Les Paul worth it?

I heard alot about teh infamous Les Paul but is it worth getting. Its not exactly that cheap either. I got fed up with my Ibanez RG 550. I heard that the Les Paul is a God send. Dudes from Sevendust and zakk wylde use it aswell.

However, even the crap ones are expensice as hell and i'm not that good a guitarist. Is it worth getting? If it is why is it emant to be so good? I heard its got quite a wide fret board that may hold back lead geetarsist ... but the hardest stuff i play is by Children Of Bodom and bits of yngwi.

My own opinion is that when you buy a $1400 Gibson, you get a $800 guitar with a $600 name on the headstock.

I play a cort cl1000, got it for $500 and it's just as good as any les paul I've played.

Check out Epiphone Les Pauls. The company is owned by Gibson n make very good Les Pauls. I have a few and they are fantastic. They're a lot cheaper than Gibson too. I would never buy a Gibson unless I could comfortably afford it, or I knew that my music career was takin off in a big way.

Originally posted by Lordathestrings
My own opinion is that when you buy a $1400 Gibson, you get a $800 guitar with a $600 name on the headstock.

Plus 50 cent wiring..

Opinions vary,but,a LOT of people hereabouts are wary of Gib and Epi "Quality" control.

You know when you have a dress down day at the office on Fridays-well the big G's Friday equivalent seems to be "bring your own crack pipe day".

Yamaha SBG/AES/X

Gordon Smith

Tokai RIs

Are the one's I've seen with the feel of older Gibsons.

if u want a les paul... and ur gonna bang out 1000-2000 bucks for one, then you might as well get urself a sexy PRS guitar or get one custom made for you.

Originally posted by James8831
You know when you have a dress down day at the office on Fridays-well the big G's Friday equivalent seems to be "bring your own crack pipe day".
[/B]

lol :cool:
You wonder what the people making those daisy rock girl guitars when they designed their stuff too....

Looky here.

So should i get one or shouldn't i? So far it sounds like these geetars aren't worth the price. My spent over a thousand on my ibanez because i was told that vai uses it... what a mistake i made... but i was young then and my parents were nicer.

I heard Les Pausl are over 25 grand ... are they or are they cheaper. If they're below 2000 bucks i can afford it. But then again i'm not that good.

Are PRS geetars better?

I play alot of leads ....

When you find a guitar you want to own, for a price you're willing to pay, its worth it.

I strongly recommend making that choice with your eyes closed, and your ears and mind open. Back in 1984, I found out that my dream guitar was a Yamaha SBG 1000, not a Gibson Les Paul Custom. I still own the SBG, and its the one guitar in my collection that I will probably never sell.

The bottom line is: The guitar you have in your hands is the one you are thinking about buying. The name on the headstock may give you some idea what to expect, but the guitar you're holding may have been made on a bad day. Or a good one. You can't know that until you try it out.

My point is: don't make your choice based on reputation. One of the reasons I wanted a Les Paul was my admiration for Jimmy Page. LOL... a lot of his stuff was recorded with a Fender Telecaster!

You make your music with your rig. Its up to you to decide what that is.

[Edited by Lordathestrings on 06-16-2002 at 12:13 PM]

Originally posted by munqy
I heard Les Pausl are over 25 grand ... are they or are they cheaper. If they're below 2000 bucks i can afford it. But then again i'm not that good.

Are PRS geetars better?

LPs go for all sorts of prices. You can spend over a hundred grand on one on ebay, if it's the "right" year. Remember that it's still a chunk of wood with some strings though... the cheapest Gibson LPs are certainly under 2000; about 1200, I think, but someone will have a better idea than me.

What is it about the Ibanez that you don't like? Specifically, is it the sound, the neck, the look, or what? If you don't know what you're after you won't find it. The RG550 is a perfectly decent guitar (though whoever told you Vai plays them was lying; he uses JEMs and UVs - similar, but not the same). New pickups and a decent pro setup might well transform that RG into something you love.

I did a one-on-one comparison between a Gibson Les Paul Custom and a Yamaha SBG 1000 in 1984. The Yamaha won. I still have it. As I remember, it went like this:

[u]Gibson:[/u]

• seriously heavy
  


• mahogany neck, mahogany body with carved maple top
  


• single cutaway
  


• no strengthening at neck-headstock transition
  


• sloppy masking - paint smears on the binding
  


• mother-of-pearl inlays on head & fretboard
  


• rough ends on some of the frets
  


• three-position pickup selector
  


• 2 Tone & 2 Volume controls
  


• 2 humbucker pickups
  


• tunomatic bridge with stop tailpiece
  


• action set 'medium' - a bit high for my liking
  


• playability: good - string spacing about the same as an acoustic
  


• sound: very good - smooth, dark, almost muddy on neck pickup
  


• $1300 - case extra
  

[u]Yamaha:[/u]

