Are Gibson LP lovers snobs?

[Alrod]

No, of course we are not snobs... We're just a better class of people... Heck we play good ol'e made in the USA Les Pauls don't we?

 

[telecast]

No, but a lot of us are geezers. now...

GET OFFA MY LAWN!

 

[MichaelT]

It's that attitude that has allowed Gibson's QC to sink so far, if you ask me.

Well... Quality control has always been a factor with Gibson if you ask me. Else why would everyone snob the Norlins? Same with any company. Sure the 50's models are special, but these are the ones that survived. And how many of these 50s models are truely great pieces of wood, and how many are just revered because they're that old? I'm sure 56 had it's share of dogs too. People like us want Gibsons because of the quality. But they are a production model too, so you have to check the quality yourself.

I have a friend that has a Rolls Silver Shadow. It's in the shop often enough to make me respect my Ford. But I'd still like to have one!


And I'm a geezer too!

I forgot to add... I happen to like the Norlins. I own 2 of em... I played many, but these are great guitars!

 

[92118]

Like y'all have said, there are always a few snobs anywhere, but most of us love Gibsons because they look, sound and feel different. I've been playing for almost 40 years and have owned or played almost every guitar out there. Gibsons always seem to knock the other ones out pretty easy. Between a Gibson and Fender, it's no comparison - like someone else said, any decent carpenter can knock out a Fender copy pretty easy, but Gibsons are 'instruments' IMO. My son's faded series SG is pretty much as playable as my 'good' LPs. Not quite as good, but a fine instrument in it's own right.

I suspect that if your average guitarist was offered a free guitar of his choice, it would end up being some sort of Gibson.

But I'm still lusting after a '52 Tele

 

[Yardbird Mac]

I have to admit that for a very brief period I was one of those "cheapie guitar snobs". My first Gibson was a "68" Les Paul Gold Top. It wa an excellent and incredible guitar. Then I got "seduced" by the looks of a "72" Deluxe (cherry sunburst) and traded my "68" GT. Without going into detail here, it ended up being a total piece of crap!!! Perhaps out of stupidity (or bad luck) on my part :bonk I managed to go down a long road of buying some really bad Norlins. I quit playing between 1978 - 1980 to go to school to become a Radiographer (yet another of several big mistakes... but I won't go into that here!). I started playing again in 1980, but the Gibsons I had access to at the time had issues and poor workmanship that left me less than impressed. I didn't have the money at the time to find another "68" GT so instead I bought an Ibanez ST-50 (didn't sound too bad played through my Fender "SF" Princeton Reverb). It served me well until I bought an Ibanez Roadstar RG-440 in 1986. Way deep down inside I wanted a good Les Paul, but that was an era when Strats and Strat copies were the rage.

In 1994 I quit playing altogether. I got involved in restoring foghorns for several years, and the Ibanez sat under the bed (unplayed) in its case. During a trip to my old home state of Colorado in 2003, my wife and I spent several evenings with an old high school friend (drummer). He has quite a collection of DVD's and VHS of bands we used to dig on in the 60s & 70s. One night we watched HOW THE WEST WAS WON and an old Erick Johnson (Austin City Limits) concert. That did it... the music bug bit real hard and I knew I had to start playing again. Dissatisfied with the Ibanez, I wanted a Les Paul. I was still skeptical of Gibson quality after getting "stung" by the bad Norlins I had owned in the 70s ("72" Deluxe, "73" SG Standard, "74" white LP Custom, "75" L-6s, "77" Maurauder, "77" Dark wine colored LP Custom, "78" cherry sunburst LP Standard). My first "new" LP was an Epi. I know that 20+ years can change your perception of things, but the Epi. seemed (and I repeat seemed) to play and sound better than my "70s" Gibsons. In fact, I was so impressed that I bought 2 more. I even made a complete ass of myself on the Epiphone Forum by stating that the Epis. were better than the Gibsons :bonk .

Then... one afternoon around Christmas time in "03" I went into our local music store and played a Gibson LP Special Faded with humbuckers. That afternoon Epi #1 got traded in on the Gibson LP Special Faded with humbuckers. Two weeks later Epi #2 got traded in on an "03" sunburst Gibson LP Standard. A month later Epi #3 got traded in on an "03" ebony finish Gibson LP Standard. I sold the Special Faded with humbuckers to a co-worker last August and kept both Standards (60s necks). Around NewYears "05" I traded the sunburst Standard in on my current R9 (needed a fatter neck due to hand cramping issues).

