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No Love For Plain Tops?

toneville

New member
Joined
Apr 3, 2019
Messages
20
In response to the negative attitude sometimes given to plain top LP Standards.
It's the fall of 1959 and you are at the big music store in a nearby city to buy a new Les Paul guitar. There are two on hand at the store. Both are cherry sunburst. One is a plain clean even top and the other has some figure in the maple. The one with the curly top is not a symmetrical chevron or book-matched tiger stripe just some figure showing more on one side than the other. All else being equal, which do you choose as your new guitar?
It would not be a stretch to pick the plain top over a non-symmetric figured top back in the day. After all, flamey tops did not hold so much mystique and an even grained sunburst is very pretty and back in the conservative 50s it would still come across as pretty flashy.
Why did I use the comparison of a not so book-matched figured top? Because there were plenty of them made and they were sold somewhere. For every eye-popping flame top there was a less spectacular one sent to some dealer who sold it to someone who was the first proud owner.
All classic Les Pauls are real Les Pauls. Maybe a blind player should evaluate them and rate them before one gets tagged as "the one" or "nothing special."
Abe Lincoln was not a handsome man.
 

mistersnappy

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 20, 2006
Messages
7,321
Looks always play a part in consumer goods but now there is the added variable of amount of flame= resale value whereas in 1960, that might not have played much part, if at all. Gibson and their dealers were just trying to get rid of the damn things.

Personally, I think Greg Martin's '58 is one of nicest vintage Bursts I've ever seen in person. :dude:
 

goldtop0

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 19, 2003
Messages
8,931
Weight, tone, fat chunky neck, not necessarily in that order and it's a winner over looks every time, for me anyway.
Looks weren't a factor in the '50s/60s but since the '70s it is for the collector/trader.

I lurv plaintops:2cool
 

Tarcisioo

Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2014
Messages
385
One of (if not) the most mysterious/desirable burst in the planet is a plain top kindly named Beano.

Also the banner guitar that hangs on the top of this forum has recently been changed to a plain top.

Plenty of love for the plain ones 'round here :biggrin:

But c'mon, some bursts are just out of this world. Flame and that deep red, that gets you. You can't just look at the African Burst and not get mesmerized. Or the Believers, or Donna.
 
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