Best "new" Les Paul's??

[21_guitars]

Here is the one I bought.

 

[21_guitars]

Sorry, didn't know the pic would be so big.

 

[TheMagicEight]

Please excuse my ignorance, but what is a "Lester"?

R9/R7 refers to '59 or '57 reissue, correct?

I played a new Traditional/Classic (Tobacco burst) at GC yesterday and it was ok. $1,899 and the pickups were hot and crunchy which I prefer. The action was kinda high and the neck could be a little thicker.

The VOS Les Pauls seemed like they were pretty nice but not too pretty. haha

"Lester", aka Lester Paul, aka Les Paul.

I'd definitely agree with Mo on this; custom shop is the only way to go if you don't want to sacrifice quality. One, they're made with better wood (one piece mahogany vs two on non customs) that's chosen for tone and not simply because it's classified as mahogany.

Two, they have different neck joints. The neck of a non custom contacts the body with much less area and a LOT more glue in between. This is because the bottom of the neck, where it touches the back, is arched to make installing it easier (short tenon). The custom shop is flat and contacts everywhere (long tenon). It's more expensive to build a guitar with a long tenon because they need to be perfect. See the picture below (ignore transitional)

The VOS models are sent out of the factory with a "gunk" applied to them. They polish up perfectly fine; 20 minutes with some Virtuoso cleaner and polish and you'll be looking at a beautiful, glassy finish.

edit:
another view of the neck joint

 

[bonedarrell]

Why that opposition to the Custom Shops? I have R7's and R8's that are historic reissues from the custom shop that all date 2005 and lower. These earlier historics are the bet made IMO.

 

[richedie]

Weight relieving started in the 80s. Why are you so against it? I have a 1994 weight relieved LP Standard and 2004 Standard and both rock and both I prefer over Historics I have played. I do however really like the new Standards and Traditionals.

 

[thegame]

As simple as an idea that is, I've never seen anything like it. To my surprise, it works for me. Thats cool, congrats

Here is the one I bought.

 

[charveldan]

Haven't seen anything i have to have.

Murphy Aged FTW.

 

[Greg Riley]

I hate weight relieved and chambered Les Pauls period. The newer USA series with the tall narrow frets and Plek job..makes me wanna puke. Now when I pick up a new Custom Shop..the difference is night and day. I'd spend the extra grand for a Custom Shop Standard over a USA series Standard. Or get a R7, R8, or R9 solid. GC in Nashville has like 50 or more Custom Shop Les Pauls and over a 100 Les Pauls...it's insane. It's like the Gibson Store now, since the Gibson Store was flooded out at Opry Mill Mall a few years ago. It's a great place to compare Les Pauls. Music Zoo always has a huge selection too. If it's not before like 84..it's gotta be a Custom Shop to be a real Les Paul. I do dig the Axcess Les Pauls (which are Custom Shops). I had no problems with the Classics until they made the Custom Classic. Whatever you decide, just make sure it's solid all the way thru...and not a wannabe Les Paul for pussies..

 

[SLOgriff]

Why that opposition to the Custom Shops? I have R7's and R8's that are historic reissues from the custom shop that all date 2005 and lower. These earlier historics are the bet made IMO.

I think it's because I worked at GC(Dallas) in 1999 and I saw a handful of Custom Shop's that had flaws in them while the prices were ridiculous. A "Custom Shop" guitar should almost be flawless in glue joints, inlays, and final assembly. Honestly, it's only because I may have a "negative / false" impression of them.....but I'm probably wrong in my thinking. That's why is nice to have these discussions so we can learn and get educated on the truth's and specifics.

 

[muudrock]

Not sure if your into it, but the Alex Lifeson Axcess is nice. No clambering, not weight relieved, super sweet neck, rosewood fretboard and great neck and no heel. Has a Floyd, which I dig on this guitar which also has piezo saddles too. Pricey, but I found one for a good price.

I don't think Gibson has anything else recently that fits your criteria

What's a good price on a Lifeson? Any pics?

I got mine for $2200. They are $3500ish new retail.

The Axcess models might not be chambered or "weight relieved" but they are slimmer than a "normal" Les Paul. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but it isn't the same as a solid full-thickness LP.

