Despite the fact that I am primarily interested in acoustic stuff, I can't help obsessively looking at electric guitars as well, and I was struck by what seems like a good deal for the Gibson Les Paul Vintage Mahogany at Musiciansfriend. It's obviously way more guitar than I need right now, but I did just have a birthday, and $850 for a real Gibson seems like more sensible than $500 for an Epiphone knockoff.
And unlike with my acoustic needs, where I really have no idea what I'll want when I get better, it seems pretty likely that an LP is certainly something I'd want to have no matter what.
Anyone know about this? What are you losing from the fact that most LP's are > $2000?
Just by looking at the picture/reading: You're going to be getting different pickups than you would with a more expensive Gibson. Also, there doesn't seem to be any binding done at all. I'd assume a lot of the lessened cost is going to be reflected in a lower level of craftsmanship, a lot less details. The guitar also only comes in one color scheme, which also has to do with the lowered price. On some of the more expensive LP models, there are premium tops, and these tend to cost a lot more.
Other than that, I'd have to play it to let you know what is actually different.
If this is your first time playing guitar, I suggest that you buy something cheaper, but still good wuality. Such as a fender standard strat ($350) or if you want to stick with the les paul shape the epiphone les paul classic/standard/custom (they range from $500- $650) simply because if you started guitar but you didn't keep ir up and lsot interest, you would've wasted about $900 for nothing. Thats how I see it.
However, I would've done anything to start out on a gibson :lol:
There is a lot of money wrapped up in those better looking tops, there also seems to be a lot of money that goes towards binding and other miscellaneous things as well.
Here's a short list of differences between the higher end gibsons (classics and better) and those below (including studios, VM, etc):
-Body and neck binding - standard has, others don't
-Heastock inlay - standard has, others are silkscreens
-# of pieces of mahog that make up back - Standards are one or two piece, others can be as many as they want.
-Tops - higher quality tops go to standards, reissues, etc. Fairly good quality ones can be seen on Studio Plus' from time to time, but the most stunning ones will always show up on the better guitars.
There are other assorted differences and even beyond the standard and the higher stuff there are lots and lots of fine differences, but the list above covers the most obvious and commonly discussed things.
The best thing you can do is go read the les paul forum for a month or two before you buy. There is an incredible amount of knowledge to be had, and the forum is frequented by all sorts of great experts.
Make sure you keep you eyes on:
Sunburst Pub - General discussion
Vintage Les Pauls - Get some context for understanding current les pauls.
Historic District - Area about the reissues
Les Paul Tech Area - Get gritty with it, good place to get into the fine details of les paul electronics.
Baywatch - Gets you a better idea of what a good price is for a Les Paul.
Do something you love and you'll never work a day in your life...
