Les Paul Traditional Plus and Premium Plus

[searchforpeg]

Hi All,


Some sad news. My 2010 Les Paul Traditional Plus Desert Burst was stolen from my house as myself and my family were asleep upstairs. So I am in the market for a replacement. The store that I bought it from here in Dublin advises me they have a Traditional Desert Burst on order, on the way to them, and that this one has a Premium Plus finish/top. Can you please confirm that there is indeed such a thing as a Premium Plus finish/top for this guitar, how it is different from a Plus finish, and how are the different finishes/tops of Les Pauls in general graded\determined? Thanks in advance!


Joey

[bobarino]

Originally Posted by searchforpeg

Hi All

hi there.

Originally Posted by searchforpeg

Some sad news. My 2010 Les Paul Traditional Plus Desert Burst was stolen from my house as myself and my family were asleep upstairs.

that's horrible

Originally Posted by searchforpeg

The store that I bought it from here in Dublin advises me they have a Traditional Desert Burst on order, on the way to them, and that this one has a Premium Plus finish/top. Can you please confirm that there is indeed such a thing as a Premium Plus finish/top for this guitar, how it is different from a Plus finish, and how are the different finishes/tops of Les Pauls in general graded\determined?

i'm not sure, but the top on my desertburst 06 std is rated as premium plus and it looks like this:

[Lipinhu]

Sad to hear, hope no one got hurt.

Yes, it's a plus.

[thexmadxtopxhatter]

yeah they exist. Here's my classic premium plus (the predesessor of the traditional) for comparison.

[Shawn Lutz]

I never heard of a premium Traditional, just the Plus which is a AA flame top and the Pro. Premium's on other LP's usually is AAA top.

[KenG]

For Trads there's only...
The Trad + (burst finish with AA -sometimes AAA top)
The Trad (Gold Top or Ebony)
The Trad Pro (GC Exclusive)
Faded Trad (L&M Exclusive)
The Mahogany Trad (newer model)
As far as I know the Trad + is the top of the line Trad unless your store commisioned a model. There's certainly no "premium plus Trad"

[planks]

Originally Posted by searchforpeg

Hi All,


Some sad news. My 2010 Les Paul Traditional Plus Desert Burst was stolen from my house as myself and my family were asleep upstairs. So I am in the market for a replacement. The store that I bought it from here in Dublin advises me they have a Traditional Desert Burst on order, on the way to them, and that this one has a Premium Plus finish/top. Can you please confirm that there is indeed such a thing as a Premium Plus finish/top for this guitar, how it is different from a Plus finish, and how are the different finishes/tops of Les Pauls in general graded\determined? Thanks in advance!


Joey

Sorry to hear about the stealing, hope no one got hurt.

I have seen only a few mention of a 'Premium Plus' Traditional like here WTS: 2011 Gibson Les Paul Traditional Premium Plus,
I seem to remember there was a limited run of them some time back, and they should have AAAA tops, but not totally sure though..

The 'Premium' (No 'Plus') version was introduced in early 2010, they have AAA tops, i.e. more 'flamey' than the AA tops on the Traditional Plus.

Les Paul Traditional Premium Iced Tea (not mine)

[Lipinhu]

The premium or the AAAA top may be in the eye of the owner/buyer...

I've seen some gorgeous trads flamewise and I've seen some standards premium+ that I would be happier with a plain top.

[nauc]

i wouldnt worry about "titles". go look at it when it comes in. you might love it

sorry to hear your Lester go stolen, but hope theres a way to prevent more thefts

good luck

[Shawn Lutz]

Originally Posted by planks

Sorry to hear about the stealing, hope no one got hurt.

I have seen only a few mention of a 'Premium Plus' Traditional like here WTS: 2011 Gibson Les Paul Traditional Premium Plus,
I seem to remember there was a limited run of them some time back, and they should have AAAA tops, but not totally sure though..

The 'Premium' (No 'Plus') version was introduced in early 2010, they have AAA tops, i.e. more 'flamey' than the AA tops on the Traditional Plus.

