Gibson LP Std 50s vs. LP Classic

[rfrizz]

The difference I see are almost all in favor on the Classic, so why is the Standard 50s $500/25% more than the Classic?

The Std. 50s has a nitrocellulose finish, but the Classic has Grover Rotomatics and coil tapping.

The 50s has a solid body, but the Classic is weight relieved. That doesn't seem like a big deal. The pickups are different, but not enough to make much of a difference. (BurstBucker 1 & BurstBucker 2 covered, and BurstBucker 61R & 61T Open-coil, respectively.)

Am I missing something? The Classic seems like a better overall deal, so why would Gibson price it for $500 less? Same story for the Std 60s, except for the Grover Rotomatics on it.


Gibson Les Paul Standard 50s Electric Guitar ($2500)

Gibson Les Paul Classic ($2000)

 

[runningonempty]

musical instruments are very subjective. what one guy loves someone else may hate. the absolute best way to choose your guitar would be to go to a store that has walls of them, sit down and just start in on anything with 6 strings you can find.

when i chose my classic i went in the store, sat down, and the salesman rapid fired me LP models (they had most of them right there). i wasn’t looking at headstocks, i was just playing and handing them back to him. finally he handed me my classic and it was an instant “okay this is it, let’s cash out now”

just to be sure i replayed the top 3 and the classic still won.

a few weeks ago i went another store that had a bunch of gibson’s and noodled around on some and my choice in my classic was reaffirmed.

my american performer strat i bought sight unseen online and it’s a great guitar and no point upgrading it to a pro2 or any other strat (except maybe a $3k custom shop!!!!) but i often wonder if i had gone and played all the strats like i did the LP’s would i have still chosen the performer? guess we’ll never know

 

[diogoguitar]

as someone who has owned these new LP Standards, I'd say you're effectively paying the extra for a flame top

the rest is marketing: non-weight relieved, hand-wired electronics, ABR-like bridge...
It costs zero more to have non-weight relieved if the body isn't hand-selected to be lightweight (which isn't).

I don't know how the binding of the newer classics are, but one feature I really liked on the new Standards was the thinner binding. It does feel really nice and is different from the "modern" LP's.

If you don't care about the vintage specs, thinner binding, non-relieved body or flame top... I'd say go for the classic.

 

[01GT Eibach]

The Classic also is weight relieved (but not chambered which I have heard bad things about) and has the coil taps. To the traditionalists, those are both negatives. To me, they are too big positives. Most the time I play standing up, so weight relief is VERY appreciated. And I like the coil taps. I have that in my 2010 Trad Pro, and they add a nice tonal color once in a while (and if you don't like it, you don't have to use it). That, and I like the Classic with a Heritage Cherry Sunburst plain top. What a nice guitar the Classic is.

 

[AJK1]

The Classic also is weight relieved (but not chambered which I have heard bad things about) and has the coil taps. To the traditionalists, those are both negatives. To me, they are too big positives. Most the time I play standing up, so weight relief is VERY appreciated. And I like the coil taps. I have that in my 2010 Trad Pro, and they add a nice tonal color once in a while (and if you don't like it, you don't have to use it). That, and I like the Classic with a Heritage Cherry Sunburst plain top. What a nice guitar the Classic is.

I just bought a Translucent Cherry Classic and it’s great

 

[budg]

Usually non traditional specs, non flamed tops and often heavier guitars. My silverburst weighed in at around 11 lbs with its weight relief.

 

[madh4ttr]

The difference I see are almost all in favor on the Classic, so why is the Standard 50s $500/25% more than the Classic?

The Std. 50s has a nitrocellulose finish, but the Classic has Grover Rotomatics and coil tapping.

The 50s has a solid body, but the Classic is weight relieved. That doesn't seem like a big deal. The pickups are different, but not enough to make much of a difference. (BurstBucker 1 & BurstBucker 2 covered, and BurstBucker 61R & 61T Open-coil, respectively.)

Am I missing something? The Classic seems like a better overall deal, so why would Gibson price it for $500 less? Same story for the Std 60s, except for the Grover Rotomatics on it.


