Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: JustBecos on July 19, 2008, 05:14:48 PM
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What do people think of this?
The biggest change seems to be the neck profile which is going to be asymmetrical
http://www.gibson.com/en%2Dus/divisions/gibson%20usa/products/lespaul/2008%2Dstandard/ (http://www.gibson.com/en%2Dus/divisions/gibson%20usa/products/lespaul/2008%2Dstandard/)
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I'm interested in trying one.
They still need to sort out the heel
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so to recap:
Long neck tenon
New enhanced neck profile
Locking Tuners
Plek'ed setup
Booteek Potis
TonePro Locking bridge
Locking strap buttons
I would say that sounds pretty damn good for a Gibson!
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just need to wait to see what the price is... o_O
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so to recap:
Long neck tenon
New enhanced neck profile
Locking Tuners
Plek'ed setup
Booteek Potis
TonePro Locking bridge
Locking strap buttons
I would say that sounds pretty damn good for a Gibson!
Exactly what I was thinking!
Definitely want to try one (whenever it is they arrive over here?).
EDIT: Dave, the $3899 will easily turn into £2000+ I should think.
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The Gibson list price of $3899 is only $100 more than the ordinary standard so hopfully it won't be that much more :?
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The Gibson list price of $3899 is only $100 more than the ordinary standard so hopfully it won't be that much more :?
I may be wrong here, but I imagine that (for a short while at least) they will be sold much closer to the MSRP (the $3899) than current Standards, due to the fact that it's a new product...?
(Anyone know much about the world of retail?)
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EDIT: Dave, the $3899 will easily turn into £2000+ I should think.
that's what i figured... :lol:
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At last they put straplocks on it. And it looks like it has Grover tulip tuners.
I think they finally got it right with the hardware. Now let's hope the quality is what it's supposed to be too.
For such an expensive guitar they should offer better pickups.
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ive been wanting a les paul for years but have never found one that i like to play for more than 10mins, so i went for a PRS instead, but im hoping that this new 2008 standard will be what im looking for.
my friend has an old Orville les paul, its the best les paul ive played but its a horrible alpine white color, doesn't sound very good, doesn't stay in tune and it say orville lol. Funny how sometimes cr@p is sometimes better than the real thing.
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I'm going to be a finicky sod now and say it's a shame they went for Grovers - my least favourite locking tuners - and Dunlops - my least favourite straplocks! :P
Other than that, it all sounds good. It's like they finally updated the LP like Fender did with the Strat... about 20 years ago.
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Are the vintage original spec 1959 reissue ones worth the price tag?
Haven't tried one, but damn they look nice :P
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Still should be a few hundred cheaper, considering how much better you can get with custom shops for less or the same. This is a big improvement though. Maybe they can compete with Edwards now!
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2k for a standard?
That's damn steep.
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Steep! It's 'effin vertical!
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Gibson has long had their heads up their asses when it comes to pricing. For what you pay for a LP Standard today, you could have a custom guitar made. It has always been a source of frustration for me. I don't think anything will change with the new Standards. :x
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so to recap:
Long neck tenon
New enhanced neck profile
Locking Tuners
Plek'ed setup
Booteek Potis
TonePro Locking bridge
Locking strap buttons
I would say that sounds pretty damn good for a Gibson!
I agree
Does anyone have any experience of a PLEK setup on any of their guitars?
I just had a look at their website http://www.plek.com
I don't need a setup on any guitars at the mo. Just interested to find out if Gibson are on to something good
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Plek setups are awesome. Basically, it's like going to a really good luthier for a setup. Some other companies do pleks on their guitars as standard. IIRC Suhr pleks all his guitars.
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One of my local shop charges £2500 for the current Les Paul standard so they'll probably charge £3000+ for this new one !!
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One of my local shop charges £2500 for the current Les Paul standard so they'll probably charge £3000+ for this new one !!
That's just RIDICULOUS.
A few years ago a LP std. was about £1100...
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People will pay just because it says Gibson and USA.
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It's interesting, though, that an LP can cost two grand but a Faded SG or V is under £500. All USA made.
OK, the LP is a much more highly-spec'd guitar but they're still paying for labour at USA rates. They're either taking massive profit margins on the upmarket models or knocking the cheap ones out virtually at cost. Or both.
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People will pay just because it says Gibson and USA.
The same frustration is felt in the U.S. as well. It has long been a topic of discussion in the states, as Les Paul's are overpriced (or at least that is the sentiment amongst guitarists). The sentiment in America is "Why are we paying such a ridiculous price for a product that is made on our own soil?" While most people would rather buy a product produced in their own country, one would also like to believe that an American company will keep the interest of the American consumer in mind. Gibson seems to have turned their back on that. They are basically mass producing guitars at a price that most people would reserve for custom guitars. That is highly arrogant IMHO.
Anyway, my point was that the frustration is felt everywhere, not just in Europe.
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Here's my 10 year Les Paul journey............ started with a Epiphone then upgraded (always sold previous one beofre buying new one) as follows : Studio, Classic, Smartwood, 2004 Standard, Black Beauty (far too heavy), '58 VOS and most recently my holy grail.... '59 VOS in sunrise teaburst.
