The 2011 LP Traditional (Standard?) Faded Mega-Thread

[Catthan]

Dear all,

I am fairly new to this forum but after some thought and discussion with another member I took the courage to create a thread collecting all the available info about the 2011 Faded Les Paul.
It would be also nice if all proud owners of those guitars posted pics, demos, gear combinations, upgrades etc.

To start, here are some links with valuable info about Les Pauls in general:

http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/gibson-les-pauls/50210-gibson-les-paul-101-a.html

http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/gibson-les-pauls/69767-before-you-buy-your-1st-les-paul-read-me.html

If this is your first LP then this information is necessary to know what you're dealing with.

Moving on to faded standards, these (to my knowledge) were manufactured from '05 to '09 receiving great reviews from their owners.
These guitar came chambered, unchambered, with 50s and 60s neck profiles.

To read more about those, have a look into those threads:

http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/gib...rd-faded-guitars-c-v-guitars-larry-corsa.html

Larry Corsa's view of the Faded standards - Les Paul Forum

(I am not affiliated with CV guitars but this gentleman seems to be highly knowledgeable and appreciated by other forum members)

http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/gibson-les-pauls/140180-faded-les-paul-love-thread.html

http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/gibson-les-pauls/9130-gibson-les-paul-standard-faded.html


And finally the 2011 fadeds,,

There a few threads mostly talking about the inconsistency of spec information about those guitars with issues like:

-The labels on the boxes might refer to "Standard" LPs
-'57 PUs or BB pros
-Limited run for Canada or not

While I am writing this, I think other members are contacting Gibson for answers.

Here are the links to the threads with all the conversations regarding those issues.

http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/gib...l-standard-faded-still-being-made-2011-a.html

http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/gibson-les-pauls/134529-traditional-faded.html

http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/gibson-les-pauls/135039-trad-pro-faded-vs-standard-faded-2011-a.html

Finally, some links for those who might be interested in upgrades

http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/gibson-les-pauls/8550-virtuoso-polish-my-faded-lp-finally.html

http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/pickups/104602-pickup-directory-quick-reference.html

(Again, I am not affiliated with any company of the products talked about)


So far, the info we have is that these guitars came as a limited run for a retailer in Canada with some having "leaked) in US and Europe.
These are unchambered, with 50s neck profile and '57 PUs (LP traditional).
Please post with any additional info you come across, along with pics, demos, soundclips, upgrades etc.

Hope this helps.

My regards to all who search and ask about the specs. Hopefully we 'll be able to shed some light.
I think we are very lucky to have one of these guitars.

All the best,

 

[mtllespaulfan]

Great idea opening this specific thread!!!

I will just add the brochure for the Les Paul Standard Faded that Gibson says applies to these new 2011 fadeds so that if you buy one, you can compare yours to what Gibson claims they are:

http://www.gibson.com/Files/USA_PDFs/Data_LP_faded.pdf

My model number was LP5FTBNH1, purchased in Canada for under $1,600

Compared to the brochure, the first obvious thing is my control knobs are different, the are gold speed knobs, not gold top hats.

Gibson also sent me a brochure for a 2002 Standard and stated that mine was the same except for the satin finish and open coil pickups. The standard Gibson referred to has Burstbucker Pros. Mine obviously has the satin finish and its has open coil zebra pickups, although others here claim they are not Burstbuckers. Maybe someone can pop the PUs on their faded and take a photo and post it so we can amuse Gibson with a disclaimer! LOL

Also my truss rod cover does NOT have the word TRADITIONAL on it the way that trads do.

How do your 2011 fadeds compare?

 

[bluesguitar1972]

Great idea opening this specific thread!!!

I will just add the brochure for the Les Paul Standard Faded that Gibson says applies to these new 2011 fadeds so that if you buy one, you can compare yours to what Gibson claims they are:

http://www.gibson.com/Files/USA_PDFs/Data_LP_faded.pdf

My model number was LP5FTBNH1, purchased in Canada for under $1,600

Compared to the brochure, the first obvious thing is my control knobs are different.

