Gibson Les Paul on Take 2 (USA store)

CDee · 2010-10-01T19:19:28+00:00

Hi, While we're on the Take 2 bandwagon... ? I've been surfing on Take 2's USA store a long time and it seems that the strong rand is really in our favour at the moment. I've been gassing foe a Gibson Les Paul for ages and I just could not find one for the right price in SA. This one really looks like a good option for someone like me. I only want this as a second guitar to experiment with and thus not willing to look at anything more than a normal studio. I can't even find a second hand studio for that price in SA. ☹ http://more.take2.co.za/moreusa-gibson-les-paul-studio-electric-guitar-worn-brown-satin-b000pflkay.html So, anybody know where in SA I can pay that or less for a Gibson LP?

singemonkey

Reinhard wrote You can actually see the multi piece body on my MIJ strat, but man it sounds good, granted it has a solid colour over the multiple pieces.

But a new MIJ strat with a three piece body is pretty darn cheap. Which is what I'm saying.

Brand fetishism is fine and well unless it goes too far. Paying top dollar for a Ferrari-branded laptop computer, for example, brings to mind the idiom, "A fool and his money are soon parted."

vic

CDee....see what you've started ! ? Your innocent posting about GASSING for a LP has now led to posts about Gibson fetishism. LOL. ?
Nei man....allow a man to be passionate about his brand. Fetishism is a thing that needs professional intervention... ?

Bob-Dubery

vic wrote I don't think the brand is that popular ?...not in SA at least. There are many other brands which are more popular imo (sales figures)...Ibanez, Fender, ....even Cort.

Here is a list A...Z of prominent Gibson players.....not only Les Paul players.....I have a hunch that these people did not use Gibson only because of its popularity

You think they're immune to fashion and wanting to have what someone else has?

There's a paper on George Gruhn's site in which he looks at the whole development of the specialist guitar market. He argues that some players are very influential, not just amongst the likes of me but also amongst other players. He says a lot of this is attributable to Mike Bloomfield.

When I first started out there was a demand for vintage fretted acoustic instruments but virtually no market for vintage electric guitars. It was not until about 1965 that I encountered any people looking for specifically for used and vintage electric guitars. In fact, the first band I encountered using such instruments was the Butterfield Blues Band with Mike Bloomfield. When I first met Mike he was strictly an acoustic player, but it was not long before he joined the Butterfield Band and played an old Telecaster. 1950's Teles, particularly those with the black pickguards, went almost overnight from $75 items which were not in demand to $600 which at that time was an astronomical amount since it was much more than the cost of a new one. Mike amply demonstrated, however, that the old Telecaster was a remarkably different instrument from the new one. Soon thereafter Mike switched to a 1954 Gold top Les Paul, and these instruments promptly went from being $75 used guitars for which there was no demand to selling for $500 to $800. At that time there were no new Les Pauls. This was the first time I had seen players going out of their way to find electric guitar models which were out of production. I can vividly remember that during the period when Mike was playing his 1954 Gold Top, the demand for these instruments not only skyrocketed but players were looking specifically for one like Mike's rather than any other variation. When I found gold tops with the stud mounted bridge, I could sell them or trade them readily for acoustic guitars which were of interest to me, but if I found a sunburst Les Paul with humbucking pickups and the tune-o-matic bridge, I was told that that was the wrong color, that humbucking pickups sounded syrupy and sickly sweet, and that the tune- o-matic bridge killed sustain. It was not long after that, however, that Mike switched to using a sunburst, and the players who had claimed that those were the wrong instruments could not remember having said such a thing within a few weeks after Bloomfield had made the transition. In my opinion, Mike Bloomfield did more than anyone else to start the vintage electric guitar market. Although he never made a hit record which sold millions of copies to the public and was no longer particularly influential after the late 1960's, he was idolized by guitar players of the day and did more than anyone else I know to introduce R&B and vintage electric guitars to the white audience. I feel privileged to have known him well.

Note how slavish the players are. It's not enough to have a 50's Tele, you had to have one with a black pickguard. PAFs were rubbish. and then Mike started playing a Les Paul with PAFs at which point they became the only thing to have.

CDee

vic wrote CDee....see what you've started ! ? Your innocent posting about GASSING for a LP has now led to posts about Gibson fetishism. LOL. ?

Yip, I was hoping that would not happen... ☹

Tone

Sorry we do not supply Whips, Chains, Handcuffs or any latex clothes only guitars
What is a fetish?