Someone on the thread asked about the perceived value of the VOS spec. IMHO, they do make a difference. There is an element of cosmetic engineering with the aged finish and patina etc but the components used and especially the quality of the wood do add to the sound. Mine happens to weigh in at 8lbs 13 ozs - they say a Les Paul less than 9 lbs is a prime example. The black beauty was over 10lbs and akin to a tree trunk round your neck.
My own view is that the price hike between the R8 and the R9 is pretty excessive but, having said that, the sound quality is definately there. All custom shop guitars now include the Plek setup as standard and this has resulted in a much better neck and fret setup. Having said that, I had my R9 scanned on Charlie Chandler's new Plek pro machine (the only one in UK) and although it was perfectly fine he did say they've seen a few new Les Pauls that were way out of alignment so there's a bit of consistency to be dealt with there by Gibson I guess. The first thing I did when getting the R9 was to decide on an immediate pup upgrade to Mules with aged covers and fitting Jim Dunlop strap locks. Terrific. Whilst I was on, I also upgraded the cheapo Chinese bumblebee caps that Gibbo make a marketing ploy out of to the much superior Luxe versions for only £20. Resultant tone is smoother and slightly warmer.
This new 2008 Standard does look great and I agree withe the comments on the hardware upgrades. I think it's highly likely 2009 will see a extra special 50th Anniversary edition of the '59. Expect a massive price tag with perhaps Brazilian mahogoney and rosewood? Gibson will milk the anniversary year to the hilt (and I suppose I would too if I were them).
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This does not impress me at all.
I'd still prefer MIJ Tokai or if I had £2k to burn - which I don't, I'd go for custom!
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Finally a les paul that shouldn't need a fret dress straight out the box. It's a bit steep though, does this mean that the customs will be going up to £4000?
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I think the improvements to the new Standard are long overdue, it's good to see it being done at last. I guess they'll come in around the £1500 mark? Comparable to PRS Singlecut, which I think is what's prompted the change. They need to have a product that can compete with PRS, and at the moment they don't.
They'll have to be consistent and play well out of the box though if they want to get the sales.
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Gibson has long had their heads up their asses when it comes to pricing. For what you pay for a LP Standard today, you could have a custom guitar made. It has always been a source of frustration for me. I don't think anything will change with the new Standards. :x
There you go, just get Feline to make you one of those dandy lions with the ergonomic heal. Something Gibson could never offer on a retail model (without the price shooting up another 1000).
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Would rather buy an R8 by that price...
Or an extra few hundred and then Feline...
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[There you go, just get Feline to make you one of those dandy lions with the ergonomic heal.
Dandelions?
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Who uses the word Dandy these days anyway?
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I think that a Feline Dandelion would be cool.
Would it come in pink?
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I've got beef with this new Les Paul. Not because of the spec, not because of the build, not because of the price, but because they've called it the Les Paul 2008 - why 2008? Everyone else releases new products at the beginning of the year, or if not they name it for the next year. Surely it should be 2009? And in real life it's not as if we're going to see it before 2009 anyway. Seems odd.
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I would guess they called it that to make it obvious that 2008 was the change from the semi hollow LP's of the past year and a bit
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I would guess they called it that to make it obvious that 2008 was the change from the semi hollow LP's of the past year and a bit
They're still going to be chambered
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it's basically a production version of the Slash les Paul, isn't it? an intelligent upgrade to the standard, but i can't see any reason why it should cost more. are they charging extra for a proper setup??
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dandy is an awesome word which should be used more often. Fop too.
:lol:
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as should 'Hullo!' to express surprise, which is exactly what I did when I saw the spec of this Les Paul. With the price being so high on this new standard what will this do to the existing models. Will they lower the price to get rid of stock...oh and who's bringing them into the UK now?
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I think that a Feline Dandelion would be cool.
Would it come in pink?
Now you are talking!!
We are doing a special Lion at present called THE EMERALD which will have a metallic green front and will feature BKP Emeralds on it.
Here she is before paint
(http://www.felineguitars.com/spec_sheets/guitar_images/Lion%20-%20Ben%20martin%201/Ben-Martin-full-726-horiz.jpg)
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^Metallic green on that will be AWESOME! :twisted:
Will that be metal-flake/sparkly or just solid metallic green?
Johnny's Lion is looking good too. :)
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seems a shame to cover up that birdseye... i quite like the natural colour variation... but i suppose metallic green does sound cool!! and i always get fed up when people tell me i shouldnt do a solid finish :D
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as should 'Hullo!' to express surprise, which is exactly what I did when I saw the spec of this Les Paul. With the price being so high on this new standard what will this do to the existing models. Will they lower the price to get rid of stock...oh and who's bringing them into the UK now?
Gibson UK. Although having started up on the 1st of Arpil (hur hur) they still haven;t had any stock to give to anyone.
Also, the number of Gibson distributors will drop significantly, at least if they are going to stick with their current approach that unless, basically, you are Reverb, PMT or another big chain (or so it would seem, since they're getting to be dealerswithout the next daft requirement), in order to get Gibsons you have to devote 42% of your entire guitar inventory to Gibson and Epiphone.
