Am looking to buy myself a Les Paul. Have been a Fender Stratocaster player most of my life so i am a newbie to Les Pauls.
See there is some quite distinct tonal difference between the Standard Les Pauls and the custom shop guitars i have played which is why i want to go the customshop route.
First guitar: 1958 VOS 2013. Stunnigly beautiful guitar. Primary burst. Tonewise i liked the guitar played clean but it lacked somehow when playing distorted i found. Just not the insane tonal character i found in some other Les Pauls. Pricepoint: 4500 USD.
Second: Then i tried a 1959 VOS 2013 model. Ok looking guitar, tonally i preferred it to the 1958 but did play it through another amp so difficult to compare. Pricepoint: 6000.-
Third: Another VOS 1958 2013 ok looking, beautiful tone, better than the first 1958 but not as good as the 1959 model.
Fourth guitar: Then i tried a Gabby: FANTASTIC guitar. Really cool looking Gabby. I have seen some Gabbys on the net that didn`t look too gorgeous imho but that guitar is beautiful. Tonewise: Best tone i ever heard from a guitar. Problem: Price: 8100 USD.
Fifth guitar: Another 1959 VOS 2013: Tonewise: Very fine sounding guitar but couldn`t compare her directly to the others so a bit difficult to say how good that guitar was compared to the others. Downside: Not the most beautiful Les Paul i have seen but the price is really good: 4500 USD
And here comes my question: When investing such much money i would want to buy a guitar that i really love in every aspect. I ealier on have owned a Ramirez Elite classical guitar. Fantastic guitar in every aspect. Problem you can`t avoid scratches due to long fingernails and so on. So i almost got paranoid since i was more concerned with me not making scratches than actually enjoying playing. Since i am not a proffesional musician i have to pay the guitar form my dayjob earnings i am a little concerned that i would get the same paranoia with the Gabby as with my classical guitar which i sold in the end. I could pay for the Gabby but that is a major investment for me.
Another option would be a 1959 VOS that is looking stunning. Can`t play it since it is in a store 2000 km away but all the 59 VOS guitars i played so long sounded fantastic.
I know that is somehow a hopeless thread but maybe someone can in one or another way chime in with some good ideas/ suggestions.
Another option would be to wait and hope for better exchange rates here in Europe but who knows if that or when is gonna change. By the way what is the reason for the price difference between the 1959 and 1958 models?
See there is some quite distinct tonal difference between the Standard Les Pauls and the custom shop guitars i have played which is why i want to go the customshop route.
First guitar: 1958 VOS 2013. Stunnigly beautiful guitar. Primary burst. Tonewise i liked the guitar played clean but it lacked somehow when playing distorted i found. Just not the insane tonal character i found in some other Les Pauls. Pricepoint: 4500 USD.
Second: Then i tried a 1959 VOS 2013 model. Ok looking guitar, tonally i preferred it to the 1958 but did play it through another amp so difficult to compare. Pricepoint: 6000.-
Third: Another VOS 1958 2013 ok looking, beautiful tone, better than the first 1958 but not as good as the 1959 model.
Fourth guitar: Then i tried a Gabby: FANTASTIC guitar. Really cool looking Gabby. I have seen some Gabbys on the net that didn`t look too gorgeous imho but that guitar is beautiful. Tonewise: Best tone i ever heard from a guitar. Problem: Price: 8100 USD.
Fifth guitar: Another 1959 VOS 2013: Tonewise: Very fine sounding guitar but couldn`t compare her directly to the others so a bit difficult to say how good that guitar was compared to the others. Downside: Not the most beautiful Les Paul i have seen but the price is really good: 4500 USD
And here comes my question: When investing such much money i would want to buy a guitar that i really love in every aspect. I ealier on have owned a Ramirez Elite classical guitar. Fantastic guitar in every aspect. Problem you can`t avoid scratches due to long fingernails and so on. So i almost got paranoid since i was more concerned with me not making scratches than actually enjoying playing. Since i am not a proffesional musician i have to pay the guitar form my dayjob earnings i am a little concerned that i would get the same paranoia with the Gabby as with my classical guitar which i sold in the end. I could pay for the Gabby but that is a major investment for me.
Another option would be a 1959 VOS that is looking stunning. Can`t play it since it is in a store 2000 km away but all the 59 VOS guitars i played so long sounded fantastic.
I know that is somehow a hopeless thread but maybe someone can in one or another way chime in with some good ideas/ suggestions.
Another option would be to wait and hope for better exchange rates here in Europe but who knows if that or when is gonna change. By the way what is the reason for the price difference between the 1959 and 1958 models?