So I was contemplating a Les Paul

[thiswaythatway]

Gumby abortion...

 

[tubortski]

people buy the shit out of these with splatter paint jobs... whatever floats your boat.

 

[fretout]

The best advice I can give is to just buy a real Gibson. There's many companies that make LP-styled guitars, but Gibson makes the best IMHO. The thing that sucks is that Gibson is probably the most inconsistent guitar company around, and every LP you play is going to sound/feel different.

Ole Henry has bastardized the LP line so much that there are so many variations of Les Pauls, it will make your head spin. If you want a true LP the way everyone thinks of them, you need a Reissue. If you're not that picky, you should NOT count out the Studios. There are some killer Studios out there.

But, as a close second, BUY USED! You'll be more likely to be happy with your purchase, and actually use the guitar instead of treating it as some replacement for a 401K. Buy used...at least one other guitarist out there thought it was awesome enough to call his own, just make sure you do a full inspection to make sure there's no issues with it.

I bought a new Custom and it was my least played guitar. I bought all my '68s used and they have been the best guitars.

 

[Alex Stanley]

Gibson's quality control is pure garbage. Shouldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence as PRS.

 

[charvelstrat81]

That EPI LP headstock is the ugliest thing I've ever seen.

Nothing is worse than this gumby abortion of a headstock IMHO.

OMG that is HIDEOUS!
I would not even be seen holding a guitar with that headstock!
The best part is the sig written several times actually brings more attention to its fugliness!

 

[superstratjunky]

https://reverb.com/item/668716-gibson-les-paul-traditional-2008-black

Still there, with a price drop even.

 

[coolfeel]

No substituting a Les Paul tone!

 

[messenger]

That EPI LP headstock is the ugliest thing I've ever seen.

uglier than this?

and while i agree they aint the prettiest headstock and should have been this

they are by no means the ugliest

I think the Agile is a lot nicer than the Epiphone. And I agree they should use the Gibson headstock for the Epiphone (like fender does with squire)

 

[Stumplegriltskin]

Gibson's quality control is pure garbage. Shouldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence as PRS.

That was my main point of the thread. I've seen them here and there and the QC is garbage. That doesn't mean you can't find a stellar one. But IMO, everyone should be stellar and to me, this is lame. I know the purists will be upset at me for this, but what I've seen both in person and on the net in detailed photos is pure failure. They sure charge an arm and a leg as well.

Yeah second look at that FGN, the heastock is yuk.

 

[thiswaythatway]

No substituting a Les Paul tone!

What does that mean when you can play 5 LP's and they all sound different?

Are some of you saying that if it's not a Gibson it won't sound like an LP if it has exact specs?

This is not a Gibson and I bet it sounds like an LP.

 

[Ventura]

As for Gibson and their Lesters, ya gotsta play 'em to find the cream of the crop out of the lot.

As for headstocks, nothing makes me cringe more than:

Fuckin' hockey stick man

 

[dallasb]

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.

Not in my experience. I have an Edwards, ESP, PRS Singelcut, and Gibson LP standard and Custom. Nothing compares to the Gibson's. Not in sound, not in feel, not in things like fret wear, and so on.

Gibson's are designed to be roadworthy players, not something you just look at. You plug in any of those other guitars and then plug in the real Gibson and you know immediately what a LP is. Granted, I like the other guitars too, but when people say Edwards is better than Gibson? Well I just have to lol and disagree.

Fret Wear has been my biggest issue with both PRS and Edwards. Just a few months of hard playing and the fret wear is pretty bad. I play the hell out of my LP custom and Standard, and have only hat a fret dress one time in 8 years. My newer PRS SC has been leveled and re crowned 3x in 5 years. Many similar complaints on the web about those.

Gibson gets a lot of shit due to the price of the product. Expected to a degree. In some cases is warranted, just as they are in other brands. I don't expect any brand guitar setup to be exactly what I like either. Every guitar I have bought I get them set up professionally.

I had to send back a EBMM Petrucci when the neck started tinging and the truss loosened up internally. Barely a year old. They all let some stuff pass. EBMM JP guitars are not cheap.