• seriously heavy
  


• mahogany neck, mahogany body with carved maple top
  


• double cutaway
  


• 'volou' strengthening at neck-headstock transition
  


• excellent masking - no paint smears anywhere
  


• mother-of-pearl inlays on head & fretboard
  


• all frets smoothly crowned, no rough ends
  


• three-position pickup selector
  


• 2 Tone & 2 Volume controls with push-push (like a ball-point pen!) coil-tap switches
  


• 2 humbucker pickups
  


• tunomatic bridge with stop tailpiece
  


• action set 'low' - no fret buzz anywhere
  


• playability: very good - string spacing a bit narrower than the LP
  


• sound: excellent - smooth, sweet, better clarity than the LP, still very ballsy when cranked
  


• $640 - plush lined hardshell case included
  

A note about the neck-headstock transition: The part of the neck, where the nut is located, is a critical weak spot in many guitars. The layback angle of the head means that most of this part is cross-grain. The pocket cut into the head, above the nut, for the truss rod adjuster, further weakens this area. Gibsons seem to be particularly vulnerable in this regard. Ask any guitar tech about this, and you are likely to hear a lot of horror stories about Gibsons that 'lost their heads'. The Yamaha has a 'volou' (sp?); the neck 'flares' thicker on the back, adding a lot of strength to this area. It doesn't interfere with the playability at all. Its like the 'shoulders' of the head simply continue around to the back of the neck.

I went out that day to get the Les Paul Custom I had been dreaming of for years. I had no idea Yamaha made a similar guitar, but that's the one that came home with me.

I didn't think this thread would go on for so long.
To be honest, i wrote the thread when i was d*** pissed off with my guitar. The problem with floating bridges is that it takes AGES to string them or even replace a string... when gauges are changed the bridge has to be loosened or tightened at the back and it has to be unscrewed and what not.
Tone wise its pretty good. I like the pickups and the feel of the neck but the guitar itself is really heavy. A friend of mine (marc terrien - highskool geetar king) gave me his Jackson kelley, he has 18 guitars and he gave me one of them, and i still have it but i hate the pick ups they sound weak and its got nothing to do with the tone knob.

Enough of me digressing ....
Les Pauls have been the objects of my affection for years. Its like all the good guitarists use them, but the guitar on its own minus the branding is all that matters.

i'll stick with the Ibanez 550 for a while longer see if i can get better ...

any wayz is there a way of getting more out of mu guitar? Someone put up a post saying my guitar isn't that bad...
Its equipped with V7 and V8 pickups and has a lo pro edge floyd rose floating bridge.

Its meant to be the Ibanez 550 'EX' the 'ex' is meant to mean that its some special eddition geetar or sumthin. the guy who sold it to me made it a big deal saying how great the geetar is and its the best ibanez in his stock.
well i'm off to get some sleep now - world cup fever.

i own a les paul for all you that are bashing it. i agree the price is high i got mine for 1100$ and by the way where ever that person that did the comparison between lps and yamahas i got my case with the guitar. the bottom line is i love it good guitar, worth it if you got the loot if you dont go with a foreign made piece of crap

I'm glad you have a guitar you love. Every player should be that well off.

As for my comparison, I call 'em as I see 'em. I stated the facts, as they were, in October of 1984, at Continental Music and Steve's Music Store in Ottawa. Your mileage may vary. :)

You show a prejudice against 'foreign' product that simply does not stand up under close examination.

I recently thought about an LP but ended up with a PRS CE24. I paid $1650 for it new and dont regret a single penny. I haven't ruled out and LP in the future, they are different from the PRS however between the axes I played the PRS won hands down.

Moral of the story, try out as many as you can in your price range and go for the one you like the best !

I was horrified to see (in the thread that LOTS mentions) that seconds are sold as new, this has to be criminal or something !

Makes you think !

i myself am debating that same question...im deciding between 3 guitars...

Gibson SG Standard- for the double cutaway, crispy lead tone, etc. $1200

Epiphone Les Paul Black Beauty- 3 humbuckers, and a pretty guitar too. for half the price of the SG. $600

Gibson Les Paul Double Cut Away Plus - 24 frets, Double Cutaway, but retains the LP sound (looks sort of similar to the SG, but its fatter, heavier, and probably sounds fuller. You pay for it though...$1400

If you're going to spend that much money on a guitar, you better like it...pardon me, you better love it. My personal preference is a PRS. I play a PRS custom 22. The feel and playability of this guitar is like a dream. And with a PRS you know it will be made very well. But hey this is just my opinion, and we all know what opinions are like. So, like it has been mentioned before, let your hands and ears decide.

edgranholm

- right, let your fingers do the talking.

On other points.

I have 6 (coun't em) '"foreign" peices of shiite' and one brand new Gibson. The (build) quality of a Gibson is as variable as you can even bloody imagine. Ask anybody who has played more than 4, Whereas EVERY MOtherLOvin "POS" Japanese guitar from the Pac 112 upward I have tried works fine.

I love Gibson's tone and neck profiles,etc, I ,and many others, just wish they'd sort out their build quality- ask around.

james just send it back and get a new one, thats what i'd do...you can do that online.