How'd you choose Gibson's and the specific model you own?

[Andre S]

I'll start, I was originally going to buy a Fender ( online also) when one of my friends told me that I should check out Gibson. When I searched Gibson on wikipedia, I got a list of every single guitar that Gibson has made ( I mean model).

 

Then I went on google images and searched for every guitar on the list.

From there, I picked the ones I liked ( how they looked) and then from there I refined the search for the ones still in production. Many of them were not in production but still in wikipedia list.

 

Then I saw the Les Paul Classic on Nickelodeon's Drake and Josh.

From there I found I liked the Les Paul shape and more importantly the les paul classic in wine red.

However when I found the price, I knew I couldn't buy my first electric for that price,

 

The studio was a stretch but it was a lot better a price, so I got that!

 

However I found other people I liked who used LP's like Billie Joe and Slash, Joe Perry etc.

[AXE®]

There was no internet when I picked my first Les Paul.

 

I saw Joe Perry and had to try one out for myself.

[Blackie]

I started out on a Fender and so did my friend, but my friend had a crazy dad who smashed his 60's strat in a drunken rage

so his folks offered to replace the strat and at the time you could get a LP Standard for the same price, and he got one. After I played the

Les Paul that was it. I learned Gibson made the guitars that felt and sounded the best to me. I like the SG more than the LP cause it looks

meaner and sounds just as good, although I will probably get a LP next.

[ChanMan]

My wife told me she wanted to give me a Les Paul for our 20th anniversary. Overall I shopped about 18 months, played a lot of Gibsons and finally decided the Standard was the tone I was looking for. Saw a picture of Gretchen Wilson with a quilt top desert burst and decided that was the most beautiful guitar I'd ever seen, so a desert burst LP Std it was. I then played every one of them I could get my hands on until I found THE one, and that one I bought.

 

Off the wall.

 

 

At Guitar Center, Nashville.

 

Hint: I could hear it over the shredders in Guitar Center when I played it acoustically.

 

Damn fine piece of wood I've grown mighty fond of

[Andre S]

I started out on a Fender and so did my friend' date=' but my friend had a crazy dad who smashed his 60's strat in a drunken rage

so his folks offered to replace the strat and at the time you could get a LP Standard for the same price, and he got one. After I played the

Les Paul that was it. I learned Gibson made the guitars that felt and sounded the best to me. I like the SG more than the LP cause it looks

meaner and sounds just as good, although I will probably get a LP next.[/quote']

 

I think I want to buy a Fender American Standard Stratocaster, but I don't want to risk it, ( in case I don't like it) after I know I am comfortable with most if not all gibson models.

 

Luckily, the local suckish guitar shop appears to have a Fender Strat in stock, so tomorrow, I am off to the guitar store after school, to try it out and pick up some acoustic strings.

 

Oddly enough I saw a Les Paul copy, with a headstock that looked like a Heritage. It was priced ( when converted to US) 300-400 USD. So who knows maybe I'll pick it up.

 

Of course it was in the back by the higher priced guitars, so I hope I didn't miss out a zero, if I did it will be in the 20000/6.35 range.

[Laney1566]

On the backside of Kiss's first 6 studio albums are these words.......

 

"Kiss uses Gibson Guitars and Pearl Drums because they want the best".

[ledzep59]

Jimmy Page, Joe Walsh, Billy Gibbons, Mike Bloomfield...

 

there is something special about the burst

[iSoto]

Slash played Les Pauls.

Ace Frehley played Les Pauls.

Phil Manzanera played all sorts of Gibsons.

Then, I saw that Malmsteen and Vai played Strat type guitars, and Gibson didn't have any. SG was the only double-cutaway guitar at the time I was making up my mind.

I went for it.

Sounds lame and amateur to get a guitar for that reason, but I got lucky, and I wouldn't trade my Faded SG for all the guitars in the world.

 

Gotta go to lectures and stuff. kthxbai

 

PS: I don't like Malmsteen anymore.

[retrosurfer1959]

Played one in 76 and was hooked as to model hell I get several of each then I never need to wonder.

[Hector Arcadius]

All my favourite guitatarists, as far as technique / feeling / tone are concerned played Gibsons, the vast majority of them Les Pauls.

 

Slash, Joe Perry, Billy Gibbons, Gary Moore, Jimmy Page. Only Tony Iommi & Angus played an SG and there were 2 exceptions using Fenders: Richie Blackmore & Rory Gallagher.

 

So the brand / model for the tone I would like to get was pretty obvious from the start.

 

My first guitar however was an Epiphone SG Special. Although not many things are common between the Epi and the Gibson models, I found out that I really did not like the way it was un-balanced, always leaning towards the neck side, even played when I sut down. On the contrary, all the Les Pauls I tried were perfectly balanced. So Gibson Les Paul it was!

