What's your relationship like with your Gibson LP

[Gaz Baker]

I'm curious about other owners experiences with their Gibson LP's.

I've only ever owned one LP, purely because of their price here, and it's gone up $1500NZD since I brought it. The one I own, a 2018 traditional, I chose after doing a lot of homework, and it seemed like the most similar at the time of it's manufacture to the specs I wanted body wise. No weight relief or chambering.
During my hours of trawling the internet for info, I read that Gibson apparently changed the specs in 2009 so the Standard has more modern features, and the Traditional took up the build specs, body wise at least, where the Standard left off.

I have to say, that it hasn't been love at first jam for me.
I've had a love/hate relationship with it.
One day I'd pick it up and love it, the next I would consider selling it because I felt I couldn't gel with it.

But after a year or more now, I feel that I'm getting along great, and understand it better, and how it is set up to play.
It's definitely a soft touch feeling guitar, and it's taught me to adjust the way I was playing.
Possibly a combination of the guitar breaking in?
Definitely a bit of me understanding it better.

The tuning is really stable, which was an off putting factor in some of the reading I encountered, but now I feel that can be partly due to playing a soft touch guitar ham fisted, as with 010's on it, it's light enough to bend whole chords!
If it starts to need any sort of regular tuning, I Graphite the nut and change the strings. Problem solved

Complaints?
Well, I'm not a fan Burstbucker pro's.
They're ok, but don't cut it for heavier music. They can make your playing sound muddy/flubby even if you're tight, but dialing back the vol pot a little helps a lot.

But the saddles, for a high end price axe, are a cheap looking crap design, and will probably get an upgrade when I finally decide on what pup's to transplant into it.

This LP is ''out of the box'' and never had a set up, so that's pretty amazing that it feels like it does, and as soon as you plug it in, it has an instantly recognizable sound that any number of rock bands has exhibited in the past.

I'm liking it a lot now, but was wondering how others have liked/disliked theirs, and would like to hear a comparison of those who have owned a Traditional, or a Standard, and a customshop.

Cheers

 

[MarshallDog]

Well,I am a Gibson LP Standard fan/player from the first one I played and bought! I typically like the 60s slim neck and have put DiMarzio 60th Anniversary pups in all of them because I think they are they best pups available. When I need higher gain, well, I hit it with an OD pedal...fairly simple with lost of tones available with the two tone pots and two volume pots. Not sure what else I can say other than take a look at my signature!

 

[ricksdisconnected]

totally sexual.

 

[Gaz Baker]

totally sexual.

Sounds like your LP is fucked then

 

[Gaz Baker]

Well,I am a Gibson LP Standard fan/player from the first one I played and bought! I typically like the 60s slim neck and have put DiMarzio 60th Anniversary pups in all of them because I think they are they best pups available. When I need higher gain, well, I hit it with an OD pedal...fairly simple with lost of tones available with the two tone pots and two volume pots. Not sure what else I can say other than take a look at my signature!

That's an impressive cache of Gibbys MD.

At $5-14k NZD depending on what model you get that's a small mortgage here.

So one question I have, is would you say they have a break in period where they sound progressively better over time and use, similar to speakers?
And with your collection, I'm picking you're the perfect person to ask!

One thing I'm trying to understand, is why it seems like it sounds better each time I play it lately, after owning it for almost 2 years.
There was a time where it sat idle for 4-8 weeks at a time, so I guess you could say that it's only started to get used a lot in the last 5 months.

 

[Alter]

I think all guitars get to sound better the more you play them, even electrics.

 

[GuitarIV]

I do not own a Gibson LP, but I have an Orville Black Beauty which is pretty much the Japanese equivalent as they produced them for Gibson in the FujiGen and Terada factories back from the late eighties to the late nineties. Spec wise you have all the good stuff like a proper thick maple cap on mahogany with the old school drilled bridge, thick binding, the open book headstock etc., only the finish is poly instead of nitro and it has a rosewood board instead of an ebony one.



I did upgrade it a bit till I got it to the point where it's almost perfect now, some handwound PAF style pickups, proper pots, locking strap pins and a string butler for flawless tuning stability. Also had the frets dressed as the guitar is from 97 and somebody clearly loved it before me and played the life out of them.

Next up I will install a Seymour Duncan Full Shred I have lying around, just waiting for the gold cover to arrive. The guitar is very full sounding, I just want a bit more definition in the bridge for riffing, but it's great for blues and rock, sounds like a sledgehammer hitting you in the chest when you dial up the gain to metal levels. Longest sustain of all my guitars, rings loud and clear unplugged and I love the thick neck. Weight wise it's very good for a LP, just around 4 kilos (9 pounds).

