Official Guitar, Amp, Pedals, and Gear Thread

[Gus]

The problem with buying a guitar from a pic and specs is that it is kind of like a Match.com date. You start setting expectations in your mind as to the experience you will have before you meet. There is almost always some minor level of visual disappointment when it arrives. In the case of a LP there is no such thing as a perfect top. They are all unique. Specs and pics are a good start, but there is nothing quite like walking into a room and seeing something that attracts you, playing it and feeling a comfort and connection. So, I encourage you to visit dealers to see and play as many as possible.


Foo, do you like the top? Let me rephrase that. Foo, what do you like best about the top?

 

[TheFoo]



The problem with buying a guitar from a pic and specs is that it is kind of like a Match.com date. You start setting expectations in your mind as to the experience you will have before you meet. There is almost always some minor level of visual disappointment when it arrives. In the case of a LP there is no such thing as a perfect top. They are all unique. Specs and pics are a good start, but there is nothing quite like walking into a room and seeing something that attracts you, playing it and feeling a comfort and connection. So, I encourage you to visit dealers to see and play as many as possible.


Foo, do you like the top? Let me rephrase that. Foo, what do you like best about the top?

Your advice is well-understood. Problem is that the best Gibson Custom dealers are few and spread out around the country. Other dealers get sub-par inventory, which is often poorly treated. Also, I don't have the time to physically shop around like that. Need stuff sent to me that I can try out and return if necessary.

I like the coloring of the top and the shape of the flame (wavy and not too straight). I like that the flame covers the whole top. No weak spots. Also, no mineral flecks. The one thing I don't like is that the right and left sides are clearly not book-matched. You can tell because the grain (perpendicular to the flame) is not symmetrical and the flames don't really match up (particularly obvious on the bottom left side of the guitar, right off center).

 

[gomestar]

PRS may be the route to go if the perfection aspect is important. It's also why i sold mine (didn't like playing wall souvenirs).

 

[gort]

RE: the LP deal

I got the lowdown. There were" 2" , I repeat 2 les Paul studios 2012 models released as 2013 in the ENTIRE guitar center inventory. So if you weren't the first 2 to order (open or his brother, , you ain't gettin it, believe me I called all over the country. To good to be true. I got 3 orders cancelled.

No dice.

 

[TheFoo]



PRS may be the route to go if the perfection aspect is important. It's also why i sold mine (didn't like playing wall souvenirs).

Don't want "perfect" in that way.

Just paranoid after the last attempted purchase. Also, I keep seing really gorgeous Les Pauls owned by other people. Measuring against that yardstick.

 

[TheFoo]



Alright guys, need guidance. May pull the trigger on this one today:

8.4 pounds. Desribed by well-reputed dealer to be very resonant. Very clear note definition with a tight bottom end. On the brighter side, with good attack, but not harsh.

It is a brand new guitar (2014 build), but the dealer is unauthorized. Hence, no factory warranty from Gibson. The dealer is very well respected, from what I can tell, though. Has a reputation for pulling in very strong inventory (great looking tops combined with first tier playability and sound).

Thoughts? Nitpicks of my own: the top appears to be flitch-matched, not book-matched. Right, wrong?

Okay. Let's try again. Thoughts on this guitar?

 

[TheFoo]

Pocketsquareguy--I'm told you are the man around town with the most vintage Les Paul wisdom. Looks-wise, how does this one stack up?

 

[Gus]

Nice color. I personally, prefer tops with some larger flame in sections even if it means less coverage.


The fact that you mention a book- matched top, and this isn't one, seems to be a disappointment. If that is what you want then wait for it. As long as you are willing to return a bunch of guitars, then go ahead and wait for the right one. I know a number of collectors as well as pro musicians who have had 1-2 dozen of a guitar (Strats, LP's, etc.) shipped to them before they found the right one.


The joy and the frustration of quality guitars are their idiosyncracies. But that is what makes certain ones special.

 

[Gus]



Pocketsquareguy--I'm told you are the man around town with the most vintage Les Paul wisdom. Looks-wise, how does this one stack up?

Back a few pages is this post about my experience with vintage '59's. Note the link to the '59 page which has dozens of real top photos. That way you can really draw your own conclusions.

http://www.styleforum.net/t/168032/official-guitar-amp-pedals-and-gear-thread/3000_30#post_7033924

Also, a friend of mine sold 200+ '59 Les Pauls to top collectors in Japan over a 10 year period. (He now handles the guitars for the Rolling Stones). His comments are similar to mine about the appearance of most vintage '59's verse the reissues.

 

[TheFoo]

I get that most actual '59s had haphazard tops. But some were, as you point out, exceptional. So, I don't entirely agree on seeking out a more "vintage" looking reissue today. Why buy the average when you can get best-of-breed? Flipping through BOTB, there were plenty of gorgeous flamed tops back then, even if they were not the norm.

So, let's put it another way: could this guitar top pass as a vintage '59, even if a somewhat exceptional one?

 

[Piobaire]

No go on the LP from GC. I just got back in from a meeting, read that, and tried to buy it. Nope.

 

[Gus]



So, let's put it another way: could this guitar top pass as a vintage '59, even if a somewhat exceptional one?

This would be a truly exceptional one with that much flame coverage over the entire top. Without a perfect book-matched top it seems more like a very rare '59.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

Yes.

 

[TheFoo]



Yes.

25 minutes to pull the trigger.

 

[TheFoo]

To further note: while I prefer my reissue Les Paul to look more like an exceptional vintage than an average vintage, I also do not want a "perfect" PRS-style top. Exceptional is fine, impossible is not.