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Difference between 58, 59 & 60 Les Pauls


sunburstfaded

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I was lucky enough to own a 58 VOS Les Paul for a while and loved it. Sadly I had to let it go to raise cash. I'm now looking to buy another Custom Shop Les Paul. I'd like another 58 (because they are the cheapest in the UK). But what are the differences between the 58, 59 and 60? I understand that the pickups and electrics are all the same, so are we just talking about the woods used for the maple top? The reason I ask is that a 58 costs around £2300 in the UK. A 59 or 60 costs between £3700 and £4100. That's a helluva price hike for a fancy maple top. Am I missing something else here between these guitars. And what are the differences between the 58 neck and the 60 neck? I need some sound advice here from players/owners.

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58s are plaintops with thicker necks (usually). 59 and 60 are flametops. 58s tend to be heavier. 60s have reflectors.

 

 

exceptions:

chambered 58s are flametops and are of course chambered.

G0s and plaintop R0s. G0s do not have reflectors and have a G0xxxx serial #.

pre-2003 (i think) R8s are flametops as well

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FennRx summed it up, perfectly. They're all the same guitar.

R9s & R0s are more expensive because of the flame top and the (sometimes) lighter wood.

You're right, that is a helluva lot of money for a figured piece of wood but you know what...

 

Picture976.jpg

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I talked the Gibson guy in GAK (In Brighton) down to under 2K for a new Ice Tea VOS R8... Took 30 seconds... Could have got more off... The wife was gonna punch me in the face so I left empty handed...

 

I love the R9 and R0 flame tops... They have to be stunning though! otherwise im happy with a plain top like Tims R8.... A beauty!!!

=D>

 

Flight959

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58s are plaintops with thicker necks (usually). 59 and 60 are flametops. 58s tend to be heavier. 60s have reflectors.

 

Speaking strictly about the originals;

 

58 was a big neck.

59 was a big neck with jumbo frets, considered the perfect LP.

60 kept big frets but the neck profile was much slimmer. My pick.

 

How close do the RI's follow this?

I dunno, I haven't played that many of them, not enough to make a definitive judgement call.

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I talked the Gibson guy in GAK (In Brighton) down to under 2K for a new Ice Tea VOS R8... Took 30 seconds... Could have got more off... The wife was gonna punch me in the face so I left empty handed...

 

I love the R9 and R0 flame tops... They have to be stunning though! otherwise im happy with a plain top like Tims R8.... A beauty!!!

:-$

 

Flight959

 

I got my first Gibson from GAK. Helluva shop that.

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I got my first Gibson from GAK. Helluva shop that.

 

Yeah Agree.... I reckon Ive spent about 4K in there in the last two years...... EXCELLENT on price and not full of BS..

 

They are the biggest Gibson dealer for the UK now...

 

Flight959

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An R0 is tempting me sooooo much!

Tim' date=' I could ask you to talk me out of it but youre the wrong guy for the task! lol[/quote']

Me too, but I don't want a thin neck...and I don't need another flame top reissue.

What I do need is a '57 Custom...or another plain top reissue...maybe even a chambered reissue? =P~

...and yes, I am the wrong guy for the task. Heck, I can't help myself...let alone you.

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58s are plaintops with thicker necks (usually). 59 and 60 are flametops. 58s tend to be heavier. 60s have reflectors.

 

 

exceptions:

chambered 58s are flametops and are of course chambered.

G0s and plaintop R0s. G0s do not have reflectors and have a G0xxxx serial #.

pre-2003 (i think) R8s are flametops as well

 

 

What are "reflectors"...?

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Reflectors are the little foil labels on the top of the knob that say "vol" and "tone" on the 1960 reissue models.

 

And ditto on the neck profiles. They reflect the trends from the fifties when there was a wider variation in manufacture. Now for the Historics Gibson officially has three neck profiles, the early fifties is used on the R4,5,6,7,8 and is pretty large and round. The 59 rounded profile is used on the R9 and it's noticeably flatter than the one on an R8. The 60 slim taper is thinner and flatter still. Very noticeable.

