Do i really have to buy a Gibson Les Paul?

m0rtis · Apr 18, 2004

I am going to buy a new electric guitar. However I can't decide which one to buy. I checked every band I listen, and I saw that the most of them use Gibson Lespaul. so I am beginning to think that Gibson is the only way to get a real good tone, distortion etc. But it's impossible for me to afford a gibson. I can only get a guitar which would cost me like 400-500 dolars..
So please share your wisdom and i can find a peaceful and cheap solution

Opus(sy) · Apr 18, 2004

Well guitars over here in the UK are more expensive than they are in the US. Hmmm check out some of the cheaper Jackson guitars, i dont recommend going for Ibanez as their 'cheaper' guitars tend to be on the poor side, poor build quality etc...well that's from my experience anyway, same with the cheaper BC Rich guitars also i rekon. My first guitar was a fender 60s mexican strat which i still play on today, (installed the same pick ups malmsteen uses on his strat)...might be worth saving up a little more to get a nice guitar and get your money's worth...depends on how serious you are about it though. Anyway check out Jackson...

sorry that was probably really awful advice...haha

MFJ · Apr 18, 2004

Ugh.. hell no you don't. Let me tell you, a Fender Stratocaster (350ish dollars) or a EPIPHONE Les Paul (about 400 dollars) will fucking do it for you. If you don't know a lot about Epiphone, it is Gibson's baby company... they are not cheap ripoffs of the Les Paul model, they are authentic, quality guitars. I have played a Gibson LP Standard, and I realized that it would be foolish to pay 1000+ dollars to get a Gibson, when I could get a Epiphone for 400. It is versatile, and a supremely well built guitar.

Indiooo · Apr 18, 2004

It's not a supremely well built guitar. If you can't notice the difference between the Gibson and the Epi, something is wrong with your ears and hands. Is it worth the extra 2000 euros (LP Custom extra 2500 more or less)? Hell no, but it's a whole different guitar. For that kind of money you can have a custom guitar built to your specs and still be under the price of a Gibson after all the math. In my opinion, a great alternative to the Gibson LP is getting a japanese rip-off from the 70's (Greco, Burny, Tokai, etc). They go for about 700/800 dollars and are great guitars, well built, sounding amazing and playing great. You might need to get them new frets, as they are 30 year old guitars, and maybe electronics, but in the end, it's worth every cent.

Indiooo · Apr 18, 2004

Plus they look fantastic. Sorry, I just had to.

MFJ · Apr 18, 2004

Indiooo said:
It's not a supremely well built guitar. If you can't notice the difference between the Gibson and the Epi, something is wrong with your ears and hands. Is it worth the extra 2000 euros (LP Custom extra 2500 more or less)? Hell no, but it's a whole different guitar. For that kind of money you can have a custom guitar built to your specs and still be under the price of a Gibson after all the math. In my opinion, a great alternative to the Gibson LP is getting a japanese rip-off from the 70's (Greco, Burny, Tokai, etc). They go for about 700/800 dollars and are great guitars, well built, sounding amazing and playing great. You might need to get them new frets, as they are 30 year old guitars, and maybe electronics, but in the end, it's worth every cent.

heh, I never said I couldn't tell the difference- of course I can. I've been playing an Epiphone Les Paul Studio for about three years that I bought used, and it hasn't failed me in any way, not once. It even still screams like the first day I got it. In my opinion, that is a well built guitar. My point was that its not worth the extra money, and I think we agree.

MightyDrynwhyl · Apr 18, 2004

dont bother with gibson. i find les pauls extremely uncomfortable to play, but thats just me. id say do yourself a favor and get a $400-$500 jackson dinky guitar. for the price theyre really nice to play.

-Gavin- · Apr 19, 2004

Or a BC Rich.

m0rtis · Apr 19, 2004

my friends keep telling me that BC Rich is not good, They said they've tried it and the sound was terrible..

Indiooo · Apr 19, 2004

The man wants a Les Paul and you're telling him to get a Jackson? We all have different tastes in gear, and not all of us have to play Jackson or BC Rich.

You can't imagine the shit I take for playing strats. Some people say it's not a "true metal guitar". Well, it feels great to me and gets me the tones I want (and then some). Is there something wrong with my ears?

