Thinking of getting a 50s Gibson Les Paul....... I never thought I would but yeah..... It's time *_*

[The~Kid]

Honestly I always scoffed at the idea..... Especially since how nice the new Epiphone 59 models and the Inspired by Gibson Custom Shop Epiphone Models or whatever they are called are..... I have two of the 59 Epi Models and love them.


But it's going to be Americas 250th Bday and well I did get a Bad Cat Lynx 50 just last year but I want another American/USA made/built instrument to join my Bad Cat Lynx 50 and my Princeton Reverb Reissue Bordeaux......


I was thinking of getting a Fender but tbh my Mexican Charvels aren't half bad and Id probably be as happy with them as I would be with a run of the mill MIA Fender Professional whatever..... And yeah the Epiphones aren't bad either..... But the Gibsons and the 50s models IMO really are worth it..... Maybe I would have gone Fender but I don't see too many American models with Floyds and the ones I do see cost as much as a nice Gibson Standard 50s.....and in that case I rather go Gibson for that money.....


What's your advice, what do you look for...... I know I like a nice 50s model and can do way more on one than I thought with a Mickey Mouse "trem system" where I just tug at string before the bridge/tailpiece..... Or push the strings down to create a pitch bending effect with a fixed bridge.....


I'm looking at a Double Trouble 50s or a Faded 50s model....... May go for a Limited Edition Iced Tea model but it only says figured top for description and not sure if they are AA tops like the others. Would go for a AAA but those are hard to come by nowadays and they seem to get snatched up and honestly for the premium price I mean it's worth it but I'm not worthy of a AAA and some of these AA tops are good enough for me.


Probably going to order online...... Be patient and just pull the trigger when the right one comes along and I have the ample funds....


Any advice..... I figure the key is to just be patient and wait till the right one comes along

 

[The~Kid]

One thing I will say that surprised me about the faded models is that a lot of them look like a straight up AAA too and as good or better than Greeny Gibson models.......

So from that perspective I fell they have a lot of value to offer but at the same time not many show pictures of them before they ship so it's a crapshoot..... But on average all the ones I have seen on random pictures online or in stores have looked hella good


But Double Troubles look good too in general......


Either or look better than regular Standard 50s models on average......


And what's up with the Limited Edition Iced Tea models.... Is it AA or just A flamed maple

 

[VonBonfire]

TBH Daniel spending that kind of dough and you being not far from the LA area where there is lots of guitars I would try to put hands on the guitar first. The 50's standard LP's look so sweet, that'd be a great choice. But so would.....

 

[Stumplegriltskin]

Sweetwater has them

 

[70 Mach 1]

i never bought an AAA top.
Ice tea is one of my fav colors

I have enough LPs.

I just ordered a used 2025 Tele Ultra II from GC in Boise
should be here monday. hopefully in one piece

had it shipped to my local GC so i can open it in front of the sales dudes

 

[NoHassle]

All the 50s flame offerings of Lep Pauls from Gibson are nowhere near what the originals were in any way.

The ultra flame they have is from Washington's Soft Maple trees as the tree produces a much more visual flame.

The originals and ALL of them were Eastern Hard Rock Maple tops and one of the tell tales are the mineral streaks.

The 50s different mahogany body and hard rock maple tops gave them their distinctive sound along with the mahogany necks too of course.

Today's offerings have less ping and it sort of works because the mahogany today is also a different species compared to the 50s.

So, all in all you can't buy a true 50s Les Paul from Gibson unless they do a 100% custom build for you and even then most likely won't be the same as you would have to use old reclaimed wood for the entire guitar.

 

[Techdeth]

https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=L&ai...ssD4v4SUAxXnrisGHa9OJuoQwg8oAHoECAgQDQ&adurl=
This will sound better

 

[Jccobb2]

With the used gear market in the shitter you can get an R9 for 4500 bucks.

 

[DanTravis62]

Try and play them first.


I would look at the newer Gibson LP classics.

