Now before you guy's jump all over me, give me a chance to explain.

Well i've been playing guitar for nearly 25 years, and ever since i first learned about all the different types of guitars from my older brother, who's been playing nearly 40 years, i fell in love with 2 types of guitars the Fender Strat and the Gibson Les Paul.

Truth be told i loved the Les Paul a little more, well i was one of those many guy's who went to the music stores and tried his dream guitars like strats and les pauls for years, and last year i finally got the money together to buy my dream Les Paul.

However, as most of you know the Les Paul's of today are not the ones from 30 years ago, Gibson has cut too many corners with the materials and construction of the newest Les Pauls, today they are no longer solid bodies, they have holes and chambers drilled and routered in the bodies for weight relief, the necks no longer have triple ply binding, and in my particular model the fretboard was baked maple not rosewood, even the jack plate was plastic instead of metal, the string nuts are no longer bone, there plastic, the pick up chambers are no longer copper shielded.

Now i knew about all these little imperfections that bothered me before i bought the guitar, but i had no choice, i wanted a brand new Gibson that no one has ever played but me and i thought i could live with these imperfections....i was wrong, even though the guitar felt and sounded good, it didn't feel and sound like the one's i played in the music stores all those years ago, and after a few months, i decided not to settle and i chose to swap it for a new Fender American Standard Strat, one of the few guitars unchanged in materials and construction ever since it's inception back in the 50's.

Both Fender and Gibson are million if not billion dollar companies, there is no need for Gibson to cut corners on materials and quality construction, Fender never has, i also discovered Fender American strats are not only more affordable than the traditional Les Paul Classic or standard, but they include more in the package.

You get the guitar, a Fender hardshell case made by SKB, a fancy comfortable Fender strap, truss rod key, a guitar polishing cloth and cleaner, a good guitar/amp cable as well as all manuals, warranties and decals.
I believe my Gibson Les Paul came with a hardshell case (inferior in quality to the Fender SKB), a trussrod key,and manuals, but the Gibson was hundreds of dollars more, and built of a lesser quality than my new Fender and Gibsons of 30 years ago.

Say what you will but hopefully someone from Gibson will read this,(which i doubt) and maybe they'll think twice about cutting corners just to save a few bucks, because not all of us players are teenagers just starting out who don't know any better about guitar quality and the old ways of Gibson craftsmanship, some of us are in our 40's and 50's and remember how well they used to be made.
Well farewell Gibson you've truly broken my heart, i was ready to be a customer for life, but if this is a taste of guitars yet to come, then i'm afraid i'll only be a one time customer, and i'm sure these comments will be swept under the rug and blown off, but i can always hope that someone at Gibson might hear these words and make a change.

Maybe you should of tried the Traditional Pro. Solid body. Mine weighs in at 9 lbs. 4.5 oz., which is about the medium weight for these. All the plastic crap can be changed out. Personally, it don't bother me. I probably will change the nut, eventually, but it works just fine for now. I'm very satisfied with mine.

For the record, I played a 30+ year old Les Paul not to long ago. It was a lot better than mine, but I didn't want a guitar that look like it had been through the relic chamber. But it did have lots of mojo, and an awesome sound. But I wouldn't trade my Trad Pro for it.

You obviously didn't get the right model. Patience is a virtue.

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2000 American Deluxe Stratocaster
2011 Gibson Les Paul Trad Pro 50's
2007 Epi Les Paul Custom
90's ESP Eclipse
JH-1B Jimi Hendrix Crybaby
Analogman KOT
Korg Pitchblack
Boss NS-2 PH-2
Blues Deluxe Reissue
1999 & 2007 Marshall TSL 100 w/1960BV cab

+1

Or a Historic Shop (now VOS) re-issue......



My flametop R9 weighs in at a skosh under eight pounds and the mahogany is solid lumber throughout. The Classic 57 humbuckers sound as they should and the instrument has all the detail appointments and accouterments for a period-correct reproduction. It's as solid as it gets.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

Yes but i think the op is bemoaning the standard of a regular bog standard Les Paul, not one that's a special issue or something.

I would hate to think Gibson was doing this and devaluing a great guitar. But it wouldn't surprise me in the least. Craftsmanship and dedication to that craft are not what they used to be. If you complain about it they tell you to go for a custom shop, or Gibson equivalent of that, which costs significantly more.

All a con, and all a money making exercise i'm afraid. Much as it pains me to have to say that.

Think about all these great guitars they're churning out as 59 LP replicas and stuff; those guitars (the original one's) were considered just off the shelf nothing fancy when they came out. Now they want to charge the earth for a replica.

Pretty sad all round.

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Luck won't do it and ignorance can't

George Van Eps.

I agree. These reissues are outrageously overpriced. Both from Gibson and Fender, but more from Gibson. Even though Fender has an extremely overly priced Strat that is burned. Really?!

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2000 American Deluxe Stratocaster
2011 Gibson Les Paul Trad Pro 50's
2007 Epi Les Paul Custom
90's ESP Eclipse
JH-1B Jimi Hendrix Crybaby
Analogman KOT
Korg Pitchblack
Boss NS-2 PH-2
Blues Deluxe Reissue
1999 & 2007 Marshall TSL 100 w/1960BV cab

I just sold my LP Studio too. But it wasn't a quality issue. I think mine was built as good as any I've picked up. I just wasn't playing it anymore. It's bulky and heavy. I have to play and sing, and it's so heavy it compresses my chest to where it makes it harder to sing. I'm a small person.

I knew it was time to sell something. I need the cash. And as I went over all of my guitars, I could count a few I'd rather play that can sound just as good, play just as good, and feel more comfortable. My Schecter Tempest Custom, Cort MGM-1, and Squier Esprit Masterbuilt are all short scale, can be made to sound the same, quality built, and are more comfortable

I do, however, have an Epiphone LP Special II that is very lightweight and surprisingly built with care that I really like.

I also have a FrankenPaul that I pieced together for about $200 in case I ever get an LP jones. It has an unknown heavy assed bulky body and a Washburn neck that is more Strat shaped, and even though it's a bolt-on, it sustains better than any guitar I own. I held a note for about 4-minutes once before just letting it go just to prove a point to a producer. That alone makes me want to keep it. It's a good myth buster to the bolt-on/set-neck/ neck-through argument.

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I go back and forth between liking my Les Paul more than my Am Dlx Strat and vice versa. The Strat is currently back in favor. But, the truth is they're very different guitars and there's things I like about each and things I don't like about each. I think having both to fit the mood is the best idea, and I doubt I'll ever be without one of each.

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'10 American Deluxe HSS Sunset Metallic
'10 JA-90 Thinline Telecaster
'15 Music Man JP-15 Blueberry Burst
'07 Les Paul Standard Faded LCPG #82
'14 Carvin ST300
'12 Carvin CS424S
'66 Guild Starfire IV w/Bigsby
'14 Warmouth Partscaster Daphne Blue

The FrankenPaul!!

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