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Is There A 'Best Year' Off-The-Rack Regular Production Post-Norlin 'Henry-era' Gibson?

crunchee

Asked by crunchee,

Question

crunchee Veteran HFCer

crunchee

Posted
Posted

Murkat/Jay is our resident expert, and would likely have a TON of insight about this. I am curious though, as I remember reading, back in the late '80s in the guitar media, that Gibson had begun to get it's act together from the Norlin years. After the early-mid '90's though, I'm not so sure; because of the myriad of variations on their main guitars (LPs and SGs), increasing production, and 'innovations' in production like multipiece bodies and satin finishes. Is there any consensus on WHEN garden-variety, main shop floor Gibsons were considered really good in general? Notice that I'm not really going into Custom Shop territory, mainly because I can't afford a USED CS model, much less a NEW one.

Which also reminds me, when did Gibson quit using one piece bodies on their mahogany guitars as a rule? I had a '89 LP Special that I bought new, with P-100s and a TOM bridge setup, and it had a one-piece mahogany body...really great, for a relatively budget model back then...but now? Not happening, more than likely. And yes, I wish I had that '89 back, I'd be dropping Lollars into it right now!

TIA! :)

29 answers to this question

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RobB Veteran HFCer

RobB

Posted
Posted

I asked this a few years ago of the local Gibson sales rep. He said that, as far as the high-end stuff (read: Custom Shop) goes, 2007 was a really good year. Apparently they sourced lots of really good lumber and the guitars that year were especially good. There were a few Pearly Gates LPs that were stellar, as well as many LP reissues.

I'm paraphrasing, of course, but I do remember the year, 2007. I may be wrong, and most likely am.

zzzdat Outer Circle

zzzdat

Posted
Posted

I just got a 2013 traditional in honey burst that is really goood. Nice 50's neck, 57 classics. I couldn't find any flaws on the guitar. Nice 9lb even weight. I had to look a while to find a good matched flamed top, I couldn't believe how many tops were just wrong as far as matching goes. The only bad thing about it was the setup. If all pleks are like this was they must be using a broke machine. Setup was so low that all the open cowboy chords were plinky sounding, no ring at all. I raised the bridge a little and the guitar came alive. It's still got low action and plays great. So i would guess the answer would be probably be there are goods and bad ones from every year. I haven't played a Les Paul in years and the one I got is a good one. I did notice the control cavity is not as nice as any Hamer I've seen. And it does play and sound different than a Studio or Monaco Elite. It dosen't sound as modern or tight as my newer Hamers, But thats not a bad thing, it has a looser vibe to it, sort of like the difference between a tube rectifier and a solid state rectifier in an amp.

Cool Beans

Gene

capridriver Outer Circle

capridriver

Posted
Posted

Don't know, but I also own a 1989 Gibson Special, sold a few years ago and bought it back one year later ;). Great guitar! I did not find a better Gibson in the last years, although I was trying to do so. Maybe you should try to get one too/again?

_wsb_580x852_Gib_paula+$2810$29.jpg_wsb_580x1654_Gib_paula+$288$29.jpg

The Shark Veteran HFCer

The Shark

Posted
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The 2001 '58 Les Paul Custom Authentic I have is one of the best guitars I've ever played. Ever. I've played three or four others and they were all a great weight and very loud acoustically. Don't know about the run of the mill stuff that year though.

murkat Veteran HFCer

murkat

Posted
Posted

USA stuff, 1993~ 1997ish , some 1983 on up, but still hit miss.

(custom shop was a dept. in the usa plant in 97', then moved out to it's own entiny about 99')

GCS~ 2003 (braz boards)

GCS~ 2007, a huge lot of very nice mahogany came in for that year. Very nice year for tone wood on all models.

