So I was contemplating a Les Paul

[thiswaythatway]

I have come to the conclusion that people who can't find a good quality LP are not really looking. I'm not talking about going into you Guitar center and picking up 4-5 Les Paul that has not been properly adjusted or set up and that 400 people wank on thumb-wheels.

Want an Epi? Buy it but it is not better that a USA gibson not matter how hard you try to convince yourself of that.

There are PoS's in every price lines so yes there are dogs out there I wont touch but the way some people carry on about Gibson its almost like they can build a guitar and that is just not true. I have 3 that bought used and didn't touch them before playing them. Mass produced 2012 Traditional +, and two historics, a 2008 57 RI LPC and a 2009 R7 goldtop...I'm 3 for 3.

What I can agree on is new prices are a bit crazy so I let other people take it in the shorts and buy used.

I looked last year for a while, bought and returned or sold all of them. There's a TON of shitty LP's out there on the used market. The one's I tried all had issues with the necks. I bought them knowing that but was hoping I'd be able to straighten the necks out with some truss rod adjustments but that wasn't the case. One I got from Sam Ash sounded good but had a big dip in the middle of the neck and the action was lowered as low as it could go. Obviously someone trying to cover up for a fucked neck. Got it home and the truss rod just spun loosely.

I did find a decent used standard in Black finally but in the same store there was a PRS Stripped 58. After about 20 minutes of going back and fourth the PRS sounded better to me. And quality, fit & finish.....perfect as expected. I was looking for a Gibson but gave up and bought the Stripped 58.

I had a 57 Reissue that didn't have any issues some years ago but didn't like the baseball bat neck. I also had a white custom that was some VOS model and that had a hump in the neck at the 7th fret that could not be adjusted out and it had buzzing and dead spots around those frets, sold that thing off.

My friend bought a 2014 Traditional that's pretty nice...........but the 2015's completely suck balls.

 

[RG955TT]

Have a 2009 bought used that kills...they are out there. I paid $1600 for mine with a highly figured top, great guitar.

 

[Stumplegriltskin]

Yeah I'm looking at used ones primarily. I'd be more apt to buy one from someone on here or someone that knows someone than some jackoff on Ebay that posts 19 pictures of the guitar but leaves the headstock and fretwork out.

I don't really go to GC anymore. They never have anything that impresses me. Nothing but sub $500 garbage at my local GC.

I don't think the price range I'm in, around 1800 tops is going to get me anything great either.

I never said "GO TO" Guitar Center. Just buy it online. You can return it at ANY guitar center.

Yeah I gotcha. The thing that turns me off is they have usually only 1 pic of the guitar from 40' away. I don't know how they would be about asking for detailed pics. I do that in ebay and get nothing but crickets.

But the guy that said the only cure for a les paul is a les paul, yeah you're right

 

[LP Freak]

Nothing like the real deal

 

[superstratjunky]

https://reverb.com/item/668716-gibson-l ... 2008-black

 

[Chris6870]

Yeah I'm looking at used ones primarily. I'd be more apt to buy one from someone on here or someone that knows someone than some jackoff on Ebay that posts 19 pictures of the guitar but leaves the headstock and fretwork out.

I don't really go to GC anymore. They never have anything that impresses me. Nothing but sub $500 garbage at my local GC.

I don't think the price range I'm in, around 1800 tops is going to get me anything great either.

I never said "GO TO" Guitar Center. Just buy it online. You can return it at ANY guitar center.

Yeah I gotcha. The thing that turns me off is they have usually only 1 pic of the guitar from 40' away. I don't know how they would be about asking for detailed pics. I do that in ebay and get nothing but crickets.

But the guy that said the only cure for a les paul is a les paul, yeah you're right

Call them up and ask for pics. I did it last month on a Strat I was interested in. Told the guy what I wanted pics of, he sent me 6 or 8 pics, and I bought it. And I actually kept it.

 

[charvelstrat81]

Nothing like the real deal

if you have the coin i totally agree!

 

[narad]

A good Edwards with nice pickups is probably on par or better than anything below Gibson Historic line, and significantly cheaper. Especially if you're going with a solid finish -- if you go with a flame top the veneers have a certain look that doesn't ring authentic.

Since you seem to be leaning Japanese, another Japanese option is Crew's Maniac. The neck angle and radius are a little different - a little tilted toward more modern preferences - but if you get one with the K&T pickups, you'll be amazed. Those pickups are super good, and getting them in a Crew's guitar is the only way to obtain them for less than like $1k (not saying they're worth that much, but they do sell at roughly that price in a standalone set).