 

Further down the road however, reality kicks in the form of your BUDGET. (BTW: Many people nowadays seem to establish their financial policy based on the lifestyle they wanna follow, I rather establish by lifestyle based on my financial boundaries. I would never go in debt just to buy something, including the guitar of my dreams...).

 

My budget ruled out Customs, Standards, Reissues or anything similar. The humble Studio was within reach however. I even tried some Godesses at the store and I was rather disappointed to the very poor manufacturing feel of that one...

 

So, all that remained was the color. After trying out some Studios at the store, I knew I had a keeper...

 

Still, I remain a worst player than my guitar deserves... But never stop practising!

[RichCI]

[Notes_Norton]

I played sax in a band with a guy who owned a 335. I had always doubled on either bass or guitar (mostly barre chord rhythm) using the guitar players "other guitar" when there was no sax part.

 

A couple of years later I saw a used 330 in a music store for $300, thinking it was a 335 I bought it.

 

Later on when I became serious about guitar and found out the difference, I was glad I got the 330, because after playing with P90 pickups, those humbuckers just sound muddy to me.

 

When the 330 became a collectors item, I bought a used Casino to take on stage (the new 330 hadn't been re-issued at that time).

 

 

Insights and incites by Notes

[DanvillRob]

As a kid, I knew only acoustic guitars. My family was not wealthy, but Gibsons were the only guitars I had around me. When I got to be a teenager, I wanted a Fender. I picked out a Fender Jaguar. It was Fender's "top of the line"... too bad I missed the chance for a pre-CBS Strat!

 

I quit music in the late 60's and sold all my gear. When I got back from 'Nam, I wanted an acoustic, so of course I got a Gibson, (1969 Jubilee). My wife bought me a Dove for my Birthday in 1980, and slowly over the years, I've repurchased everything I wanted.

 

I'm stalking a "Doves In Flight" now. When, (not if), I get one, I'll bring photos here.

 

Bob

[Rocky4]

I walked into Guitar Center and saw a Special on a floor rack. I picked it up and tried to play it, but it was too far out of adjustment. I asked a salesman for various tools, and spent the next 15 minutes adjusting this a that, and the next hour playing it and then buying it.

 

I always wanted a Les Paul Jr. Back in the '80s, I passed on a '56 for $375 and have always regretted it. Not wanting to spend the cash on a new one, I spent a few months searching eBay, A 2007 turned up that had been relic'd. Ugly as hell, with the neck stripped and nicks, scratches, etc, but it was too cheap to pass on. I placed a low bid, never expecting to win, but I did and really enjoy it now.

[Californiaman]

It chose me.

[Thundergod]

I chose the Les Paul shape because that's what Slash uses[blink]

 

Don't laugh, let me explain... no one in my family is inclined to music... I don't think they even like it that much[bored] (but, my great grandfather wrote our national anthem[biggrin] so it must be there somewhere, even if I'm the only one that has shown some of it).

 

Anyway, my dad kept what he said was an unvaluable spanish guitar (that's now... inside a bank vault[crying] ) and when he was at work I would go in and play it... first thing I learned to play was that song that always plays in movies when someone has died (or at the time it did). 6th string only baby! (just like slash[blush] )

 

So, I learned on my own, I got a second hand acoustic guitar made by a fine local luthier, sadly I didn't know it at the time and that guitar ended refinished and ultimately thrown away. I bought 2 more acoustic guitars, no such thing as the internet back then in here (1992).

 

In late 1992 something great happened: the MTV channel! At the time it was all good: rock videos, some pop videos and more rock videos, some rap videos and then more rock videos. Guns N Roses was all around, and Use Your Illusion I and II videos were the hottest (as were Aerosmith's "get a grip" album videos with Alicia Silverstone).

 

I remember watching "Estranged" (or was it "stranged") video and seeing slash going out of the watter with that beautiful guitar... and of course, watching "november rain"s video with him on top of that piano and going out of that mexican style church and playing like the gods...

 

That was it for me, I had to have an electric guitar... and of course it had to be a les paul shaped one. My first electric was one of the first epi special IIs (made in korea). There was no turning back.

 

 

 

Nowadays I chose my guitars for the looks of them first, then the features and then I go and try them, if they sound good and play good, I get 'em[biggrin]

[DanvillRob]

 

I always wanted a Les Paul Jr. Back in the '80s' date=' I passed on a '56 for $375 and have always regretted it. [/quote']

 

 

Rocky, let me tell you a true story.

 

Back in 1966 I was working in a music store in Fremont, CA. I sold music crap behind the counter, delivered pianos and waxed the floors at night. My friend, Barry, (and lead guitar in our band), taught guitar there.