Les Paul Traditional Premium Iced Tea (not mine)

that is a Plus not a Premium...that aint no AAAAA top, more like a poor AA top

[planks]

Originally Posted by Shawn Lutz

that is a Plus not a Premium...that aint no AAAAA top, more like a poor AA top

What's up with the five A you write, I never heard of a Traditional with that grading.

The picture is of a Traditional Premium with an AAA top.

Here is a Traditional Plus Iced Tea (not mine) with AA top for compare

[Shawn Lutz]

Originally Posted by planks

What's up with the five A you write, I never heard of a Traditional with that grading.

The picture is of a Traditional Premium with an AAA top.

Sorry but no way that is a AAA top. go look in the traditional thread and look at the tops and then the 2012 standard thread and look at the AAA tops.

here is my 2012 trad plus with a AA top

[planks]

Originally Posted by Shawn Lutz

no way that is a AAA top

The top on the guitar is an AAA (that's 3xA) as it is on all other Traditional Premiums.

Btw, I started this thread New Traditional Premium Out Now - Glowing Flames .. when the Traditional Premium was announced in 2010, for anyone interested.

[Shawn Lutz]

Originally Posted by planks

The top on the guitar is an AAA (that's 3xA) as it is on all other Traditional Premiums.

Btw, I started this thread New Traditional Premium Out Now - Glowing Flames .. when the Traditional Premium was announced in 2010, for anyone interested.

Call it what you like but look at Barbarino's Premium Standard to see a AAA top. I'll still say that ice tea is not AAA, if it was sold as a AAA someone got ripped off

So in the Traditional Line, did they drop the Premium sometime in 2011 and go Plus or are both still available. I've seen plenty of Standard Premiums (that flame like Barbarinos)

[planks]

Originally Posted by Shawn Lutz

Call it what you like..

..I'll still say that ice tea is not AAA

..So in the Traditional Line, did they drop the Premium sometime in 2011 and go Plus or are both still available.

I'm posting the information that was connected to the picture of the guitar, and anyway, to my eye it sure fits with the guitar's top being more flamey and 3D-like than what was the norm for the AA tops on the Traditional Plus in 2010.

As for what happened to the Tradtional Premium line since 2010-2011, I don't know.

[bobarino]

Originally Posted by Shawn Lutz

Call it what you like but look at Barbarino's Premium Standard to see a AAA top. I'll still say that ice tea is not AAA, if it was sold as a AAA someone got ripped off

So in the Traditional Line, did they drop the Premium sometime in 2011 and go Plus or are both still available. I've seen plenty of Standard Premiums (that flame like Barbarinos)

who's this barbarino you speak of?

[winexprt]

Originally Posted by searchforpeg

Hi All,


Some sad news. My 2010 Les Paul Traditional Plus Desert Burst was stolen from my house as myself and my family were asleep upstairs. So I am in the market for a replacement. The store that I bought it from here in Dublin advises me they have a Traditional Desert Burst on order, on the way to them, and that this one has a Premium Plus finish/top. Can you please confirm that there is indeed such a thing as a Premium Plus finish/top for this guitar, how it is different from a Plus finish, and how are the different finishes/tops of Les Pauls in general graded\determined? Thanks in advance!


Joey

Sorry to hear your Lester was lifted. Fcukin' thieves suck!

As far as I know there is currently no such model named "Premium Plus" currently made by Gibson.

Check for yourselves:

http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Elec...aul/Gibson-USA

There is in fact the Traditional Plus, which is a fantastic guitar.

Gibson touts them as having "AA" tops.

Here's my 2011 Trad Plus stock:



And with some mods:

[ACELUEK]

Here is a Traditional Plus... (in the center)

[Shawn Lutz]

Originally Posted by bobarino

who's this barbarino you speak of?

oops...sorry about that

[HRS]

this is a standard, but it is a 2012 premium plus in desert burst

[Justin_Case]

In early 2010 - just before the flood at the Gibson Factory, I saw several new Traditionals at both Alto Music and Sam Ash being opened from their shipping boxes and they were labeled at "Premium Plus". Some really nice tops were shipped at that time.