The idea of "real deal" just seems fundamentally flawed. In most cases an Edwards is truer to traditional LP construction than what Gibson's doing, with better quality control, and often better stock pickups to boot. Gibson as a corporation is just a terrible work environment and it shows in their mass production models.

 

[IndyWS6]

Epi tribute plus
I own one and it rivals a lot of $2000 gibsons i have played.
real maple top,classic 57 pu's grover tuners,long neck tenon, hard to beat for the $$$
http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Les-Pa ... utfit.aspx
and the epi elite series are killer for the $$$

A lot of folks overlook the Epiphone's, but there are definitey some good ones. Mine is similar; it's the Epi Tribute Les Paul Standard in Faded Cherry. Great guitar for the money.
Non-weight relieved Mahogany body
Solid carved hard maple top
1960's slim-taper profile/deep-set (long-tenon) neck
Rosewood fingerboard
'57 Classic neck / '57 Classic Plus bridge (4-wire with push-pull pots)
Switchcraft electrical components (pots, jack, switch, etc)
Mallory tone capacitors
Grover 16:1 locking tuners
Nickel Locktone Tune-O-Matic bridge and stop bar

Aside from the FUGLY headstock and polyurethane finish, it's a damn fine "Les Paul". Hard to beat for $800 (new) with a hard shell case...

 

[charvelstrat81]

Epi tribute plus
I own one and it rivals a lot of $2000 gibsons i have played.
real maple top,classic 57 pu's grover tuners,long neck tenon, hard to beat for the $$$
http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Les-Pa ... utfit.aspx
and the epi elite series are killer for the $$$

A lot of folks overlook the Epiphone's, but there are definitey some good ones. Mine is similar; it's the Epi Tribute Les Paul Standard in Faded Cherry. Great guitar for the money.
Non-weight relieved Mahogany body
Solid carved hard maple top
1960's slim-taper profile/deep-set (long-tenon) neck
Rosewood fingerboard
'57 Classic neck / '57 Classic Plus bridge (4-wire with push-pull pots)
Switchcraft electrical components (pots, jack, switch, etc)
Mallory tone capacitors
Grover 16:1 locking tuners
Nickel Locktone Tune-O-Matic bridge and stop bar

Aside from the FUGLY headstock and polyurethane finish, it's a damn fine "Les Paul". Hard to beat for $800 (new) with a hard shell case...

ya know i felt that way about the headstock too but i got used to it.
The one on agile's is way fuglier!
One thing i will never get is IF epi is the sister company to Gibson why not use the regular LP headstock? they use the Les paul sig decal on the headstock face?

 

[IndyWS6]

Epi tribute plus
I own one and it rivals a lot of $2000 gibsons i have played.
real maple top,classic 57 pu's grover tuners,long neck tenon, hard to beat for the $$$
http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Les-Pa ... utfit.aspx
and the epi elite series are killer for the $$$

A lot of folks overlook the Epiphone's, but there are definitey some good ones. Mine is similar; it's the Epi Tribute Les Paul Standard in Faded Cherry. Great guitar for the money.
Non-weight relieved Mahogany body
Solid carved hard maple top
1960's slim-taper profile/deep-set (long-tenon) neck
Rosewood fingerboard
'57 Classic neck / '57 Classic Plus bridge (4-wire with push-pull pots)
Switchcraft electrical components (pots, jack, switch, etc)
Mallory tone capacitors
Grover 16:1 locking tuners
Nickel Locktone Tune-O-Matic bridge and stop bar

Aside from the FUGLY headstock and polyurethane finish, it's a damn fine "Les Paul". Hard to beat for $800 (new) with a hard shell case...

ya know i felt that way about the headstock too but i got used to it.
The one on agile's is way fuglier!
One thing i will never get is IF epi is the sister company to Gibson why not use the regular LP headstock? they use the Les paul sig decal on the headstock face?

I've wondered that, too. Would look much better with the Gibson headstock...