 

[Rick Lee]

Flame away, but I cannot tell the difference between a $2500 and $5000 LP. I have two Standards and a Custom. Other than each being a different weight and neck profile, they all feel about equally good/valuable to me. My cheapest Standard was $1900 and my Custom (black beauty) was $3600. I wanted that Custom badly, so I had to pay what it cost. But it's no better than the cheapest Standard.

 

[Mike Oxhuge]

The current 50's and 60's Standards are fantastic sounding and playing guitars and remarkably consistent. However their flame top ratings are dog shit and all over the place with some supposed AA barely showing any figure and others looking like AAA so definitely find one with a top you like and it will likely be a keeper.

 

[VonBonfire]

The current 50's and 60's Standards are fantastic sounding and playing guitars and remarkably consistent. However their flame top ratings are dog shit and all over the place with some supposed AA barely showing any figure and others looking like AAA so definitely find one with a top you like and it will likely be a keeper.

I wouldn't spend that kind of $ without handling it in person. Daniel is in Anaheim so he has a lot of options to do that within a pretty reasonable drive. Who doesn't want to spend a day or two shopping for a sweet lifetime keeper guitar?

Shoot my wife and I are planning an anniversary around that sort of trip at some point.

 

[Mike Oxhuge]

My current 2025 50's Standard started as a Stratosphere body from ebay and was flawless with no dings. I upgraded to Klusen Revolution tuners and Slash 2.0 set then more recently I decided I wanted a more modern look for this color so I put chrome steel rings, switch tip, covers and poker chip delete. Killer axe for sure. All in with a case I'm at $2200 built how I want with a few upgrades.

 

[VonBonfire]

My current 2025 50's Standard started as a Stratosphere body from ebay and was flawless with no dings. I upgraded to Klusen Revolution tuners and Slash 2.0 set then more recently I decided I wanted a more modern look for this color so I put chrome steel rings, switch tip, covers and poker chip delete. Killer axe for sure. All in with a case I'm at $2200 built how I want with a few upgrades.

Nice Mike. $2200 ain't bad either.....

That color would blend in nicely with some faded jeans.

 

[Mike Oxhuge]

Nice Mike. $2200 ain't bad either.....

That color would blend in nicely with some faded jeans.

But would it clash with tan pants? Asking for a friend.

 

[VonBonfire]

But would it clash with tan pants? Asking for a friend.

That guitar has a blue collar vibe though so maybe these with some nice Carlos boots would be appropriate.

 

[HowieJams]

I have 4 Gibson Les Pauls...
2024 R9
2023 R8
and two Gibson Les Paul Standard 50s, I think one is a 2023 and one is a 2024.

I have to tell you, the 2020+ Gibson Les Paul Standard 50s are amazing guitars.
Both of mine are great, one weighs around 8.5lbs and the Goldtop weighs around 9.5, I have the exact weights recorded, but for discussion this is good enough.
Both the R8 and R9 weigh in the 8s.

The Custom Shops are great guitars, but for 1/2 the money or less you can't go wrong with a Standard 50s.

The Burstbucker 1&2 pickups in the Standard 50s are great and the neck is very comfortable, not too thin, not too fat, just right.

I have well over 100 videos of both of my Standard 50s on my YouTube channel, they seem to be my go to guitar.
I ahve one in Tobacco Sunburst that is amazing looking.

Any questions about any of the 50s style Les Pauls feel free to reach out to me anytime.

 

[rsm]

I was never much for fancy wood tops, but I understand / appreciate that many are.

Thanks to Ace, I always liked the cherry "clown" burst; as long as the top pieces (usually 2 pieces IIRC?) match closely it's fine.


Music Zoo had a made-to-measure purple sparkle Axcess with FR that was stunning IMO.

I like the Les Paul Custom in white with gold hardware, but hate that it is going to yellow in time.

If a fancy top matters, get one you can try in person or see it in pics like SW, Music Zoo, etc., with a good return policy.


have fun hunting for one!

 

[rsm]

I just went looking at MF; looks like Gibson has a LP Custom '70s model at $3,999 vs the LP Custom at $5,599

Upcharge for Alpine White; Ebony is $5,499

 

[japetus]

I'd say get a Telecaster instead.