Printable Version of Topic

Posted by: Rated Htr Sep 8 2008, 02:02 PM

Already have a Fender American Stratocaster, have a cheap Ibanez and now, my eyes are on Gibson's Les Pauls...
The question is, which one would suit me best? I Usually play lots of metal related things, more for melodic and power metal...

Any suggestions?

Posted by: OrganisedConfusion Sep 8 2008, 02:06 PM

Not a Les Paul

But that's me

I'd get a Caparison for that sort of money for power metal. But I did that anyway

Posted by: Rated Htr Sep 8 2008, 02:11 PM

Yeah, I'm opened to other suggestions as well...
So I can go try of course ;D

Posted by: OrganisedConfusion Sep 8 2008, 02:17 PM

I know Marcus plays Gibson Les Paul's for metal music but I prefer other guitars for metal personally. I guess it's best just to try loads out and see which you think sounds the best for the metal you like.

Posted by: Rated Htr Sep 8 2008, 02:24 PM

Yeah, but the question is our local shop is now full of gibson les pauls, and it's kinda hard going there and asking to experiment all of them so I wanted like, 3 ideas so I can base of the experiment

Posted by: Emir Hot Sep 8 2008, 02:26 PM

Les Paul is my choice

Posted by: Rated Htr Sep 8 2008, 02:27 PM

You mean Standard?

Posted by: fatb0t Sep 8 2008, 02:48 PM

I literally two days ago bought a Gibson Les Paul Standard with a AA Desertburst finish and Burstbuckers....I'm trying it out to really FIGURE it all out then I'm going to do a review of it.

Posted by: Danilo Capezzuto Sep 8 2008, 03:05 PM

Just try more guitar you can! I think les Paul are great but you can find other brands who'll fit you better...try some MusicMan and some ESP too. You Are the metal...not the guitar!

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Sep 8 2008, 07:07 PM

Les Paul Standard should be awesome , so why don't you go there and try it out..That's the best way to see if it suits you..

Posted by: Rated Htr Sep 8 2008, 08:12 PM

Musicman they don't have, I really wanted to try some ESPs but don't know where ..So since they have gibson now, I wanna try them, so I really wanted atleast 3 gibsons to compare =)

Posted by: MattE Sep 8 2008, 08:14 PM

The Caparison Dellinger II (I think the II) is a great metal guitar (but very pricey)
ESP and Schecter also have good reputations for being metal-friendly

It's all a matter of personal preference. Try them out

Posted by: Toni Suominen Sep 8 2008, 08:38 PM

What's your price range? Schecter also makes good metal-guitars, and you get your moneys worth. But Les Pauls are great for metal with their Mahogany-bodys, so in my opinion they suit for that kind of playing very well (aswell as every other style too).

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Sep 8 2008, 09:17 PM

LP is a great guitar, you really won't make a mistake buying one. As you already have Strat and Ibanez, next step is probably LP. But go into store and try out several LP models, I'm sure you will find one of them good. It is a heavy guitar for some serious heavy tone

Posted by: kjutte Sep 8 2008, 09:19 PM

get a better ibanez or put a humbucker into the strat in bridge.

Posted by: Rated Htr Sep 8 2008, 09:46 PM

For now, I don't have a problem with prices, but later after I've seen all my options I'll make the counts

Posted by: jacmoe Sep 8 2008, 09:51 PM

The best off the three worlds would probably be PRS.

Posted by: Noangels Sep 8 2008, 09:58 PM

Get a LP,either classic or standard.I have a classic that is used as the main workhorse these days as it works so well with a screaming tube amp.clean or mean,their tones are superb and suitable for any style of music you care to throw at it

The standards are another great model.I played one a couple of years ago in a local music shop and I was very impressed with its build and tone.Playability is as always outstanding,and the short scale length makes it even easier on the fingers


One thing you may have to watch out for is the pick up selector switch being on the top of the body.It can be easy to knock into the middle posistion when your tapping shapes up and down the neck

Posted by: Juan M. Valero Sep 9 2008, 12:05 AM

mmm if you play metal you can also try JACKSON, I prefer ESP, (I'm not too happy with Ibanez lately...).
Caparison would be a good one.