Anyway, just get the guitar that feels good to you. If you're starting out, you probably can't even tell a strat from a LP tonewise. I know I couldn't.

MFJ · Apr 19, 2004

What the fuck, strats are awesome in metal. Carl Sanders from FUCKING NILE uses a strat. Tell them to stick it up their asses.

Indiooo · Apr 19, 2004

I usually don't tell them anything. I just let the guitar do the talking.

Opus(sy) · Apr 19, 2004

Seriously, dont buy a BCRich...unless you're going to spend lots of money on a nice one

)) they arnt worth it, sound terrible, feel terrible...plus apart from the V models they all look pretty awful

...i love Strats...great guitars, i've never played anything more comfortable than a nice Fender Stratocaster, great tone also...superb guitars *cums*...i mean just look...Yngwie Malmsteen, Karl Sanders, Jon Levassuer (the list goes on), sadly they arnt cheap...anyway...for your amount of money, JACKSON IS THE WAY TO GO!

MFJ · Apr 19, 2004

Indiooo said:
I usually don't tell them anything. I just let the guitar do the talking.

I suppose that would do the trick too

bobvex · Apr 19, 2004

i saw a nice neck thru ibanez for like 600 bucks at Guitar center lately, 24 frets, ebony fretboard. . an all around nice guitar. . .

Hexer · Apr 19, 2004

about BC Rich again:
no question: the shapes are a matter of personal preference, some love them, some hate them...... personally I like them

the sound is a matter of preference, too. just go and try one, you'll see if you like it or not.

the NJ-series BC Riches cost about 500-600, dunno about the prices in the US.......
Platinum- and Bronze-series BCs are cheaper, but I would rather get a NJ.

can`t tell you much about Gibson, ESP, Jackson...
I've tried a few Jacksons, most of them felt good to me (not too different from the BC Rich) but I would change those PUs. From what I have heard and tried, Jackson stock-PUs sound worse than BC Rich stock-PUs but that may be just me again...........

m0rtis · Apr 19, 2004

can i really get a death metal sound from a fender strat? That's the important thing, because I am going to play in a death metal band and i don't want my guitar to sound like Iron Maiden

(not that i don't like iron maiden, i adore them

but their sound just doesn't fit me )

yabba · Apr 19, 2004

m0rtis said:
can i really get a death metal sound from a fender strat? That's the important thing, because I am going to play in a death metal band and i don't want my guitar to sound like Iron Maiden (not that i don't like iron maiden, i adore them but their sound just doesn't fit me )

you definetely can, just make sure it's a 'fat strat' of some sort with a humbucker in the bridge position. (not that there's any reason you couldn't do death metal with single coils, but if you want a tone like other death metal bands, you're going to want a humbucker)

Indiooo · Apr 19, 2004

With a nice amp, yes you can. Passive single coils will be noisy with high gain, so I think you should get a humbucker in the bridge, or active singles, like I have on one of my guitars. They are medium/low output, but my preamp delivers all the gain I need, so I'm fine. But weren't you looking for a Les Paul? LPs and Strats are two completely different beasts.

Bryant · Apr 20, 2004

m0rtis said:
can i really get a death metal sound from a fender strat? That's the important thing, because I am going to play in a death metal band and i don't want my guitar to sound like Iron Maiden (not that i don't like iron maiden, i adore them but their sound just doesn't fit me )

In that price range I strongly suggest an Ibanez. I wouldn't really care if you were playing Maiden or Opeth or Kenny Rogers, the guitar choice is the same. I won't say Ibanez makes the absolute greatest guitars on the planet as there are many fine axes out there, but I think in your price range they are hard to beat.
Another idea is to buy a used guitar. I have bought many guitars in my lifetime and only two were new. A new guitar is about the sum of it's parts to me. A guitar that hasn't been played much has no "soul." Once a guitar has been played (as long as it hasn't been abused) starts to take on a life of it's own and has more character.
Don't get me wrong, if anyone wants to give me the money for one of the new Peavey V-type neck-thru models that go for about $1200 I will buy a new one of those and be your best friend. >

~

Bryant

Do i really have to buy a Gibson Les Paul?

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