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I have been wanting a les paul style guitar for a while now and just can’t make heads or tails of all the different models and features. From actual Gibson to epiphone and the numerous copies I feel a bit overwhelmed. I understand you get what you pay for and if I had a money tree I’d buy every guitar. However, I would like to make an informed decision and get the best bang for my buck!
I,m fairly new to my fender strat electric guitar, I don’t gig or play professionally so… I’m hoping to get some opinions to narrow the options down to a few guitars I can go try before I buy.
Cheers
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Hi, always a fun dilemma when buying guitars…my question back to you is what is your budget range? That will be a major deciding factor.
Let me know and we can go from there….I’ve owned upwards of 10 les pauls….and own 2 Gibson Les Pauls currently, and friends that own Epi’s and others. So maybe I can help.
Roberto
Roberto
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With a budget like that, I would suggest that you also consider some of the PRS guitars as well.
PRS has some ‘Les Paul’ type bodies but most of their guitar designs are kinda in between a Strat & a Les Paul.PRS is well known for their high quality so you it would definitely a equal comparison with the Gibson guitars. Sweetwater has a lot of info on PRS products
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Well that’s a big range with many possibilities….including the PRS range as GNLGuy points out…frankly with 1500+ you are not buying “les Paul style” you are buying the real thing. Here is a good resource to do some research:
http://thehub.musiciansfriend.com/guitar-buying-guides/the-les-paul-buying-guide
Let’s start at the top, with $2000-2500 you are talking Gibson Les Paul Standards, Traditionals and Classics. If you don’t mind buying a 2015 or 2014 new (I dont like the 2015’s) you can get a great deal about now, and if you can deal with used there are wonderful deals out there. I bought a high end Les Paul in July, a 2014, for $800 less than usual..brand new. The STandard is the top of the line, before you go to the reissues and custom shop models which all are well over $3500. I wont go over the specs you can go to the gibson website and they have everything, but for those of us non-professionals any of these three would be amazing. The differences at this level have more to do with the finish, exclusive woods etc, than with the actual tone differences. If you can spend this and want to….don’t even bother with the rest, except the TRaditional Pro. Go to your favorite guitar store try them out….then find the price…new or used.
There is a line called the Les paul Traditional Pro II/III…they are exclusives for Guitar Center….awesome guitars, for around $1999, the Pro II you might find a little less
Although there may be other models in between, in general the Studio is next. This is meant to be a REAL Les Paul, but without all the beautiful finishes and binding…but I’ve had several and they are great…Brian just bought one…this is the $1000-1300 range, and includes a series called 50’s and 60’s Tribute…these are very nice I owned the 60’s tribute with P90 PUPS. The market for this line used is great as well.
Epihone makes a great guitar in the $500-600 range, the Les Paul Pro is really nice, but you can’t compare with the mainline Gibsons in Tone, IMHO, but many people buy these then replace PUPS with high end gibsons. There are many copies in this price range…one I like a lot is the Samick line , very nicely finished, nice tone. Samick is thee largest MFG of guitars in the world….in Korea…likely the Epiphone is made by them….very impressed with these.
My 2 cents….if you want to have, must have, a Gibson Les Paul in your collection, not playing out, etc…take your time and find a nice used Standard/Trad/Custom, and call it a day. Look at the PRS Line they are awesome in that price range. If you decide not to spend that much look at the Gibson Studio line….there are great deals there as well.
Enjoy the hunt…hope this helps
Roberto
Roberto
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I bought me one of these…
[URL=http://s99.photobucket.com/user/chilli_gb/media/20151129_161429_zpscfj5a4od.jpg.html][IMG]http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l290/chilli_gb/20151129_161429_zpscfj5a4od.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
I know, it isn’t anything like in the price range you have,( i think I paid about $102 if my working of the gbp=usd is correct) but Epiphone imho do make some lovely looking guitars. so possibly worth a look?...Billy..
