The Trads are 'weight relieved' and the Rs and historics are solid, I think.Originally Posted by Not_the_DJ
It honestly makes bugger all difference to me, tonally - both are capable of making great sounds. Also, LP Standards have been weight relieved for a fair while, so it is likely if you like any modern recordings of Les Pauls then they were 'cheese holed' anyway. My Trad Pro sounds better IMO than the R8 I tried, but the R8 felt slightly nicer (as did nearly every Gibson Custom Shop guitar).
You're paying for more attention to detail, in theory, along with higher grade woods. But there is still always something random in guitars, for example one of the LP Customs I tried sounded really naff and was pretty dead acoustically, despite having new-ish strings. You can tell my Trad pro is going to sound huge even acoustically, it has a really big and full response. It is a boat anchor though, and most of the Custom shop LPs I played were on average a more manageable weight.
Honestly, I'd just pick the best guitar and not worry about Trad vs R. If you're paying for the name both say Gibson, and only guitar nerds care about the weight relief. Yes if you're buying used on paper the R is a better guitar, but it will still run you several £hundred more, which despite the extra value it is not a small difference in ££s.
Last edited by guitarfishbay; 18th February 2013 at 12:26 PM.
Custom Shop Standards etc have a one piece back whereas some Trads etc have 2 piece , also some CS LP's are weight relieved whereas all Trads and Standards are now , to varying degrees although not to the chambered excesses they once were .
Weight relief really doesn't really bother me, in fact as I gig with all my guitars I don't want to end up with something I don't play as it's too bloody heavy.
Anyway at the moment I'm a long way off affording any of them!
My Trad Plus is reasonably weighty though its comfy on a Strap , but I'm hardly the last word in lithe and lissom-ness
Where do you go to buy 1400-1500 R7s or R8s? Ebay?
I'd like to see some of these as well. They're certainly not on eBay.
I thought 2013 Trads were solid?
not according to Gibson , they are WR as is my 2012
I know...those figures get bandied about but I see Standards and Trads on ebay for not much less than that. More, in some cases.
I've not seen any either, but I'm not actively looking.. however I'd suggest trying to deal outside Ebay. Paypal fees for £1400 are nearly £50, plus Ebay takes £75 (old max was £40, when did that change??), so that is £125 worth of wiggle room right there before you get to the 'real' haggling, so long as the seller is prepared to go for that approach. Some want to only knock a few quid off for dealing outside ebay - personally I pass, if I'm losing all buyer protection I want the price of said protection wiped almost entirely off the price even if there will be no further haggling, but YMMV. FWIW when I deal outside Ebay I knock off fees and generally round down to the nearest £10r or £5r as appropriate, and it usually speeds up the selling process (and I basically get the same amount of money with less hassle for me).
It is a buyers market at the high end of ££ scale at the minute. Even shops are discounting high ££ second hand items if you're willing to ask/haggle and have the cash (i.e. are not using finance).
Last edited by guitarfishbay; 18th February 2013 at 11:06 PM.
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