True, but has more mass to it the weight relieved and chambered I compared it to. You can feel the difference in weight and how it hangs when you have it strapped on. Playing it, I don't notice the slight difference in thickness, but the Belly scarf is a very nice feature I wish was on all the LPs.

 

[mniel8195]

Whats a good year for newer custom shop les paul customs? are they still making them as nice as they were lets say 10 years ago? im very interested in this topic. I love the gold tops, whites, blacks, and pedlham blues forsure.

 

[Zap]

Here is the one I bought.

That's so badass! There's something really clean and cool looking about single pickup guitars, LPs included. Wildwood has a few of those in Ebony with gold hardware.

 

[21_guitars]

Thanks, it wasn't what I was planning on buying. Only had it a few weeks, so far I'm liking it.

For those looking for an LP, you might try here:
http://cvguitars.com/PGMod/index.html

He also makes an LP copy, and has a return policy if you don't like it.

I bought LCPG-229 three years ago and will not part with it.

 

[Shawn Lutz]

I believe even some of the custom shops are chambered too.

I just got a 2012 Traditional Plus, great guitar. It is not chambered but is weight relieved but mine still weighs in at 9.6 lbs. It is a great guitar and I'm 100% happy with it. I was thinking I would need to replace the pickups but I was really surprised, the 57 classics kick ass. I just got this Thursday and I haven't put it down enough to put my own strings on or set it up, straight out of the box its perfect. Plecked neck and the 50's profile has some beef too it but extremely comfortable for me but I'm a fat classical neck kinda guy.

Here's a couple pics

The last one was from the auction first couple are from my iPhone.

I agree you should go and get you hands on whatever you can. I did all my research online before I even bought and I bought mine without having put my hands on it. I guess I lucked out The MLP forum was a big help for me. I lurked and read a lot, Also check out Gibson's website to make sure you get a spec that you like. There are far too many LP's with slight differences.

http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electri ... Specs.aspx

 

[mdc1mdc11]

bought a custom shop 1960 reissue a while back. Very nice guitar and records well, really noticeable with lead playing. talk to the folks at route66 guitars they will do you right.

 

[jabps]

I've always been a strat w/humbucker's guitar guy. I been playing the Suhr S1& S2 Pro Series for a few years now, which are basically super strats, and are really nice guitars. However, the necks are just a little thin for tastes and I find they limit my playing. I need and expect "quality" with my amps and guitars....

Been thinking about getting a Les Paul for a different tone and feel, but it seems there are a lot of "less than quality" Les Paul's on the market these days and I can't make heads or tails of these. I want a solid mahogany body (no weight releaved or chambered), thick neck and quality parts and assembly. I DO NOT want custom shop.

So which ones are the ones to get these days??

I know this isn't what your asking but I gotta say buy a used one if it's your first LP purchase. Search around...deals are out there. I saw a GT the other day for around 1200. Gibson has done a better job at getting the new ones more consistent but it's still very hit or miss IMO. I've had as many a 4 LP's at one time...down to my fave 2 now and those 2 were used when I bought them. Even at that though...coming from strats to a LP your gonna have a transistion period. Alex Lifeson said in an interview a few years ago that you really have to break Gibson's in...and I agree. Once you find one that's comfortable off the bat...then break it in, you'll love it. I'd find a nice used Standard and start from there. Don't get hung to much up on the weigh relieved thing. This might be poo pooed here but look for an old 90's / early 2000's era Les Paul Classic and Classic +. One of the best LP's they've made in the last 2 decades...that comes from my friend that actually works in the Gibson custom shop. Very consistent. The down side...the aged inlays..you can have them replaced though. I have one LP Classic+... the inlays aren't very dark on mine(some can be bad) and an early 90's Standard. They've been my main guitars for nearly 10 years. Love them.