Posted by: Rated Htr Sep 9 2008, 12:43 AM

Well, I think most of you are missing the objective...I like ESP, Jackson and everything, but here in my city, I have a very tiny shop, that only has gibsons, some fenders and some other less known mark, since I already have a fender, I wanted to try some gibsons, I would love to try jacksons, esps and even those caparisons, but right now, I don't know how

Posted by: Velvet Roger Sep 9 2008, 08:53 AM

Isn't there any way to travel a bit to a town which has more options?

Imho it would be a shame if you choose an LP (which are great guitars of course), while your perfect guitar is maybe another brand?

In the past I made a similar mistake, not bothering going to a shop further away to check out more guitars, which I still regret.

Posted by: Juan M. Valero Sep 9 2008, 12:37 PM

yeah,that's a big problem... and there are any friend or player than can gives you his guitar to take a look ?? It's an important decission so I think that trying different guitars is a must .

Posted by: OrganisedConfusion Sep 9 2008, 01:02 PM

I will sell you my Caparison TAT2 for £1000 I bought it for £1750.

Posted by: Koopid Sep 12 2008, 06:40 PM

Don't buy a guitar of that pricerange and quality because there is nothing else in your store! Go somewhere else and play

The Les Paul standard or Les Paul Classic are the ones to try. Les Pauls are very heavy though!

I went and tried a music man (dont remember the model) and a couple of PRS's 2 days ago. While I was there I also tried a Les Paul custom, A Les Paul Deluxe (the alpine white one with gold hardware, is it the most beautiful guitar ever?) and the Slash signature one (it has SD pickups, just had to try it).

The chances of me picking a Gibson Les Paul as next guitar is very low, the guitar is very heavy and it didnt play nearly as nice as the PRS. The music man was a dream to play too, but I prefered the sound (and looks) of the PRS.

I play mostly metal too and the guitar is less of a factor than the amp and yourself in my opinion. I prefer humbuckers for metal but Iron Maiden seems to be doing quite well with singlecoil Fenders so there you go

I'll probably get the PRS Custom 22 as soon as I get the money.

The point I am trying to make is that you should pick the guitar you like to play most, if you like the Gibson, get it. It is very heavy but it sounds great and looks freaken awesome. If you just want the Les Paul model ESP has some really nice looking (and sounding) guitars, Eclipse I/II both plays and sounds great and are available with both active and passive humbuckers and weighs a bit less.

Posted by: Oxac Sep 12 2008, 08:57 PM

Make sure to try at least 5 standards, different years. Try a supreme if they have one and at least 2 customs. Try 1 studio at least and probably 2-3 classic. Then you have Les Pauls pretty figured out.

Posted by: jer Sep 12 2008, 09:59 PM

Anyone with an eye on les pauls should look at the ESP LTD EC-1000 Deluxes too.

VERY nice. 2 different pickup options. Serious price difference.

Agreed, I wouldnt spend the money you'll spend on a Les Paul without first playing its competitors and justifying the extra cash. I dont know what the guitar market is like in Portugal but if you can get to a store with more choices, I sure would. You can always go back to thelocal shop and buy the Les Paul if thats what you like the best.

Its a big decision.

Unless you are just plain wealthy.

Look closely at those Maiden strats. I was watching the Rock In Rio DVD last night and noticed something about those skinny pickups.....

Posted by: inertia Sep 13 2008, 02:41 AM

I agree that the les paul classic and standard are great, I would also check out the basic Les Paul Custom, they're a bit more than the Standard but not way more expensive, they aren't chambered or weight relieved so while heavy they have amazing tone...also necks may be a consideration, classics as far as I know normally have a 60's neck, standards you can get in either 60's or 50s (50's are a big chunkier neck), and the customs generally have a bit bigger necks, plus all three models I have mentioned use different pickups, the classics have very hot ceramics, great for metal, all 3 are great and versatile