And in the other corner, we have PRS's SE veneers absolutely clobbering a lot of these gibson "flame" tops. Seriously, the PRS SE flame tops are unreal and have a TON of depth to them.
Even the epiphone tops are better. I understand it’s a maple cap on the Gibson and not just a veneer but other brands are doing full maple tops that are much better
I read something somewhere about PRS grading of "10 tops" and they said it's graded per shipment, not some universal standard across all the tops they have. They just take the top X% of whatever shipment they get and call it a 10-top. Probably the same for AAA
The advice about getting pics and finding the right top is spot on. I normally only buy used but when Gibson released the LP Standard Tobacco Burst with P-90s I wanted one and wanted it to have the right top. I spent about 5 months regularly checking major dealers and the listings on reverb. A couple were close and I requested extra pics from the shops but held out and then finally one day the perfect one for me showed up and I pulled the trigger. I wouldn't quite call it 3A but it is a rock solid 2A and most of that model have relatively plain tops so it is an absolute stunner for what it is.
9:54 The Lemon burst image on the left is overexposed, too much light reflecting back. You can tell by comparing the hardware to the image on the right, which is much darker.
It's like when they get the slabs of maple they say this is AA, this is AAA, etc but hidden within the large slabs are sections with different levels of figuring then all of a sudden you have a guitar with the plainest AAA top known to man
OMG I'm so glad you brought up the natural binding on the new Studio Session! I would have already bought one of them had they had it on the Bourbon Burst!!!! Preach Brother!
Luthier here! When I shop for wood, I pretty much ignore whatever classification the seller is giving (AA, AAA, AAAAAA+!!, whatever). Each seller seems to have their own standard. Also, a lot of times the 'quality' of the wood (or the number of A's) has to do with their subjective interpretation of the tonal qualities of it, or the 'pedigree' of the wood (such as "from a 500-years-old European tree!"), not necessarily how flamed/pretty the wood is. So maybe those almost-blank tops are in fact really good tonewood, with great acoustic properties, ...but boring on what comes to flames. 😉 Maybe. Because I have no idea what Gibson is doing. 🤷
Great point about buying online. However, zZounds is offering preview pics on a lot of the Gibson Les Paul Standards in stock. And of course, just as your video demonstrates, "results may vary"... a lot. Some of the AAA tops are badly mismatched tops or have barely discernible flames.
I've also noticed the slim pickins in new Gibsons when it comes to Sunbursts since 2019. I have a 2014 Les Paul Studio Cherry Burst, and three Les Paul Standard Sunbursts. All with very nice flame tops and I didn't pay a premium. All from the Henry Juszkiewicz era. Now that they prioritized charging for flame top quality, flame quality is off with inconsistent bookmatching.
Some of the new ''Studio'' models that has binding and all, have an almost explosive figured top, while others are almost plain. I really hate how Gibson specs out the tops for different models.. Some of the early (2019-2021) 60s Standard LPs also came with an absolutely stunning top, now almost everyone of them I see miles away from that. I don't live in the US, so I don't have the option to use sweetwater, and I'm super picky when it comes to how wood should look and that grit paper flame is the worst.. 7:04 is pretty much perfect. And no other, known to me, retailer takes photos of guitars like sweetwater do.
Chicago music exchange has an excellent selection of the CME exclusive in dirty lemon and they have killer chops. I also have two of those from their last run in 2021. I bought two of them then and truly got killer flame and they just released those again the Sweetwater exclusive is certainly going to have the best top but of course that sugar pick up is nothing but an under wound custom BUCK ER. 8:518:51
I have a lot of Gibson guitars, including a 2019 60's LP Std (Unburst) with a pretty nice top....much like yours. However, I have an incredible, MONSTER top 2004 R9 (Ice Tea or Bourbon Burst) and an SG Supra (Antique Natural) that has a AAA top and a AA back that is mind blowing!!!! You are correct that the AA and AAA tops are not that great now compared to yester years.