Gibson also sent me a brochure for a 2002 Standard and stated that mine was the same except for the satin finish and open coil pickups. The standard Gibson referred to has Burstbucker Pros. Mine obviously has the satin finish and its has open coil zebra pickups, although others here claim they are not Burstbuckers. Maybe someone can pop the PUs on their faded and take a photo and post it so we can amuse Gibson with a disclaimer! LOL

How do your 2011 fadeds compare?

Thanks for the PDF
- differences are basically the Top (CDN are plain not AA - though mine does have some flame), the knobs (speed knobs, not top hat), the case (no shroud, white lining for the 2011 - made by TKL I think) and the classic 57's. Next string change, I'll pop them out. Also, neck isn't available in the 60's style (with the initial ltd run anyway), only the 50's.

Did I miss anything?

 

[Justin_Case]

Thanks for the PDF
- differences are basically the Top (CDN are plain not AA - though mine does have some flame), the knobs (speed knobs, not top hat), the case (no shroud, white lining for the 2011 - made by TKL I think) and the classic 57's. Next string change, I'll pop them out. Also, neck isn't available in the 60's style (with the initial ltd run anyway), only the 50's.

Did I miss anything?

If your comparing to a Traditional, the TRC is blank, but then again the Traditional's have shipped with Standard and Classic TRCs in the past. The 1st run that Guitar Center got had Classic TRCs but were swapped to blanks at the stores. I had an early 09 Traditional that came with Standard TRC - Initially Gibson would not send me a Traditional TRC, but after I emailed a group shot of my Gibsons dating back to 1980, the sent one to me.

 

[colchar]

Thanks for the PDF
- differences are basically the Top (CDN are plain not AA - though mine does have some flame), the knobs (speed knobs, not top hat), the case (no shroud, white lining for the 2011 - made by TKL I think) and the classic 57's. Next string change, I'll pop them out. Also, neck isn't available in the 60's style (with the initial ltd run anyway), only the 50's.

Did I miss anything?

Actually, the cases are made here in Canada by Yorkville Sound (ie. Long & McQuade's parent company).

 

[colchar]

As some here will know, I have gone through quite a bit of back and forth with both Gibson and the retailer about these guitars and their specs. I might not have time until later tonight but, at some point today, I will type out some information and will post it in this thread. I have also spoken to one of the mods (Led Zep Fan) and he has agreed to sticky this thread so that it can serve as a resource to others. And thanks to Catthan for creating it!

 

[mtllespaulfan]

Indeed thanks to Colchar for all his great investigative work and to Cathan for starting this thread!!!!!

 

[Catthan]

I apologise, I should have thank everybody for sharing their knowledge and experiences and particularly colchar for the great digging he's done and shared in other threads.

All the best,

 

[rideski]

Lauzon Music in Ottawa has one in stock which is listed as a Traditional Faded but interestingly enough has a Studio TRC. I'm assuming that the TRC is a mistake....

 

[colchar]

Lauzon Music in Ottawa has one in stock which is listed as a Traditional Faded but interestingly enough has a Studio TRC. I'm assuming that the TRC is a mistake....

Yeah, that TRC is definitely a mistake. Then again, maybe you can get it for Studio prices!

 

[Jeffguy]

Ya big shout out to Colchar for keepin ppl informed on these rad guitars! I'm totally in love with mine... She's just really starting to break in, and is receiving tons of my sweat and abuse every day. She has quickly become my #1 go-to guitar. Sounding and looking better by the day! I'd suggest anyone to at least try this guitar if they see one.

 

[colchar]

Thanks folks, glad to help.

As promised, here is a rundown on these guitars based on the information I received when dealing with Gibson and the retailer which originally ordered these for the Canadian market. Hopefully this will help to clear up some of the confusion surrounding these models.