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as should 'Hullo!' to express surprise,
great idea! :lol:
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what all the fuss about chambered les pauls anyway, surly its against all the les paul stands for!!!
they should be big, fat, heavy, sound awesome and lets not forget feel just dandy.
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I would guess they called it that to make it obvious that 2008 was the change from the semi hollow LP's of the past year and a bit
They're still going to be chambered
Chambered or swiss cheesed?
I am not so clued up as others, but apparently they have been employing cheesing since the 90s just to make them a little lighter.
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nothing wrong with a bit of chambering. the problem is that les pauls have always been heavy guitars but when stocks of mahogany are generally heavier anyway suddenly you have an issue.... the only problem is when they leave the sawdust (aka toneflakes) in the holes - but that was more an issue with the BFG's which where big chambers and rough on purpose
drilling a few weight relief holes isnt really a bad idea even if it looks a bit rough (no-one will see anyway!!). it doesnt alter the tone as much as the full chambers of a semi will
anyway, there have always been good and bad les pauls, who knows what the street and online price for these new ones will be but the best examples have always fetched higher prices anyway and been much closer to the RRP. my cousin has a standard to sell thats about 3 years old and may be the closest to the perfect LP i have ever played without it actually being old or a black custom... he searched for a while to find it and paid well over the odds... think it might hurt when he lets it go but i think he is trying to be practical.... i built him a guitar for his 30th the same year and he plays that more. it was quite funny because his wife and band clubbed together to pay for the materials to make him a surprise guitar and she had to keep quiet as he brought himself the standard as his 30th b'day treat
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Haha he had an awesome birthday...
Just so you know, Wez, it's my birthday on Friday and I've always fancied one of your Vendettas. :lol:
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It's not the chambering of LP's that bugs me. It's the way how and why the've done it.
You can't really call it chambering, they just cut circular holes out. Has nothing to do with tone. They never told anyone about it either in the first years they did it. It came out when someone put it under an X-ray machine.
They did it to lose weight, making people think they used lightweight (rare and expensive) mahogany.
The LP Ultra was chambered for sound. That's a different story.
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you are right, they should have been more honest... but i dont think chambering for weight reduction is a problem and the drilling random hole with a large diameter drill bit is an easy and practical solution... if not the most gracefull way. i like the warmoth way best, but thats so extensive it will have a more noticable affect on the sound..
http://www.warmoth.com/guitar/bodies/strat.cfm?fuseaction=strat_hollow
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it was quite funny because his wife and band clubbed together to pay for the materials to make him a surprise guitar and she had to keep quiet as he brought himself the standard as his 30th b'day treat
ah, the problem with surprise gifts. :lol:
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it was quite funny because his wife and band clubbed together to pay for the materials to make him a surprise guitar and she had to keep quiet as he brought himself the standard as his 30th b'day treat
ah, the problem with surprise gifts. :lol:
Wish I had that problem <sulk>
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:lol:
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The price doesn't look like it is going to quite as bad as feared
Thomann are selling for £1544 GAK just a bit more obviously they don't have any yet.
Also found some interesting pics on this sit about the neck joint and neck profile
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Gibson-2008-Les-Paul-Standard-Electric-Guitar-?sku=519336&src=3SOSWXXA (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Gibson-2008-Les-Paul-Standard-Electric-Guitar-?sku=519336&src=3SOSWXXA)
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Also found some interesting pics on this sit about the neck joint and neck profile
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Gibson-2008-Les-Paul-Standard-Electric-Guitar-?sku=519336&src=3SOSWXXA (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Gibson-2008-Les-Paul-Standard-Electric-Guitar-?sku=519336&src=3SOSWXXA)
That is interesting! The neck profile looks similar to the Ernie Ball/Music Man Axis, which was comfortable to play - but I've always liked the Gibson '50s profile anyway, so it's not a selling point for me.
Interesting neck joint too. It'll certainly stop the neck pulling out if you suspend the guitar from the ceiling then swing on it. I've always found that a terrible problem with previous Les Pauls - a couple of minutes swinging and Bang!, there goes the neck.
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I've always found that a terrible problem with previous Les Pauls - a couple of minutes swinging and Bang!, there goes the neck.
So Philly.. I see you've started early training for the 2012 London Olympics
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i'll tell u now that Gibson prices are going back up, Especially in the UK, Gibson have taken the dealership status to "one per town" so you will only have one local gibson dealer.
Secondly you will find that Rosetti are no longer distributing Gibsons as they were selling them off too cheap to shops so they could have price wars with eachother, Gibson viewed this as De-valueing the brand so they've stopped this and put into place their own distribution.
Lots of changes ahead from Gibson and the way they are made and distributed, better quality but higher prices.
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I've always found that a terrible problem with previous Les Pauls - a couple of minutes swinging and Bang!, there goes the neck.
So Philly.. I see you've started early training for the 2012 London Olympics
Yeah, but it does depend on Les Paul Neck Swinging getting it's fully-deserved recognition as an Olympic sport. I was hoping it might be an exhibition event in Beijing. :?
In the meantime I can't afford not to keep training, just in case....