You should see the flame on my Eastman T 59V and also on my heritage Man there’s more curl in that maple. It’s just unbelievable what I got for $2500 compared to a Gibson. I love the heritage guitar better not better tuning stability. Pick up suck but soda Gibson pick ups we have so many PAF wonders now that pick ups are easy to obtain high-quality PAF repro pick ups are certainly available in every variation of tone and magnet type so I think it is all about buying the right wood or the wood that a person wants no doubt, but I do agree with you that I think the custom shop is getting the bulk of the flame tops and they are just leaving the second for the standards and using the lesser quality of those I guess for the studio session 8:138:16
We didn't look at any guitars from the gibson custom shop in this video, they were Gibson USA guitars with "custom shop tops". Yes you are correct that real 58s/59s/60s aren't usually that flamey, but if that's the look Gibson is going for then they should stop labeling their tops as AAA and increasing the price
What no one gets is that the difference in materials cost between a plain piece of maple vs a same sized piece of the most flamed maple possible to make a Les Paul top is about $20-30.
@ Sure, if you buy a “body blank” from someone like StewMac but I just buy raw lumber from a wood supplier where the pricing is better. You just need the ability to re-saw it, which I do. Gibson buys from these suppliers, not from Stew Mac.
It has something to do with the particular finish/ nitro they use , for one. They dont take pictures very well especially if its a certain color . The flamey-est Gibson i have is an SG . Its pink … in hand , the tops look better . Also , the tops are not as good as they market. The tops on my PRSs are amazing … Basically, PRS and Kiesel (which i dont even like ) have the best wood selection
OMG....ROTFLMFAO!!!!!!! What a GREAT video!! DenDen. You're absolutely right, if you really want a nice "Burst" or "Flame" top, you have to look around. All but one of mine I looked at in person before buying. The one I bought on line had a bunch of pictures from every angle and it was a winner too. Final tip.....Since Covid is under control (I guess) there is a metric ton of barely used Les Paul's for sale right now. Buy used and save lots of greenbacks!!
My 2022 60s Standard Quilt Top is absolutely beautiful. Was a limited edition, so not sure if they were just more picky... but it's a reeeeeally nice top.
The only Studio Sessions where you don't see the "natural binding" is the Translucent Ebony Burst. With the other colors it's not as striking as with Honey Burst, but still easy to recognize. On pictures it's the lighting and editing that highlights the top and makes it hard to see details on the side.
"wet concrete" lmfao... I just spit coffee on my ipad ! P.S. Check out the custom shop tops from wildwood guitars. I actually got to see one in the wild and even played on it. It was an iced tea 50's model. Insane flame, had a super cool 3d effect to it. Huge premium on the price but it was a beauty. So I suppose if you can afford it and if you like the way it plays and sounds, then go for it.
2 grand and they still can't offer binding on the whole 🎸? There are so many other options these days. You can find better tops with certain kit builds even. I just bought one. Custom shop level top , they go up to 5A, and you can choose your specific pattern. That with binding and Honduran mahogany, all at a fraction.
Last year I bought an epiphone 59 custom shop collaboration thing,stock photo's boasted a AAA top,big disappointment barely see any grain and what you could see was blurry,I polished the top made it looked way better but grain was still blurry,seemed misleading advertising to call it a AAA top,but the guitar on the whole was pretty good to be fair,just a shame about the top. Good video👍🏻
Thing is, with Gibson it’s all about marketing games. If they decide to put out a Les Paul that has close to zero flame into the AAA category, they expect you to believe that it really has a AAA top. The Jedi mind trick. If they work with Sweetwater and let Sweetwater call a set of underwound Custombuckers “Sugarbuckers”, then it gives the impression there is something special about that Sugarbucker guitar. Sweetwater: this is the guitar you are looking for. You: this is the guitar I am looking for 🤣
😂 No way ! The last new Gibson I got was 2019 Gibson Les Paul special double cut cherry and guitar center sold it to me for like $460 after tax out the door it went with me !
Im so paranoid I’ve had to back out of pulling the trigger on atleast 3 Epiphones …. Sweetwater is great though for showing different serials from you to choose from I still haven’t saw the “one” yet
There a beautiful irony in the meme you made about part time guitar makers. That scene you used is from an animation called Astartes. The guy who made it got told by Games Workshop, who holds the IP for the universe that the animation takes place in l, and the Space Marines it’s about, told the guy he had to stop making videos or they would sue him. Though, Games Workshop is one rung below Gibson on the Evil Corporation ladder, so they at least offered the guy a job (for WAY less than he was making on Patreon), so there is that. They ended up doing the same thing to everyone who was making animations about Warhammer 40,000 too, just so they could release a subscription streaming service that had maybe 1/10 the content and around 1/4 of the quality. So at least the guitar players aren’t alone in getting screwed by companies. I, on the other hand, as a fan of both, am getting hosed.