MikeM

It's interesting to see just how people validate themselves.

Either way, CD I hope you get an awesome Gibby ? I'll definitely be jealous

DonovanB

Reinhard wrote these were blown out at an insane price in the states, and if you ordered quickly you got a lot of guitar for a very good price.

Maybe there's a reason it is so cheap?

CDee wrote Well, have you owned a Gibson?
I ask this because I do own a Gibson and it's the best guitar I've ever played and owned. I won't trade it for any other guitar out there. The sound, the feel, the way it makes me feel when I play it, just awesome. I don't get that feeling when I play my Tokai. I also get that feeling when I play my Fender, awesome guitar. That is what works for me. I played the Caparellis at Andy's and they are very nice, but not for me. I played the Tokais on many occasions, again, not for me. I've played a few Gibsons and I like them.

No, I've played some and none of them hit the spot. Much like you say the Tokai or Carparelli etc didn't grab you. Out of interest, have you tried PRS?

I'm not knocking the guitars. I am sure there are great ones and really bad ones. I like the idea of a good Les Paul. They suit my playing style and the type of music I play. I just found a different brand that fit ME better.

The big question for me is that I was chatting to a guy recently who said, "If I see a Gibson, any Gibson at a good price I will buy it. Then I will own one."
Maybe it's because I 'm not really concerned about the collectors value of guitars (I have seen one, very old, very cool and vintage apparently valued at $80,000) I am more interested in how it plays and how well it suits me. I have tried thinner Les paul shapes and thicker bodies without binding and I found my true favour to lie with a particular a mahogany body, Maple top, maple neck and Rosewood fretboard. It must be heavy and have decent binding and mother of pearl inlays. That is my taste. Hence why I don't really like the Les Paul Studios.

vic wrote I don't think the brand is that popular ?...not in SA at least. There are many other brands which are more popular imo (sales figures)...Ibanez, Fender, ....even Cort.

Here is a list A...Z of prominent Gibson players.....not only Les Paul players.....I have a hunch that these people did not use Gibson only because of its popularity

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Gibson_players

Availability in SA is a big issue. As for a list of players, how many of those were given guitars to play?

George Benson has a signature Ibanez. I'm sure he could do that on a Gibson? How many nowadays have a choice and exercise that choice? I reckon that as a company, Gibson probably do the smart thing and give guitars to the new guys quickly so they are on a list of famous players. Lenny Kravitz plays Gibson cos he walks in there and takes them for himself... It might be a preference for free stuff? Like John Mayer and Strats

vic

George Benson has a signature Ibanez. I'm sure he could do that on a Gibson? How many nowadays have a choice and exercise that choice? I reckon that as a company, Gibson probably do the smart thing and give guitars to the new guys quickly so they are on a list of famous players. Lenny Kravitz plays Gibson cos he walks in there and takes them for himself... It might be a preference for free stuff? Like John Mayer and Strats

That may be so, but will they play sh..ty guitars even if they get 'em for free ? I don't think so..Futhermore these big name players have a choice in which brand they use ...the biggest names in music have used Gibson over many many years --and have stayed loyal to the brand -- that's no accident imho.
Just like Harley-Davidson, Gibson (and Fender) is a tradition no matter how we argue. It's that intangible something which we cannot adequately explain....This is borne out in the fact that the Japanese et al. (collectors included) is one of the big consumers of these brands outside of the USA.
And it's unlikely that this perception of these brands will change in the foreseeable future.

DonovanB

vic, are those guys getting the same quality that is on sale? or are they getting custom jobs?
Are they using Customs or studios? Surely they aren't looking online at bargains? Why are they so cheap? Why are they so expensive? I don't think we know the whole truth, or will for that matter.

btw, while Harley is a tradition it is widely recognized as one of the worst designs in motorcycle circles. Tradition? Sure. The best choice? no...

I'm not disputing Gibson's market position, I just want to know why people see it that way? The main argument has been how many people play them... There was a time when many people hated people with a certain skin colour? Only one religion was acceptable and people thought the world was flat. The majority isn't always right... it only buys in the majority. I'm one of the heretics that questions things first...

