I wonder what Gibson USA sells more of..

[saturn]

the post 2008 Standard or the Traditional?

 

Just curious

[Andre S]

I think the Traditional...

 

Have you seen some of the tops shown in MLP?

 

There a near quilt top, it was beautiful.

[modoc_333]

if our store is any indication of a trend, then the traditional wins hands down. even by just telling someone the differences, they have no interest in the standard.

[Kreature]

It'd be fun to know the official numbers and the trends Gibson is seeing, but I guess that's not possible.

I guess we'll know if they all of a sudden go back to the pre-2008 Standard model and stop making "traditionals" and 2008-standards. Which would be pretty cool. Both the 2008 standards and traditionals could become some kind of a cool rarity in 15 years.

 

But then again, they wouldn't have to re-re-name the Traditional back to Standard again, they could also retire the term Standard and have the Traditional as their new flag-ship-consumer-guitar, while producing different "specials" from time to time like robots and dusk tigers and cougars and sea monsters and bio-mechanical future spaceship guitars and so on. If the name "standard" was discontinued I think that might give even more prestige to the older standards. Maybe.

 

But this is all just silly speculation and I definitely don't know whether the Trad is beating the new standard in sales and future projections based on trends etc.

[RB72]

Standards probably but the Traditionals are better in my opinion. Weight relieved over chambered and just look at the finish. I'll show mine off once again because I never tire of doing it.

 

 

 

[LPguitarman]

Very nice Iced Tea RB72... Love the finish.

[RB72]

Yeah, I bet you're right. With a lower price Studios probably outsell both. Are Studios chambered as well? I didn't play one when I bought my Traditional. Just played a few Standards and then fell in love with mine.

[guitarworld]

Hi forum,

 

I finally sold my 2008 Les Paul Standard. I got so sick of people on this forum slagging off the standard, aswell as Gibson for producing it, I just didn't want to be associated with such an ALIEN guitar anymore, LOL[biggrin] . No to be honest, it was a beautiful guitar, lovely quilted/flamed Iced Tea top, but I didn't like the chambering!!. It didn't give me the tone I was looking for. I tried a traditional and although being weight relieved it didn't do anything for me, tone wise. It was also quite heavy and I didn't want this either. I considered buying an older Les Paul, but I felt this meant I would end up with a secondhand guitar, and I actually wanted a brand new instrument. Enter my PRS Custom 24, Birds, with a 10 flamed maple top, which I have just purchased. This guitar doesn't carry any "image baggage", and is so like a Les Paul, in both sounds and looks. I have finally found my dream guitar, at last. I think Gibson did make a mistake in producing the 2008 Standard, but in producing the traditional they have not improved on the original Standard at all IMHO. I guess the arguments over these two models will rage for the forseeable future, the 2008 Standard always being portrayed as the "black sheep" of the family, which is bound to potentially affect future resale values of these 2008 Standards.I'm glad I got out while the going was good. At the end of the day, a guitar was made to be played, not just looked at!! If in the future I do get a Gibson again, it will most certainly be a LP Custom.

[MojoRedFoot]

Interesting topic. I plan on buying one very soon. Honeyburst for sure. I am leaning towards the Standard because if the thinner neck. I have tried 3 Traditionals and 1 Standard so far.

[RB72]

I disagree that the Traditional isn't an improvment. At least I believe mine to be. I never minded the weight issue. But as has been said in here before. Each one is a different animal. I get a great tone from mine. But I've been told that every once in awhile someone gets lucky with a Les Paul and buys an absolute gem. Maybe I got lucky. That being said I'm still a reletively new owner of an LP so I'm a bit bias. Let us know what you get Mojo.

[Yaff]

I may be in the minority on this site, but I think the 08 Standard most probably outsells the Traditional.

 

In my local shop, although they charge more for the Standard, this is the model that appears to be moving off the shelf's. They have a large range of Traditional, that seam to be permanently on the shelf and they seam to struggle to have more than a couple Standard in stock at any point of time.

 

Sites such as this attract people that are just as interested in the heritage and technical side of the Les Paul as they are in the tone and feel. So on sites such as this, its not surprising that many feel it necessary to knock the 08 Standard, or any other version that include any signs of innovation.

 

There are people out there who are convinced a 20 year old Mercedes is better than a current model, even though the current model is faster, safer and more comfortable. Enthusiast tend to focus on details, not the real driving / playing experience. Saying that, there is nothing wrong with appreciation of the classics, but people also need to keep it real.

 

As I believe the majority of players do not spend their time on forums and simply buy what sounds and plays best to them. which most probably puts the Standard ahead.

 

I would also agree with one of the other posts, the Studio versions most probably out sells both the Traditional and 08 Standard. They represent fantastic value and are in the price range of a much wider audience.

[pippy]

In London the Traditional seems to be more popular with the dealerships than the Standard 2008 which suggests that they find them easier to sell.

 

Recently I tried out a few of each and my personal preference between the two was the Traditional. The physical balance was better.

[chase1410]

I agree that the studios are probably there best selling guitars, ESPECIALLY the faded studios due to the price...but i bet its pretty close between the standard and traditional, though most people i know prefer the traditional.

[Nic LP]

Ah that eternal debate. Well I don't know about the sells, but I own a 2008 Standard and I just love it. The pick ups are amazing and the flame top is just great. Amen.

[rocketman]

Yeah I'm curious too. Only Gibson really knows. I see a lot more Traditionals in the stores than the Standards. Time will tell but I bet in less than 5 years the Standard will be the Traditional again. Note I own both a weight relieved one and a chambered one and I think they are both great. I just got a PRS and I love the tones you can get out of it, but it can't reproduce the sounds of my Les Pauls IMHO.

[saturn]

For the record, I would probably chose a Traditional myself. But, I will admit that I haven't given the new Standard a try yet. I did play a Vintage Mahogany (chambered) and IMO it was too light. I prefer a little weight.