Gibson Les Paul, I just tested 8 different models over a JVM!!! |
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Nov 1 2008, 05:20 PM
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I really love Les Pauls and I went by the music store today for another reason, but then I just decided trying out Les Pauls. It comes up that stayed for 3 hours
 in the store and I tested 8 models on increasing price order. Of course I plugged them on a Marshall ( JVM half stack) and tried throughout the channels. Naturally, everyone has its own opinions and tastes, but maybe not everyone has the chance to do an extensive test like I did today, so I will share my impressions. I started with Epiphone Les Paul Custom, since this a guitar I owned for 3 years, and I wanted to use it as a baseline. It is good for the price you pay, but it is perhaps the heaviest guitar on earth (much more than double necks) and it is a little bit hard to play, IMO. Once you try other Les Pauls this one seems a little bit wrong, but if this is the only one within budget is a good go. Gibson Les-Paul Studio - This one gives "the real" Les Paul sound. If you compare it to the epiphone one it is a large improvement, that definitely worths the money. However I found it a little bit difficult to play (I am not a pro like Gabriel to shred on this) Gibson Les-Paul Standard Faded - Really vintage sound. "Black dog" and "Back in Black" sounded just right  . Easier to play than studio. Don't like the look though.  Gibson Les Paul Slash Goldtop - I am big fan of Slash, so simply this was under my expectations.  You pay too much extra for the nice hat on the headstock. The one thing I liked is the distorted lead sound when you go up on the neck. I will attribute that to the Alnico Pro IIs... If anything good this is a limited edition, so it may gain value over time.Gibson Les-Paul Traditional - This is one of those guitars one can say is a good deal for the money you pay. It's overall very good: tone, playability, look and price.  Gibson Les-Paul Standard 60 - I really liked the neck. From all I tested this was the one the played the easiest. However there was "something a little wrong"  in the sound on my opinion. Perhaps its exactly the neck that makes the tone difference... Still really great guitar.Gibson Les-Paul Standard 08 - This guitar is really a state of art in guitar craftsmanship.  I don't have any money for new guitars right now (specially at this price range), but this is the one I want to buy in the future. The sound is not exactly vintage, but it is amazing. Maybe people will be calling 08 LP sound "the one" vintage sound in 30 years. The neck is amazingly thick but somehow it plays very very nicely. I was impressed. One can really feel the difference of the burstbucker pro (compared to the regular burstbucker ). Some features are really great. The tuners are best quality I've ever seen, the jack locks the cable inside the guitar and the strap can be locked (Wow. No more bad cable connection on stage nor guitars dropping to the floor)On Gibson's website it says "Improving a legend isn't easy but it's happened". Now I believe it.  Gibson Les Paul Custom - This guitar is on a league of its own. Sound is beyond perfectness. Also has a thick neck and plays easily. This guitar is real something. The problem about this guitar is that the price is also on league of its own...
This post has been edited by Gus: Nov 2 2008, 11:56 AM -------------------- my "Thank you GMC!" video
If you like it please vote in the competition ;-) Gus Stairway to Guitar Heaven - my practice agenda Check out my lesson here Phrygian Dominant Solo lesson Gear : Ibanez RGT320q (I just love the neck-thru sustain), Washburn EA-20SDL (acoustic 6 string), Standard strat (Mexico), POD X3 Live Some of my Guitar heroes: Jimmy Page, Slash, Kirk Hammett, Augusto Licks, Joe Satriani, Gus G, David Gilmour, Mark Knopfler... |
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Nov 1 2008, 08:08 PM
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i dont really like lespauls.
my personal taste on those budget is a jackson,or an ESP i dont mind one free haha ^^ ty for the opnion |
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Nov 1 2008, 08:18 PM
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Wow, nice job Gus! This is quit helpful!
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Nov 1 2008, 10:45 PM
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QUOTE (Xuestor @ Nov 1 2008, 10:35 PM)  I'm curious why U didn't like the Slash goldtop... Can you explain more about that? Was the neck good etc. I've been interested in that model.... It is not a bad guitar at all. It's just that it's overpriced. I would say it's more or less on the level the standard faded. Still, it costs about 30% more (on the shop I looked). With the money you put on it you can go with several options which in my opinion were way better: traditional, standard 60s neck, standard 50s neck (which I did not try) or with a little more the standard 2008. But the overpricing is a general issue with most signature guitars, I guess...  Of course if you have the chance to try this model, do it. Don't feel discouraged based on my comments. People have different tastes. One thing I really liked about the Slash goldtop is the sound, which is really close to Slash but to be fair I did not like the playability much. QUOTE (Jesse @ Nov 1 2008, 05:28 PM) Nice stuff ^^ I played les paul when i was choosing my epiphone... But I just thought they were too huge, clumsy and heavy.. htne I played the sg and I took off!!!! The epiphone LPs are indeed really heavy and clumsy. The Gibson are still a little heavy and clumsy but nothing compared to the epis. But I am also heavy and clumsy, so I don't mind  . But that shows how much opinion differs. SG just don't feel right for me, hehe.