You have to shop around . Anyone that’s been buying guitars long enough know you need to see the exact guitar your buying if you have a specific look your after . I’ve seen many many Gibsons with killer tops . I’ve also seen many with plain tops . Don’t buy sight unseen and you won’t be disappointed . Gibsons make some really Nice guitars . Sometimes you get a bad one . That’s what happens with wood . Mother Nature does what it wants sometimes . I generally Buy used . I know the guitar is settled in and I can get it normally for a better deal .
@DenDenBMX either, or private flight if you got 2 grand as walking around money to spend on online purchases, which is basically gambling compared to shopping in person. Especially when it comes to guitars full stop let alone flame tops on guitars.
Maybe they've had some personnel changeover, and the old buyer took their contacts & goodwill with them when they left, so they're just... not getting the nice wood anymore?
There's a somewhat recent video of CEO Cesar G. saying Gibson gets "first pick" from a lot of wood suppliers somewhere on youtube, wonder if that's still the case
I’ve got a raw book matched maple top I bought when I was planning on making a guitar for it to go on. If I recall I paid maybe £60 for it several years ago. It’s way more flamed than any of the ones shown on that website. Dunno where their getting a 500$ mark up from smh
Gibson have made plenty of Les Pauls that have plain tops (they have been advertised as plain) so didnt have any figuring to appeal to people who actually prefer that look. Not everyone wants tiger stripe figuring, personally I dont like them because they look gaudy. I prefer the colour of the finish far more than the level of figuring. And as for flame natural binding, yuk!
Don't get me wrong, I love me a good plain top too! My main issue with these is Gibson selling the flame top versions for more money, yet a good number of them really aren't that flamey at all
OK? my $250 LP-style guitars have better flame tops than the $1100 Epiphone Les Paul I own. So what? Not only do they look better, they're bigger, thicker slabs of maple. The tops on the LP-style guitars are almost twice the thickness of the Epi. They make the Epi look like an Entry-level guitar, tbh. So what? Nobody's forcing you to buy a new Gibson or Epiphone guitar. You dont have to get a new guitar every time one is released. And unless you're buying Epi's and Gibson regularly, then there's no point in even bringing this up except to get clicks.
If YOU truly want a "Flame Top" 3/4" maple cap (No Vaneer), HAND CARVED, one piece neck with long tennon, one piece body, then save $5k & buy an Eastman SB58. Forget Gibson.
They're all chibsons now, nothing is what it used to be. I bought a $600 epiphone during the holidays, it shipped from some warehouse and I got it with a cracked fretboard... it was the most disappointing guitar buy ever. The frets also had fret lift. ☹ I think the answer I've found is that they're kiln-drying the wood so they don't have to cure it properly, so it comes out as dusty-looking fingerboards that crack depending on which batch of wood it was. Also, do a bunny hop lol...
SWEETWATER THE GOATS! every instrument ive gotten aside from my first few shitter guitars has been from them, aside from my harley bentons i got from Thomann. never had a bad experience with the cutie patooties over in indiana
I always try and buy les pauls spec'd as plain tops because you get the same guitar at a lower price . I will never buy an R9 because R8s are a better deal . Same guitar with just with a slightly fatter neck and no flame and if you like a thinner neck you can find R8s with R9 like necks . I have 3 R8s and all 3 have very different necks . One of them has the full on Baseball Bat neck and its the best playing one of the 3 . Its got more of a slinky feel . R9s and R0s unless you really need the thinner neck on the RO.
