You speak the truth using facts. People don't like facts and logic. I remember buying my first Gibson and thinking, it's not really anything other than a guitar with Gibson on it. Totally agree with you, what's a guitar wood and bits. CNC really has changed things.
I’m old too. I have Gibsons, but when I got Harley Benton’s three years ago I was shocked at how good they were for the price. CNC machines changed everything. We pay for the Gibson brand, mainly for resale value.
That's a load of horseshit too if you think about it!!! If you pay $2,800 for a Les Paul Standard, and take care of it, you can probably sell it for $2600 later. If you buy an Epiphone for $600, can sell it for $400 later. The big difference being that I don't have a heart attack every time my Epiphone gets a little scratch on it!!!
@@joehahn8817 Don’t buy a Epi Modern. The fit and finish are _too_ freaking good. Fortunately (compared to Nitro), it’s bulletproof. But when the scratch finally happens, it’s gonna be a dark day in the Maekong household. I shit you not. I and this guitar have bonded.
Could be the best guitar rant ever. Yeah, all those lousy guitarists that didn't get famous also played Gibson guitars with nitro cellulose finishes. Freakin' spot on! Thanks, that was great! 👍
I have a $500 Epiphone and have played a good few $2500 Gibson's at my local GC. There is definitely a difference in workmanship (usually) but it is NOT a $2000 difference
I bought a Epy SG and a Sheraton. They play well. I play live s lot I just can’t get the sound and control at gigs thst I do from My 77 Les Paul custom. I need a lighter guitar the Paul is killing my back. So I decided to sell the SG Epy and get Gibson SG 61.
I think that with you picking up guitar later in life and really smart about where you spend. You have none of the baggage that comes from being in this for years. You’re a voice of reason!
At 67 i am in a similar postion to you Danny, i tried to learn guitar in my younger days but didn't have the dedication or money to buy a good one. Now as you have said my days are numbered, and now have the time and funds to buy what i have always desired, but i am like you and want a level of quality that justifies the price, i will never be a great player and spending thousands on a top end exotic guitar would be a waste of money, and in these uncertain times what i have will have to last me until the end. I hope you find your dream guitar some day, one thing is for certain it won't be a Gibson!
As far as the manufacturing is concerned Gibsons were hand built throughout the 50s through the 70s and then they separated some models that were hand fitted from machined parts and some were still hand built for the higher end. This is why 58, 59, and 60 Les Paul’s are so sought after because a master luthier built them not just to patent specs but built them to their own specs and every one plays and sounds unique. They were also marketed through Les Paul’s tv show which initially put them in the hands of a lot of people who didn’t know how to play and expected the guitar to play itself,colloquially speaking . What happened is those guitars found their way to pawn shops and second hand stores where predominantly black blues players bought them and they became the staple of that eras American blues, which was the influence of the British blues bands who went searching for those guitars so guys like Eric Clapton, Peter green, Jimmy page and Jeff Beck started playing them and with the British Invasion caused a bunch of people in the US to want those guitars again. However since every guitar was a unique piece it started the collector market, it wasn’t just I want a Les Paul it was I want this model year Les Paul with a serial number in this range. So first they were expensive then they were cheap and then they were collector priced. From a business standpoint Gibson fumbled because seeing the price the older guitars were fetching second, third and forth hand they priced themselves out of the market, meanwhile fender was mass producing much simpler designs that anyone could be trained to put together in a day and selling for way less and of course there is a storied history there but that’s a different topic, But getting to today Gibson has made s conscious decision to be a collectors brand the difference is now it makes sense for them to do it. 80% of all new guitar sales are cheap imports with different manufactures all using the same cheap factories slapping a logo on them and selling for low margins. There are some great guitars to be had in the 300 to 500 price range but those guitars will not hold value the minute they are unboxed they are worth 100 less than the purchase price, Gibsons, like them or not, hold their value and that’s why it makes sense for Gibson to get a premium. I have a Les Paul I absolutely love I also have a Strat that cost less than half the price I love and several cheaper imports that I play often. If I were to sell off my collection the only guitar that would fetch the same price or more than I paid is the Les Paul, the Strat would be close the rest would hopefully find a good home but I would have lost money on them, If Gibson were to suddenly drop prices it would destroy the brand being US made they wouldn’t be able to price at cheap import levels and wouldn’t take enough market share to survive in that margin and would no longer have that collector market for newer instruments. I get why so many players don’t like Gibson as a company but the quality issues so many lament are not as severe as stated and those that lament the loudest probably have never owned a Gibson. It comes down to this if you are buying a 6k guitar and you didn’t like how it sounded or felt you should not have bought it, or you should have addressed the problems with the shop who would have either corrected it and charged Gibson or sent it back and replaced. Gibson doesn’t make guitars for working players or even hobbyists that just want a solid guitar to play, they make guitars for a specific demographic that not only has the money but also has an appreciation for the brand and understands it’s an investment. I am not a Gibson fan boy and when I go out to play I typically don’t bring my Les Paul there are plenty of great guitars for less money that will serve a player well, I just don’t hate the company or their guitars they are what they are buy them or don’t.
