90s Les Paul or a new Standard?

[danohat]

 

[dk2429]

Save yourself a lot of money and get yourself an Epiphone
If you go to the Epiphone forum here on MLP they’ll tell you how they are as good or better than new Gibsons…..

If that was aimed toward me, no need to be a smart ass LOL.

 

[Deftone]

I have a 13 r9 owned by Derek St Holmes...keeper= but a fugly mismatched top but plays and sounds amazing

I'd like to see that guitar, got pics?


OP: I've owned both '90's LP's and new ones. I'm impressed by both. IMHO it will be a totally personal decision. Play them all and find one you love.

 

[monty john]

I'd like to see that guitar, got pics?


OP: I've owned both '90's LP's and new ones. I'm impressed by both. IMHO it will be a totally personal decision. Play them all and find one you love.

here is a link on u tube of my guitar in action..it has faded a LOT since then and I have changed the pu's ... but she ugly but sounds mighty

 

[monty john]

13 r9 owned by Derek St Holmes....faded now

 

[danohat]

If that was aimed toward me, no need to be a smart ass LOL.

I aimed that mid 90s wine red standard at you.

 

[Tollie]

For me personally, there is something magical about an older guitar. I have heard that the vibrations of playing an instrument for years can affect the tone, like how an antique violin sounds better. I am not a woodologist (hahaha) but I think an older guitar has a certain mojo from being played for decades.

With Gibsons, I am not interested in anything after the mid 1990s, or whenever they started using green fretboard inlays. Those are so ugly.

 

[AJK1]

If that was aimed toward me, no need to be a smart ass LOL.

Huh?, no it wasn’t

 

[Maestro Fuzz]

My friend, for that kind of money and with a bit of luck you can buy a second hand Custom Shop R8. Two years ago I bought a 2017 Custom shop for 2500 Pounds...Yes, its possible. USA line guitars are great, but CS guitars are amazing. IMHO there is a huge difference

 

[richedie]

I had a 94 Standard and my 2003 destroyed the 94.
I also hated the flat frets on the 94.

I find the 2000-2005 Standards to be awesome. Also, newer models are great.

 

[LTigh]

If it were before the regime change during the previous administration, I'd say go with the '90s Les Paul.

That being said, Gibby is putting out some quality Standards as of late. NOT to discount the usual sorts of complaints with regards to QC (believe me, I've seen some things what should never have passed inspection on current models, and I'd be salty as the Bonneville Salt Flats if I were to have paid market rates sight unseen for new and gotten a dog), but overall, if you find yourself a newer one and it falls within your level of acceptability (and price), you'll be pleasantly surprised.

They've even bothered to do proper set-ups on the new LPs rather than advertise the unusually high action and what-not of the Henry J era as a "feature allowing customers to set up their Gibson to their own personal preference (at their own expense of course)." Not that you shouldn't adjust the set up to your own preference, but now they come pretty serviceable out of the box.

As others have said, if you can find yourself a Custom Shop reissue for a decent price on the second hand market, it may be a good option if you're looking for a "forever guitar."

A buddy of mine managed to score a 2019 CS R0 for a ridiculous bargain, and he's been raving about it non-stop (he's also got a couple of "Regular" Standards ranging from the early 2000s to the most recent 2022 iterations), even trying to push ME to drop ducats on one (dude wants to spread the gospel, I suppose), but I told him that I don't have his weird luck of having insane guitar deals drop into my lap from the ether.

tl;dr: the new Standards are good. REALLY good. (Although QC can be spotty sometimes, still try before you buy). Also, supposedly CS reissues are next-level, so consider a used one of you're looking for a "forever guitar."

 

[SD1992]

To conclude this thread I ended up buying a 2015 R8 for £2,700. It was fairly local to me (not many guitar shops around where I am) so went to go and take a look. I'm very pleased with it, its the best LP I've played and sounds excellent too.

Thanks for all the help and insight on this thread.

 

[Six6String6]

Can’t go wrong with the R8. It’s a nice piece of kit. I have a 2021 R8 and a late model 50’s Standard. It’s almost as good as the R8.
I think Gibson is putting out some great guitars right now.

