Les Paul Standard or Custom??

[CHECKMATE]

I am looking to get a Les Paul. Should I go for a...

Les Paul Standard
Les Paul Custom

[KramerGeek]

That's is a very hard decision to make. I voted for the Custom because I used to have one and it was the most awesome guitar I've ever had.

[bkeen]

I say if you have the bucks grab a custon. I have a standard and am totally happy with that. I played the customs when I made my purchase and other than looks the standard played equally as well.

:thumbsup

http://www.keencentral.com/music/Guitars/100_0551.JPG

[fasttracksstudio]

i like my standard fadded..custom your paying alot for the top and binding all looks...i really like the looks of that les paul standard raw with the emg's.either way you cant loose with any lespaul. :headbang http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d45/fasttracksstudio/100_0016.jpg

[WAR IN D]

I'm going with the Custom, mainly because of the ebony board.. I'm not a big fan of rosewood. I know there are some non-Custom guitars that have ebony boards too.. So, those would be cool too. I've only owned one Gibson, and it was a Les Paul Custom (Zakk Wylde) and beside the neck profile being a little thicker than I would have liked (styled after a 57 IIRC) and the EMG's.. It was possibly one of the coolest guitars I've ever owned. :thumbsup The fit and finish, as well as the craftmanship was top notch.

I've played a few of the Supremes and I absolutely LOVE the neck on those (60's style thin neck)... So, if I ever decide to buy another LP it's probably going to be one of those or an LPC with that 60's neck profile.

[TommysGs]

The Customs will hold there resale better. However the standards are equally if not more comfortable to play. The Studio and Special models are OK as well and actually can be a better value. The Customs and Standards cost more money and really most of the difference is cosmetic but cost two to four times as much.

If you are looking for a player that you want to use and not worry about putting wear on consider a model called THE PAUL. I got one of these for my birthday from my wife in 1979. They are made out of walnut with a satin finish. They have T-top pickups that are absolutely awesome. You can get one for $400 to $600 on the bay. This was my main guitar back in the day. Great tone and sustain.

[spade2you]

I would personally go for the Standard, but would indeed go for the Custom if I were loaded. Since I'm not loaded, I'd rather go with something more practical. I never worry about resale value....because I rarely sell stuff. Out of all my gear, I think I'm only gonna trade and upgrade my acoustics.

Regardless, I have played both. I didn't notice one playing better or sounding much different. I'd rather save the cash in this case. You could get more Kramers with the money.

[G.A.S. Ackward]

I have a Standard and really dig it. It's cool every now and then to travel to the 'other side' and jam on the Paul. Nothing like it.

As for the the choice between the Custom and Standard, I agree with some earlier posts, if you got the cash, go with the Custom.

By the way, Bruce, it looks almost excactly like yours above, just a little more worn.

*Danger! Obvious name dropping and gear related bragging moment below:

I bought my Paul from Jeff Cease, former lead guitarist of the Black Crows ('Shake Your Money Maker' era) around '94. You can see it on the 'Hard to Handle' video. He even played it at one show in Moscow. Kinda cool...

He was in the process of selling a lot of his Paul's and Marshalls, and was more into the Tele / Black face fender thing.

By the way, Jeff seemed like a really good guy when I was introduced to him back then. But, a couple discussions lead me to believe that his experience with the Robinson brothers was not a good one.

*Ok, obvious name dropping and gear related bragging moment over. Sorry about that :D [/I]

[KramerWolf]

I'm with the majority on this... I've always liked the standard better than the custom. However back in the early 90's I saw this one wine red custom that had a beautiful figured top that I would have loved to had, but I was newly married, and it was taking a toll on my kramer collection...

James

[Krameration]

I would have voted for a Deluxe with P-90's if there was a choice...Those mini humbuckers are pretty hot too...but I prefer the Standard over the Custom... And I love the chance to show mine off :thumbsup

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/dylnlive/collection020.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/dylnlive/collection022.jpg

[fubarguitars1]

Both are great.Play a bunch of each.Buy the one you like the best.They all will have different personalities.Jeff

[GuitPick]

Get The CUSTOM!!! Ebony!!

[Riscchip]

I like customs better myself...I think they look cool, and I especially like the late 70s maple necked ones, which are the punchiest sounding Les Pauls I've played (most Les Pauls sound too muddy to me on the wound strings). However, my old guitar teacher from years ago had a late 70s deluxe that had been converted for humbuckers that was one of the best sounding Les Pauls I've played.

[Ambitot Pu Phang]

If you are low on money, i advice to listen to Studio, its sounds almost the same as Standard. Standard is just more good looking.

[bkeen]

If you are low on money, i advice to listen to Studio, its sounds almost the same as Standard. Standard is just more good looking.

