Vincent Mayfair Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 Howdy all, I'm having a tough time making a decision. All my life I wanted a Les Paul Custom, because, well it's a Gibson Custom. Now that I finally have the means to get one, I can't make the decision whether I want a regular one or a VOS. My question is, are there any differences in tone? I understand the pickups in the regular will have a higher output, but are there any more vital differences between the two models? Correct me if I'm wrong, but aside from the pickups, aren't the differences mainly cosmetic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Plains Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 Regular Customs are really just dressed up Gibson USA guitars with a Custom Shop serial number, case and certificate. Regular Custom: mahogany body/maple top, weight relieved body (swiss cheese holes), short neck tenon, 490/498 pickups, Gibson USA pots/caps. '57 VOS: better wood, mahogany body/mahogany top (some are made from a single piece of wood but not all), solid body, long neck tenon, Burstbucker pickups, CTS pots/fake Bumblebee caps. The '54 VOS is the same as the '57 but it has single coil pickups. '68 CA (Custom Authentic): better wood, mahogany body/maple top, solid body, long neck tenon, '57 Classics, Gibson USA pots/caps. I owned/sold a regular Custom and still have a '57 & ''68 CA. Hands down, the reissues are way better and they really don't cost any more than a regular Custom if you shop around. The lack of a maple top on the '57 tends to produce a warmer (sometimes muddier) tone. Off all of them, I think the '68RI is the best choice after you replace the pots/caps with some good quality aftermarket ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadhog96 Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 Regular Customs are really just dressed up Gibson USA guitars with a Custom Shop serial number, case and certificate. Regular Custom: mahogany body/maple top, weight relieved body (swiss cheese holes), short neck tenon, 490/498 pickups, Gibson USA pots/caps. '57 VOS: better wood, mahogany body/mahogany top (some are made from a single piece of wood but not all), solid body, long neck tenon, Burstbucker pickups, CTS pots/fake Bumblebee caps. The '54 VOS is the same as the '57 but it has single coil pickups. '68 CA (Custom Authentic): better wood, mahogany body/maple top, solid body, long neck tenon, '57 Classics, Gibson USA pots/caps. I owned/sold a regular Custom and still have a '57 & ''68 CA. Hands down, the reissues are way better and they really don't cost any more than a regular Custom if you shop around. The lack of a maple top on the '57 tends to produce a warmer (sometimes muddier) tone. Off all of them, I think the '68RI is the best choice after you replace the pots/caps with some good quality aftermarket ones. I second that comment for the 68RI, it is the best buy from Gibson these days. I wouldn't part with mine for anything else because it sounds and looks that good. Up graded the electronics also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDPart67 Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 I second that comment for the 68RI, it is the best buy from Gibson these days. I wouldn't part with mine for anything else because it sounds and looks that good. Up graded the electronics also. Stupid question but is the neck on the 68RI "60's style" I guess its called? I played a regular LP Custom at the local shop but the neck was a little too big for my taste. Id like a neck closer to the "slim" type neck on the Randy Rhoads Model. Thanks for any clarification Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadhog96 Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 The neck profile on 68 LP customs from Guiter Center have 60 slim taper necks, all other 68 customs from Gibson dealers have very large necks known as 50's rounded profile neck. The 68 custom RI is produced normaly with the 50's neck. GC special orders them with the 60's profile tbat's one reason I bought mine from them. I'm sure it's possiblei that it can be specialy ordered by a dealer with the 60's neck but Gibson probably has a required number that you have to order to get it that way so it probably won't happen. GC orders a lot at one time so they can do it. GC online and Musicians Friend sells them also. I'm not positive but I think the 5A Quilted top 68 custom RI have 50's necks so I would ask them first before I ordered one. The Tri-Burst has the 60's neck for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadhog96 Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 I forgot to mention one more difference between the two versions of the LP 68 Custom RI and that is that the ones with the 60's neck form GC have standard size fret wire where as the ones with the 50's neck have the larger jumbo fret wire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.