I think Gibson should make Les Paul Custom available as a regular Gibson USA model.
They used make these as Gibson USA until 2004, so that's not something unheard of.
The problem with the current situation where LP Custom is only available as a custom shop guitar is that it's out of reach of most people who'd be interested in it, and it's also not good value for the price it goes for -- more on that later.
Seeing as how Jerry Cantrell is now an Ambassador for Gibson, and he's mainly used/es Customs when it comes to Gibson Les Paul (with maybe an occasional use of Jurior, plus other non-LPs), it's only fair to make the LP Custom a part of Gibson USA family. They did, afterall, make Slash (another ambassador) model available in Gibson USA.
Afterall, why sign Jerry Cantrell if you're not going to be bothered to sell guitars to his fans? When you worship Jerry Cantrell, you want the type of Les Paul that Jerry Cantrell plays, and not Slash's sunburst, if you catch my drift (and no disrespect to Slash or the Sunburst intended).
LP Custom is more popular with alternative rock and metal crowd -- for the most part -- and these folks are by far not the custom shop top-of-the-line best-guitar-money-can-buy people. I think Gibson would sell more guitars to this crowd if they were to offer LP Custom in the Gibson USA line.
Lastly: Les Paul Custom was a big part of Gibson in the 1970s through to the 1990s. A generation of people grew up seeing THAT as THE Gibson Les Paul. Not as a luxury custom-shop item, but as a player's guitar. Another reason to properly represent the model in the affordable range of guitars.
Now on to the problem with LP Custom as a custom shop only model. The currently offered custom shop LP Custom quite inferior to the custom shop Historic 1968 Les Paul Custom reissue, but it's not THAT much less expensive that the Historic one. It's got lower grade mahogany than the Historic, comes with undesirable (in the custom shop community anyways) weight relief cheeseholes and inspite of that is still heavy as heck (unlike Historics!), and last but not least it has Gibson USA grade hardware and pickups. So it's a Gibson USA spec guitar made in the custom shop. It would be more than adequate for Gibson USA line as it is spec-wise, but when you pay custom shop money, you want custom shop specs --> that territory is covered by the 1968 Historic.
I heard some say that Les Paul Custom is the flagship model -- due to the gold-plated hardware and double-binding -- and therefore has to made by the custom shop excusively... as if to suggest that Gibson USA is not good enough to make an LP Custom model. Is that what Gibson think of their Gibson USA line? As not good enough? (I don't think so)
Be it as it may, I disagree with the whole "flagship model" narrative. LP Custom was supposed the flagship model back in the 1950s, but at this point (and has been the case for what, 40 years?), it's the '59 Sunburst Standard that everybody wants. Sunburst Standard '59 is the de facto flagship model. And that's the reason they sell a tonne of them in the Gibson USA line. And even back in het 50s, It's not like the Custom was built to a higher quality standard than the Standard -- it was the same guitar as the Standard, just a bit more "luxurious" in the looks department.
So if the LP Custom is too "important" a model to be built by Gibson USA, shouldn't the Sunburst Les Paul Standard be removed from the Gibson USA lineup too? That's a rethorical question. All's I'm saying is that the "it's too flagship to be tarnished by the Gibson USA brand" is a load of... I just debunked it.
To sum it up: Gibson custom shop is a valid model and there's reasons to buy Custom shop if you can afford and/or justify that to yourself. However, Gibson USA line exists -- and sells real well -- for a reason. Gibson USA is Gibson's bread and butter. Les Paul Custom deserves to be represented in the "bread and butter" range because despite of a few of its more visually upscale specs, it's a player's guitar preferred in certain situations to the Standard. And this is an excellent time to bring the LP Custom back to Gibson USA line -- I'm sure Jerry Cantrell tenure as an ambassador would boost the sales of these.
I wonder what others think. My agenda: hoping to discover more people wanting a Gibson USA LP Custom and Gibson getting the message. If I'm the only one here, that's cool.
