Topic: My BIG Gibson LP test on several models
Hey friends,
Yesterday was our families holy friday trip to Cologne. I had 2 hours of time in one of the biggest stores in Germany and I was "on the hunt" for a Gibson Les Paul.
The guy in the shop reserved a cabine only for me (he "smelled" cash...) and he placed a Bluesbraker Combo in there, because I told him I'd play a JTM45 and I want to test under familiar conditions.
Test 1: Historic Colleciton - 1957 GT / 1958 Plain Top
Both models were in the warehouse and it would have taken until late afternoon to get them. So I had to play a 1956 GT (P90) and a Warren Haynes Sig (based on the 1958 Plain Top). Both guitars were able to give me a very good impression of what the desired equivalent would be and sound like. The GT was great sounding, it had a nice weight, the craftmanship was excellent. Also the P90 did a decent job. BUT my friends, the neck is a killer. It's a baseball bat. I didn't really recognize it the last time I played the GT. Towards the 12th fret it becomes fatter and fatter. There's no air between your hand and the neck, like for e.g. with a Strat. Sure this contributes to the sound but for people with smaller hands this could become an issue. The WH 1958 PT had a slightly smaller neck, but still a fat neck. The Burstbuckers sounded awesome, imagining these pus in the GT....HEAVENLY sustain. But the craftmanship on the Warren Haynes was horrible!!!! Sharp frets, not perfectly mounted tuners and that for almost 4K€! The guy apologized and offered a price reduction. The sound of the 1958 was perfect though, long sustain and transparency on all pu postitions.
Test 2: Gibson Les Paul Traditional GT
I thought I have found what I was looking for. My wife suggested to buy this guitar immediately...I was happy...the guitar felt great, looked great, played great. These guitars are not weight releaved and the necks are plekd. It plays so wonderful on all poistions, all octaves sound in tune, this pleking really is the best thing you can do. Everything perfect until I took a look at the neck binding. This binding was so fat that it reached deep into the fretboard area. It looked ugly and it didn't feel right! The shop guy said *uuppps* and he said that almost all traditionals have such a fat binding. I personally couldn't have lived with it. Other than that, the guitar sounded very good, a little weak in the bridge position, could have used some more bass. But as I said, could have been mine with another binding work.
Test 3: Les Paul Standard (GT was in the a.m. warehouse so I took an Iced Tea model for reference)
This guitar is a feather. It's so light that it scared me something was wrong. The guy said all new Gibbies are that light. Poor Gibson, poor decision. This guitar was dead, no bass at all, what is this weight releave good for? If you want to play a LP you should be able to carry it. You can not get the LP sound without the weight. This Standard was "Poor Standard".
Test 4: Les Paul Studio/Worn Cherry Studio
The Quality is below ZERO! I do not know which material they use for the neck but it looked horrible. The entire guitar was drowning in paint. It was much lighter than my JV Strat and it really didn't sound good. The worn Cherry wasn't good either.
Test 5: Epiphone LP Standard
It's amazing which quality Epi has achieved with its new line. If you are on a budget looking for a great sounding, looking and playing LP don't hesitate to check an Epi. Forget about all the copies out there on the market. This Epi was awesome! Sure there's a difference between the Epi and the Traditional for example, but it's so close...
The whole testing showed me that we all should stop buying stuff from online shops without having tested the guitar in person. Pictures can not give an impression, big names are no guarantee.
Regarding the Gibson Les Paul, to be honest, there is no alternative to the Historics. You won't believe the sound, but for that sound you have to become good friend with a basball bat neck. Tough decision, imagine having to play such a monster all the time....I don't know....and the 60's slim taper Historic cost 2K€ more...not my price range. Anyways, there is a HUGE difference between Historic and everything else. The Historic gives you an idea of what were the reasons why Les Pauls became so big. It's amazing how this guitar covers all styles, it's wonderful how one guitar can be gentle and smooth on the one hand and agressive on the other hand. It's terryfying how big the quality differences are among the Traditional - Standard and Studio. No guitar that really kicked within this range. Epiphone though....excellent...they really took the heritage of a Gibson LP and implemented some of the spirit into their guitars. Nowadays, it seems that the Traditional is best choice if you find one with a good neck binding, I would prefer it over a Standard at all time.
My search is still not over, I have an offer for a 1993 Standard that sounds great, but I feel it has to be a GT in some way, so I wait for the next delivery of Historics. Maybe I can get used to the neck, we'll see.
I went into my Les Paul adventure with the intention of a Classic, then decided eh why not a Standard with a beautiful flame top. So after playing a TON of Classics and Standards I came to the conclusion that they all sounded good and played pretty good. The looks would vary, some being superb examples. That's all until I laid eyes on my first set of Historics. They just looked like the real deal, felt like the real deal, and most importantly SOUNDED like the real deal. I was shocked by the big necks at first. You'll get over it quick when you realize you are holding the holy grail of guitars. The tone does not get any better than a Historic Gibson, only different. I would love a Goldtop R7, they go for less than the R8 used.
uh-oh BONABAH! 