I like Marketing, I like the idea that there is a brand that people will be so loyal to, regardless of quality or even model suitability. I want to understand it further. I do find it curious mainly because I'd like to be the owner of a brand in that position...

vic

Donovan Banks wrote vic, are those guys getting the same quality that is on sale? or are they getting custom jobs?
Are they using Customs or studios? Surely they aren't looking online at bargains? Why are they so cheap? Why are they so expensive? I don't think we know the whole truth, or will for that matter.

btw, while Harley is a tradition it is widely recognized as one of the worst designs in motorcycle circles. Tradition? Sure. The best choice? no...

I'm not disputing Gibson's market position, I just want to know why people see it that way? The main argument has been how many people play them... There was a time when many people hated people with a certain skin colour? Only one religion was acceptable and people thought the world was flat. The majority isn't always right... it only buys in the majority. I'm one of the heretics that questions things first...

I like Marketing, I like the idea that there is a brand that people will be so loyal to, regardless of quality or even model suitability. I want to understand it further. I do find it curious mainly because I'd like to be the owner of a brand in that position...

You're quite right about Harley....they say some older models will vibrate the fillings out of your teeth... ? . Yet many bikers (and their chicks !! ) swear by the brand.
I really wish I had good answers to the issues you're raising Don. As I said, it's that intangible something imho which makes people like or dislike certain things...and not even good marketing tactics will be able to change those opinions. The worst tactic in marketing as you know is to discredit an opposition product or process in favour of your own. Thus no wonder Harley and Gibson are still with us after all these years. ?

DonovanB

vic wrote The worst tactic in marketing as you know is to discredit an opposition product or process in favour of your own. Thus no wonder Harley and Gibson are still with us after all these years. ?

Amen...

CDee

No, I've played some and none of them hit the spot. Much like you say the Tokai or Carparelli etc didn't grab you. Out of interest, have you tried PRS?

I love PRS, very high on my "have to get" list. American Parkers aswell, yummy... ?

vic

Marco Melfi wrote Sorry we do not supply Whips, Chains, Handcuffs or any latex clothes only guitars
What is a fetish?

It's when you and your partner have all the goodies you mention in place, but instead of using the whip, you play the intro to Smoke on the water on your Gibson ?

Reinhard

I like Gibson guitars because my favourite guitar tones come from their instruments
Angus' incredible tone on his SG
Peter Green and his out of phase LP
Mike Bloomfield's tone gives me goosebumps from his LP
EC on a LP, SG, 335
Modern Guys
Slash
Gary Moore
Joe Bonamassa
Derek Trucks

They all play Gibsons.

AlanRatcliffe

Reinhard wrote They all play Gibsons.

They all play mostly old Gibsons though don't they? Bonamassa plays a Historic and Slash has a couple of new ones from the custom shop, but his main Les Pauls are still the three built by Chris Derrig - which are basically fakes.

Bob-Dubery

Reinhard wrote I like Gibson guitars because my favourite guitar tones come from their instruments
Angus' incredible tone on his SG
Peter Green and his out of phase LP
Mike Bloomfield's tone gives me goosebumps from his LP
EC on a LP, SG, 335
Modern Guys
Slash
Gary Moore
Joe Bonamassa
Derek Trucks

They all play Gibsons.

IIRC Moore now plays Green's old Les Paul - so you get two for the price of one there.

singemonkey

X-rated Bob wrote IIRC Moore now plays Green's old Les Paul - so you get two for the price of one there.

Nah. He flogged it. You get all these dingbats on mylespaul (probably teenagers I'm guessing) who feel that it's criminal that the current owner doesn't give this (one of the two or three most valuable electric guitars in the world) to Peter Green for free - even though he has no interest in that guitar ???

Again I say, nothing wrong with Gibsons as guitars. In fact I love 'em. Not the corporate policies, pricing, or the way they're built in the main factory of course. I'm just very dubious about paying a lot of money for a studio, that was a really stripped-down LP from the start, when they're now making the backs out of spare bits and pieces.

If it's the word Gibson someone wants, then it's ok - but you can get a V or an LP Junior, or an SG standard for around the same money. Much better choices IMO. For a Gibson Les Paul, I'd still recommend saving a bit longer for a Traditional. But there's every chance the studio will be a great guitar that you can play for life. So there it is really.

vic

Vintage and Rare Guitars (London) had Gary Moore's '57 Goldtop for sale...about 3 months ago.

Bob-Dubery

OK. I remember reading some mag .... errr years ago now I think of it because Moore had just rejoined Thin Lizzy, and they explored the story of him ending up with Greene's Les Paul.

Bob-Dubery

The Green/Moore connection and the famous Les Paul

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