Gibson Les Paul Standard 50s Electric Guitar ($2500)

Gibson Les Paul Classic ($2000)

Well, that's subjective. I hate coil tapping, hate weight relieved LP's, prefer the pickups in the standard and, would never be satisfied with less than a standard. Everyone has their own opinion, just like the one you have. To each his/her own

 

[speyfly]

Now that I own a Classic I would buy it again. Yes, marketing plays a roll in the model lineup and Gibson was smart to create the price point the Classic fills. The Standards will satisfy the cork sniffers (originalist's) while the $$$ savings will entice more people to own a fantastic guitar rather than settling for something less than what their dream guitar would be.

One more thing, the plain top is gorgeous, one of a kind like a fingerprint.

 

[InTheEvening]

The difference I see are almost all in favor on the Classic, so why is the Standard 50s $500/25% more than the Classic?

The Std. 50s has a nitrocellulose finish, but the Classic has Grover Rotomatics and coil tapping.

The 50s has a solid body, but the Classic is weight relieved. That doesn't seem like a big deal. The pickups are different, but not enough to make much of a difference. (BurstBucker 1 & BurstBucker 2 covered, and BurstBucker 61R & 61T Open-coil, respectively.)

Am I missing something? The Classic seems like a better overall deal, so why would Gibson price it for $500 less? Same story for the Std 60s, except for the Grover Rotomatics on it.


Gibson Les Paul Standard 50s Electric Guitar ($2500)

Gibson Les Paul Classic ($2000)

Many, maybe even the majority of players don’t like the weight relief, PCB board, and coil tap feature. One is more modern, the other more traditional, and it really just comes down to preference. BUT, traditional is def more popular, so Gibson can charge more for it.

I also think the standards prob get the “lighter” more carefully selected pieces of wood because they aren’t weight relieved.
Whereas classics get the heavier or just any random piece of wood, regardless of the weight because they’ll get the holes drilled anyways.

I’ve heard of members finding solid body standards that weigh the same or even less than a weight relieved Classic.

Hand wiring boards likely also take more time than dropping in a PCB. So wiring a standard might also be more labor intensive.

Also, I could be wrong but I believe the classics are all plain tops whereas most of the standards have some degree of flame top to it (with exceptions of course, I’ve seen some plain top ones). Having to pick out flame top woods to match also takes extra time.



Considering all of the above, I’m not surprised the standard costs more. Doesn’t neccearily make it “better”, just different from the classic and it likely takes some extra labor time for production and has a higher demand, which can raise the cost.
I personally played and LOVED the classic. But this being my first Gibson Les Paul, I wanted something more traditional and went with the standard 60’s which I liked just as much.

 

[JMP]

There’s not a quality difference between the Classic and Standard. The main differences are aesthetic and different components. Get whichever you prefer. Both are top quality guitars.

 

[gball]

The difference I see are almost all in favor on the Classic, so why is the Standard 50s $500/25% more than the Classic?

The Std. 50s has a nitrocellulose finish, but the Classic has Grover Rotomatics and coil tapping.

The 50s has a solid body, but the Classic is weight relieved. That doesn't seem like a big deal. The pickups are different, but not enough to make much of a difference. (BurstBucker 1 & BurstBucker 2 covered, and BurstBucker 61R & 61T Open-coil, respectively.)

Am I missing something? The Classic seems like a better overall deal, so why would Gibson price it for $500 less? Same story for the Std 60s, except for the Grover Rotomatics on it.


Gibson Les Paul Standard 50s Electric Guitar ($2500)

Gibson Les Paul Classic ($2000)

I think the closer comparison would be the Classic to the 60s Standard. They have the same neck, pickups and hardware. The differences have been mentioned above (weight relief/push pulls/uncovered pickups on the Classic). The money goes to the "nicer" top on the Standard and, I believe, the perceived prestige of the model name. They are both the same quality/finish level, and would be great as someone's only LP. Only the player can make the final decision.

 

[Imperial]

The Std. 50s has a nitrocellulose finish

All Gibsons have nitrocellulose finish.

I think the closer comparison would be the Classic to the 60s Standard. They have the same neck, pickups and hardware.

That's about it. The other differences (flame top vs plain top, swiss cheese weight relief vs none and PCB electronics vs traditional) don't matter much in terms of how the guitar feels or sounds like. It's funny how those models are so much the same but with so much price difference.