The original run of these was 200 Honeyburst models that were made for a retailer here in Canada. The majority of these have 2011 serial numbers but some, my own included, have 2010 serial numbers because they began production of these models in December of 2010. So, if you see one with a 2010 serial number don’t worry – that is a legitimate serial number for these guitars. The Honeybursts have been followed by Iced Tea and Desert/Tobacco Bursts (at the time of this writing, in June 2011, these are just slowly beginning to trickle into stores as the Honeybursts were released in April 2011 and sold through May 2011). There is no indication yet of how many of these colours are being made but it is safe to assume that the quantities will be limited, as were the Honeybursts. In addition to the Canadian ones, these guitars are also available in Europe. Again, there is no indication as to how many of these have been produced for the European market but it is safe to assume that the quantities will be limited – this is borne out by the difficulties some European members of the forum are having finding them for sale there.

These guitars are very similar to the Standard fadeds, which were available until approximately 2008 and which sold heavily in Europe and the US, but these are not Standard fadeds. Despite sharing many of the same specs as the Standard fadeds, these guitars are Traditional fadeds and were being sold as such by the Canadian music retail chain that initially ordered them. The reason many think these are Standard fadeds, which are no longer even in production, is because Gibson did not bother to create a new model/part number for these models and simply recycled the one that used to be used for Standard fadeds. If one were to contact Gibson and provide their guitar’s serial number (with or without the model number) Gibson would respond that the guitar is a Standard faded but, as mentioned, this is only because they did not create a new model/part number. In fact, Gibson told me that the Standard fadeds were no longer in production and then, in the next sentence, informed me that mine was a Standard faded – they did not seem to grasp the contradiction! It seems that Gibson’s record keeping for guitars sold outside of the US is somewhat lacking because, even after sending Gibson photographs of my guitar, they were still giving me information about it that was obviously incorrect.

Because there has been so much confusion I will lay out some of the specs here:

Les Paul Traditional Faded

* '50s neck profile (there is a great deal of variation in the size of the necks with some being quite thick and others, like my own, being much thinner and therefore closer to a '59 neck).

* Speed knobs (the information provided by Gibson will indicate Top Hat knobs).

* Burstbucker Pro pickups (the Canadian retailer who originally ordered these sold them as having '57 Classics but according to info sourced by forum member mtllespaulfan, and confirmed by some of us taking our pickups off and checking for ourselves, these guitars definitely do have Burstbucker Pro pickups).

* The pickups are uncovered zebras.

* Weight-relieved (these guitars are definitely not chambered).

* There is a great deal of variation in the tops with some being plain tops, others being moderately flamed, and still others being heavily flamed (this was especially true of the initial Honeyburst run).

* Black cases with white lining manufactured in Canada (the 'Made in Canada' tag should be found inside and many also had a circular sticker of a Maple Leaf on the case).

As we manage to gather more information about these models we will post it here in the hope that this thread will serve as a resource for anyone who has one of these guitars, or for anyone who is considering buying one. For those who are considering buying one, these originally sold here in Canada for $700 less than a normal Traditional (they retail for $1599 before taxes and the amount of tax varies by province), and Trads always sell for less than Standards, so please keep that in mind when shopping as I wouldn’t want to see anyone pay a retailer what a Standard would cost when these guitars are actually cheaper because they were initially brought in as part of a ‘Gibson Month’ promotion. Also, for those who own one or those who are considering buying one, the lifetime warranty offered by Gibson does not apply to these guitars as that warranty is only valid in the US (and if an American buys one from a Canadian retailer the lifetime warranty does not apply either).

I just wrote this info out quickly so I am sure that I will have forgotten a thing or two – if anyone notices anything glaringly obvious (we always forget the most obvious info!) please add it. If anyone has any questions about anything not covered in this post, or this thread, feel free to ask and we will do our best to help. If we don’t have the information available, chances are at least one of us will be able to find it fairly quickly and will be able to get back to you.

