Huge guitar purchase, am i being an idiot?
Discussion
ehonda said:
Have you played a Les Paul OP?
They're hefty things, if you can't get on with the weight that would become a very pretty and expensive ornament.
This x 100They're hefty things, if you can't get on with the weight that would become a very pretty and expensive ornament.
A LP feels massively different to a Telecaster -
They also sound very different -
Someone said it above, but I wouldn't spend that kind of money on a guitar unless you had amplification (quality not Watts) to do it justice -
Just to be clear when i say guitar for life, i dont mean my only guitar for life, i just mean a les paul good enough that i wont want to but another les paul. I so far have not played one and this is a worry as i do find my dads gibson which granted is a 335 to me doesnt feel to great due to size. As for weight it doesnt concern me too much as will pretty mich always be sat whilst playing.
The first thing i need to do i get down somewhere and try a few as been looking at ones as varied as the vos in the first post down to the 50's tribute at £569! And of course i may find them all unplayable.
The first thing i need to do i get down somewhere and try a few as been looking at ones as varied as the vos in the first post down to the 50's tribute at £569! And of course i may find them all unplayable.
There are hundreds of variations in the Les Paul range, fret size, neck thickness, weight, pickups, wiring and finish, never mind all the other manufacturers offerings. It might be rash to pick an expensive one, unplayed, just because you like the looks.
They are not really that comfortable to play whilst sitting down either, why not get a cheaper used one and see how you get on, if you buy right you won't lose much money when you know what you really want and are ready to upgrade.
They are not really that comfortable to play whilst sitting down either, why not get a cheaper used one and see how you get on, if you buy right you won't lose much money when you know what you really want and are ready to upgrade.
kev b said:
There are hundreds of variations in the Les Paul range, fret size, neck thickness, weight, pickups, wiring and finish, never mind all the other manufacturers offerings. It might be rash to pick an expensive one, unplayed, just because you like the looks.
They are not really that comfortable to play whilst sitting down either, why not get a cheaper used one and see how you get on, if you buy right you won't lose much money when you know what you really want and are ready to upgrade.
You beat me to it -They are not really that comfortable to play whilst sitting down either, why not get a cheaper used one and see how you get on, if you buy right you won't lose much money when you know what you really want and are ready to upgrade.
imho they are awful to play whilst sitting down -- Robert Fripp seems to make it work for him but none of us are Robert Fripp..
OP - beg/borrow a Les Paul - try it out - they are about as far from a Tele as you can get!
Some of the LP examples posted earlier in the thread would be a bit "shell suit" for me....
Can't say I have ever had any bother playing one sitting down, nothing on a Strat of course but not bad! You can also sit the guitar on your left leg like some classical guitarists do.
Weight isn't an issue standing up if you get a decent padded strap either
Do make sure you play a few to make sure you like them, I wanted an SG for years but just can't get on with them!
Weight isn't an issue standing up if you get a decent padded strap either
Do make sure you play a few to make sure you like them, I wanted an SG for years but just can't get on with them!
Ganglandboss said:
A few years ago, I saw a Yamaha TRB5 PII five string bass in a music shop near work. It was on sale for £1,150, which was much less than the usual asking price. I didn't have the money, but did the maths and saw that by getting it on the chucky, I would still be paying less than if I'd ordered one.
I mentioned to a couple of lads at work, and they said I was mad for thinking of it. Another one asked me the question, "Do you like playing bass?". I told him I did and he answered "f
king buy it then!".
I am looking at it now, and it is beautiful. I don't regret it one bit. I could sell it now for more than I paid, but I won't. People will spend that on a watch - why not spend the cash on something that will give years of pleasure?
I'll go back to playing bass one day, I'm sure. And it'll either be another Status Graphite 6 string or a Yamaha TRB6II/PII/JP that'll do it. I've had Status basses in the past but I've always wanted a TBR 6'er. I mentioned to a couple of lads at work, and they said I was mad for thinking of it. Another one asked me the question, "Do you like playing bass?". I told him I did and he answered "f
king buy it then!".I am looking at it now, and it is beautiful. I don't regret it one bit. I could sell it now for more than I paid, but I won't. People will spend that on a watch - why not spend the cash on something that will give years of pleasure?
OP, I'd think long and hard before dropping that sort of cash on a guitar. The more you play, the more your tastes develop, and you could land yourself with a guitar that you eventually grow to dislike, or are indifferent towards. The Les Paul would be one such guitar for me, I've never liked them though. They don't play nicely, they don't hang nicely, they don't sound great but I can see why folk are moved to pay exorbitant amounts for them given Gibson's marketing. If you were rich enough to drop that sort of money on a guitar I'd be looking straight at Masterbuilt Fenders and high end Ibanez models.
Don't spend that sort of money on a Les Paul without checking out PRS too. They've always struck me as a better way of doing what the Gibson product, and the Les Paul in particular does. The PRS Singlecut models are like a better Les Paul. I think your money goes a lot further with PRS in terms of construction, quality and tone. They're not the be-all-end-all of guitars, but they're pretty good. Godin also do a Les Paul style singlecut (the XT series) which I think is immeasurably better than the Gibson.
Actually I know where the OP is coming from. Gibson is the Mercedes of Guitars whilst PRS is a Lexus. A PRS might be "better" in every measurable way but it doesn't have the aura of a Gibson. The Gibson brand has a huge amount of the equity that PRS etc are still struggling to build.
It's mainly down to the majority of guitarists in the classic rock era (1967-1976 arguably) using Gibson Les Pauls/SGs and Fender Strats/Teles.