Enjoy your new Les Paul!

 

[wils]

Hello MLP, I'm hoping to pick your brains on what guitar to buy next.

Context is I have been playing for almost 20 years now, and with a significant birthday coming up I want to get myself a really good Les Paul. I currently have a 2013 Traditional Pro ii which is fine, but I haven't really gelled with it. My old man has a 1990s Studio Gem which is significantly better to my hands and ears, so I was thinking about getting a 1990s or late 80s one to replace mine. I've also seen that Gibson have revamped their range recently and the current batch of Standard 50s look like very nice guitars.

There seem to be a few nice LPs on Reverb at the moment from that era, but I can't decide to roll the dice on one of those or to play it safe and get a new Standard which I can go into a shop and try.

Where would your money go in this (very fortunate) situation? Budget would be no more than £4k or so which seems to encompass anything that isn't a custom shop. No issues spending less either.

hi pal.. its always cool fun searching for a new les paul.. or any other guitar i guess so i had a look online, mainly reverb to see what you can get for under £4k. first... dont buy a new les paul unless you have £8k at least to buy a new murphy lab r8 or 9. a new one these days quality wise isnt very good as the turnout of "standard models" whatever they call them ie 50's, 60's, traditional, standard, slash models etc (just marketing to sell more guitars) is over twice the numbers now compared to say 20 years ago plus you wont have any trouble getting your hands on a les paul that cost £2500 a few years ago for £1500. however i had a look on reverb and these are the best les pauls i found for under £4k that would be of interest to me (ive got so many now i dont need any more though.. no space for any more)...

with £4k you can get a really nice custom shop r8 with a nice top so it looks like an r9 (r8's were plain tops while r9s had tabby cats but the only r9 i found was a plain top??? makes no sence)

R8 Les Paul-nice for price £3850 - I would get this one

Gibson Custom Shop R8 Les Paul Standard Flame Top | Reverb

Gibson Custom Shop R8 Les Paul Standard Flame Top inc case and paperwork

reverb.com

Another nice R8 £3750

♚ BREATHTAKING ♚ 2014 GIBSON CUSTOM SHOP Les Paul R8 * VOS * 1958 Reissue ♚ AAA TIGER ♚ R9 * 59 * 58 | Reverb

** OUR WEBSITE IS UP AND RUNNING ** ! 2014 GIBSON LES PAUL CUSTOM SHOP 'R8' VOS 1958 REISSUE 'WASHED CHERRY ' 'AAA' MEGA TIGER FLAME ! GORGEOUS DEEP AND STRIKING FIDDLEBACK FLAMETOP ON THIS ONE ! A PROPER TIGER FLAME TOP ! ...

reverb.com

Page of R8’s to look at

Gibson Custom Shop Standard Historic '58 Les Paul Standard Reissue 2013 - 2017 | Reverb

The 2013 - 2017 Custom Historic '58 Les Paul Standard Reissues featured mahogany bodies with figured maple tops, '58 profile necks with rosewood fretboards, and Custombucker pickups. They were available in VOS or Gloss finishes. The Standard Historic model differs from the True Historic version...

reverb.com

--

R9 with plain top £3850.. the only one i could find for the money you have to spend

Gibson Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul R9 (1959 reissue) Inc Lifton Case 2005 | Reverb

A Stunning Gibson Les Paul R9 in excellent condition, just one very minor dink (looks worse in photos). Absolutely beautiful guitar, comes with Gibson Case Candy including Certificate of Authorisation and original Lifton Case.Shop Opening Hours: Friday, Saturday 10.00 to 5.00 & Sunday 10.00 t...

reverb.com

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A really nice custom £3695

1997 Gibson Les Paul Custom – Ebony | Reverb

Iconic Les Paul Custom finished in classic Ebony black. Decent condition with signs of wear and blemishes as you'd expect on a black used guitar of this age. There is some tarnishing to the gold hardware, and some light bucklerash which is visible when the light catches it but hasn’t broken thr...

reverb.com

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not sure if these would be of interest to you