I bought a studio first and took it home and the fret edges were tearing up my hands! If you want to bevel your frets then the studio would be ok. I took it back the next day and shelled out the extra bucks to get the standard with a bound neck. It is real sweet!

:thumbsup

[Ambitot Pu Phang]

I bought a studio first and took it home and the fret edges were tearing up my hands! If you want to bevel your frets then the studio would be ok. I took it back the next day and shelled out the extra bucks to get the standard with a bound neck. It is real sweet!

:thumbsup
I agree with u, i've also heard those horror stories bout bevel frets. It common stuff, u just need to choose the good one, when u buy it.

[coots13]

i like standards because....im not a fan of double binded guitars, plus this may sound stupid to some people....but hey im a drummer so deal with it. :D . i like guitars with smaller headstocks...when it comes to gibson and fender.



marco

[ignorantbliss]

Have had 2 Custom's Nice but the STD's does the same thing Unless you want a Black Beauty With a Mohogany cap insted of the maple cap on the STD's . I think you pay more for the frill's of the Custom then anything els .

Jeff T

YOU can see my Gibson's as well as my life's GOAL KRAMER's :notworthy on VK

[ignorantbliss]

JUST WANTED TO SAY THANKS TO MIKE :notworthy FOR POSTING MY GIBSON'S FOR ME . I AM STILL :scratchhe :scratchhe :scratchhe


ON POSTING PHOTO'S

jEFF T

THANK YOU AGAIN MIKE :headbang

[kellcats521]

I prefer the Gary Moore Les Paul - not really a Standard or a Custom....

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/kellcats/DSC00027.jpg

[ChrisPC1984]

FWIW, the Customs are now made in the Custom Shop, everything else is made at the main plant. Fadeds, Standards, Studios, etc. are all done by the same people, no matter what model. Therefore, a Studio is usually the same quality (all over the place!) as a Standard, a Deluxe, or even an SG. I never went into the Custom Shop, so I have no idea of their quality.

[Krameration]

Have had 2 Custom's Nice but the STD's does the same thing Unless you want a Black Beauty With a Mohogany cap insted of the maple cap on the STD's . I think you pay more for the frill's of the Custom then anything els .

Jeff T

YOU can see my Gibson's as well as my life's GOAL KRAMER's :notworthy on VK
Very nice collection there Jeff :thumbsup

[IceCreamMan]

Have had 2 Custom's Nice but the STD's does the same thing Unless you want a Black Beauty With a Mohogany cap insted of the maple cap on the STD's . I think you pay more for the frill's of the Custom then anything els .

Jeff T

YOU can see my Gibson's as well as my life's GOAL KRAMER's :notworthy on VK

Nice collection Jeff!

Are the ones with the P-90 pickups Les Paul Pro's?

[-fxpedals-]

I like the "brightness" of LP Customs. Standars seem kind of muddy

[KramerGeek]

Dam Jeff!!! That's a nice little collection of Gibsons there.

I like Pat's Gary Moore Les Paul too. Those things are awesome looking.

[kellcats521]

Thanks Pat!

On the LP front, one thing that I'll offer need to be checked is the tuners - the vintage green-head tuners on my Gary Moore are total garbage. A lot of the standards have these tuners. They won't hold a string in tune for 1 song, let alone a set or more. I replaced them with a set of Grovers that didn't require any new holes in the peghead - made this more than a good looking plank.

[TURBOBLUES]

http://tinypic.com/k3knth.jpg
http://tinypic.com/k3kpox.jpg
http://tinypic.com/k3kq53.jpg
Of all the Les Pauls I had I still prefer my '93 Standard. I sold the red '91 Classic (which was then more expensive than the Standard), can't remember why, but seems like I wasn't satisfied with it..But I would not go as far to say that a Standard is better than a Custom or whatever, because not all Standards are equal and not all Customs are the same. Judge a guitar on its own!
Over the years the quality of Les Pauls were not consistent. In fact, I have played a Standard with a sn close to mine and it was different than my favourite (the nut, the weight, sustain). Not kidding!

[TURBOBLUES]

My god! The size of that last picture!!

[ChrisPC1984]

Judge a guitar on its own!
Over the years the quality of Les Pauls were not consistent. In fact, I have played a Standard with a sn close to mine and it was different than my favourite (the nut, the weight, sustain). Not kidding!

So true. I used to work there, and the quality varied wildly from day to day, hour to hour, guitar to guitar! Serial numbers are pointless. They can tell you what year it was made, and that's it. There were even duplicate SNs sometimes. The day on the SN doesn't even matter, since that's when the neck was set, not when the guitar was finished. It could be a month or more until they actually send it to the warehouse!

[CHECKMATE]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I am personally leaning towards a Custom, but I don't have the coin as of yet.
Cory

[-fxpedals-]

I had a buddy who bought a BRAND NEW custom shop Les Paul Custom and had to return it because the frets were not level. You couldn't even play it past the 12th fret......At all.