well, if you refer to the Andertons Gibson factory tour you can see the exact idiot that is picking out these flame tops and how they are sorted and their procedures on picking them out. sorry, I've said this once and I will say it again, Gibson charges waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyy to much money for these guitars. these people out here that are Gibson nut huggers with their Gibson pride will argue against it all day but I happen to see reality for what it really is. I own a dozen guitars with better flame tops from other manufacturers and paid substantially less for all of them. Gibson will argue stupid shit like applying binding is expensive or fitting a neck because it's a set through neck is more expensive but that's all horse shit. I can go get a custom-made guitar right now from a small manufacturer who pays substantially more money for materials than Gibson does at a cheaper price with a set through neck and binding that rivals Gibson all day. they may play great and they may sound amazing but paying $3000 for guitar that is literally worth half of that is stupid. you jump on UA-cam and you look around at videos of artist and corporate people holding all of these amazing examples but then you go to the store and those examples do not exist in reality. unless your/or Joe Bonamassa or the head CEO of Gibson. I challenge someone to put multiple Gibson's in my hands that look as good as a PRS at half the price or even at the same price. I have an Ibanez j custom that I paid $2800 for and it absolutely fucking murders any Gibson I have seen.
You really made a video based on pictures online and not from looking at those guitars in-person? 🤦 There's the fallacy. You have no idea what the flame actually looks like unless you've seen it in person.
A little research may help; regarding Gibson USA using softer West Coast maple, compared to the harder East Coast maple used for the Gibson USA caps. That’d be most of your $500 discrepancy right there. Who gives a fuck about flame, we all got a guitar or two with it, but the harder maple really brings something tonal (don’t tell Glenn or Jim, now…) to the table on a Gibson Custom. The concept of buying guitars off photos is a fools journey, get off your lazy/chicken arses and go out & about looking for the right guitar. If you do, you might see the $500 West/East Coast difference for yourself, you may even learn that Plain Top is original 50’s talk for a 1958 Standard, only. But hey, what do I know.
sorry but if I'm paying $500 more for a standard with a "custom shop top" then it better have some good flame on it. Expecting anything less just makes you a sucker. If you don't care about flame then you just get a AA or plain top version, obviously.
first i’m betting the epiphone tops are a laminated or veneer top not a solid maple cap, and yes guitar manafacture wood quality has been declining for last thirty years. They’ll be printing pieces of paper with a flame top look and start slapping it on top of the body’s next. Guitar manafacture are gouging in prices today and won’t buy a new guitar at all gibson and fender is dead 30 years ago so buy boutique too many builders that take dumps on the mass manufacturing of gibson fender etc
THANKS FOR WATCHING!
And in the other corner, we have PRS's SE veneers absolutely clobbering a lot of these gibson "flame" tops. Seriously, the PRS SE flame tops are unreal and have a TON of depth to them.
I 2nd this!
Even the epiphone tops are better. I understand it’s a maple cap on the Gibson and not just a veneer but other brands are doing full maple tops that are much better
@@shawn9366 Yeah the whole idea with full flame caps is that you'd get that extra depth of the grain :/
Yes but high gain sounds on SE’s sound muddy as hell.
Facts!
I read something somewhere about PRS grading of "10 tops" and they said it's graded per shipment, not some universal standard across all the tops they have. They just take the top X% of whatever shipment they get and call it a 10-top. Probably the same for AAA
The advice about getting pics and finding the right top is spot on. I normally only buy used but when Gibson released the LP Standard Tobacco Burst with P-90s I wanted one and wanted it to have the right top. I spent about 5 months regularly checking major dealers and the listings on reverb. A couple were close and I requested extra pics from the shops but held out and then finally one day the perfect one for me showed up and I pulled the trigger. I wouldn't quite call it 3A but it is a rock solid 2A and most of that model have relatively plain tops so it is an absolute stunner for what it is.
9:54 The Lemon burst image on the left is overexposed, too much light reflecting back. You can tell by comparing the hardware to the image on the right, which is much darker.
It's like when they get the slabs of maple they say this is AA, this is AAA, etc but hidden within the large slabs are sections with different levels of figuring then all of a sudden you have a guitar with the plainest AAA top known to man
I’ve bought then sold 4 custom shop burst Les Pauls, in the end the keeper (with easily the nicest top) was a Custom Core Heritage. 🤘
OMG I'm so glad you brought up the natural binding on the new Studio Session! I would have already bought one of them had they had it on the Bourbon Burst!!!! Preach Brother!
Luthier here! When I shop for wood, I pretty much ignore whatever classification the seller is giving (AA, AAA, AAAAAA+!!, whatever). Each seller seems to have their own standard. Also, a lot of times the 'quality' of the wood (or the number of A's) has to do with their subjective interpretation of the tonal qualities of it, or the 'pedigree' of the wood (such as "from a 500-years-old European tree!"), not necessarily how flamed/pretty the wood is.
