Les Pauls colors & quality

[RaysEpiphone]

My new Epiphone Les Paul "Black Beauty" Custom Pro is wonderful! I like this axe a lot! Its not a true Gibson but I'm not finding to many things wrong with it and it play's very good. It was $550 brand-new at Guitar Center and most all the other stores I shopped-around at had the same price or was very close to it. I always check a guitar out very closely before I buy, there where a few other Custom Pros at the GC I got this one at and I tried all of them out before picking out the one I liked best. The thing is this....I didn't have the full amount to buy it out-right so I put money down on it and made a few payments. I had been in the same store a month or two before and seen an identical (to mine) Black Beauty and compared it to the other ones witch included, a Sun-burst a Silver/black and a White one. The Black Bute was much better looking (aesthetically, no obvious imperfections) and it seemed more balanced when I held it, the neck was straiter and it sounded better, on one of the others (I dont remember witch one), the tone control's didn't seem to do a whole lot to the actual tone output. Just to have a control I picked up an Epiphone Gold-top Standard that was there to, it's neck looked horrible with some twist's and just all around un-even. It was very unbalanced and the back looked like it came right off the rough-planner that wasn't even finished properly, the top looked ok but the rest of it looked bad (aesthetically). I really could care less about the color as all well crafted guitars are "works of art" so color is one of the last things on the list when I'm going to buy one.

 

So I'm wondering if any of you Gibson owners that have had many different colors over the years have noticed this or maybe your like me and just want a good guitar and did what I did before you put down your cash for the man. I do remember reading about how Les Paul changed the original model color options from Gold to only plain White or plain Black because the conciseness was that the new shape, gold color and lines of this beast didn't work well with a tuxedo suit. But the White one I tried at the store wasn't very good IMHO just the two different Black ones stood-out as "Pro Quality" instruments.

[Drog]

Color really has no influence, IMO. What you were experiencing is the difference in setups from one to the other and good/bad pots. The guitar necks can move, either with seasonal changes humidity and temperature or just from strings,how they had been setup. A bowed neck is an easy adjustment in most instances. All Epiphone guitars ( or any guitar) will benefit from a good quality setup.

[Rabs]

Are you basically asking if some bad quality LPs are in the shops?

 

Yes... Ive read many many threads on here about it and some do leave the factory with bad issues... Even though its not always clear if they left they factory like that or something happened in transit.

 

HOWEVER, I personally have NEVER EVER seen any of the issues I have read about on here.. I think it comes down to the shop you buy it from.. The one I use, I know they inspect all of the guitars that they sell before they get put out.. and if they have bad ones they either sell them a bit cheaper or they go back to Gibson (depending on what the exact issue is).. So I think its down to that.. I know you can by B grade LPs in some places (well in the US anyway, I haven't seen those here either apart from the odd one that has been used as a test model or something).

 

But I reckon the percentage of good ones out there far outweigh the bad ones.. But that's just my experience really.

 

I have 4 Gibbies, and I display them as I agree, to me they are as much works of art as they are precision instruments and I love looking at them almost as much as I enjoy playing them.

[quapman]

Color really has no influence, IMO. What you were experiencing is the difference in setups from one to the other and good/bad pots. The guitar necks can move, either with seasonal changes humidity and temperature or just from strings,how they had been setup. A bowed neck is an easy adjustment in most instances. All Epiphone guitars ( or any guitar) will benefit from a good quality setup.

 

Yes this.

Color has nothing to do with anything. It's all about the setup.

 

 

 

I know you can by B grade LPs in some places (well in the US anyway, I haven't seen those here either apart from the odd one that has been used as a test model or something).

 

 

No you can't. One of the first things Henry did was put an end to the seconds.

Now instead of stamping them they send them out and hope nobody notices.

 

What you may find is a blemished guitar that the store/merchant found and worked out something with Gibson.

Then put it up for sale as a blemished guitar. But it won't be stamped.

 

I would like to see them bring back the seconds.

Maybe they could forget to install a robot tuner on it and sell to me as a second.

 

 

 

Enjoy your new Epi Ray.

Haven't seen you post in a while.

 

Cheers.