Les Paul wine red special. £2700

Gibson 1958(R8) Les Paul Special Custom Shop Made in 1999 In Faded Cherry | Reverb

Gibson 1958 (R8) Les Paul special Custom Shop Made in 1999 In
Faded CherryMade in Nashville USA in 1999 as part of the Custom Shop Historic
SeriesA rare single cut guitar Some small marks but nothing majorComes with the original Custom Shop CasePlays like a custom shop guitar shouldSet up ...

reverb.com

gibson les paul deluxe goldtop NEW £2400

Gibson Les Paul Deluxe 70s Goldtop #216810228 | Reverb

First released in 1969, the Deluxe saw the introduction of the mini humbucker™ to the Les Paul lineup. Mini humbuckers retain the hum-free performance of their full-sized cousins but with a somewhat clearer and brighter tonality. The new Deluxe has features that were inspired by those early model...

reverb.com

I have both of these LP's (not the ones online for sale) and they are very cool guitars.
for 4k you can basically get anything as long as they are not to old.. have you considered an es 335 etc, also great for under 4k. hope this helps pal. im considering selling a few of mine as im moving back to LA soon and i cant take them all with me but the only ones i have for under £4k is a 99 wine red special, the same as above and a 2005 gold top deluxe everything else is custom shop i have a nice R9 i might sell but i would be looking for the £6k mark...

anyway if i can help in any way (as i love guitar shopping) email me at [email protected] .. cheers and i hope you find a great LP pal, Wils

 

[Gpass1]

Hello MLP, I'm hoping to pick your brains on what guitar to buy next.

Context is I have been playing for almost 20 years now, and with a significant birthday coming up I want to get myself a really good Les Paul. I currently have a 2013 Traditional Pro ii which is fine, but I haven't really gelled with it. My old man has a 1990s Studio Gem which is significantly better to my hands and ears, so I was thinking about getting a 1990s or late 80s one to replace mine. I've also seen that Gibson have revamped their range recently and the current batch of Standard 50s look like very nice guitars.

There seem to be a few nice LPs on Reverb at the moment from that era, but I can't decide to roll the dice on one of those or to play it safe and get a new Standard which I can go into a shop and try.

Where would your money go in this (very fortunate) situation? Budget would be no more than £4k or so which seems to encompass anything that isn't a custom shop. No issues spending less either.

I recently picked up a 50s Standard Goldtop. Beautiful guitar cosmetically and musically. It’s not weight reliefed which allows for tremendous sustain and girth in the low end. That prototypical balzy les paul sound. The beautiful Goldtop just adds to the splender. You cannot go wrong with this pick.

 

[leofender55]

If it's a milestone guitar for you and you plan on keeping it forever, then you should play some different Les Paul's and decide. With that, I can say that I've owned more than 20 Les Paul's in all these years and currently own 6, and they are all keepers. I have a G0, R0, 1989 Black Beauty, etc. I recently bought a 2019 Standard 60's that my dealer said was a great Les Paul, and it was in Bourbon Burst, which I had been looking for. He wasn't wrong. After reading a lot of comments regarding Gibson's quality control issues in the recent past, I was concerned, but this guitar is extremely well made and plays and sounds great.

 

[Six6String6]

I think the quality is just fine these last few years (since 2019 or so). All three of mine were great right out of the box.

 

[Gibson mad Mike]

Hello,
I don't want to get into that kiln dried verses naturally dried timber argument by saying this however,
I would ALWAYS choose a 1990s Les Paul over anything made in the 21st century...

I own some and have had more in the past and apart from one Classic 1960 which was really toppy (I was swayed by a beautiful top and a very rare colour) they have all been great guitars.

Having said all that it is of course your personal choice as you are the one who will be playing it

Be well people

 

[cutaway]

I have a ‘93 Les Paul Classic that I just love. I did swap the pickups for ‘57 Classics but the stock ones were good too. They are known for having the thinnest necks of any Lester, just to let you know. Very high quality build, playability and sound. That’s my two cents. Good luck and keep on pickin’!

 

[searswashere]

Congrats on your R8 OP!