 

[Anonymous]

i dont get why the neck pocket is so disasterous looking on the "short" version..
and even the long version looks like it's suspect..i'm sure that wouldn't be up to Les Paul's standard if he were running Q&A. what a crock these fucks are trying to push off as quality...no wonder the majority of them are duds these days...my cousin just bought a 2011 57 reissue....and while i haven't played it, 3k for a guitar that he was "sold" due to "jimmy page played this same guitar"...well, i hope he got his money's worth!

i'd be ashamed to send either of those 2 neck/body joints out the door....wtf....for 2500 or more, none the less. thats insulting to us as consumers....fuck those new gibsons and their "model" differences..
why can't a les paul just be a les paul....classic plus historic, studio world blah blah blah...wtf is this crap?
i wonder if eSP or charvel bolt on necks have that much of a shitty gap...on their 900$ version to boot.

this day and age, with manufacturing perfected...you'd think gibson would've figured out how to get it right, EVERY time..instead....buying a les paul is like buying fucking mega million ticket...maybe, but...maybe not i'll have a winner. what kind of crap is that? nevermind, it's just big business...it's just the way things are....so, we can just excuse it all away...right? WRONG. don't buy one. that's how you make them get this shit right.

/rant.

sorry, this kind of shit CLEARLY pisses me off....i got lucky with the 4 i have...all tone monsters...but still....it fuckin sucks.

 

[not jackie chan]

yeah I don't really want to buy a new one, but as I said in an earlier post there are literally no older gibson lp standards for sale on craigslist around here in a fairly major metro area (and I'm not about to buy sight unseen from ebay).
I just started looking within the last month, so I want to know, is this an anomaly or do people just not sell the old ones often?

 

[robertkoa]

Please excuse my ignorance, but what is a "Lester"?

R9/R7 refers to '59 or '57 reissue, correct?

I played a new Traditional/Classic (Tobacco burst) at GC yesterday and it was ok. $1,899 and the pickups were hot and crunchy which I prefer. The action was kinda high and the neck could be a little thicker.

The VOS Les Pauls seemed like they were pretty nice but not too pretty. haha

"Lester", aka Lester Paul, aka Les Paul.

I'd definitely agree with Mo on this; custom shop is the only way to go if you don't want to sacrifice quality. One, they're made with better wood (one piece mahogany vs two on non customs) that's chosen for tone and not simply because it's classified as mahogany.

Two, they have different neck joints. The neck of a non custom contacts the body with much less area and a LOT more glue in between. This is because the bottom of the neck, where it touches the back, is arched to make installing it easier (short tenon). The custom shop is flat and contacts everywhere (long tenon). It's more expensive to build a guitar with a long tenon because they need to be perfect. See the picture below (ignore transitional)

The VOS models are sent out of the factory with a "gunk" applied to them. They polish up perfectly fine; 20 minutes with some Virtuoso cleaner and polish and you'll be looking at a beautiful, glassy finish.

edit:
another view of the neck joint

WOW ! Very interesting- I don't own an LP but I might and I naively thought that the "Tenon Thing" was just a matter of the LENGTH extended into the body.

BUT-the fact that the "Short Tenon" includes a sloppier fit with less contact is more significant- I'm sure some "short tenon "LPs sound great BUT I'd much rather have the Long Tenon / tighter fit because of more tone transfer and just increasing the chance for greatness.

I did like the Bonamassa Studio Les Paul- is that actually a Long Tenon even though it's a Studio ? Or is Long Tenon only on the Bonamassa Custom Shop LPs ?

I don't like loose neck joints on Bolt Ons either- isn't this what CNC Machines are for ? To get precisely shaped pieces of wood that fit together ?

The other thing is ( I'm not a Luthier or a Tech but.....) Franklin Glue is not meant to fill in GAPS- at least if they're doing it this way they should use some kind of Epoxy with lots of wood fiber or resonant material that has a hardener and will fill in gaps and still cure properly- ( JB Guitar Weld ?- ha.)

Oh yeah- Not An Expert but- of all the Les Paul Studios I played recently the Bonamassa Studio impressed me the most - an excellent Guitar IMO- listen to the Youtube Demos-serious tone.

Don't know if it was just that one- or they are ALL as good - but the Bonamassa Studio I played was impressive.

 

[robertkoa]

IMHO the best new Les Pauls are made by Heritage.

If they would shorten the Headstock-IMO they'd be more popular.

I know there are Trademark issues but it does not have to be so LOOOOOOOONG.

Someone needs to tell them.