What is with the Gibson Les Paul craze?

[ibaraki_gaijin]

Originally Posted by andy7jem

People can buy what they like in life. If some-one wants 13 JEMs and can afford them and they get enjoyment and pleasure from them........why shouldn't they

Ohhh sure I never denied that people could do that..
hell if i had the money i would!

But I just don't see the point of doing that exclusively to the point of denying the quality available with other options

[ColinMmmmm]

Yeah some days I wake up and feel like it's a strat day. The next day could be an Ibby day. Some days I wake up wishing I had a pointy guitar I could slay dragons with. And sometimes I feel like playing a LP, even though it's a little awkward to play sitting down. Meh, I can suck it up. I just get in that mood sometimes. It's still an awesome instrument.

[shreddersymphony]

Originally Posted by ColinMmmmm

Yeah some days I wake up and feel like it's a strat day. The next day could be an Ibby day. Some days I wake up wishing I had a pointy guitar I could slay dragons with. And sometimes I feel like playing a LP, even though it's a little awkward to play sitting down. Meh, I can suck it up. I just get in that mood sometimes. It's still an awesome instrument.

Guitars are guitars man. I agree^. I've solved all that by just getting a custom be-all and end-all instrument made, but you can't say stuff like "whats up with the les paul craze" without someone suggesting "hey, whats up with the ibanez RG/ jem craze"? Some people like LPs, some like Jems, some swear by custom guitars (me ) , some prefer jazzboxes, hollowbodies, etc. Whatever you play, just rock it

[dragsternj]

Originally Posted by OLIE_ROCKS_THE_80'S

"variety is the spice of life" and that definitely applies to guitars.

Peace

Amen

[DEADTUNES666]

The Les Paul Custom is an absolute beautiful guitar.

I am not into the bound fretboard, set neck, pickup sound/output, inexpensive bridge, or the weight.

This sucks because I do feel it is a fantastic looking guitar

[waylay00]

Originally Posted by OLIE_ROCKS_THE_80'S

The guitarist plays the blues and if the cat is good he/she can make any guitar moan them blues!

Well said! I wish so many people could read that statement...

[JJEMMER777]

Originally Posted by dragsternj

Hey

No substance..

That goes both ways When you are talking differing opinions "substance" is thrown out the window!

I've been playing for 23 years now and have been around the scene more than a few times. I've played probably upwards of 75 LP's new and old and limited editions! Can you say that drag??? I know what LP's are and I've played enough of them to know that they arent for me. I've also played many Parkers and to say the slay a Jem is hilarious

To each their own

I was responding to the title of the thread which begged for opinions so I gave mine

Enjoy your les pauls and I'll enjoy my Jems

~rock on~

[guitarsnroses]

I played a few parkers fly and some of their other stuff and it just didn't click for me with them. Like the I've said and the other guys said a les paul isn't for everyone or a parker for that matter. Time and time again people fight and try to convert people to their own believes.

I personally love a les paul but I would value my jems over a nice les paul any day. In my mind a jem slays a parker fly but its ****ing sexy and its got a handle in for heavens sake

In referance to the title of the thread the les paul craze has been going on for 50 years or so and its still more present than ever.
I will agree a rockstar has always had that check list
Women *
killers cars*
Marshall stacks*
Leather pants*
Les Pauls*

If you want an even bigger cult find a PRS fan.. they are die hard Gibson bashers and they have a ton of modern endorsements (like nickel back)
and id rather stick my balls in a blender than hear that rock star song one more time

[Dudley]

I'm going to have to side with all of those saying that Les Pauls just don't cut it for me.

On paper they have a lot of features that I'm into - the fact that they're heavy, solid slabs of wood is appealing and as much as I do enjoy having a floating trem from time I enjoy the simplicity that a hardtail offers.

That being said however...I can't stand the short scale length, it's just never felt right for me and how I like my guitars to play. it always makes me think of playing with rubber bands rather than steel strings. The body shape is also really unattractive to these eyes but what really seals the deal is the overall tone of a Les Paul. They do what they do well...but sadly what they do just isn't what I want to do on a guitar

As someone that mostly plays indie/pop music or death metal I've always just found the Les Paul to be lacking the sort of clarity or attack I need., the sharpness of sound I personally enjoy and strive for is lacking. I can more than understand why so many people swear by them, because they really are fantastic at making a big, fat wall of sound, but there's just not enough articulation there to these ears.