This post has been edited by Gus: Nov 1 2008, 10:52 PM -------------------- my "Thank you GMC!" video
If you like it please vote in the competition ;-) Gus Stairway to Guitar Heaven - my practice agenda Check out my lesson here Phrygian Dominant Solo lesson Gear : Ibanez RGT320q (I just love the neck-thru sustain), Washburn EA-20SDL (acoustic 6 string), Standard strat (Mexico), POD X3 Live Some of my Guitar heroes: Jimmy Page, Slash, Kirk Hammett, Augusto Licks, Joe Satriani, Gus G, David Gilmour, Mark Knopfler... |
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Nov 2 2008, 11:58 AM
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QUOTE (rokchik @ Nov 1 2008, 11:08 PM) I have a Les Paul Standard, Ebony with a 60's neck and I LOVE it. You will lose a bit of sustain and tone with the 60's neck so I've been told but to me it still sounds sweet. Yeah, you are right that it still sounds sweet. Without considering the custom (because of price) the 60s neck standard would be my second choice (after the 2008 standard) This post has been edited by Gus: Nov 2 2008, 12:01 PM -------------------- my "Thank you GMC!" video
If you like it please vote in the competition ;-) Gus Stairway to Guitar Heaven - my practice agenda Check out my lesson here Phrygian Dominant Solo lesson Gear : Ibanez RGT320q (I just love the neck-thru sustain), Washburn EA-20SDL (acoustic 6 string), Standard strat (Mexico), POD X3 Live Some of my Guitar heroes: Jimmy Page, Slash, Kirk Hammett, Augusto Licks, Joe Satriani, Gus G, David Gilmour, Mark Knopfler... |
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Nov 2 2008, 12:19 PM
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Hey Gus,
I have a Les Paul Standard with a faded finish and a 1960's neck. The first thing I did was to pull the burstbucker pickups out and put in the Doug Aldrich model Suhr humbuckers. Talk about a BIG difference in tone. It will definitely give you that killer rock/blues tone. I play through a Peavey 6505+ head and cabinet. Give the faded finish another try. The nice thing about it is there is no finish on the neck. You can really fly on it compared to the other Les Paul models and the price is below $2K. Mike -------------------- Classical And Electric Guitar Instructor
M.M. Guitar Performance Visit The Guitar Academy of Western North Carolina Send Me An Email |
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Nov 2 2008, 03:15 PM
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Thanks for sharing your experiences with LPs, very useful information. I didn't know that 08 was such a great in quality.
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Nov 3 2008, 09:45 AM
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Thanks Gus for sharing this with us.
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Nov 3 2008, 01:33 PM
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QUOTE (Xuestor @ Nov 2 2008, 04:29 PM) the 08 models doesn't have anything to do with the VOS models do they? Cause I've seen a bunch of models labeled Standard 08 VOS on ebay. I'm sceptical about that though.... Not really, I just learned that VOS means Vintage Original Specs. Standard 2008 is actually about exactly the opposite: redesigned specs, even though they did keep and even improved all the good things that made Les Paul a legend (thick sound, look, etc). Actually, after testing this guitar I've been reading more about it on the internet, and I may make a complete review only about it very soon. There is probably always going to be space for vintage specs Gibsons and Fenders. But I understand Standard 2008 as Gibson's movement to counter attack other brands that don't have a vintage inheritage (Let's say PRS, ESP, Ibanez). I'd say it made exactly the right movement. This guitar blew my mind. This post has been edited by Gus: Nov 3 2008, 01:34 PM -------------------- my "Thank you GMC!" video
If you like it please vote in the competition ;-) Gus Stairway to Guitar Heaven - my practice agenda Check out my lesson here Phrygian Dominant Solo lesson Gear : Ibanez RGT320q (I just love the neck-thru sustain), Washburn EA-20SDL (acoustic 6 string), Standard strat (Mexico), POD X3 Live Some of my Guitar heroes: Jimmy Page, Slash, Kirk Hammett, Augusto Licks, Joe Satriani, Gus G, David Gilmour, Mark Knopfler... |
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Nov 3 2008, 04:08 PM
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Cool info there Gus, just the other day I was checking out the new featurres on Standard 08 LPs, and they seem to b amazing, though I believe their price to be even bigger than previous LP Standard models. I'll try one as soon as one arrives in my local shop!
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