have weight-relieving cavities in the mahogany, and it really helps if you're standing up & gigging. It still sustains like you wouldn't believe, and does not induce unwanted feedback. Don't be put off by the 'enthusiasts' talking down the chambered mahogany body. I think they are being curmudgeonly. Chambered bodies are fantastic.
(I've read that modern mahogany stocks are denser and heavier than the old stuff, hence the weight relief, which apparently brings it closer to a 65 in weight. No idea if that's true.)

Assuming you're only talking about buying new, there are 2 different levels of guitar.
1. The Junior/Melody Maker - these omit the Tune-o-matic bridge and wrap the strings around the tailpiece. Juniors only have one pickup. To me both of these are less of a guitar.
2. The 'proper' one - these have the Tune-o-matic bridge. Well worth the extra money. Doesn't matter which one, they should all be great guitars.

Within the 'proper' line you get three basic finishes - the studio has paint and no binding, the standard has binding at the front, and the deluxe has binding at the rear also. Various limited variations thereof, with maple tops, satin, or no finishing, etc.

After that it's all about pickups, hardware and electronics. I've no idea what the difference is between the different humbuckers, or the different P90s (single coil), but they all seem to sound good. Some come with motorised machine heads now, and tune themselves to a selection of standard and alternative tunings, which must be nice.

Some of the entry level LP's that have been sold over the last couple of years look like absolute bargains. I doubt any one of them is a bad guitar, and I was sorely tempted on Black Friday to add an SG to my collection.

 

[grober]

I reckon this a reasonable comparison of the difference in tone between Mark Knopfler's humbucking Gibson and Eric Claptons single pickup'd Stratocaster.
[YOUTUBE]6D6cw8Ob2sk[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Richiebuoy]

Never owned a Les Paul as I always preferred the clean tones of a Strat, however I did find that the centre pickup was all but useless. So if it were me, a pair of humbuckers with a nice valve head unit should give a good rock sound. Of course an ES335 would REALLY give the 'classic' rock sound.
Edit: If he likes to play LOUD, then a hollow body is more likely to give unwanted feedback.

Or how about that undiscovered (almost) Custom Shop 336, often described as a cross between a 335 and a Les Paul, with a sound to die for and a weight/size/balance that beats them all

 

[millo777]

If you've already decided that you're buying a lester, then go and play as many as you can before buying. Don't ever consider buying one mail order.

Gibson is by all accounts a terrible company that churns out horribly inconsistent product aimed at lawyers and doctors that don't know any better. Even the more expensive custom shop guitars are patchy at best.

Most of the ones in shops I've played in shops in the last 10 years have all had sloppy fret work, badly fitted nuts, misaligned tuners, necks that have been poorly shimmed, inlays fixed with horrific quantities of filler.......and thats before you even examine the poor wood grains on their tops.

Gibson have come dead last in US employee surveys for many years. The lack or morale shows in the product. Have a read of what their employees say about the guitars they build on glassdoor.com

If you do find a good one, they are great. Unfortunately thats a very tough ask.

If you want a properly made LP type guitar, there are many alternatives worth checking out. Huber, Tyler, Suhr, Anderson, Skermetta....pretty much any decent builder.

fwiw, if you really must have a Gibson, keep some funds set aside for a local luthier to make it playable and budget for a complete refret.

 

[developer]

Thanks for the replies .

My lad has been asked to play Danny Kirwan to the other guy's Peter Green on FM numbers such as Albatross and Like It This Way.

He borrowed a Gold Top for more authenticity, but found it harder to play than his Strat Deluxe (the action, not the weight).

However, it's one of the other guy's spares (he has 6 Gibson's 4 of which are Les Paul's) so it might be that it's not in tip top condition.

We do have a LP expert to come with us, if we buy, and interestingly, our expert wants to steer clear of the hollowed bodies, though this may be more through familiarity than actual experience.

Thanks

 

[ChrisA]

The Rhythm Guitarist in my old band many moons ago had a Les Paul Custom and swore by it although our lead guitarist didn't like it and preferred his Strat.

Test before you buy as just like a car, needs to be a personal preference

 

[Jane270ML]

Contact S.Speed, Simon, on t'other side, he has something to do with musical instruments & maybe able to help.

 

[developer]

Contact S.Speed, Simon, on t'other side, he has something to do with musical instruments & maybe able to help.

Thank you - Simon and I are friends .

He's a stringed instrument restorer - violins etc.

 

[artyman]

Be nice to hear it when you finally get one.

 

[developer]

Update time.

We travelled 120 miles yesterday to collect this 2008 Les Paul Custom Shop in Ebony (sorry for the poor phone photo).

It's completely unmarked and has all the unopened case candy.

Musician son is well pleased .

 

[Ted]

That is lovely - Lucky lad!!

 

[camerafodder]

Nice!

 

[artyman]

Look forward to hearing sample from it.

 

[developer]

Look forward to hearing sample from it.

It will be used in anger this Friday evening (The Bear, Bridgnorth if anyone's around) instead of the red Fender Deluxe used for this gig:

 

[grober]

Nice guitar hope he enjoys it.

In the end it's down to the guy playing it of course. I posted this in what everybody's listening to- but worth a repost if just for JJ explaining what he did to an old Harmony round hole guitar at 4mins in. Lord have mercy! A classic illustration of the "its not the guitar its the guitarist principle!"
[YOUTUBE HD]IaHxPi9dM7o[/YOUTUBE HD]

 

[CL500peter]

Developer, consider an Epiphone Les Paul, prices lower and can sound better than the poorer Gibson version.

CL500peter