Yeah... I'm now a Gibson "snob" and will probably stay that way. I know there are still some build quality issues with current Gibsons (I just had Dan E. work on my R9 to bring it up to its full potential), but these present day Gibson Les Pauls are superior... above and beyond any of the Norlins I owned! I still wish I had that "68" GT though!!!

 

[sinner]

That's cool Mac, but I want to hear more about those Fog horns! (maybe another time, huh?)

 

[MrMike]

I used to be a snob. When I was in my teens I thought that "The Paul" was a wannabe axe. Now I realize what an idiot I was- those guitars are really nice. (I had a '69 GT.) I've owned a Gibson since I was 12 (I'm now 42), so I literally grew up playing them. I've had a couple of Epi's, and still have one although it's not a Les Paul-type. Like a lot of guys, I spent most of the 80's playing pointy shredder axes. But now it seems that the guitars I am most drawn to are Gibsons. I don't consider it snobbery, just merely a preference. They're the guitars that feel best to me.

 

[Brownsound]

I have to chime in here. When I started lurking around here and asking a question or two I realized that the people here are genuine Gibson lovers. They are more than willing to lend a hand and give advice and I have yet to hear a regular member/poster be negative and condescending.

Now I only own 3 Gibsons and I love them. Some of the members here have guitars I will never be able to find or afford but thats ok. Some people are more passionate than I am. I love to play and really love the history and vibe of Gibson instruments. I own other makes of guitars but my Gibsons are my fave. To sum it all up, I dont think the people here are snobs at all. You want snobs...hit the Gibson forum...man, some of those people have issues.

 

[gmann]

Man, I want the Gibson--it's been a part of my musical consciousness for too long, the longing, the history, the tone you hear your heroes play.QUOTE]

:dude :dude

There it is.....nothing else needs to be said, really. :ahem



le

Bingo!

 

[bluesjuke]

First of all I miss my Teisco quite a bit. Wish I still had it but my brother thought it became his when I went into the service & destroyed it.
Back then quality of lower priced items were better with better materials. Today the MIM Fenders are a good deal for the price & are pretty good guitars. It was a 13 year olds neighbors MIM Fender that made me dump a Custom shop Strat for a '57 reissue. His MIM actually sounded better than my Classic Player Strat.
If you take a look at an Epi in GC that had been dropped or banged you will find that usually they don't dent or ding like a Gibby. A chunk of wood chips off. My Teisco would respond like a Gibby in this respect. A few years ago I had a Korean Epi Sheraton that was a good sounding & playing guitar. Not as good as my 335's but it was good for the price. Playability is what counts on an entry level guitar. If a guitar plays badly it will discourage a new player. Cheap & inexpensive are two different matters. If a guitar is good but inexpensive that's great but if it is crap it's not worth the inexpensive price. Sometimes high price & quality is cheaper in the long run. Some inexpensive guitars are fun to play & have incredible tone as the aforementioned MIM Strat.

 

[dlmorley]

An Epi is a Les Paul COPY... :bonk

As played by the ma,n "Les Paul"

It's Gibson selling them, not me...

 

[dlmorley]

An Epi is a Les Paul COPY... :bonk

As played by the man "Les Paul"

It's Gibson selling them, not me...

 

[bluesjuke]

The main trouble starts when you get a post like this.....

I just bought a (insert brand name here) Les Paul and it's just the same as a Gibson, but only xx% of the cost. Gibson is all about hype....

Some of the low(er) cost Les Paul copies are fine guitars in their own right and there are some copies (Poole for example) that are fantastic. But they ain't Gibson..

:2cents

That's about it!

 

[phil47uk]

Gibson Shmibsom. Fender,Shmender.
Who gives a fuck. If it plays well and you can decent sound out of it, does it really matter. Lets all just enjoy what we've got.
Somehow these threads always tend to end up as personal slagging matches charged with patritoic fervour.
Yes the forum is about Les Paul guitars. But lets not forget Les Paul guitars are and always were MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS and that's were the plot often gets lost.
Musical instruments need musicians to play them and as there can be a vast chasm between the best musicians and the worst ones, one can't blanketly define and cover the issue of tone in one sweeping statement.
One tends to sometimes hear Les Paul's talked about as some kind of restoration furniture and nothing much else judging by some posts I have read.
If that's what you percieve them as, then so be it. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

I happened to do a couple of gigs over the past few weeks with some very good and respected British players.......Did I parade my R0 off on stage for all to see ....Nahh. On one gig I used a Made in Japan Stratocaster for the whole session.. The R0 didn't even come out of it's case. The Strat just happened to be the right tool for the right job on the night and complimented the sound of the other musicians on that particular gig.........Pure and simple.
On the next gig I used the R0 for about four numbers.

