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2019 Les Paul Classic: In or Out?

JYD

New member
Joined
Jul 26, 2018
Messages
10
Played one yesterday. It's Lighter than my GC 2012 Trad Pro II, which was heavy (no weight relief). Sold that one.

The 2019 LP Classic played pretty well, overall! The setup was a little too high and strings too light for me. I thought pickups were ok. Wasn’t sure about all the push/pull options and PCB, but it sounded pretty good. They lacked some of the 'chuff' of my Duncan Customs. I don't really geek out that much on push/pull tonal flexibility on guitars.

Fretboard was dry, but that’s fixable. I love the 60s Slim necks.

Anyway, I can get a really good deal on it and I want another LP so I can get my Slash on.

who’s played or has one? Who passed and why? I'm seeing a lot of the 2019 Honeybursts going down in price right now.

thx!
 

SS901771

Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2003
Messages
518
I bought a 2019 Classic goldtop to use as a workhorse guitar. I'm very happy with it, it plays and sounds good, and is a good LP for the money. Going to give my R9 a little rest now. I don't use the push/pull functions too often, but it functions just fine used as a normal Les Paul. The build quality is very good on it, quite a bit better than the LP Deluxes I had back in the '70s with the pancake bodies and all the Norlin stuff. I like the Burstbucker '61s also. The neck set up from the factory is perfect.
 

JYD

New member
Joined
Jul 26, 2018
Messages
10
I bought a 2019 Classic goldtop to use as a workhorse guitar. I'm very happy with it, it plays and sounds good, and is a good LP for the money. Going to give my R9 a little rest now. I don't use the push/pull functions too often, but it functions just fine used as a normal Les Paul. The build quality is very good on it, quite a bit better than the LP Deluxes I had back in the '70s with the pancake bodies and all the Norlin stuff. I like the Burstbucker '61s also. The neck set up from the factory is perfect.

Nice! Congrats, man.

Just got back from GC down the road. They had one 2019 in ebony. It was 10.3 lbs. Heavier than the one I played on Saturday. I bring my little digital scale with me. I would not want heavier than that on stage doing what we do. I think 9 ro 9.5 tops would be ideal for me; I need some weight on my LPs. It played pretty well overall.
 

SS901771

Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2003
Messages
518
I haven't weighed mine, but it feels like it's probably around ten pounds. It feels as heavy as any of the LP Customs I've had. I think they are very good for the price, if you can grab one even lower I don't think you will be sorry. It's very resonant, I don't know if the 9 hole weight relief contributes to that or not, but it sounds good. I wanted a guitar for band practice and to take anywhere for occasional gigs, and not to worry as much as I would with my now 20 year old R9. Back in the '80s I had the headstock snapped off my Flying V, so maybe I'm a little paranoid! Even though I love the chunky neck of the R9, I don't mind the slim taper neck on the Classic, it's very comfortable.
 

JYD

New member
Joined
Jul 26, 2018
Messages
10
So last night I went to Sam Ash to play 3 of their 2019 LP Classics. What was weird was NONE of them started with 19xxxxxxx in their serial number like the other 2019 Classics, and it only stamped "Made in USA", and not "Made in USA / 2019 Model". So I did not know what to make of that. They were all floor models and all three had some cosmetic bumps and bruises. The headstock identification threw me off as all the other 2019s I've seen were stamped differently.

Anyway, I didn't love the way any of these sounded or played. Which was weird, because I played two other 2019 Classics at Guitar Center (didn't look at the headstock IDs, tho) and they played a bit better.

I can say at this point, I'm not a fan of the 61 BB's. Compared to the Classic 57s, they're way brighter and muddy in the neck. I bet with some pickup adjusting they can sound better to my ears, but Sam Ash had a 2018 Classic with 57s and those sounded much clearer and better to my ears. ...Oh, and the 2018 Classic just felt and played better.

So now I don't know what to make of things. That 2018 Classic felt more solid/sturdy, had good acoustic resonance and plugged in sustain. The 2019 Classics at this Sam Ash location did not do it for me enough to buy one. To be fair, i'm VERY particular about my setups and I don't like most guitars off the rack as they action is always higher than I like and fretboards are icky, strings are crap, etc., so it is hard for me to really "judge" at times.

I will continue to play 2019s in the DFW area. But I'm still going to look at some 2017 Classics (Ts), but buying used makes me pretty nervous when you cannot return it.

Will update later.
 

SS901771

Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2003
Messages
518
No "2019 model" stamped on mine. Must have been a change for 2019, mine was made early before they discontinued the goldtop for sweet cherry. What about the Standard 50s/60s? Mine sounded better after adjusting the pickups, the only change I made except for straplocks. Good luck in your search.
 
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