A Huge generalisational Question.

[jibidy]

Ok so in september, After a summer of saving, I was planning on buying a nice Les Paul...However as i'm still only a minimum wage dishwasher, when I say Les Paul I mean Epiphone black beauty (or similar).

However a trip to mansons and a try on a real gibson les paul standard I'm now thinking of getting it in finance (is that what its called when you pay monthly?) lol.

I've never spent more than £500 but i've also not owned many guitars.

My mate who was with me at mansons is convincing me with the argument  "you may aswell get the real deal because you'll never need another guitar and you won't think about 'the next step up' you will have exactly what you will ever need."

So my question is this.

Should I spend out over a year paying of a gibson Les Paul?
Or should I stick with student budget and get a cheaper non gibson brand?

My only worry is moddifying. If i get a gibson can I put heavy gauge strings on it for my prefered lower tuning. I know some bands already do. Is it to discriminative against the craftsmanship and thought thats gone into the guitar?

[Fikealox]

Are you totally sure LPs are the guitar for you? I'm a fan of buying quality gear, but your friend's argument doesn't hold much water if there's the chance you'll discover you don't like the LP's neck, you want better upper-fret access, or you need a lighter guitar, etc etc. LPs are awesome, but they're not for everyone. Beware the honey-moon period, too ;)

Also, I'm not sure Gibson SGs are necessarily always as much better than Epiphones as the pricetag would indicate. My understanding (going off forum legend) is that you can snag a very good Epi if you take the time to look hard. Of course, there are some outstanding Gibsons around too (a fair few on this very forum), but there're some terrible examples, too. It's probably true that the average Gibson is better than the average Epi, and the best Gibson is better than the best Epi, but I think with your budgetary restraints you'd be better off hunting around for an excellent Epi than shelling out for a Gibson.

But yeah, you can put whatever gauge of strings on whichever guitar you get. I don't know how the stock pickups on Epis or Gibsons go for detuned stuff, but if you buy a cheap, good, Epi you will be better able to afford some Warpigs ;)

[jibidy]

Well I definatly think LP's are for me. I love the sustain and natural compression sound. And i like it bag and fat.

We also tried some strats and tele and i found them quite frustating. no girth at all, just felt feminine.

Im also thinking about how it will last. If I get another Epiphone now will I just be thinking about a gibson next year??

[Fikealox]

If you get a Gibson now you'll be thinking about another Gibson next year, lol. I think the smart move would be to hunt for one of those fabled awesome Epi LPs before you go spending big. I don't think there's any escaping the siren's call: no matter how awesome the guitar you buy you'll still want just one more. It's an emotional thing which is inaccessible to logic. Or maybe you're built different to me (and the people I know!)

Mmm, guitars :)

[sgmypod]

Try other LP types IE decent tokai's(prob jap ones in that price range), edwards etc or odities like the Duesenbergs, a lot of people prefer the feel and build to the "real thing"

[sgmypod]

or if proper LP money...why not go for a feline one...built to your spec

[jibidy]

Hahaha Yeah I can definatly see where your coming from.

But I'm thinking if I did buy a Gibson now why the hell would I buy another one next year. I'm not a stickler for the tiny details e.g. Slightly more chambered body and different jack socket.

I have spent £200 pounds on headphones and I dont think I need any more.
I have spent £600 on a 40" LCD 1080p samsung TV and I don't want any bigger.
I have spent £1300 on an iMac and so far I'm not thinking of anything else.

I could make a list of things i have bought and use and I'm satisfied with but my guitars somehow don't fit in it.

Is this going to drive me insane lol??

sgmypod .Im thinking Proper LP money only in the sense that I can get it on the monthly. And I'de like to be able to try out the guitars before i commit this time...from the many internet buy mistakes I've had in the past.

[indysmith]

$%&# it get the Gibson :lol: If you can definitely afford the monthly payments and you definitely want the Les Paul that much...
Let's assume you're getting about £5 an hour, and the LP Standard is rocking up to about £1400 nowadays, that's 280 hours of work, that's 16800 minutes, that's 1008000 seconds of your life. If 11.7 solid days work is worth a Gibson to you then do it!