 

The store manager sold a guitar to a guy and took in a Gold Top Les Paul as a trade. It wasn't "pristine" but it wasn't too bad either. No case, just a guitar. He put it in the broom closet!! He gave the guy $12 for it. He asked me if I wanted to buy it. He said I could have it for the $12 he paid. I said yes, and told him I'd buy it as soon as I got paid, (remember, I made $1.75/hour at the time).

 

On payday, I cashed my check and brought $12 to the store manager. He said, "Oh... I didn't think you really wanted it, so I sold it to Barry."

 

Barry told me recently he sold that guitar for many thou$ands a few years ago....damn.....

 

Bob

[LPguitarman]

Gibson Les Paul has always been my Dream Guitar. I chose my current based on looks and previous experience playing Classics at GC. Looks was the reverse Fireburst. Sound because I knew it would have a similar sound to the Classic even though it's a Classic Antique. The flame top was also a big seller over the plain top Classic.

[guitargreg1993]

well i dont own any gibson yet but im saving up now to buy a Les Paul Standard in the Latte Cream finish.... i chose a les paul because, well, it is just one of the sexiest guitars out there.... :- lol but thats not the main reason i chose it.... first i chose it because so many of my favorite players/inspirations use Les Pauls.... Jimmy Page, Slash, Joe Perry, Gary Rossington, Adrian Smith, Greig Nori, Ace Frehley, John Fogerty, Billie Joe Armstrong, Neal Schon, Alex Lifeson, Lenny Kravitz, Randy Rhoads, Steve Stevens, Doug Aldrich, o and i cant forget my favorite of them all... BUCKETHEAD!!! (jk ) but yea anyway i could go on and on.... secondly i chose a Les Paul because i consider it the most versatile guitar out there. i mean just look at how many people play them -- everyone from metal to country to rock to jazz to blues.... so the Les Paul spans all genres of music.... and IMO that makes it the kind of guitar all others should be judged by and the one that all others should look to as a model of a great guitar. lastly, i have a few buddies that play Les Pauls and I've actually played them before... and just, WOW!! My buddy's LP Classic is by far the best sounding guitar I've ever played unplugged.... plugged in though, it's beyond amazing... playing it into a good ol marshall stack is pure bliss... So the last reason im chosing a Les Paul is because the tone is just heavenly. :D/

 

As for choosing the Latte Cream color, theres just one simple reason why I chose that.... I walked into a local guitar shop 2 years and saw one on the wall... and o my god, i seriously got a boner.... it was the most beautiful guitar i had ever seen. so i asked the guy working there what color it is.... so he told me it was Latte Cream.... he asked me if i wanted to play it for awhile.... i started playing it and after a few minutes he took it from me because i sounded so bad (i had just started playing a few months earlier). but ever since that day i knew i had to have one.... plus its a really unique color that you dont really see often....

[DamienAzrael]

Slash, Zakk Wylde, Ace Frehley, Jimmy Page, Joe Perry, and Mick Mars have all played a Les Paul so for me it was the first guitar I ever wanted.

[Riverside]

From the time I started playing guitar, I always wanted a "Les Paul" because that's what the big-time players played (insert your own list here) - but they were always out of my price range.

 

I bought a "Vintage Mahogany" Studio model a few years ago because 1) it was a Les Paul, 2) it was affordable, and 3) it plays and sounds like what I always expected.

 

While there are prettier models, and (arguably) "better" models, I'm happy with what I've got.

 

I really love looking at the reissues, and the other really shiny/bursty/flamy/fancy/bound models, I just don't see or hear several thousand dollars worth of difference.

[brundaddy]

I liked the looks of Gibsons from the start because of the pearl inlays, binding, etc. Same for Gretsch. I always thought Fenders looked like mass-produced, cheap junk.

 

At the same time, my music idols had these delinquent scum personae and played these magnificent guitars, using them for such infernal purposes seemed like so much blasphemy that I knew I would have to have a bunch of them.

[lukee-2275]

67 sg standard

73 sg pro

79 es-335 crr

82 flying v heritage

84 les paul custom

63 jaguar

76 telecaster deluxe

83 strat elite

00 strat{usa}

91 hamer

08 martin d 16

90 ovation elite

 

 

 

 

bougt my first gibson when i was 19 ,ive had it now for 22years .

its a 1984 lp custom. always wanted one because ace frehley played one.

i gigged with it for about a year then put it away for a strat [lp to heavy]

it sat in the case for twenty years. got it out last spring and strung it up.

amazing guitar ,dont know why i played a strat for the last twenty years

lp is once again my main guitar great for playing slide. i paid $500 for it in 1987

[djroge1]

I did not pick my Les Paul.

 

My Les Paul picked me.

[Cruznolfart]

My dog picked mine out. She nose guitars.