They used make these as Gibson USA until 2004, so that's not something unheard of.
The problem with the current situation where LP Custom is only available as a custom shop guitar is that it's out of reach of most people who'd be interested in it, and it's also not good value for the price it goes for -- more on that later.
Seeing as how Jerry Cantrell is now an Ambassador for Gibson, and he's mainly used/es Customs when it comes to Gibson Les Paul (with maybe an occasional use of Jurior, plus other non-LPs), it's only fair to make the LP Custom a part of Gibson USA family. They did, afterall, make Slash (another ambassador) model available in Gibson USA.
Afterall, why sign Jerry Cantrell if you're not going to be bothered to sell guitars to his fans? When you worship Jerry Cantrell, you want the type of Les Paul that Jerry Cantrell plays, and not Slash's sunburst, if you catch my drift (and no disrespect to Slash or the Sunburst intended).
LP Custom is more popular with alternative rock and metal crowd -- for the most part -- and these folks are by far not the custom shop top-of-the-line best-guitar-money-can-buy people. I think Gibson would sell more guitars to this crowd if they were to offer LP Custom in the Gibson USA line.
Lastly: Les Paul Custom was a big part of Gibson in the 1970s through to the 1990s. A generation of people grew up seeing THAT as THE Gibson Les Paul. Not as a luxury custom-shop item, but as a player's guitar. Another reason to properly represent the model in the affordable range of guitars.
Now on to the problem with LP Custom as a custom shop only model. The currently offered custom shop LP Custom quite inferior to the custom shop Historic 1968 Les Paul Custom reissue, but it's not THAT much less expensive that the Historic one. It's got lower grade mahogany than the Historic, comes with undesirable (in the custom shop community anyways) weight relief cheeseholes and inspite of that is still heavy as heck (unlike Historics!), and last but not least it has Gibson USA grade hardware and pickups. So it's a Gibson USA spec guitar made in the custom shop. It would be more than adequate for Gibson USA line as it is spec-wise, but when you pay custom shop money, you want custom shop specs --> that territory is covered by the 1968 Historic.
I heard some say that Les Paul Custom is the flagship model -- due to the gold-plated hardware and double-binding -- and therefore has to made by the custom shop excusively... as if to suggest that Gibson USA is not good enough to make an LP Custom model. Is that what Gibson think of their Gibson USA line? As not good enough? (I don't think so)
Be it as it may, I disagree with the whole "flagship model" narrative. LP Custom was supposed the flagship model back in the 1950s, but at this point (and has been the case for what, 40 years?), it's the '59 Sunburst Standard that everybody wants. Sunburst Standard '59 is the de facto flagship model. And that's the reason they sell a tonne of them in the Gibson USA line. And even back in het 50s, It's not like the Custom was built to a higher quality standard than the Standard -- it was the same guitar as the Standard, just a bit more "luxurious" in the looks department.
So if the LP Custom is too "important" a model to be built by Gibson USA, shouldn't the Sunburst Les Paul Standard be removed from the Gibson USA lineup too? That's a rethorical question. All's I'm saying is that the "it's too flagship to be tarnished by the Gibson USA brand" is a load of... I just debunked it.
To sum it up: Gibson custom shop is a valid model and there's reasons to buy Custom shop if you can afford and/or justify that to yourself. However, Gibson USA line exists -- and sells real well -- for a reason. Gibson USA is Gibson's bread and butter. Les Paul Custom deserves to be represented in the "bread and butter" range because despite of a few of its more visually upscale specs, it's a player's guitar preferred in certain situations to the Standard. And this is an excellent time to bring the LP Custom back to Gibson USA line -- I'm sure Jerry Cantrell tenure as an ambassador would boost the sales of these.
I wonder what others think. My agenda: hoping to discover more people wanting a Gibson USA LP Custom and Gibson getting the message. If I'm the only one here, that's cool.
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