I paid around 700 Euros used for it and I have been in love ever since I got it. I played a few LPs before and I was never quite blown away, this one I ordered sight unseen and I am happy to say I got very lucky. When I pair it with my 2203 and my SD-1 there is no sound I can't get out of it

I also have a handmade Les Paul on order from my luthier right now, but it'll take some time till it's finished thanks to all the Covid nonsense going on in the world right now. Didn't know I was a Les Paul guy until I got this beauty here

 

[ricksdisconnected]

Sounds like your LP is fucked then

i see what ya did there.

 

[Gaz Baker]

I do not own a Gibson LP, but I have an Orville Black Beauty which is pretty much the Japanese equivalent as they produced them for Gibson in the FujiGen and Terada factories back from the late eighties to the late nineties. Spec wise you have all the good stuff like a proper thick maple cap on mahogany with the old school drilled bridge, thick binding, the open book headstock etc., only the finish is poly instead of nitro and it has a rosewood board instead of an ebony one.

View attachment 87988

I did upgrade it a bit till I got it to the point where it's almost perfect now, some handwound PAF style pickups, proper pots, locking strap pins and a string butler for flawless tuning stability. Also had the frets dressed as the guitar is from 97 and somebody clearly loved it before me and played the life out of them.

Next up I will install a Seymour Duncan Full Shred I have lying around, just waiting for the gold cover to arrive. The guitar is very full sounding, I just want a bit more definition in the bridge for riffing, but it's great for blues and rock, sounds like a sledgehammer hitting you in the chest when you dial up the gain to metal levels. Longest sustain of all my guitars, rings loud and clear unplugged and I love the thick neck. Weight wise it's very good for a LP, just around 4 kilos (9 pounds).

I paid around 700 Euros used for it and I have been in love ever since I got it. I played a few LPs before and I was never quite blown away, this one I ordered sight unseen and I am happy to say I got very lucky. When I pair it with my 2203 and my SD-1 there is no sound I can't get out of it

I also have a handmade Les Paul on order from my luthier right now, but it'll take some time till it's finished thanks to all the Covid nonsense going on in the world right now. Didn't know I was a Les Paul guy until I got this beauty here

Hey thanks man. That was a cool read.

My LP is not my go to guitar. It's a Schecter Tempest, with BareKuckle "Rebel Yell" pickups in it."
Very articulate at any gain, easily the best pinch harmonics I've played, and cleans up so well on the volume pot. I got it hooked to a Boss tube expander, a JCM800 Studio & matching 2x12.
Ts9, and a "Pepers pedals, Dirty Tree" for clean boosting. With these pedals i can keep a relatively hi gain sound, whilst dialing back the Vol pot a little to get a real smooth tone.

Like you, I got it sight unseen, for the equivalent of 650 Euros second hand, and sounds incredible.
There's some sort of special magic with this guitar. A magic you can hear, but it's the feel of it that's hard to describe.

So I'm thinking about putting the same set of pups in the LP

 

[Gaz Baker]

i see what ya did there.

 

[neikeel]

LP Standard Historic Reissue RO here.
My go to gigging guitar, after I put BKP Mules with coil taps on push-push tone pots and 550k pots and PIO caps. I use a standard brown case (like yours) and the RI one is in its packaging with the pups and pots with the embossed selector cover and candy safely tucked away.
I've had others before and this one is it and it is being gently relic'd by simply playing it.

 

[Gaz Baker]

LP Standard Historic Reissue RO here.
My go to gigging guitar, after I put BKP Mules with coil taps on push-push tone pots and 550k pots and PIO caps. I use a standard brown case (like yours) and the RI one is in its packaging with the pups and pots with the embossed selector cover and candy safely tucked away.
I've had others before and this one is it and it is being gently relic'd by simply playing it.

Alright!
That's great info.
What's the heaviest style those Mules will cover @neikeel ?
I'm sure they'll be great for rock and blues, but I sometimes I play modern metal.
I have wondered if they would be right for the LP.
I have an Ibanez with BK Aftermath set, and a Squier Tele with BK Warpigs.
The Aftermath are quite harshly trebley, and are designed for baritone, or very low tunings.
The Warpigs are dark, and sound a little like they are over distorted , sort of a fuzz style distortion

 

[John BNY]

I have a 2013 LP Standard that I bought new. It's been my main guitar that I use with my band from day one. In the beginning, I felt like the guitar had some tuning issues (pinging when tuning and having to tune after every couple of songs). But now, the guitar is completely stable. I too was not a fan of the Burstbucker bridge pickup. I replaced the bridge pickup with Bare Knuckle Riff Raff, which sounds great. I previously had the Bare Knuckle Nailbomb bridge pickup, but it was a little too hot and was prone to feedback when playing with high gain and high volume.



The Standard is the one on the right. It's one guitar that I would never part with.

 

[Gaz Baker]

I have a 2013 LP Standard that I bought new. It's been my main guitar that I use with my band from day one. In the beginning, I felt like the guitar had some tuning issues (pinging when tuning and having to tune after every couple of songs). But now, the guitar is completely stable. I too was not a fan of the Burstbucker bridge pickup. I replaced the bridge pickup with Bare Knuckle Riff Raff, which sounds great. I previously had the Bare Knuckle Nailbomb bridge pickup, but it was a little too hot and was prone to feedback when playing with high gain and high volume.

