1957 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop and 2007 R9

My mate brought round his totally original 1957 Les Paul Gold top so I could compare it to my 2007 59 reissue and hear the difference in sound, old wood, PAFs vs new wood with Skaterbrane A2 PAF clones.. playing through same amp same settings. The results were close, I would be interested to hear comments

Amp is Fender Pro Jr

Cheers
s

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Vintage
• Gibson
• Les
• Paul
• Fender

[leftystrat62]

As a furniture maker.& one who loves old period pieces, & a buddy who has been building arch tops for 30 years, I know every piece of wood is different-thus every guitar will sond different. Putting a "curly" piece of maple (which is a softer hard wood )on top of mohagany will sound different than a piece of hard maple that's "plain",but which one will sound better is anyones guess. It's ALL the wood & parts that contribute to it's tone,not just because it has a '58 or '59 specs. Try 'em all!!

[StowBurst]

@leftystrat62 I agree with you 100% The wood is more important than the pickups, the 57 in the video was total killer as everything was good, action, pups, harmonics, neck, weight.. all mahogany top and It was the best sounding 50s LP I have played ever... is that because I knew it was 100% original since 57...that guitar was sold at Arlington for silly money. Truth is, the GT is the case behind is a 1993 and sounds just as good.. maybe better..LOL!!

[bama4720]

what kind of les paul was that behind you?

[StowBurst]

it is a 1993 Goldtop and its a a good one, I have a clip of it in my new vid

[bulenterdem1977]

"same shit, different guitar" lol :D

can't believe, 52 years old original '57lp.

'57 sounds more twangy in the middle position of the switch, '59 sound smoother in the middle and rhythm positions to my ears...

[StowBurst]

The 57 was perfect..it had "that sound" amazing guitar! However, the GT in the case behind me in the video is a 1993 R6 that has been converted to buckers, that sounds much much better than the R9 I have. But at the time I was only borrowing it.. but it was that good I have now brought it.

[VolodyaVolodenka1981]

the r9 sounds somewhat dry. the '57 is phenomenally mellow! both are great guitars and more than suitable for playing great music ))

[TheF86Sabre]

Love your playing

[lauriedepaurie]

@LittleEmoBoy001 If you don't hear a difference, it's more a blessing than a curse.. If you are just as happy with a modern studio as with a late 50's les paul, that's cool for you. But it's sad that people judge things they don't understand, if you don't understand, you just don't understand, but don't judge other people..

[Nikola85ZgCRO]

compared to the goldtop, yours' sounds kinda dry, and a bit hard. still sounds pretty good though..

[gothomus0]

@LittleEmoBoy001 its because they are old and rare. they are hard to come buy and that is a historic year for les pauls

[gothomus0]

i prefer the goldtop its sound is much richer, but the r9 still sounds awesome =)

[GuitarEd48]

Great comparison, for me the R7 Goldtop has a warmer sound and the R9 sounds harder...

Ed

[MattKimDemos]

@LittleEmoBoy001 Well maybe you could say the regular studio, but the faded is all mahogany lol. It will sound different to a maple capped guitar. Though it is true. Some people either have too much money, or too much luck.

[LittleEmoBoy001]

I saw someone selling one of these on ebay for like 50 thousand. lol crazy mothafuckas. I can get a faded studio for 700$ and its tone is comparable to this. I guess people buy these for other reasons.

[DirtySteve232]

agreed on the Goldtop - I have a '57 too with a long neck tenon, and it mkaes a difference! Check out my Goldtop playing ZZ Top on my page -