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Sweetwater has a gibson plain top traditional,thats exclusive to sweetwater
it only comes in heritage cherry its none weight relieved and i believe 57’s for pick ups
with a 50’s fat neck for $1999 its a killer priceI went through the same thing when looking for a les paul ,its over whelming with all the different features
I do have an Epiphone that I installed gibson 57 pickups in . it does play nice and sound nice
I also have a gibson les paul standard it has the burstbuckers in it for pickups,also plays and sounds nice
I have a friends les paul studio at my house that has the 490/498 pick ups in it out of the 3 i like those pick ups the best
it just depends on what type of music you like to play, all 3 of these are in the $500 to $2500 range
but take your time and do your home work because theres so many differences in pick ups, necks,tops,weight reliefs,tuners,nuts,bindings,color choices ect good luck on your search -
I have a les paul standard in my collection. Its one I purchased 20 years ago and its just one of those guitars that never goes out of tune or needs adjustment. It has such natural sustain and suits a range of styles – the neck pickup has a warmness perfect for jazz – the bridge can cut through a mix and you just know its a les paul. It used to be my main guitar because it was just so reliable. I dropped the strings very close to the frets so it becomes really easy to play. My only concern was its weight and it would get noticeable after an hour of use even with a wide guitar strap over my shoulder. I still record with it but found other guitars that I like to use for a live performance that seem to suit me these days. I still love that gibson though. I’d say you should at least pick one up and try it.
Regards epiphone, i’ve got a hollow body casino and its build is just excellent. Never tried an epiphone les paul but I have used a few other gibson les pauls – some are lighter than mine but you have to shop around to find the right one. Never tried a PRS but I think they are mahogany like the gibson?
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I went to the guitar store in Rochester MN to try a fender modern player telecaster plus… they did not have one so I tried all kinds of instruments. The kid in the shop put me on to a Les Paul style guitar after listening to what I was playing for about 45 min. I loved it. I bought a brand New ESP LTD EC-256. It is beautiful with a lemon tiger wood look and big pearl looking inlays. I am totally loving the guitar. Brand new it was 399.99. I am so happy with this. Of coarse I was playing on a starcaster beginner guitar one of my martial art students loaned me. But this is a cool guitar, it also has a coil split switch for the bridge pickup. Again great guitar.
James
whether you think you can, or you think your cannot... you are right!
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So… I end up at a local guitar store and meet this very helpful sales guy! ” He says, Dude, you could take two guitars that are exactly the same off the wall same make, same model, and one will sing to you while the other not so much.” He goes on to say you just have to get guitars in your hand. “and play em!”
Taking his advice I tried several in his store and for the past few days went to many different places in town. I tried a ton of different guitars. Ended up in a pawn shop getting a 2002 Epiphone Les Paul limited edition that sings like an angel.
It has been an interesting journey and I thank you guys for your posts and giving me a place to start. Now I have to go play.
Cheers
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Congrats! Great choice!! Very nice guitar….but…something is missing….where’s the pic?
Enjoy!
Roberto
Roberto
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The guy in the shop gave you exactly the right advice. Guitars are still mostly made of wood, and no two pieces of wood are alike. It probably makes a little less difference when dealing with a solid body, but it’s still a substantial difference. It’s risky buying a guitar you haven’t played, and two of the same model can sound and feel quite different from each other.
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Hi Maradonagal,
I noticed you didn’t like the 2015 Les Paul. Well, I bought one for £1999 in the early part of 2015 (I have a 2001 Les Paul Standard in Trans Amber and a beautiful Epiphone Plus Top Pro, 2014, in Classic Sunburst plus my other little treasures). I liked the wide neck of the 2015, the gorgeous flamed maple top, the balance on the lap, the relatively flat fret board and the variety of sounds that you can get from it. I wasn’t bothered about the robot tuners and to start with it wouldn’t stay in tune for very long. However, as a guitar tech in another shop to the one I bought it from said “it’ll take a while to settle down”. I took it to a guitar jam weekend in October attended by one of the renowned internet guitar teachers (not Brian) and he played it in a master class on the Saturday afternoon. He was a bit sceptical about the wide neck to start with but very quickly got used to it, as I have. Now it has settled down and I rarely have to tune it. I’ve taken it to blues jams near where I live and other players wish they could alter their tunings so quickly and accurately especially if they switch from open tunings for slide to standard tunings for other tunes in the set. The American guitar players hated the 2015 as there were too many innovations in the same model BUT they didn’t criticise the tone or the playability. You can get some amazing bargains now as the retailers try to ditch them. Recently, the prices have stabilised and people are buying them now that the panic is over. The quality of the guitars themselves is not in question and I am tempted to get another. They will be rare and valuable in the future. I think Gibson made a great mistake in not offering options in 2015 and if they had I’m sure they would have been more acceptable. Mine is a keeper and I would love you to hear it played by a decent player. It’s all taste I suppose!
All the best,
Andrew
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