I could send it to Historic Makeover's and have them cut the top of the headstock off as part of the process

 

[charvelstrat81]

Epi tribute plus
I own one and it rivals a lot of $2000 gibsons i have played.
real maple top,classic 57 pu's grover tuners,long neck tenon, hard to beat for the $$$
http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Les-Pa ... utfit.aspx
and the epi elite series are killer for the $$$

A lot of folks overlook the Epiphone's, but there are definitey some good ones. Mine is similar; it's the Epi Tribute Les Paul Standard in Faded Cherry. Great guitar for the money.
Non-weight relieved Mahogany body
Solid carved hard maple top
1960's slim-taper profile/deep-set (long-tenon) neck
Rosewood fingerboard
'57 Classic neck / '57 Classic Plus bridge (4-wire with push-pull pots)
Switchcraft electrical components (pots, jack, switch, etc)
Mallory tone capacitors
Grover 16:1 locking tuners
Nickel Locktone Tune-O-Matic bridge and stop bar

Aside from the FUGLY headstock and polyurethane finish, it's a damn fine "Les Paul". Hard to beat for $800 (new) with a hard shell case...

ya know i felt that way about the headstock too but i got used to it.
The one on agile's is way fuglier!
One thing i will never get is IF epi is the sister company to Gibson why not use the regular LP headstock? they use the Les paul sig decal on the headstock face?

I've wondered that, too. Would look much better with the Gibson headstock...

I could send it to Historic Makeover's and have them cut the top of the headstock off as part of the process

 

[dfrattaroli]

If you're looking used, check out the 2013 and 2014 Signature T's. They're really, really good. In your price range for sure. But yeah, it's ridiculous what you might have to go through to find a good Les Paul. They're out there, but the odds of getting a dog shouldn't be so high. That's why I've given up on Gibson.

 

[prsplayer86]

Prs singlecut . Add pickups for taste/flavor and be done with it.

Is Gibson still making amazing guitars...yes. Are they also making shitty quality junk piles... Yes. If you feel like searching through a bunch of Les Pauls, you'll eventually (sometimes you get lucky and its right off the bat) find one that is the guitar you've wanted...
..
...
Or you can just buy a single cut PRS SC245 or used SC250 and be happy!

 

[charvelstrat81]

If you're looking used, check out the 2013 and 2014 Signature T's. They're really, really good. In your price range for sure. But yeah, it's ridiculous what you might have to go through to find a good Les Paul. They're out there, but the odds of getting a dog shouldn't be so high. That's why I've given up on Gibson.

This is why i went with the tribute plus, i tried a few high dollar LP's and was not blown away by them and the ONE that i did really love was $5000 so that was out.

 

[Shawn Lutz]

If you're looking used, check out the 2013 and 2014 Signature T's. They're really, really good. In your price range for sure. But yeah, it's ridiculous what you might have to go through to find a good Les Paul. They're out there, but the odds of getting a dog shouldn't be so high. That's why I've given up on Gibson.

sig t's don't have real rosewood fretboards if that matters to you at all.

 

[thiswaythatway]

Prs singlecut . Add pickups for taste/flavor and be done with it.

Is Gibson still making amazing guitars...yes. Are they also making shitty quality junk piles... Yes. If you feel like searching through a bunch of Les Pauls, you'll eventually (sometimes you get lucky and its right off the bat) find one that is the guitar you've wanted...
..
...
Or you can just buy a single cut PRS SC245 or used SC250 and be happy!

It does depend. While I have a PRS Stripped 58 I've played some others that were....ok. But in general the quality of PRS is better than what you usually find on the average Gibson. I could probably find a better Gibson LP than my PRS Stripped 58 but I don't want to spend 4k on a Reissue because that's where I'd have to go. Used Gibson....I think a lot of luck is involved, there's a lot of junk out there. Take the best PRS you can find and the worst Gibson and half the people out there will still take the Gibson....because it says Gibson on the headstock!

With PRS, you get a perfect guitar but you still have to find one that really sounds good. My 58 is solid, no swiss cheese holes or chambering. It's 8.5 lbs. Locking tuners, long neck tenon, big ass frets, and a neck that fits my hand. Even a regular Gibson traditional is going to cost me more than what I paid and I won't get the same exact specs, close though.

The older PRS SC245's were weight relieved as well as the 250's, plus they had the one piece bridge. The newer SC58, Stripped 58's and the new SC245's are not weight relieved, 2 piece bridge, and the 57/08 pickups are really good sounding. They compete more closely to the better Gibson's out there.

 

[Badronald]

Good guitar.
Recommended.

 

[thunda]

With PRS, you get a perfect guitar... My 58 is solid, no swiss cheese holes or chambering. It's 8.5 lbs. Locking tuners, long neck tenon, big ass frets, and a neck that fits my hand. Even a regular Gibson traditional is going to cost me more than what I paid and I won't get the same exact specs, close though.

It's those "big assed frets" that keeps me from buying one. I simply hate big assed frets. But that's just me. I'm a medium jumbo kind of guy...

 

[snowdog]

It's those "big assed frets" that keeps me from buying one. I simply hate big assed frets. But that's just me. I'm a medium jumbo kind of guy...

I have heard of guitars being refretted.