It's mainly down to the majority of guitarists in the classic rock era (1967-1976 arguably) using Gibson Les Pauls/SGs and Fender Strats/Teles.
Baryonyx said:
OP, I'd think long and hard before dropping that sort of cash on a guitar. The more you play, the more your tastes develop, and you could land yourself with a guitar that you eventually grow to dislike, or are indifferent towards.
And if that happens 2 years before you've finished paying for it that would be particularly painful (to me at least).lockhart flawse said:
Actually I know where the OP is coming from. Gibson is the Mercedes of Guitars whilst PRS is a Lexus. A PRS might be "better" in every measurable way but it doesn't have the aura of a Gibson. The Gibson brand has a huge amount of the equity that PRS etc are still struggling to build.
It's mainly down to the majority of guitarists in the classic rock era (1967-1976 arguably) using Gibson Les Pauls/SGs and Fender Strats/Teles.
Yeah, I don't get the Gibson bashing really. Other people make better Strats than Fender have at various points in history, the G&L ones for a start, but it doesn't dent the appeal of their Custom Shop stuff. There is prestige attached to owning the genuine thing. Compare with the watch forum where you'd struggle to convince me that a 10k watch is any better at telling the time than a £100 Seiko, but there's a lot of people would only buy the £10k option.It's mainly down to the majority of guitarists in the classic rock era (1967-1976 arguably) using Gibson Les Pauls/SGs and Fender Strats/Teles.
That said, I agree it would be daft for the OP to buy a custom Gibson with so little experience. I've been playing for best part of 30 years now and still sometimes doubt I can justify half of my collection, and I've moved on a lot of guitars in that time.
ehonda said:
Have you played a Les Paul OP?
They're hefty things, if you can't get on with the weight that would become a very pretty and expensive ornament.
LP and me are not a match made in heaven, don't like the neck, wrong scale length and humbuckers ( not a fan of P90s either )They're hefty things, if you can't get on with the weight that would become a very pretty and expensive ornament.
I've played a few different Gibsons but without exception no style of LP or SG has made me want to put my hand into my pocket.
As others have said the initial glow of love at first sight could lead to an expensive mistake.
My best playing guitars have been a now long departed 59 Tele and a few I have made myself with similar necks that are sublime to play.
Don't rush the decision, buy in haste, regret at leisure
Lucas CAV said:
ehonda said:
Have you played a Les Paul OP?
They're hefty things, if you can't get on with the weight that would become a very pretty and expensive ornament.
This x 100They're hefty things, if you can't get on with the weight that would become a very pretty and expensive ornament.
A LP feels massively different to a Telecaster -
They also sound very different -
Someone said it above, but I wouldn't spend that kind of money on a guitar unless you had amplification (quality not Watts) to do it justice -
Baryonyx said:
Ganglandboss said:
A few years ago, I saw a Yamaha TRB5 PII five string bass in a music shop near work. It was on sale for £1,150, which was much less than the usual asking price. I didn't have the money, but did the maths and saw that by getting it on the chucky, I would still be paying less than if I'd ordered one.
I mentioned to a couple of lads at work, and they said I was mad for thinking of it. Another one asked me the question, "Do you like playing bass?". I told him I did and he answered "fking buy it then!".
I am looking at it now, and it is beautiful. I don't regret it one bit. I could sell it now for more than I paid, but I won't. People will spend that on a watch - why not spend the cash on something that will give years of pleasure?
I'll go back to playing bass one day, I'm sure. And it'll either be another Status Graphite 6 string or a Yamaha TRB6II/PII/JP that'll do it. I've had Status basses in the past but I've always wanted a TBR 6'er.I mentioned to a couple of lads at work, and they said I was mad for thinking of it. Another one asked me the question, "Do you like playing bass?". I told him I did and he answered "f
king buy it then!".I am looking at it now, and it is beautiful. I don't regret it one bit. I could sell it now for more than I paid, but I won't. People will spend that on a watch - why not spend the cash on something that will give years of pleasure?
Im hoping to get down to a shop tomorrow as otherwise i will be unable to for a few weeks so will have a better idea of what im after then and as said it may prove that a gibson style guitar would be better than the actual gibson.
If id of thought about it properly i would of got the epiphone les paul instead of my telecaster as the tele is the guitar ive always fancied, and that definitely will be replaced with either a second hand telecaster or a custom (not reliced!)/masterbuilt version.
As said earlier i do quite like the heritage 140 and 150 but fear this would have to either be an ebay,which i hate, or blind purchase as not many in the UK.
Thanks for help so far.
If id of thought about it properly i would of got the epiphone les paul instead of my telecaster as the tele is the guitar ive always fancied, and that definitely will be replaced with either a second hand telecaster or a custom (not reliced!)/masterbuilt version.
As said earlier i do quite like the heritage 140 and 150 but fear this would have to either be an ebay,which i hate, or blind purchase as not many in the UK.
Thanks for help so far.
Go to the shop try a whole bunch of Les Pauls. They are very different from telecasters. If you still like the Les Pauls then buy one second hand.
I have had around 5 Les Pauls and I love them. They sound great and play great. Granted they are not the most comfortable to sit down and play. I wouldn't but one new, unless it was one of the aged finished limited edition models.
That denim finish will have very limited appeal to if you need to sell it on.
I have had around 5 Les Pauls and I love them. They sound great and play great. Granted they are not the most comfortable to sit down and play. I wouldn't but one new, unless it was one of the aged finished limited edition models.
That denim finish will have very limited appeal to if you need to sell it on.
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