View attachment 87992

The Standard is the one on the right. It's one guitar that I would never part with.

Awesome thanks.
It's really good to hear from other BK owners. It could well save me a lot of money.
I'm starting think that the less hot choices of BK's are the more usable/versatile. IE: Mules, Rebel Yells, and Riff Raffs, etc....
Would you say the Riff Raffs could do metal?

 

[rick16v]

Platonic, but I stare at its curves, stroke its neck, and occasionally poke around in its cavities.

 

[Gaz Baker]

Platonic, but I stare at its curves, stroke its neck, and occasionally poke around in its cavities.

It's all good, unless you're one of these people that names their guitar.
Then I find your statement disturbing.

 

[fitz]

My LP has been a problem relationship since I got it.
First Gibson - '18 Tribute satin honey burst w/490s T&R.
Not my go-to, but it has it's place in my tonal palette.
I tried swapping out the pups for SD P-Rails (as shown), but went back to the 490s.
As with most of my guitars, I was initially shocked by how none of them seem to measure up to the playability of my old p.o.s. Hondo.
The Firebird and the SG are much better guitars, hands down.
And I also have a Schecter Hellraiser Tempest that looks exactly like yours, and plays fantastic.
Still a great guitar and I suppose it's getting better with age, but middle of the pack in my stable.

 

[Chrome]

I am a Gibson man through and through. in the realm of guitars, I own a 2018 Gibson Firebird, 2013 Gibson Firebird V, 2013 Les Paul Traditional, and a 2012 Custom Explorer ( had made by a local luthier to Gibson specs). it has been a love hate relationship for me. hands down, the Firebird V is my number one, followed by the second Firebird, then the Explorer, and finally the Les Paul. I tend to feel cramped when playing the les paul. of course knowing my other guitars, the neck tends to lay to the side therefore I am more outreached and it is extremely comfortable to me. the les paul is pretty much front and center. I will say, one night during a show, I took the Firebird V and the Les Paul. about the 3rdd song in, I broke a string on the Bird, and changed to the Les Paul. I was forced to play it through the rest of the show and I did get used to it and enjoyed playing it very much. I did find I can maneuver around on stage better with the Paul. its just a matter of personal preference to me. it sounds extraordinary. I have pondered on occasion to sell it. but in the end decided to keep it and force myself to play it more before I make any rash decisions.

 

[El Gringo]

totally sexual.

Big time , Very astute observation .

 

[El Gringo]

View attachment 87987

I'm curious about other owners experiences with their Gibson LP's.

I've only ever owned one LP, purely because of their price here, and it's gone up $1500NZD since I brought it. The one I own, a 2018 traditional, I chose after doing a lot of homework, and it seemed like the most similar at the time of it's manufacture to the specs I wanted body wise. No weight relief or chambering.
During my hours of trawling the internet for info, I read that Gibson apparently changed the specs in 2009 so the Standard has more modern features, and the Traditional took up the build specs, body wise at least, where the Standard left off.

I have to say, that it hasn't been love at first jam for me.
I've had a love/hate relationship with it.
One day I'd pick it up and love it, the next I would consider selling it because I felt I couldn't gel with it.

But after a year or more now, I feel that I'm getting along great, and understand it better, and how it is set up to play.
It's definitely a soft touch feeling guitar, and it's taught me to adjust the way I was playing.
Possibly a combination of the guitar breaking in?
Definitely a bit of me understanding it better.

The tuning is really stable, which was an off putting factor in some of the reading I encountered, but now I feel that can be partly due to playing a soft touch guitar ham fisted, as with 010's on it, it's light enough to bend whole chords!
If it starts to need any sort of regular tuning, I Graphite the nut and change the strings. Problem solved

Complaints?
Well, I'm not a fan Burstbucker pro's.
They're ok, but don't cut it for heavier music. They can make your playing sound muddy/flubby even if you're tight, but dialing back the vol pot a little helps a lot.

But the saddles, for a high end price axe, are a cheap looking crap design, and will probably get an upgrade when I finally decide on what pup's to transplant into it.

This LP is ''out of the box'' and never had a set up, so that's pretty amazing that it feels like it does, and as soon as you plug it in, it has an instantly recognizable sound that any number of rock bands has exhibited in the past.

I'm liking it a lot now, but was wondering how others have liked/disliked theirs, and would like to hear a comparison of those who have owned a Traditional, or a Standard, and a customshop.

Cheers

I would recommend ThroBak MXV-SLE-101 Plus pickups with A5 magnets . www.throbak.com They will be a black and white night versus day difference from the stock pickups . Gibson Les Paul's always have great tuning with the exception of the dreaded G string .