Shocker right? I mean.. it's got rosewood.. it's NOT a Fender.. What's wrong with me??
Over these last few months I found myself thinking 'what else to get'..I had gotten a Telecaster, a couple of Stratocasters and while there a few I still have on my 'one-day I must have this' list, I wanted something different.
Ever since seeing seeing a beautiful Blue Les Paul on Ebay (as mentioned in a previous post) I had been keeping a bit of an eye on any Les Pauls that were newly listed on Ebay. I really didn't know much about them except that I didn't like them much the few times I tried playing some a couple DECADES ago. So I figured I'd investigate my options..
Epiphone Les Paul Plus Top
A LOT of people online (yes.. that place where everyone always tell the truth) state that their $500 Epiphones are just as good as a real Les Paul. They certainly had decent looking flame tops etc. I initially looked at what they call their 'Trans Blue' one since I really like that Custom Blue Les Paul, but the more I looked at it, the more I realized blue really wasn't my color. Also after side-by-side audio comparisons I felt while the Epiphones sounded good, I personally COULD hear a difference and preferred the Gibson sound.
The Final tipping point came after the recent government raid on the Gibson factory which I felt was total BS. It made me think: You know what? This company is totally being harassed by the feds and I'm going to support them by getting a real Gibson Les Paul!
So the decision was made, but now another question came up - Which Les Paul to get? A quick trip to the Gibson site shows a plethora of different Les Paul Models including (but not limited to) The Studio, The Traditional, The '2008' Standard, with tons of options and variety even in those 3 main categories.
Gibson Les Paul Studio
I really wanted a nice flame top so basically the Studio model was out. Though for a while I was seriously considering The Sam Ash Special Edition "Classic 60s" model which had (yet again) a nice blue color.
Gibson Les Paul Traditional or Standard
So that left us with either the Traditional or the Standard. The at-first confusing part was that what is now the Traditional model, was up till 2007 the 'Standard' Model. In 2008 the 'new' Standard (also known now as the '2008 Standard') was made with a body Cavity, locking Tuners, upgraded pickups etc etc giving the 'old' Standard the 'Traditional' moniker since that's how they 'Traditionally' made them.
I was really open to either of them and kept looking Ebay at what was Available. Looking at all the colors available I slowly started gravitating toward the 'Desert Burst' Color. It had a nice classy look to it almost like a classical instrument and a warmth that the other colors , at least to me, were lacking.
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| Gibson Les Paul 2008 Standard in Desert Burst |
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| Gibson Les Paul Traditional in Desert Burst |
The issue now was after looking at a bunch of different Desert Bursts, I noticed some were more Yellow, Some were more Brown, Some had more red in them. Some looked beautiful - whilst others... well, not so much...
I found one beautiful 2008 Standard on Ebay, built in 2009, brand new with plastic still on it. As I was discussing price by email with the seller, someone placed the 'buy it now' bid overnight. Alas, it wasn't meant to be. This was one of the nicest Desert Bursts I had seen though - I even saved some of the pictures
After missing out on this one I did come to the realization that I wanted the flame top to SHOW and not be covered by a pickguard as comes pre-installed on the 'Traditionals'. While I know you can take it off, that leads to holes etc etc..Also I actually like the upgrades on the new Standard so I decided once and for all that I was going for a 2008+ Standard in Desert Burst. Also I noticed I like the little hint of red in the burst AND I wanted a nice flame, so the hunt was on for the perfect Les Paul.
Gibson 2008 Les Paul Standard it is!
Now as I was searching - and coming up empty handed - I started seeing some really questionable deals on Ebay for guitars that seemed 'off' either physically or pricing way below what they should be going for. After digging around a bit it seemed that there literally are TONS of cheap Chinese knock-offs floating around that people buy for $300 or so online , straight from China. Now EVERY deal on EBay started to look suspicious, especially with multiple thousands of Dollars on the line... can you really trust that guy on Ebay with 5 feedbacks selling a 'new' guitar for hundreds if not a thousand under what other places are selling?
As I kept looking specifically for the combination I wanted on Ebay I noticed they really didn't come up that often. That combined with the fear of fakes made me reconsider where to get the Standard I wanted.
In the past I had purchased some equipment from Sweetwater and I remembered they usually have pictures of all the guitars so you can pick the ACTUAL guitar you want to buy. Naturally, they were out of the Desert Burst Model. Being a member on the Harmony Central Forums I had seen 'Loop' (aka Arend) on there stating he worked at Sweetwater, so I decided to send him an email and ask him what he could do.
He told me they didn't have any in, but he could pre-order them & would expect them to come in in about a month. Also because I told'm I was picky about the burst & flame etc he would let me pick based on pictures before they'd even go up on the site and the price he quoted me was AWESOME. My Credit card was practically flying out of my wallet on fire at that time. Then by some kind of Mojo-Magic, the DAY I give him the information he gets back to me and says: "We just got TWO in! I'm taking pictures right now!" HOLY CRAP!!!!!!! No Month wait after all!! Talk about a stroke of luck!
After he sent me the pictures It took me at least a good 30 minutes of going back & forth between the two to decide which one I was going to pick. They both looked beautiful but one had what I felt a better flame and less' vertical' lines (when looking at the guitar standing up) so that was the one I picked. I can't wait to get my hands on this bad-boy!
I HIGHLY recommend that if you need ANYTHING for your musical needs, go find Arend Raby over at Sweetwater and he'll take care of you!
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