Also make sure you check what you're paying APR-wise on a finance gig... Anything more than 0% and ur getting ripped off! :lol:

[sgmypod]

Fair enough would try the competition IE the Duesenbergs, Tokai etc....or Bluesbird if you can find one (sorry love mine) prob still get to buy them on monthly

[_tom_]

I would rather get an Edwards and a nice set of BKPs. You dont get the name but who cares, the only problem with that is resale value, but if its a nice enough guitar you shouldnt have too many problems with selling it?

I havent actually tried an Edwards but if my Pearl MIJ is anything go by, the Japanese ones are awesome guitars.

[jibidy]

HAHA thanks for so many speedy replies.

I think I will travel a bit and try out some different models until I ready to buy.

And even if it means £30 a month for 3 years compared to £130 for 1 year i'm not going to be paying extra indysmith haha screw that.

Im just thinking I want a real Pro guitar now. Its time I think, to bite the bullet and stop trying to get good little bargains That I can never get around to modding and end up selling for nowhere near the price I bought it for.

I also think ide like to buy brand new for the whole guarantee thing.

Oh and I think I could cut that down to perhaps 9 or 10 day solid work because I get very good tips 90% of the time. :lol:

[GuiTony]

I also think ide like to buy brand new for the whole guarantee thing.

I was just about to recommend that you at least consider buying s/h ... and then you posted that comment!  But I'd still recommend looking at s/h because there are some pretty good deals around - new prices are up c30% on last year because of exchange rate movements (and other stuff), whereas shops with "old" s/h stock and reduced cash flow might be persuaded to offer some good deals on that old s/h stock ... saving you enough for mods / pedals / strings / beers / etc!

Re the guarantee thing - a guitar isn't really like a washing machine or a TV.  There's not a whole lot that can "go wrong" with a guitar after you've bought it.  And most things that "go wrong" can be fixed by a decent guitar tech.  Just make sure that you check it over thoroughly before you buy it ... make sure that the neck is good & straight and that the truss rod is working, check the finish thoroughly and look for any repairs already done ... etc.  Gibson's don't have the best of reputations so don't assume that you're getting a great guitar just because you're spending a load of money.

Whether you buy new or s/h, a shop should offer you at least 1 free set-up, maybe in 3-6 months time when the guitar settles down and you get to know it properly and understand what you want from it.  Of course, a set-up is only as good as the tech that does it, so that offer may be worth quite a lot or nothing at all ... but the set-up should resolve any issues (or things going "wrong") that arise.

The choosing part is probably the best bit ... so don't rush it ... take your time, visit plenty of shops, try loads of guitars in each shop (even stuff that you might assume isn't what you want) 'cos a lot of what makes the "right" guitar is in the feel, not in the name on the headstock.

 :)

[ailean]

Play some Gibsons, compare as many as you can and buy the one that sounds best.

Genuine Gibsons are nice, and if you get a good one, they are better than Tokai's or Epi's. A bad one isn't worth it but a good one is.

Make sure you are happy to make the payments, but yeah, get the Gibson.

(these are my opinions only of course)

[Adam.M]

Don't be a chump, buy second hand.

Guarantee's are not worth it unless it's a complex electrical item such as your TV or iMac.

A guarantee on a guitar... ? the worst that could happen is a headstock break and they'd probably say it's your fault  anyway.

I've never ever ever ever seen an advantage to buying a first hand guitar.  Unless you enjoy insane depreciation. I don't even see it as first hand to be honest, if it's off the wall then many many people have played it already.

(i may have just re stated what GuiTony said above me, but eh!)

[jibidy]

Guitony.

I think I'de be interested in buying second hand but you cant usually get a monthly option on S/H gear can you?? I'm not sure.

If there was a very nice second hand Les Paul at £1000 and one that was brand new but I could pay monthly. I'd have to go with the brand new one, simply because I'd be more comfortable with paying out little monthly.

I like aileeans thinking. Get the gibson. But I will look at others like sgmypod said.

I'm guessing i'll end up coming away with a new les paul standard but watch this space.

Adam.M
I can certainly see you're point but I like brand new, even if it is off the wall. Its guaranteed to not have been fondled with or had and sketchy mods done. It would be how the manufacturer intended.
A little bit of play cant be that band can it?