Traditional worth the upgrade?

[crazytrain513]

There's absolutely no doubt about it that the Traditional is a helluva guitar. Heck, the worst thing I've heard about them is them not coming intonated perfectly out of the box. I swear, every other "NGD" thread is a Traditional so there's definitely something good about them.

 

I have a 2012 Studio I recently purchased.

 

Burstbucker Pros, Baked Maple fretboard, chambered, but sounds wonderful. I'm a classic rock junkie (Randy Rhoads, Iron Maiden, Michael Schenker, Scorpions, etc.)

 

So my question to you is:

 

If I really liked the Traditional a lot, would it be worth the $600 upgrade to it from my Studio? I'm getting a bonus from work so it's the only reason I'm considering, but I don't want to drop that much cash and have it be only a marginal upgrade. I've played a few and I can't decide... Also, having both isn't an option since I'm a starving college student.

 

Will the stock PUPs suit my style? Will it hold its value any better? Will I regret selling my Studio? I know many of you will say only I can decide these things but I'm much too indecisive and I have to decide quickly before the 2012 blowouts are all gone so any advice would be much appreciated! Thank you.

[lazarusvt84]

Your Studio is gorgeous...loving the Gold. I owned a chambered Studio a few years ago...my son still has his (but weight relieved)....and he pines for a Traditional like mine...but ONLY because of how sweet they look...NOT to improve his sound. His Studio sounds fantastic.

 

IMHO, it's all about looks at this point.

 

 

It's not just women who enjoy pretty things!

 

As long as you own a Studio, I'm afraid you'll always want to upgrade. For $600 that's sooo tempting!

 

 

 

A guy last week picked up a 2012 LP Trad like my avatar off eBay for $1375 with free Shipping. Such a steal!

[blueslespaultone]

I went for the upgrade from a 50s tribute to this:

Now I must mention, the 50s tribute had 490r 498t, IMHO a great pickup combo. And I loved the tone, clean and distorted, but my trad just feels, and sounds better.

To me, my 2 cents.... Hell yeah it's worth the upgrade.

It won't disappoint

[btoth76]

Hello Crazytrain513!

 

Without trying to influence You: I play Rhoads' pieces on my Classic Custom (which is basically a "Traditional" with "Custom" article) - '57 Classic pickups and it sounds great for classic metal, just as much, as for blues, or jazz.

 

Since I also own a chambered LP Studio, I've experienced the differences. The most noticable thing is the weight. I feel that the heavier, almost solid CC is easier to keep from moving around while playing. Because it's hefty the neck doesn't dive or raise - it doesn't move at all, which makes it more comfortable for me, while the Studio tends to. But again, that's really not an important issue to consider when choosing between chambered or weight-relieved guitar. They both have advantages and backsides - they are all great, just slightly different.

 

I have read Your other posts about hesitating which guitar to choose, which would suit Your needs better... If You don't mind I give You an advice. Take Your time! Get familiar with the Studio. You haven't even broken Her in yet, it's so fresh. Also play with amp settings, effects. Any guitar is versatile enough to get all kinds of different sounds out of it with the help of those tiny effect boxes. I shred on my Tele, on my P90s Studio too...

 

I am sure Gibson is able to release an instrument each and every month that will make You gassing for it...so there will plenty to choose from later...Patience! :)

 

Cheers... Bence

[Bender 4 Life]

depends on how much you value body & neck binding

[Rabs]

Haha yeah... no offense but I think that these threads youare trying to justify the purchase to yourself..

 

It wont help your playing.. You may get a slightly better sound but not so much that it will really make a difference.. So really its down to the looks..

 

Only you can decide if its worth it to you or not... :)

 

You'd probably be better off spending the money on a small tube amp... that would probably help your sound more than getting a different type of Les Paul.. (or as mentioned a few nice pedals, like a looper and a nice dsitortion or reverb).

 

Up to you though man .. good luck Making mistakes on what you buy is all part of the learining experience (we all do it sometimes).

[stein]

Haha yeah... no offense but I think that these threads are you trying to justify the purchase to yourself..

 

It wont help your playing.. You may get a slightly better sound but not so much that it will really make a difference.. So really its down to the looks..

 

Only you can decide if its worth it to you or not... :)

 

You'd probably be better off spending the money on a small tube amp... that would probably help your sound more than getting a different type of Les Paul.. (or as mentioned a few nice pedals, like a looper and a nice dsitortion or reverb).

 

Up to you though man .. good luck Making mistakes on what you buy is all part of the learining experience (we all do it sometimes).

Solid advice, actually.

 

It's hard to really give advice on such a question at all, but this here I think works.

[AlanH]

You're a starving college student?

 

....I wish I had the guitars you have when I was at University. You don't truly realize it yet but you actually have a lot of time and opportunity right now to make good use of those lovely guitars you have. As has been said above, there will always be nice Les Pauls to tempt you. Wait til your well off enough and/or in a situation where a very expensive guitar is warranted.

[stein]

You'd probably be better off spending the money on a small tube amp...

Yea, lets talk about this.

 

We all tend to focus on our guitars and such, and tend to spend more of our money on nicer guitars. But truth IS, if your amp sucks, so will the guitar plugged into it.

 

I see all the time poeple spending good money on guitars, but when it comes to amps, 1600 or so is too much. It makes no sense, and in real life, it matters the quality of the amp at least as much as the guitar plugged in.

 

For the most part, there are a lot of "OK" amps in the 500-600 dollar range. That's the difference in price you are talking about, isn't it? That will get you a lot farther than any upgrade from Studio to Traditional. Depending on what you have now, of corse.

 

Also this: Unless you have a really GOOD amp that is the equal of a Tradional LP OR the Studio in quality...and think about it: the literally means an amp the will cost you around 1600 usually, about the same as a Traditional. Unless you have a GOOD amp like this, there really won't be anything gained from the upgrade from Studio to Traditional, because the amp won't be good enough to let you hear it anyway.

[Rabs]

Yup.. As Stein mentioned.. some good amps in that range...

 

For me id get one of the JCM 1 Combos :) they are a bit more than your talking about but would be worth it

http://www.samash.com/p/Marshall_JCM-1C%2050th%20Anniversary%20Limited%20Edition%201x10%22%20Guitar%20Combo%20Amp_-49943304?cm_mmc=Google-_-Guitars-_-Channeladvisor-_-Marshall+JCM-1C+50th+Anniversary+Limited+Edition+1x10%22+Guitar+Combo+Amp&utm_source=GGL&utm_medium=CSE&utm_campaign=Channeladvisor&CAWELAID=1594755659

 

Check the demo. Its of the heads but id imagine the Comobs are cool too (not actually tried one yet)

[crazytrain513]

You're a starving college student?

 

....I wish I had the guitars you have when I was at University. You don't truly realize it yet but you actually have a lot of time and opportunity right now to make good use of those lovely guitars you have. As has been said above, there will always be nice Les Pauls to tempt you. Wait til your well off enough and/or in a situation where a very expensive guitar is warranted.

 

Well, it's a figure of speech haha. I didn't purchase the Flying V -- it was given to me by my father. And I put away money for a solid two years for my Studio.

 

I like the tube amp idea that you all are suggesting though. I may just go for that. I played some more Trads the past few days and they are wonderful guitars, but I think I may actually have started bonding with my Studio now because I like the versatility I'm getting with the Burstbuckers a bit more than the 57's and 57 Classics in the Traditionals. Weird, I know -- most people feel the opposite way.

 

But as of now, I'm sticking with what I've got.