The Classic has had varying specs over the years though. I think one of the better years was 2017, when the Classic had similar specs than the current model but with a nylon nut (rare for a non-CS model), hand wired electronics (no push-pull pots), locking Grovers and Classic 57's. And it was available in Gold Top (got one for myself).

 

[DaveSG]

The Classic has had varying specs over the years though. I think one of the better years was 2017, when the Classic had similar specs than the current model but with a nylon nut (rare for a non-CS model), hand wired electronics (no push-pull pots), locking Grovers and Classic 57's. And it was available in Gold Top (got one for myself).

That sounds like a good spec!

 

[Leumas]

my american performer strat i bought sight unseen online and it’s a great guitar and no point upgrading it to a pro2 or any other strat (except maybe a $3k custom shop!!!!) but i often wonder if i had gone and played all the strats like i did the LP’s would i have still chosen the performer? guess we’ll never know

Man you're right on the money. It has to be the right instrument. I will never again buy without playing. I've had maybe a dozen strats in my life. There's only two that I like. One 2000 American, and a 2006 Mexican. All of the others didn't fit me in ways I couldn't even tell you, it's just that those two have "it" for me.

I did that with gretsches recently. I had my heart set on a red sparkle, but I just grabbed all 15 without looking at the price tag and a classic orange 5120 won out on feel and tone alone.

 

[Winter Warlock]

I think if you view the push pull features and weight relief as desirable features then the Classic really is the better deal. I have a newer Classic and I love it. You can get cool Frank Zappa sounds by combining the coil taps and phase shift. I always told myself that I didn't want those types of things but now I'd hate to be without them. And the weight relief is great for me. I get enough exercise carrying my daughter around. With the Standard you're paying NOT to have those features because a more traditional spec is worth more to you. There's no difference in build quality, and honestly my Classic is flawless. I'm not sure in what way a Standard COULD be higher quality in any objective sense.

 

[rfrizz]

I think if you view the push pull features and weight relief as desirable features then the Classic really is the better deal. I have a newer Classic and I love it. You can get cool Frank Zappa sounds by combining the coil taps and phase shift. I always told myself that I didn't want those types of things but now I'd hate to be without them. And the weight relief is great for me. I get enough exercise carrying my daughter around. With the Standard you're paying NOT to have those features because a more traditional spec is worth more to you. There's no difference in build quality, and honestly my Classic is flawless. I'm not sure in what way a Standard COULD be higher quality in any objective sense.

Kinda how I feel on the coil-tap and phase sounds. Of course, it isn't than expensive if your pups are already 4-wires. I have a PRS LPish (cheap $650, of course!) that I may try to do that on, as well an an Epi LP 60s.

 

[rfrizz]

All Gibsons have nitrocellulose finish.

Do they? I always thought that, but the LP Classic's description says "gloss-finished" but there is no mention of nitrocellulose. I looked in other places, including Gibson's website. I was going to call them, but they are close right now. 4:10PM, Central/Chicago Time.


Gibson Les Paul Classic Electric Guitar Transparent Cherry

 

[jskidder]

Do they? I always thought that, but the LP Classic's description says "gloss-finished" but there is no mention of nitrocellulose. I looked in other places, including Gibson's website. I was going to call them, but they are close right now. 4:10PM, Central/Chicago Time.


Gibson Les Paul Classic Electric Guitar Transparent Cherry

Every Gibson USA guitar is nitro finished, whether it's gloss or satin. No need to call them.

 

[cybermgk]

The Classic has had varying specs over the years though. I think one of the better years was 2017, when the Classic had similar specs than the current model but with a nylon nut (rare for a non-CS model), hand wired electronics (no push-pull pots), locking Grovers and Classic 57's. And it was available in Gold Top (got one for myself).

Agree. That's when I got my Classic GT. The 2017s were a no brainer best bang for buck. Though we are talking about the Classic T, for traditional, there was also an HP version, with the robo tuners, coil split, zero fret, etc..

 

[cybermgk]

Do they? I always thought that, but the LP Classic's description says "gloss-finished" but there is no mention of nitrocellulose. I looked in other places, including Gibson's website. I was going to call them, but they are close right now. 4:10PM, Central/Chicago Time.


Gibson Les Paul Classic Electric Guitar Transparent

Cherry

Um, go to Gibson's site

https://www.gibson.com/Guitar/USAI9Q269/Les-Paul-Classic/Translucent-Cherry