I ended up letting go of an 2008 with a pretty boring top, for this one -

[Shawn Lutz]

sweet one there Justin....how is the clear PG attached?

[Justin_Case]

It's mounted to the Pickup rings using the exiting screws.

got them here - Bobby Lee Signature Series

[rickyc40]

I ordered a Traditional Plus from Zzzounds back in 2010 and it arrived with a really beautiful top. After reading this thread i went back to the file cab and grabbed the box sticker from Gibson that i had stashed away. It says premium. Heres a pic of the guitar.....AA or AAA, i guess it really doesn't matter....but i have seen traditional plus examples in the guitar shops that didn't look near this good......P1000295.jpg Any comments on aa or aaa or nay????

[bobarino]

^^ that's an awesome top ^^

[Shawn Lutz]

Originally Posted by rickyc40

I ordered a Traditional Plus from Zzzounds back in 2010 and it arrived with a really beautiful top. After reading this thread i went back to the file cab and grabbed the box sticker from Gibson that i had stashed away. It says premium. Heres a pic of the guitar.....AA or AAA, i guess it really doesn't matter....but i have seen traditional plus examples in the guitar shops that didn't look near this good......Attachment 63065 Any comments on aa or aaa or nay????

looks like AAA to me...thats a beauty!

[searchforpeg]

Thanks for all the info folks. Asked the same questions of Gibson Customer Care. Here is the response I received today

Thank you for your interest in Gibson guitars. Actually, there is no LP Traditional Plus model, maybe there is a little misunderstood, due because of the product code: LPTD+DBCH1, the plus + you see on it is just a symbol to indicate a continuation on the code configuration, doesn’t mean the guitar model has a Plus top. Hope this helps.

So who is right? Them or Us?

[Slashperryburst]

Originally Posted by thexmadxtopxhatter

yeah they exist. Here's my classic premium plus (the predesessor of the traditional) for comparison.

Not to nitpick, but technically, the "old" standard is the predecessor for the traditional. I only refer to the traditional as the traditional to avoid confusion. As far as I'm concerned, they're still the Standard.

To the OP. Sorry to hear about the theft. Hope no one was hurt. In the meantime, scour local pawnstores, check the likes of Ebay and Craigslist and also check the local music stores. A friend of mine had the early 70's precision bass he was given by his late father when 14 years old stolen a few years ago.

Seems that there's a lot of guitar theft going on in Dublin nowadays.

Link

Hope the scumbags are caught in all cases.

[Shawn Lutz]

Originally Posted by searchforpeg

Thanks for all the info folks. Asked the same questions of Gibson Customer Care. Here is the response I received today

Thank you for your interest in Gibson guitars. Actually, there is no LP Traditional Plus model, maybe there is a little misunderstood, due because of the product code: LPTD+DBCH1, the plus + you see on it is just a symbol to indicate a continuation on the code configuration, doesn’t mean the guitar model has a Plus top. Hope this helps.

So who is right? Them or Us?

Musician friends calls them Plus too
Gibson Les Paul Standard Traditional Plus Electric Guitar | Musician's Friend

Only a blurb by Gibson mentioning AA as a "plus" top
Gibson.com: Gibson Les Paul Traditional

[Justin_Case]

Straight from Gibson's site: - Gibson.com: Gibson Les Paul Traditional


Body and Finish
Crafted from a highly figured Grade-AA maple “plus top” and weight relieved Grade-A mahogany back in the image of the classic Les Paul Standard, these guitars are finished in traditional nitrocellulose lacquer in your choice of Heritage Cherry Sunburst, Desert Burst, Honey Burst, Ice Tea Burst, and Light Burst. For the player who wants a simpler look, Ebony and Gold Top finishes are also available. The guitar’s classic looks are further enhanced by vintage cream binding and transparent gold Speed Knobs.