And one last point – I personally think these guitars are amazing and that they represent a sensational value. I am sure many others will agree and the prices the old Standard fadeds are going for on the used market would seem to indicate that a lot of people hold these models in rather high esteem. So if you see one of these in a store be sure to pick it up and give it a test drive as they are well worth the investment should you choose to buy one!

 

[colchar]

Ya big shout out to Colchar for keepin ppl informed on these rad guitars! I'm totally in love with mine... She's just really starting to break in, and is receiving tons of my sweat and abuse every day. She has quickly become my #1 go-to guitar. Sounding and looking better by the day! I'd suggest anyone to at least try this guitar if they see one.

But you are only using that one until you trade it to me!

 

[mtllespaulfan]

Just for our American buddies - These fadeds are already being peddled in the US for a significant premium. Just saw one on Craigslist in the SFBay area for 2,375. It was being described as, hold on to your hats now - 2011 GIBSON LES PAUL STANDARD TRADITIONAL FADED - $2375. From the model and serial numbers advertised it is clear it is one of our local 2011 fadeds but keep in mind what the cost of a new one here in Canada currently is. But to Colchar's point, it also proves the high esteem in which these guitars are held I think.

 

[Catthan]

Great info as always Colchar!!

Specially that bit about the warranty.

Mine sounds better and better too!
To be honest I've started looking for PU replacements, mostly for the neck as it gets a bit muddy for my gain settings.
If I don't find one that can do jazz equally well I might swap the volume pot with a 500K to open it up a bit.

And the neck feels more natural now.
I'm also thinking seriously about applying the virtuoso polish as it turns out I have the greasy skin type and it would be good to give her some protection.
If anybody else is also considering it, bare in mind that it will , to some extent, reduce the faded texture.
Tonewise I think the wood retains its porosity which is believed to make the fadeds sound great.

I also wanted to ask, did yours come with a truss rod adjustment wrench?
Mine did not and the guys at the shop told me it's common for Gibson nowadays and they put me in the list of costumers waiting for one if they find any,, Maybe they were trying to cover a mistake but either way I trust they will send me one..

All the best,

 

[Jeffguy]

I also wanted to ask, did yours come with a truss rod adjustment wrench?
Mine did not and the guys at the shop told me it's common for Gibson nowadays and they put me in the list of costumers waiting for one if they find any,, Maybe they were trying to cover a mistake but either way I trust they will send me one..

Hey dude, That was one of the questions i asked my sales associate too, and he said that they havent been supplying any gibson les paul guitars with TR wrenches for a while. I'm guessing if one were to look in the workshop there would be a mountain of these lol. It was no sweat for me tho as i got one when i bought my AFD.

 

[Jeffguy]

But you are only using that one until you trade it to me!

Haha sorry dude, I've already bonded!! If for some rediculous reason I decide to sell it, you will be my first contact!

 

[colchar]

Haha sorry dude, I've already bonded!! If for some rediculous reason I decide to sell it, you will be my first contact!

Awesome! Seriously, if I have to I will sell my car to pay for that guitar.

 

[colchar]

As far as the truss rod tools go, Gibson told me that they no longer include them with their guitars but that I could get one through my retailer. I didn't ask, so I cannot say for certain, but I assumed that also meant that I would have to pay for it when ordering.

 

[colchar]

Just for our American buddies - These fadeds are already being peddled in the US for a significant premium. Just saw one on Craigslist in the SFBay area for 2,375. It was being described as, hold on to your hats now - 2011 GIBSON LES PAUL STANDARD TRADITIONAL FADED - $2375. From the model and serial numbers advertised it is clear it is one of our local 2011 fadeds but keep in mind what the cost of a new one here in Canada currently is. But to Colchar's point, it also proves the high esteem in which these guitars are held I think.

I am almost wondering if these guitars should be called something like Traditional Standard Faded since they are faded and are more akin to what Standards traditionally were than the current Standards are.