Too many people worry about what they look like and what they are seen with..... Prima-donna guitarists syndrome I'm afraid. You see em every day.

The secret of success for any guitar player should be to COMPLIMENT the people you are working with....Make other people sound good and they will always book you back time and time again.
I have heard a few sound bytes on this forum where I would have sacked the guitar player on the spot, whether he had a fucking Historic or not.
Playing completely over the vocals.....Minor bloody pentatonics on everything whether it needed it or not....Yuk !.....
Tasteful guitar accompaniment should be like a good wine. Does it compliment the meal..If red is best served then red. If white , then white.......If beer, then beer.
Same with guitars.....If you need a Strat, use a Strat. If a Les Paul.Then a Les Paul it is.

I am probably just as guilty as everyone else as to wanting to have the best guitars. Why did I pick an R0? Because my particular guitar just happened to be the best Les Paul for me out of many I have played.
Why the Japanese Strat?.For exactly the same reason.
If it's good for me and happens to come from Japan, then I'll use it. If it's good for me and it happens to comes from the States. I'll use it.
I don't buy guitars just because they have the bloody English flag drapped over it, so lets forget all this gung-ho patriotic crap when it come to musical instruments.

Personaly what worries me more is that people enjoy and respect my musical skills. Not whether or not my guitar is better than the guys down the road.
Believe you me, I have seen that argument tipped on its arse on more than one occasion.

Pity we didn't have more females in this forum. It would certainly dappen all this testosterone charged bollocks that we often dribble out.

Phil :duke

 

[57Lefty]

There are many, many guitar forums on the web. And on all of them there will be some kid whining about how his----------- blows the Gibson away. Thank goodness there's one place where I don't have to listen to that crap.

 

[MadStork]

Well, I don't think of myself as a Gibson snob. I have a Fender Am Del Strat, which I love, a Korean Fender Custom Tele (FMT-HH copy) which I really like, an Epi Sheraton II which has had a lot of work but I wouldn't replace it with a 335 or any other Gibson SH model, and a 2003 Standard which is my favorite of the lot. I once had an Epi Standard Plus. It was nice. I gave it to a friend who really loved it. In truth, there is no comparison between that Epi Standard and my Gibson. Not even close. Not in construction, weight, looks or tone. If saying that makes me a snob, then I guess I'll have to bite the bullet. But I don't believe I am one. I believe you get what you pay for, and you pay more for Gibsons because you get more. Just my .02

 

[GeeJay]

Snobbery = people that believe unjustifiably that they are superior to others, i.e. I own a Gibson so I'm better than you because you only have a copy. Alternatively I own an Historic so I'm better than you because you only have a production Gibson..

Inverted Snobbery = people that try to justify why they are too tight to ante-up for the real-deal, i.e. I prefer a cheap Gibson copy which was not only cheaper than a Gibson, but isthe same buidl quality and sounds just as good. Furthermore, because I get people telling me how good it sounds at gigs, it must all be down to my superior playing ability and the fact that Gibson guitars are overated.

If the right to be proud of owning a Gibson Les Paul was based on playing standard, I'd be in the shit. Being a proud owner does not make me a snob anymore than it makes me play like Eric Clapton (I wish).

On the other hand not being able to play like Eric does not take away my right to own a Gibson if I want to.

 

[NHMorgan]

I would say that in my opinion fender USA still means more to me than Gibson USA. The gibson custom shop is where the USA standards should be.

 

[Frinky]

I would say that in my opinion fender USA still means more to me than Gibson USA. The gibson custom shop is where the USA standards should be.

Absolutely.

 

[bluesjuke]

Gibson Shmibsom. Fender,Shmender. .
I don't buy guitars just because they have the bloody English flag drapped over it, so lets forget all this gung-ho patriotic crap when it come to musical instruments.
.

Phil :duke

I agree wholeheartedly with you Phil but I don't think (with the exception of one noted comment) that it's so much a patriotic thing as that's what the originals were & that is what we grew up with.