Not all Pauls are created equal?

[amiller]

I saw a review of the new DiMarzio PAF 36th anniversary pup on Comcast last night. Paul R. from Guitar World was comparing that pup in an original Gibson 59 LP and his own Gibson re-issue of the same guitar. He played both guitars with no amplification to demonstrate the difference in tone. Man, there was a huge difference. The original sounded louder, fuller and warmer. The re-issue sounded thin and stiff. He then proceeded to play both guitars (both equipped with a PAF 36th anniversary pup) through an amp and the difference in tone was amazing. I was really surprised by the huge difference in tone. I mean, they're supposed to be real similiar 'cause one is a re-issue of the other right?

It makes me want to go on my own LP Holy Grail quest.

 

[Anonymous]

There are far more bad to just meh.Les Pauls out there than good ones...of any vintage

 

[stephen sawall]

There are far more bad to just meh.Les Pauls out there than good ones...of any vintage

I agree 62000 %

 

[Marshall Freak]

I disagree completely. There are some tone turds out there, but it's not that normal of an occurrence. The absolute knock your socks off "Holy shit what is that thing??" Les Pauls are rare, but no more rare than any other Strat/Super Strat/PRS/Tele/whatever.

No two guitars are "equal", it doesn't matter what brand or type.

 

[stephen sawall]

I was going to say I feel that way about all guitars ....

 

[amiller]

OK, I was not trying to single out Gibson quality control. I'm sure other manufacturers have tone differences from guitar to guitar of the "same" model. I was just surprised how much different two "similar" models can sound...NO MATTER WHO THE MANUFACTURER is!

I guess my point is that it has become VERY clear to me that one should play a guitar and listen to it firsthand before purchasing. I doubt I'll ever get another guitar without having played if first...'just my 2 cents.

 

[stratotone]

I'd hope there was a difference between the guitar that had been played for 50+ years and the new one. We're comparing a guitar that has had 50 years to age, the wood was likely better, etc.

Regarding LPs, the best one I've heard lately was my LP Faded Standard. I think the thin finish makes a huge difference, and I love the burstbucker pros. I cherry picked the red flametop standard I had a few years ago, this one kills it.

Pete

 

[amiller]

...Regarding LPs, the best one I've heard lately was my LP Faded Standard. I think the thin finish makes a huge difference, and I love the burstbucker pros. I cherry picked the red flametop standard I had a few years ago, this one kills it.

Pete

I've got two LP STDs. They're both cool guitars, however, one definitely sounds better to my ears than the other. Knowing what I know now, I wish I had "cherry picked" both. I think I'm going to always be scoping out LPs when every I visit a music store. If I find one that's a stand out, I just may have to sell one of my current Pauls.

 

[RockNRollBabyHead]

I've played 3 original 59 bursts.
All 3 were
They may have Mojo, but that is all they had.

 

[Marshall Law]

I've played 3 original 59 bursts.
All 3 were
They may have Mojo, but that is all they had.

I have a bridge I will sell you

 

[carl roa]

Not all Les Pauls are created equal ... more true now than ever! You really need to play the guitar and A-B a bunch for yourself. I have found a lot of variance, for whatever reason, with Gibson and Fender. Two guitars, same model, both side by side on the rack, and they have a completely different tone. I find a lot of dead and non-responsive instruments out there ... kind of discouraging, but if you are willing to out some time in you can find some outstanding guitars brand new. I did find a really great SG Reissue and LP 58 Reissue after going through dozens.

BTW, I have found Suhr guitars to be incredibly consistent ... and great. So there are manufactures who will put the time in to make sure all there instruments are "above the line".

 

[amiller]

Hmmm...

I'm wondering if some of the differences in tone from instrument to instrument are out of the manufacturer's control. A big part of the tone of any guitar is the wood. I imagine that even if two guitar bodies are cut (doubtful) from the same piece of wood there are still differences in those bodies. Wood doesn't grow uniformly. There are differences in density within a block of wood. When you think about it, it's no wonder there are differences in tone. In fact, I think it would be pretty unusual for two guitars to sound exactly the same.

All the more reason to play before you pay.