[Markini]

I will probably get flamed for this. Speaking from my own experience, In 2010 I played at least a two dozen LPs before buying my 60s tribute. I shopped at GC, Ash and a Mom and pop. None were humidified properly and the majority had fret sprout, undressed frets very rough, high action and just bad strings. I went through 3 sets of strings setting up my LP and several hours of polishing and filing. Now it is one exceptional guitar and speaking of color it too is black. (color makes no difference, I bought the guitar because to me it had the best tone).

 

Notice my experience was 4 years ago.

 

On the other hand I purchased a Classic custom (custom classic? get confused), after playing it for only 5 minutes. The guitar was/is outstanding. Build quality, tone. playability and has never had a set up. I have played 4 CCsLPs since then and all were outstanding.

 

Then again played a Standard at GC the other day and it had fret sprout and just about un playable with the horrible set up it had.

 

Of course I am Gibson fan, but they are still letting some bad ones slip through.

 

Proud owner of 6 Gibsons and 3 Epiphones.

 

 

 

 

 

[RaysEpiphone]

Cool, this was what I was thinking. These Chinese made guitars are shipped to Nashville first and set-up by the Gibson factory before they are sent to the retail/wholesale out-lets. I can see how pick-up adjustments could effect the tone, that maybe what was wrong with the one that didn't seem to operate correctly when I moved the knobs. I'm just having a hard time believing that the two Black ones where by chance set-up better, perhaps the guy that does this at the Gibson factory has a week-spot for the Black ones . Seems highly unlikely but I don't know. I took a second look at the video I found on Youtube showing the inside of the Epiphone Chinese factory. The work-flo is set-up in an assembly-line manner but the workers are doing a lot of each task mostly by hand so that maybe something as hand assembly can make any one guitar slightly different from the next.

 

On another note... I did also try the only higher priced Epiphone Les Paul they had there, it was a really nice looking Blue Tribute Plus. It was prettier than the one I got but it didn't feel/play/sound the same, to me the Black Beauty just out performed it from the first licks I played on it.

 

Any one else have any other experience on this please do chime in.

[Levism]

Yes this.

Color has nothing to do with anything. It's all about the setup.

 

 

 

 

 

No you can't. One of the first things Henry did was put an end to the seconds.

Now instead of stamping them they send them out and hope nobody notices.

 

What you may find is a blemished guitar that the store/merchant found and worked out something with Gibson.

Then put it up for sale as a blemished guitar. But it won't be stamped.

 

I would like to see them bring back the seconds.

Maybe they could forget to install a robot tuner on it and sell to me as a second.

 

 

 

Enjoy your new Epi Ray.

Haven't seen you post in a while.

 

Cheers.

 

I was in Long and Mcquade a week ago and they had a B list explorer bass in silver burst. It was marked down from $1375 to $899. Once we went through the specs he did explain that B list guitars still come through yorkville that are marked.

[quapman]

I was in Long and Mcquade a week ago and they had a B list explorer bass in silver burst. It was marked down from $1375 to $899. Once we went through the specs he did explain that B list guitars still come through yorkville that are marked.

 

 

That's interesting. I did not know that.

Are you sure they are stamped at the factory or at yorkville?

 

I was curious so I found this yorkville site.

 

http://b-stock-guitars.yorkville.com/

 

Most are marked down "used for product demo".

 

Of the few that were marked down, or b list, due to finish flaw or other imperfections I don't see any stamps.

 

I assume they would be on the back of the headstock. Unless they are marking them in a different spot I didn't see any stamped.

 

I don't think this is a Gibson determination rather it is a yorkville one.

[Jimi Mac]

As you noted, and as I suspected, there are alot of hand-finished portions of the build procedure and each guitar can be a bit different... Hence the tonal quality you noted.

 

As for the color thing it could simply be a case of the personnel operating the specific jobs on a given day that they were doing a batch in black or whatever color was coming out of the finish booth that day. Factories and workers have good days and bad, good batches of wood and not so much...

 

Some pieces of wood are marvels right off the jig and some fight you and make you work very hard to get what you want out of them...

 

Many many dynamic variances in every part of the manufacturing process can lead to good ones and bad ones and the only thing color has to do with it is that may be from a specific lot of guitars being finished on any given day or color run...

 

Good luck with it and happy new guitar!