So maybe those almost-blank tops are in fact really good tonewood, with great acoustic properties, ...but boring on what comes to flames. 😉
Maybe. Because I have no idea what Gibson is doing. 🤷
Great point about buying online. However, zZounds is offering preview pics on a lot of the Gibson Les Paul Standards in stock.
And of course, just as your video demonstrates, "results may vary"... a lot. Some of the AAA tops are badly mismatched tops or have barely discernible flames.
aw hell yeah, I didn't know zzounds started doing that, it's been a few years since I've been on their website, good on them!
I've also noticed the slim pickins in new Gibsons when it comes to Sunbursts since 2019. I have
a 2014 Les Paul Studio Cherry Burst, and three Les Paul Standard Sunbursts. All with very nice flame tops and I didn't pay a premium. All from the Henry Juszkiewicz era. Now that they prioritized charging for flame top quality, flame quality is off with inconsistent bookmatching.
Lemon Burst. Lemons are white in the center...yellow on the outside.
Some of the new ''Studio'' models that has binding and all, have an almost explosive figured top, while others are almost plain. I really hate how Gibson specs out the tops for different models.. Some of the early (2019-2021) 60s Standard LPs also came with an absolutely stunning top, now almost everyone of them I see miles away from that.
I don't live in the US, so I don't have the option to use sweetwater, and I'm super picky when it comes to how wood should look and that grit paper flame is the worst.. 7:04 is pretty much perfect. And no other, known to me, retailer takes photos of guitars like sweetwater do.
Chicago music exchange has an excellent selection of the CME exclusive in dirty lemon and they have killer chops. I also have two of those from their last run in 2021. I bought two of them then and truly got killer flame and they just released those again the Sweetwater exclusive is certainly going to have the best top but of course that sugar pick up is nothing but an under wound custom BUCK ER. 8:51 8:51
Thanks for making this video I have thought this about Gibson flame tops for a very long time now and I also agree with all your opinions on each top.
I have a lot of Gibson guitars, including a 2019 60's LP Std (Unburst) with a pretty nice top....much like yours. However, I have an incredible, MONSTER top 2004 R9 (Ice Tea or Bourbon Burst) and an SG Supra (Antique Natural) that has a AAA top and a AA back that is mind blowing!!!! You are correct that the AA and AAA tops are not that great now compared to yester years.
just discovered your channel, lov your sens of humour.
You should see the flame on my Eastman T 59V and also on my heritage Man there’s more curl in that maple. It’s just unbelievable what I got for $2500 compared to a Gibson. I love the heritage guitar better not better tuning stability. Pick up suck but soda Gibson pick ups we have so many PAF wonders now that pick ups are easy to obtain high-quality PAF repro pick ups are certainly available in every variation of tone and magnet type so I think it is all about buying the right wood or the wood that a person wants no doubt, but I do agree with you that I think the custom shop is getting the bulk of the flame tops and they are just leaving the second for the standards and using the lesser quality of those I guess for the studio session 8:13 8:16
Most of those custom shop guitars are probably reissues. They usually don’t have a lot of flame.
The '59s do.
We didn't look at any guitars from the gibson custom shop in this video, they were Gibson USA guitars with "custom shop tops". Yes you are correct that real 58s/59s/60s aren't usually that flamey, but if that's the look Gibson is going for then they should stop labeling their tops as AAA and increasing the price
This is one of the most entertaining videos I’ve seen in a long time. Also, you’re 100% correct about all of this.🤘🏻
I think it's not binding on that lemon burst studio. It's the maple cap exposed.
ahhh yea so in other words natural binding 😅
LOL, you are a funny dude. I really enjoyed this video.
Cheers, man.
Subscribed, obviously, as one should.
What no one gets is that the difference in materials cost between a plain piece of maple vs a same sized piece of the most flamed maple possible to make a Les Paul top is about $20-30.
You havent checked the prices on (flame) body blanks and tops lately.. by all means , please do.
@ I buy wood all,the time. It depends on your sources.
@ Sure, if you buy a “body blank” from someone like StewMac but I just buy raw lumber from a wood supplier where the pricing is better. You just need the ability to re-saw it, which I do. Gibson buys from these suppliers, not from Stew Mac.