But variety is the spice of life and each to their own, what really matters is how a guitar feels to the person playing it and if picking up a Les Paul inspires someone to be creative and play in the same way that I, and no doubt the majority of this forum, feel inspired when we grab a super-strat then more power to 'em I say

Luke

[Tank]

Originally Posted by dragsternj

Hey

No substance. New LP's are not much heavier than a Jem. Most certainly lighter than my PRS, or US Mockingbird or even my G&L Strat. The price start at or under a k which is Ibanez Prestige level. Playability is purely subjective.

Here are 2 things the jems are not very good at, which the LP does certainly alot better. Blues and downtuned ChuggaChugga for starters. Would not do that with my Jems. So they are surely not the be all end all. And most certainly not the best value for money either. If you want a great guitar whcih slays a Jem in ALL aspects get a Parker Fly.

And i like boobs and buns, have 3 jems currently and a ****load of other FR guitars, so no hate there either. And of course i value your opinion, but try to back it up with facts.

Lp's are heavy and overpriced is what the children say who can not afford one and mom and dad are not buying one. And than they talk trash about the paul just to cover up that they would love one but can not get one.

If current Les Pauls are much lighter (which they are not, when I compare my pals old LP std to my relatively new one 2004 it is about the same), then why do they still sound the same? This is bull*** you need the weight of the mahagony for the tone. If they carve out wood to make it lighter it will not sound as good period and A FACT.

(NOTE: I have a Les Paul, so I really like it. I just don't like bogus comments)

The LPs that start at 1k (real Gibsons not copies) are crap. Sorry to say that but the cheap studios Gibson pushes out are the worst quality guitars I have seen to date and are only made for people who want the Gibson brand name on the headplate. Else you should buy an Epiphone for 400 bucks and would have a better guitar. The REAL LPs start at about 2000 bucks and above.

A JEM can easily do Blues, but I prefer the Breed pickups for that.
A JEM can do downtuned stuff much better than my LP, it is just more pain to do the downtuning because of the trem adjust etc.

Parker? Been there done that, not very impressed at all.

Also not one person will say that a JEM is best bang for the buck, that is what RGs are for hehe. No artist model will ever be best bang for the buck.
But compared to a Gibson it surely is. The Les Paul Std Reissue Honeyburst I hold in my hands is 3k (list price, I got it for much much less as a website deal for a music store).
I would never pay the price for the crap quality Gibson makes, I had to diss 8! guitars before I got the one that was without issues. (Issues ranging from poor fretwork, clearcoat dings, inlay fading, fingerboard cracks,...) And I still had to do a complete new setup and set the intonation on a guitar that normally costs 3000 bucks!
Compared to my JEM from Rich (which was about 2k), which came with a perfect setup and no things to claim on the first one I got...

Now do I like the LP? Sure, the one I got now has no issues, plays like a dream, sounds fat like hell and does everything a guitar for that price does. I am not sure I would really pay 3k for that, but if you like LPs that is a good one.

Do I think I got my moneys worth with the JEM? Hell yes.

I use the LP mainly for some Jazzy songs I do, where I need that special tone. Still I think of selling it (as I got it for near to nothing I think I might make a big plus and buy a JS from Rich...).

[jono]

Originally Posted by Tank

If they carve out wood to make it lighter it will not sound as good period and A FACT.

No, that’s an opinion.

If you were to say “they carve out wood to make it lighter it will not sound exactly the same”, that would be a fact.

[waylay00]

Originally Posted by jono

No, that’s an opinion.

If you were to say “they carve out wood to make it lighter it will not sound exactly the same”, that would be a fact.

Here we go again.

[kotornut]

I'm still with those who play/buy whatever they want whether it's many of the same guitar or one of each.


"Buy and play what you like roget the hype." -My pops

I think he's right form Strats to Pauls to JEMs to Vs...If you like it and it sounds good then it is good. Names don't matter.


And before you get to it: I am not saying that every guitar crappy quality or not is just as good as any other. Quality for quality names don't matter.

[spider murphy]

Originally Posted by Tank

If current Les Pauls are much lighter (which they are not, when I compare my pals old LP std to my relatively new one 2004 it is about the same), then why do they still sound the same? This is bull*** you need the weight of the mahagony for the tone. If they carve out wood to make it lighter it will not sound as good period and A FACT.

they "officially"started fully chambering les pauls in 07, so the 2004 you have likely has the older swiss cheese holes. the fully chambered models do feel much lighter(to me anyway, but then again my main lp weighs 11 lbs), and to my ears do sound different.

[jono]

Originally Posted by waylay00

Here we go again.

I know, I can't help it. It's my pet peeve. I'd have imagined it'd be a fairly easy concept but, whilst I accept it's a commonly made mistake, I'm still going to pick up on it when someone is so brazen about it.