GCS~ 2009, huge update for the LP reissues, better, tighter routings. consistant to the true routings in 1959.

tommy p Veteran HFCer

tommy p

Posted
Posted

I've got a few Gibsons and all of them are good, but I have a '98 LPC that my guitar guy offered to buy from me the first time I took it to him. He said they were really knocking them out of the park at that time.

cmatthes Veteran HFCer

cmatthes

Posted
Posted

Some of the best Gibsons I've ever owned/played were made from @'88-'94. Not sure what it was, but I'm talking mostly standard stuff, with the exception of a Custom Shop Firebird VII (1991) I owned. The only one from that period that left me kind of flat was a black 40th Anniversary Les Paul. Looked great, but I hated the way it sounded, so sold it.

LordOfTheThighs Veteran HFCer

LordOfTheThighs

Posted
Posted

I had a '89 LP Custom that was nice player. Shoulda kept it. <_< It almost became a 3 pick-up conversion. Luckily, for the guitar, it got sold before I had it hatched up.

I've only owned a few LPs, but none have been dogs. According to internet "experts", the late '80s - early '90s were supposedly a good run of LPs. I'm sure there

were a few that weren't up to snuff, tho.

IMG_2189.jpg

serial Veteran HFCer

serial

Posted
Posted

From my experience (I didn't think the OP was talking about Hist/GCS), 1990-1992 was a spectacular era. One of the two best LPs I've ever played was a '92 TV yellow Standard. Wow. I presently have a 1991 '67 RI Flying V rhat rocks. A '90 Firebird that I owned was pretty damned good too.

Ting Ho Dung Veteran HFCer

Ting Ho Dung

Posted
Posted

My son's '83 LPC silverburst is an outstanding guitar.

It was also made when Norlin ran the company.

I misdated. It's actually an '81. Does that matter?

dragan Veteran HFCer

dragan

Posted
Posted

My son's '83 LPC silverburst is an outstanding guitar.

It was also made when Norlin ran the company.

I misdated. It's actually an '81. Does that matter?

no, but its still a cool gtr , I like the way some have yellowed , so they are amber in the center out to black

Ting Ho Dung Veteran HFCer

Ting Ho Dung

Posted
Posted

My son's '83 LPC silverburst is an outstanding guitar.

It was also made when Norlin ran the company.

I misdated. It's actually an '81. Does that matter?

no, but its still a cool gtr , I like the way some have yellowed , so they are amber in the center out to black

ngd6.jpg

Thundersteel Veteran HFCer

Thundersteel

Posted
Posted

My '89 LP Custom is the "standard" by which I judge all my other guitars by--it's that good (IMHO). The '13 LP Standard I bought a few months ago is really good, too, but I had to play practically every LP in the store before I found one that was flawless.

Ting Ho Dung Veteran HFCer

Ting Ho Dung

Posted
Posted

So this thread is kind of all over the place. Can you clarify for me one thing. Is Gibson Custom Shop the same thing as a LP Custom or is that just another LP model?

cynic Veteran HFCer

cynic

Posted
Posted

So this thread is kind of all over the place. Can you clarify for me one thing. Is Gibson Custom Shop the same thing as a LP Custom or is that just another LP model?

It depends on the year/model/edition LP Custom :)

It's not this thread that's all over the place, it's our friends in Nashville.

I've also read (take it with a grain of salt) that some LPC's built in the USA plant get the GCS designation on the back of the headstock.

murkat Veteran HFCer

murkat

Posted
Posted

So this thread is kind of all over the place. Can you clarify for me one thing. Is Gibson Custom Shop the same thing as a LP Custom or is that just another LP model?

It depends on the year/model/edition LP Custom :)

It's not this thread that's all over the place, it's our friends in Nashville.

I've also read (take it with a grain of salt) that some LPC's built in the USA plant get the GCS designation on the back of the headstock.

when the custom shop became it's own entity, division on massman dr.,

They took along the Les Paul custom with it.

Some customs were being produced at the plant until tooling and conversion was final at the GCS.

Since the late 90's all customs were from the nashville GCS, and recently (2006ish ?) from the memphis plant as well.

the custom is a bread butter staple guitar, and if being an opaque color, less desirable woods used. Flaws, scraps, re works, etc.

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