I got a late 2020 made 60s standatd in IT and it looks much like yours. Mine even has a flamed mahagony neck. Like you, got lucky.
It has something to do with the particular finish/ nitro they use , for one. They dont take pictures very well especially if its a certain color . The flamey-est Gibson i have is an SG . Its pink … in hand , the tops look better . Also , the tops are not as good as they market. The tops on my PRSs are amazing … Basically, PRS and Kiesel (which i dont even like ) have the best wood selection
OMG....ROTFLMFAO!!!!!!! What a GREAT video!! DenDen. You're absolutely right, if you really want a nice "Burst" or "Flame" top, you have to look around. All but one of mine I looked at in person before buying. The one I bought on line had a bunch of pictures from every angle and it was a winner too. Final tip.....Since Covid is under control (I guess) there is a metric ton of barely used Les Paul's for sale right now. Buy used and save lots of greenbacks!!
My 2022 60s Standard Quilt Top is absolutely beautiful. Was a limited edition, so not sure if they were just more picky... but it's a reeeeeally nice top.
The Superman curl 😆👍
Sparky sarcasm?!
Subscribed!
Great video.
The only Studio Sessions where you don't see the "natural binding" is the Translucent Ebony Burst. With the other colors it's not as striking as with Honey Burst, but still easy to recognize. On pictures it's the lighting and editing that highlights the top and makes it hard to see details on the side.
I never watched this dude. Man he’s funny as F. 😂
"wet concrete" lmfao... I just spit coffee on my ipad !
P.S. Check out the custom shop tops from wildwood guitars. I actually got to see one in the wild and even played on it. It was an iced tea 50's model. Insane flame, had a super cool 3d effect to it. Huge premium on the price but it was a beauty. So I suppose if you can afford it and if you like the way it plays and sounds, then go for it.
Nah I'm with you about the natural binding, straight fire
Agree, but I think it's just called an exposed maple cap since it's not a binding.
2 grand and they still can't offer binding on the whole 🎸? There are so many other options these days. You can find better tops with certain kit builds even. I just bought one. Custom shop level top , they go up to 5A, and you can choose your specific pattern. That with binding and Honduran mahogany, all at a fraction.
Last year I bought an epiphone 59 custom shop collaboration thing,stock photo's boasted a AAA top,big disappointment barely see any grain and what you could see was blurry,I polished the top made it looked way better but grain was still blurry,seemed misleading advertising to call it a AAA top,but the guitar on the whole was pretty good to be fair,just a shame about the top. Good video👍🏻
Thing is, with Gibson it’s all about marketing games. If they decide to put out a Les Paul that has close to zero flame into the AAA category, they expect you to believe that it really has a AAA top. The Jedi mind trick. If they work with Sweetwater and let Sweetwater call a set of underwound Custombuckers “Sugarbuckers”, then it gives the impression there is something special about that Sugarbucker guitar. Sweetwater: this is the guitar you are looking for. You: this is the guitar I am looking for 🤣
You cant go by sweet water pictures. The lighting they use washes them out.
Gibsons prices are actually down quite a bit from where they were in the end of the Henry J era.
😂 No way !
The last new Gibson I got was 2019 Gibson Les Paul special double cut cherry and guitar center sold it to me for like $460 after tax out the door it went with me !
In 2018 the Gibson les paul standard was $3500, some of the les paul standards we looked at retailed for $3300, not that far off
No longer a matter of chance, you have to buy R8,9 or 0 and probably a Murphy Lab for $8 to $10k
You need more views my guy nice vid
Entertaining and informative. Liked and subbed 😐.
Well that was entertaining Sir!
The one I seen that was a AA studio session looked great. The qc is way better. Just seen a 2024 sg that was mint.
Im so paranoid I’ve had to back out of pulling the trigger on atleast 3 Epiphones …. Sweetwater is great though for showing different serials from you to choose from I still haven’t saw the “one” yet
There a beautiful irony in the meme you made about part time guitar makers. That scene you used is from an animation called Astartes. The guy who made it got told by Games Workshop, who holds the IP for the universe that the animation takes place in l, and the Space Marines it’s about, told the guy he had to stop making videos or they would sue him. Though, Games Workshop is one rung below Gibson on the Evil Corporation ladder, so they at least offered the guy a job (for WAY less than he was making on Patreon), so there is that. They ended up doing the same thing to everyone who was making animations about Warhammer 40,000 too, just so they could release a subscription streaming service that had maybe 1/10 the content and around 1/4 of the quality.