 

[Vrad]

I can't speak for vintage Les Pauls, but I've played like 20 or so new ones at the local GC over the past several years and I have no idea what people are talking about as far as QC. Now, I was playing R7's, R8's, 1 R9, Regular Standards and Customs... so the good stuff. All were terrific guitars. None had any apparent QC issues that I could spot. I loved the Burstbuckers. Out of those LP's that I've played, the Goldtops always sounded stunning. The others were just very good!
So I view all this complaining as just people with 1) Unrealistic expectations 2) A banged up LP that a bunch of 10 year olds played. I hear far more bitching about Gibson's QC than PRS, I've played my fair share of both and find their QC to be similar on similarly priced models.

On a side note, Gibson's QC on things like Explorers and their lower-end stuff isn't good at all in my experience. They don't seem to give a rat's ass about that price point.

 

[stephen sawall]

The guitars I own have much more resonance and are much louder not plugged in than anyone else's I play or find. I spent almost 2 years hitting every music store in Michigan / Wisconsin / Chicago
(all of them) to find the Les Paul that is my number 1.

One of the best sounding Gibson's I ever played was a Explorer.

 

[stratotone]

I can't speak for vintage Les Pauls, but I've played like 20 or so new ones at the local GC over the past several years and I have no idea what people are talking about as far as QC. Now, I was playing R7's, R8's, 1 R9, Regular Standards and Customs... so the good stuff. All were terrific guitars. None had any apparent QC issues that I could spot. I loved the Burstbuckers. Out of those LP's that I've played, the Goldtops always sounded stunning. The others were just very good!
So I view all this complaining as just people with 1) Unrealistic expectations 2) A banged up LP that a bunch of 10 year olds played. I hear far more bitching about Gibson's QC than PRS, I've played my fair share of both and find their QC to be similar on similarly priced models.

On a side note, Gibson's QC on things like Explorers and their lower-end stuff isn't good at all in my experience. They don't seem to give a rat's ass about that price point.

I've seen standards with shitty fret jobs - file marks on the frets, one had the binding taped off badly and the paint 'line' was off. Never seen anything like that on any PRS.

Strangely enough, I have a faded SG and a faded Explorer - both were picked out of a bunch of 'regular' SGs (standards) and regular explorers. necks are straight and frets are great on my guitars, but some of the more expensive versions they had were CRAP! One SG standard had a neck that could have been used as a roller coaster for fleas, it was so humpy.

Pete

 

[stephen sawall]

I believe this is a mistake a lot of people make ....
Most of what you pay for is the "prettying" up of the guitar.
Binding / paint job / grain / etc.

In no way does this make a guitar sound good.
Often the cheaper guitars sound much better. Even if it is not as pretty. I always try them out not plugged in. I can change the electronics. But I can not make a piece of wood have better tone.

 

[ZachMN]

Along this thread I have two B.C. Rich Gunslingers and they sound completely different. I have toyed with the idea of stripping the paint off of the one just to see what happens.

I believe they have quantified why Stradivarius violins sound 'better' and it is in the density of the wood; If I'm not mistaken wood grown in colder climates ends up with tighter cellular structure. So following that logic guitars would follow depending on the individual piece of wood.

 

[amiller]

Along this thread I have two B.C. Rich Gunslingers and they sound completely different. I have toyed with the idea of stripping the paint off of the one just to see what happens.

I believe they have quantified why Stradivarius violins sound 'better' and it is in the density of the wood; If I'm not mistaken wood grown in colder climates ends up with tighter cellular structure. So following that logic guitars would follow depending on the individual piece of wood.

So the only way of really knowing is playing it first. Website guitar buying is probably not a good way to go.

 

[stephen sawall]

I would not consider buying a guitar I did not play first.

... paint kills the resonance of guitars. Stained guitars resonate a lot better in a lot of cases.

 

[amiller]

I believe this is a mistake a lot of people make ....
Most of what you pay for is the "prettying" up of the guitar.
Binding / paint job / grain / etc.

In no way does this make a guitar sound good.
Often the cheaper guitars sound much better. Even if it is not as pretty. I always try them out not plugged in. I can change the electronics. But I can not make a piece of wood have better tone.

I tend to agree with you. But, I do have an EBMM Y2D guitar that, when unplugged, sounds fuller and louder than any of my other guitars. When I plug it in it's thinner sounding than my LPs even though unplugged it sounds fuller...'go figure.