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).