So at least the guitar players aren’t alone in getting screwed by companies. I, on the other hand, as a fan of both, am getting hosed.
You have to shop around . Anyone that’s been buying guitars long enough know you need to see the exact guitar your buying if you have a specific look your after . I’ve seen many many Gibsons with killer tops . I’ve also seen many with plain tops . Don’t buy sight unseen and you won’t be disappointed .
Gibsons make some really
Nice guitars . Sometimes you get a bad one . That’s what happens with wood . Mother Nature does what it wants sometimes . I generally
Buy used . I know the guitar is settled in and I can get it normally for a better deal .
My Tokai LP has serious flame. It's one of the reasons they can't sell direct to U.S.
Gibson has beautiful flame top guitars. All are not created equal.
My $5700 gibson sj200 has a “flame maple back” and has little to no flame. crazy good guitar but no flame at all
If you have two grand to drop on a guitar. You probably have money for gas to get to a guitar store. Go shop in person fool. 😂
Should I take a car or train?
@DenDenBMX either, or private flight if you got 2 grand as walking around money to spend on online purchases, which is basically gambling compared to shopping in person. Especially when it comes to guitars full stop let alone flame tops on guitars.
Maybe they've had some personnel changeover, and the old buyer took their contacts & goodwill with them when they left, so they're just... not getting the nice wood anymore?
There's a somewhat recent video of CEO Cesar G. saying Gibson gets "first pick" from a lot of wood suppliers somewhere on youtube, wonder if that's still the case
I’ve got a raw book matched maple top I bought when I was planning on making a guitar for it to go on. If I recall I paid maybe £60 for it several years ago. It’s way more flamed than any of the ones shown on that website. Dunno where their getting a 500$ mark up from smh
"gibson sucks" -Core kid for life
In my humble opinion the only les paul worth owning at this point is either a black beauty or that lemon drop you've got 😅
I have not long had a new Gibson greeny. It seemed to be the best top available at the time. ye its ok.
Gibson have made plenty of Les Pauls that have plain tops (they have been advertised as plain) so didnt have any figuring to appeal to people who actually prefer that look. Not everyone wants tiger stripe figuring, personally I dont like them because they look gaudy. I prefer the colour of the finish far more than the level of figuring. And as for flame natural binding, yuk!
Natural flame edge is the best, usually plain tops are boring, yuk!
Don't get me wrong, I love me a good plain top too! My main issue with these is Gibson selling the flame top versions for more money, yet a good number of them really aren't that flamey at all
I like the Superman look btw nice
Gibson is not price gouging, I think in 57 a Les Paul was like 350 dollars, with today's inflation, it is about the same!
I paid $1100 dollars for a New Les Paul custom in 1988. That was a lot of money for an 18yr old kid back then.
OK? my $250 LP-style guitars have better flame tops than the $1100 Epiphone Les Paul I own. So what? Not only do they look better, they're bigger, thicker slabs of maple. The tops on the LP-style guitars are almost twice the thickness of the Epi. They make the Epi look like an Entry-level guitar, tbh.
So what? Nobody's forcing you to buy a new Gibson or Epiphone guitar. You dont have to get a new guitar every time one is released. And unless you're buying Epi's and Gibson regularly, then there's no point in even bringing this up except to get clicks.
If YOU truly want a "Flame Top" 3/4" maple cap (No Vaneer), HAND CARVED, one piece neck with long tennon, one piece body, then save $5k & buy an Eastman SB58. Forget Gibson.
PRS hoarded all the good flamed maple 😂😂
I got a brand new “AA” maple top on my SG modern. It looks AAA to me
06:40
🤣
buy heritage h-150 so glad i went heritage for my lp
My epiphones have primo mached tops its the gobies that do shitty tops
They're all chibsons now, nothing is what it used to be. I bought a $600 epiphone during the holidays, it shipped from some warehouse and I got it with a cracked fretboard... it was the most disappointing guitar buy ever. The frets also had fret lift. ☹
I think the answer I've found is that they're kiln-drying the wood so they don't have to cure it properly, so it comes out as dusty-looking fingerboards that crack depending on which batch of wood it was. Also, do a bunny hop lol...
gibson doing what gibson does best..... absolute shenanigans (and charging $3000 for it)
SWEETWATER THE GOATS! every instrument ive gotten aside from my first few shitter guitars has been from them, aside from my harley bentons i got from Thomann. never had a bad experience with the cutie patooties over in indiana
That pizza tasted good though
Gibson tops have always sucked unless you get a CS.