[Mr.Cool]

Can never go wrong with a Les Paul here is a sweet standard the studio's sound great as well.....
http://photos.imageevent.com/bigaddyfukka/coolsworld/419941783_l.jpg


But my sustainer will always be my main axe.......

[rypsolisti]

My vote for Les Paul Standard. Standards look just great, I used to hate Les Paul Customs but now I actually like them, especially black ones.

Here's my old EKO Les Paul custom which I sold.

http://img478.imageshack.us/img478/9858/p10100075fs.th.jpg (http://img478.imageshack.us/my.php?image=p10100075fs.jpg)

http://img235.imageshack.us/img235/3833/ekolespaul36ww.th.jpg (http://img235.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ekolespaul36ww.jpg)

http://img399.imageshack.us/img399/6132/p10100045jj.th.jpg (http://img399.imageshack.us/my.php?image=p10100045jj.jpg)

[jeff]

http://tinypic.com/k3kq53.jpg

That's the sweetest Paul I've ever seen :drool
Total Bad Ass :headbang :headbang
What model is it? I'll but it kicks major ass with those EMG's :thumbsup

[MacGyver]

Today's new LPC's have a really nice quality when compared to their counterparts back in the 70's, 80's and even 90's. I'm still looking for a nice R7 Custom if I find a good offer, and I'd prefer a custom over a standard all the time.

But considering standards, guitarcenter had a deal (or still has it, I dunno) for the new Faded Les Paul Standards for just 1299$, which is an awesome price.

[kellcats521]

Today's new LPC's have a really nice quality when compared to their counterparts back in the 70's, 80's and even 90's.

How true. These are guitars that the market and ebay has increased their values, and the reality is that they're crappy guitars compared to new ones. They couldn't sell new Les Pauls in the 70's and 80's - the build quality was worse than most of the Jap copies that Gibson was trying to sue then. Now, the 'vintage' hype has folks who were in diapers when these were built overpaying.....

[MacGyver]

yeah, the vintage-market is becoming really stupid in the recent months. While there are reasons that 52-60 Les Pauls and pre-CBS-Strats are sought after I cannot understand why the prices for Norlin-LP's and CBS-Strats from the early 70's go up like crazy. Most (not all) of them were sandwich-bodied with a poor build-quality and many other issues. From the player's point-of-view they aren't great guitars and from a collector's point-of-view, they aren't that rare. Nothing that could justify the recent prices.

[Krameration]

Both of the "big two" Fender and Gibson had sales problems in the late 70's and the 80's...it was because of the popularity of the "heavy metal" guitars at the time....Charvel, Kramer, Hamer...and the like...they both came up with different models to compete...and find a niche into to 80's sales....maybe production of they're respective "flagship" models suffered a bit because of that....but they were still better built than a lot of others at the time...!

[MacGyver]

Yeah, I remember those Gibson Superstrats with a Kahler (i think the name was M-3 or smthn like that) and Fenders "The Strat". Those didn't do really well on the market in the 80's though they weren't that bad...and in the 90's the demand for historical reissues began.

[kellcats521]

Michael,
I gotta disagree :D
The reason that Kramer, Charvel, Hamer, Ibanez and ESP grew so much in the late 70's and 80's IS that Gibson and Fender were making JUNK. Fenders, with the 3-bolt neckplate, crappy pickups, hardware and melt-away paint would sit in shops for YEARS, and the $800 LP Custom that the same music store was also trying to sell for a year had poorly set frets, a gold bridge that was flaking/fading (this is a NEW guitar), clearcoat/finish imperfections, and again, crappy pickups/electronics.

Wayne Charvel would have managed a local Mickey D's if there was no market to 'fix' brand new Fenders in this era. ESP and DiMarzio got into the business selling replacement fender necks that actually PLAYED well, and real hardware (not the pot metal crap on the new Fenders).

I really am humored seeing morons pay big $$ for 70's Fender Strats that wouldn't sell new for $500 and quickly were in pawn shops for $200. Likewise with Les Pauls - these guitars cracked because the wood was dried too fast, clearcoat finishes about fell off them, and necks twisted.... Occasionally they made a few good ones (the maple neck LP customs from the late 70's/early 80's were typically OK), but most of these were firewood.

[MacGyver]

yeah, there are good norlins, bad norlins, superb norlins, and absolutely POS. I loved the one my guitar-teacher owned, it played extremely well and had a lot of "Mojo". If Norlin's have lots of playwear, there's a pretty big chance that they're good.

I just pulled the trigger on a 87' black beauty, I'll post pics when it arrives.

[kellcats521]

I remember many 'better' norlin ideas like v shaped pickups in their sleeker flying v (what garbage) :-x . And those nice plastic hard cases where the latches lasted like 14 days.....