Les Paul Or Ibanez

[thegarehanman]

Crafty, if you look through the gibson plant tour, you'll see that gibson actually uses very little automation compared to other companies(namely prs). There is plenty of room for error within the factory, and if the picture of the tenon they had up on their site only a year or two ago is a testament to the overall quality of their guitars, then I'm not impressed. Personally, I like the sound of lp's, but I've never felt that they were in any way comfortable. As a gigging musician, normally the feel of a guitar takes a bit of precidence over a guitar's tone(although I generally aim for a certain sound). That said, I'll take a fender jazzmaster over an lp w/ p90's anyday.

peace,

russ

[Mickguard]

.

[crafty]

Gibson is trying to churn out guitars as fast as they can. They know they'll find plenty of suckers...er...lawyer types...er...customers to buy their guitars no matter what. Like I said, it's just a brand thing now.

Oh yeah, don't take things the wrong way...my best friend's a lawyer!

So tell me how I should take your insulting and condescending attitude towards the profession I've worked for most of my life to be in? Should I insult you for being a janitor just because my best friend is one, too?

I didn't buy my Les Paul because I had the money or was a "sucker". I bought it because I think it's the best damned guitar in the world, and nothing else comes close. If you're an Ibanez fanboi, just keep buying your basswood superstrats and pretending you're Steve Vai.

I'm sure you'll find a way to get the last word, idch. You always do.

[Nitefly SA]

Not everybody likes to strap on 10 pounds of low quality, high hype mahogany and maple. Just because Ibanez is made in asia doesn't mean their quality is any lower than gibson's. Ibanez is like a humble company that just keeps on producing instruments, Gibson is a blown up company thats so full of itself it cannot see that the quality of its guitars don't match up with the 2000 dollar plus pricetags

[Pr3Va1L]

Personally, I really don't think any of the 3 big compagnies (Gibson, Fender and Ibanez) really have the quality I'd expect for what you pay for their instruments...

I'd much rather go with like... Hamer, Music Man or Parker if I had the money for any non-import guitar...

[crafty]

Not everybody likes to strap on 10 pounds of low quality, high hype mahogany and maple.

Ibanez is like a humble company that just keeps on producing instruments, Gibson is a blown up company thats so full of itself it cannot see that the quality of its guitars don't match up with the 2000 dollar plus pricetags

So instead you'd rather strap on 6 pounds of even lower quality, higher hype basswood like a JEM or PGM?

For about $850 you can buy a genuine Les Paul, all-mahogany, BurstBuckers, thin nitro finish that'll blow away anything from Ibanez in terms of tone and playability.

[Primal]

Hey, chill out guys. Its just an opinion, sheesh.

And personally, I find the heavier the instrument, the better. Every lightweight instrument I've ever played just feels horrible. I can't even stand the feel of an SG. I'd take a 10 lb Les Paul over a 5-6 lb whatever any day of the week.

[Mickguard]

.

[Deadly Badger]

Les pauls are my favorite guitar, or rather my favorite design but saying that one guitar is better than another is completely ignorant, because no matter what its all opinion. Jems are great guitars by the way, and they're made of alder, not basswood.

[Nitefly SA]

"For about $850 you can buy a genuine Les Paul, all-mahogany, BurstBuckers, thin nitro finish that'll blow away anything from Ibanez in terms of tone and playability."

That was the one that was up against my RG I think, again, you know which one i chose. With Ibanez I really think you get a better value, i have a lower end Rg and a higher end one and the the hiugher end one is (rightfully) so much better, the fretwork is insane, the build quality, the body is a lot heavier, meaning they used better quality wood. We should probably stop this. I say Ibanez you say Gibson, we like what we like and I won't change your mind; you won't change mine.

[mabyenot]

i really dont like LPs, i find the shape extremely boring, i also beleive it is one of the most overrated guitars ever made.

i am kind of biased though seeing as i dont like les pauls. in fact i dont really like singlecuts at all. the only single cut design which looks right is the telecaster

i would definitely go for a top end ibanez if i had the choice between the 2

[crafty]

How much were they charging for 10th Anniversary JEMs?

[Kith]

just to note, some jems are made of basswood, others of alder.

you can get "more guitar" for your money through Ibanez, however, you will never be able to get close to that classic gibson sound if that is at all what you are looking for. And consider this: the $300 ibanez basswood rg guitars are almost the same as the $2000 basswood jems. Without binding and fancy woods, a lot of the QC issues which could spring up in a $300 guitar are eliminated.

Personally, considering the price difference, i would take the ibanez.

[egdeltar]

I just sold my Gibson...... Never been a fan of the feel, scale length, & quality.

My buddy has a $3000 Les Paul and the thing is a pile of junk. The thing is a huge mess, I couldnt even believe Gibson let the ambomination out of their shop.

[Pr3Va1L]

Well, I tryed a 1500$ (CDN) gibson explorer at the store once... I really like the explorer shape, but playing one completely turned me off the brand/guitar...

I've recently bought an IMPORT explorer-style Hamer, 750$ CDN, and I can guarantee you it sounds and plays at least twice as good as the Gibson (came stock with SD pickups, btw...)

Now compare it to an epiphone that's about the same price... You get the idea.

Because of these type of things, I'd much rather pay 2000$ for a Parker that's full of features or a Hamer that's the exact same thing as a Gibson, but well build....

[mikhailgtrski]

I like Gibsons, but you do have to play a few to find a really good one. Nothing nicer sounding than a good LP or 335/355, IMO.

Nothing wrong with Ibanez, either, but you really can't compare a JEM and an LP - apples and oranges and all that.

That being said, I'd rather play my custom DIY.

[Firefox2551]

Myself Personally, I would get an Ibanez.

Gibsons lost my favor long ago, I go to a music store regularly where they have 10+ New Genuine Gibsons available to play at any one time. I've played a few of the Les Pauls and Sg's and was genuinely unimpressed.

I've compared them side by side with the same model but an epiphone, and as far as build quality goes they are VERY close, with the Gibson leading by a hair, The sound was considerably different although I feel that could be fixed with a swap for Gibson pickups.

I have always loved the les paul shape. Its always seemed elegant to me.

I Owned an Epiphone les paul for a long time until I discovered that the neck really wasn't suited to me. I now use a Strat for my main axe.

But I would never buy a Gibson because I'm not that type of person. I've always been very frugal and will only purchase something if I feel its really worth it. For that Reason I was considering a Carvin Guitar for a long time.

I've now decided I want to build my own guitar as I feel that will be economical and fun. The way I will accomplish this is...

I will buy an Ibanez RG, Take it ALL apart including the fretboard and all parts, then I will build a Neck/through body and neck and simply throw the Ibanez parts into it. After I have that experience I will go on to building scratch builts.

But if I was to actually save my money and BUY a guitar from a company it would be Carvin or Ibanez.

Edited June 27, 2006 by Firefox2551

[Deadly Badger]

eh for the 2 or 3000 bucks Gibson wants I'd just build my own, I'd build a few actually, 3000 bucks can go a long way

[Nitefly SA]

for 3000 dollars you could get a professional luthier to build you a custom les paul using all your specs, i think thats more worth it than that little "gibson"sticker on the headstock.

[Mickguard]

.