 

I've convinced myself that the 59 neck profile is the most comfortable, that it justifies the extra expense for the beauty of a flametop. Bottom line is they pretty much save the most spectacular tops for the R9's. Never saw an ugly one. That's what I'm telling myself as I wait for the day when I can afford one.

 

Then again when you get to the shop and play a few, the one that really begs you to take it home should be the one you pick, maybe the neck profile won't be as important as the feel and tone overall.

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To SUNBURSTFADED: 1st off you'll have to excuse my ignorance of guitar matter's, cause I'm a 57 yr old drummer who's been playing professionally since 1968, & still am. But when you said you could get a 1958 LP for the sum of 2300 Pounds!????) you must be talking about a re-issue 58 LP right?

 

Because a guitarist(Chuck Kiel) I played with in about 6-8 bands( The 1st was the heaviest band in the bi-state area; St. Louis & West IL. called"The Black Zone", I know, I know; but this was a band formed in 67 or 1968, which had twin lead guitarists, & that band was dismantled leaving the 1st lead player, & the rythym section of Jack "Harley" Davidson(bass extraordinaire)& me, Lil' Stevie " Cannons" Munari on the tubs in "CK Thunder" & we played only original material, & except for forming about 3-4 bands & playing every gig from big clubs to small pubs(Under a nam de plume)so we didn't starve for the yr we wrote our material.

 

Anyway, Chuck very reluctantly sold his 1958 LP Standard(Insane Sunburst finish!)to Angus Young of "AC/DC" for $30,000 USD in 1996, & many local vintage geetar 'experts':-k were saying that he should have gotten more than that!!?? Yeah, I know Angus is an SG Freak, but he loved this LP, as did ANYONE who EVER got to hold & PLAY IT!! They all said it was the best LP they ever saw & HEARD! It had tone up the(Grand)WAZOO! And when heard thru his 2 1968 100 Watt Marshall stacks, well it just killed!! The finest LP i've ever seen, & being this old i've seen alot.

 

So please, someone(maybe SUNBURSTFADED?)tell me, are we talking about a 1958 re-issue LP, or a vinatge 58, cause that price seems WAY TOO LOW??

 

Also, can anyone tell me if(on the whole)which are more coveted, & therefore command bigger bucks, a 1958 or a 1959 vintage original LP?? As I have heard there were less 59's made than 58's??

 

Anyway, I hope this can be cleared up & tks in advance! "Cannons"

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Yes, we're talking about reissues. A real vintage '58 should cost upwards of $100,000 if it's in decent enough condition (I'm being generous, but I also don't know what condition the guitar in question was in). If it's one of those rare gems that's completely original (no parts changed for non-Gibson) the sky's the limit on price.

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  • 6 months later...

I prefer the fat '58 neck profile and the looks of a plain top. A friend of mine runs the guitar department in a great shop. Earlier this year I purchased a new '58 re-issue plain top from him. My friend at the shop told me he felt it offered the best value per dollar as except for the neck profile, the other features are the same.

For such an expensive guitar from the Custom Shop, I expected more attention to accuracy and set up. The intonation was so far out I was surprised. In fact one string doesn't have enough saddle adjustment left to intonate. I'm hoping that if I reverse the saddle I can get enough adjustment from it.

And although it is somewhat of a personal preference, the pick ups were adjusted in such a way that the tones available were quite limited. I have it dialed in well enough now that I can everything from clean to mean and they all sound good.

 

DSCF0005-12.jpg

 

DSCF0003_2-3.jpg

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Speaking strictly about the originals;

 

58 was a big neck.

59 was a big neck with jumbo frets' date=' considered the perfect LP.

60 kept big frets but the neck profile was much slimmer. My pick.

 

How close do the RI's follow this?

I dunno, I haven't played that many of them, not enough to make a definitive judgement call.[/quote']

 

 

well i think the truth is that few of the members here have played any original 50's Les Pauls.

so it would be difficult to make any comparison as to whether the RIs are accurate reproductions.

I have a few RIs and can confirm that all of them have the same jumbo frets.

the R7 custom has slightly lower frets than the others.

of all the RIs i've owned or played i haven't found a big difference in any of the necks, except of course the R0 which is significantly slimmer.

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