I always try and buy les pauls spec'd as plain tops because you get the same guitar at a lower price .
I will never buy an R9 because R8s are a better deal . Same guitar with just with a slightly fatter neck and no flame and if you like a thinner neck you can find R8s with R9 like necks . I have 3 R8s and all 3 have very different necks . One of them has the full on Baseball Bat neck and its the best playing one of the 3 . Its got more of a slinky feel .
R9s and R0s unless you really need the thinner neck on the RO.
I went to guitar center a couple years ago and was looking at the Gibson guitars above one of the service desks like .. wait, these look like trash
1:07 You're going to be #8, LOL.
well, if you refer to the Andertons Gibson factory tour you can see the exact idiot that is picking out these flame tops and how they are sorted and their procedures on picking them out. sorry, I've said this once and I will say it again, Gibson charges waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyy to much money for these guitars. these people out here that are Gibson nut huggers with their Gibson pride will argue against it all day but I happen to see reality for what it really is. I own a dozen guitars with better flame tops from other manufacturers and paid substantially less for all of them. Gibson will argue stupid shit like applying binding is expensive or fitting a neck because it's a set through neck is more expensive but that's all horse shit. I can go get a custom-made guitar right now from a small manufacturer who pays substantially more money for materials than Gibson does at a cheaper price with a set through neck and binding that rivals Gibson all day. they may play great and they may sound amazing but paying $3000 for guitar that is literally worth half of that is stupid. you jump on UA-cam and you look around at videos of artist and corporate people holding all of these amazing examples but then you go to the store and those examples do not exist in reality. unless your/or Joe Bonamassa or the head CEO of Gibson. I challenge someone to put multiple Gibson's in my hands that look as good as a PRS at half the price or even at the same price. I have an Ibanez j custom that I paid $2800 for and it absolutely fucking murders any Gibson I have seen.
Sloth love chunk!!!
I dont like flame anyways 😊
With budget brands turning out increasingly better product, I don't see why anyone would spend the extra money on brand names.
You really made a video based on pictures online and not from looking at those guitars in-person? 🤦 There's the fallacy. You have no idea what the flame actually looks like unless you've seen it in person.
U should use PRS. Gibson been boring
Just buy a squier and stop the crying.
Gibson is flat out a rip off period
Lasted forty five seconds. This video is like a fart, more aroma than substance. Way too much immaturity for me.
compares my video to a fart then says I'M the immature one💀
Buy a CHIBSON and put new Guts In it🎉
A little research may help; regarding Gibson USA using softer West Coast maple, compared to the harder East Coast maple used for the Gibson USA caps. That’d be most of your $500 discrepancy right there. Who gives a fuck about flame, we all got a guitar or two with it, but the harder maple really brings something tonal (don’t tell Glenn or Jim, now…) to the table on a Gibson Custom. The concept of buying guitars off photos is a fools journey, get off your lazy/chicken arses and go out & about looking for the right guitar. If you do, you might see the $500 West/East Coast difference for yourself, you may even learn that Plain Top is original 50’s talk for a 1958 Standard, only. But hey, what do I know.
sorry but if I'm paying $500 more for a standard with a "custom shop top" then it better have some good flame on it. Expecting anything less just makes you a sucker. If you don't care about flame then you just get a AA or plain top version, obviously.
Hyper flame tops, and prs in general, look really feminine. Some people like that i guess
Next time buy a partcaster or a PRS SE
Problem solved
first i’m betting the epiphone tops are a laminated or veneer top not a solid maple cap, and yes guitar manafacture wood quality has been declining for last thirty years. They’ll be printing pieces of paper with a flame top look and start slapping it on top of the body’s next. Guitar manafacture are gouging in prices today and won’t buy a new guitar at all gibson and fender is dead 30 years ago so buy boutique too many builders that take dumps on the mass manufacturing of gibson fender etc