This comment was hugely informative and largely correct. You know what you're talking about. The only thing that I would argue with is about the quality control. It is in fact as bad as people say. I worked guitar retail for many years and Gibson by far was the worst when it came to sending us blemished or imperfect guitars. More than all the other manufacturers combined. Most were relatively minor but sometimes it was worse. Even unplayable in one or two instances where someone forgot to cut the nut properly and the high E string would dislodge from just a simple strum. This particular guitar was before the new management and I understand that they are trying to rectify these things. Having dealt with Gibson the company recently though I can tell you that they still have a ways to go in this and a few other areas.
In 1954, the 1st year of their budget friendly student guitar the Gibson Les Paul Jr. Cost $119. This is equal to about $1233 dollars today in 2022. A Standard cost $250 without the case. That's about $2760 today. Seems like their prices have always stayed about the same.
Fenders were kinda pricey relative to the time as well. Back in the day top of the line Gibsons were pretty much exclusively instruments for pros. The market has evolved a ton since then though--so a lot of their most expensive products these days are bought by amateurs/hobbyists etc. Then there's the whole spin vintage has put on things. The relic thing is kinda silly when it's purely cosmetic--but the underlying thing a lot of us were realizing when we were younger is that used guitars were often just much better than brand new guitars. Some used guitars might've looked cool as part of the package--but there was that better playability thing driving it originally at least anyway :)
Back in the early 50's they were exclusively made by hand with hand tools compared to today where they are somewhat still handmade although also using CNC machines. So the price today for "handmade" doesn't mean the same as it did then. So that's where the argument about overpriced comes from...
Exactly how I feel. Gave my 94 les Paul custom away years ago and quit playing. Then rekindle my desire to play again. Wishing I had not gave away les Paul. So I bought a nice firefly piece of wood and it plays great. Humbled. I feel great playing it I’m glad I didn’t throw a bunch of money away for nothing.
wait -till you discover you can have them custom made for the same price; I have warmoth, allparts, hipshot and some other parts just to make guitars I really like and I absolutely don't wanna part with them.
in the early 80s, The Japanese invasion with Ibanez Destroyer, ESP, Yamaha even Korean made Kramer etc... has called a new wave of musician, from George Lynch of Dokken, Eddie Van Halen to Metallica, Satriani, Vai and Paul Gilbert... Better quality and advance technology in making guitar improve the musicality itself!
I love the “You can’t afford it. That’s why you’re hating.” Excuse. Yeah, because that’s what’s stopping us from our passion? Such a STUPID argument 🤣 Edit: We currently live in a “Take My Money Now!” World because these young kids grew up only knowing social media marketing lies 😕
Preach it Brother! Man I feel this so much. I have a lot of guitars - from $50 all the way up to about $1200. I love them all, and I play them all. I think the difference in price can be seen in the quality of hardware, and also in the time spent in setting them up… I do not own Gibsons… but I do have Epiphones that are just as good in my opinion. People are brand crazy. If you are a new or aspiring guitarist… Do not be afraid to buy a used guitar. Do not be afraid to buy inexpensive guitars. Do your homework. Watch video reviews - Educate yourself. Learn to do your own setups. Until then, buy what you can afford, but save some money for a good setup too! It can make a harsh, meh, piece of wood with metal on it, into an awesome instrument that is a joy to play! Nice honest talk here man! Subscribed!
I have played a cheap Dean guitars 7 string that my dad bought me for like 200 bucks or something in 2017. This thing still stays in tune after constant abuse and playing and dropping it and all that, never upgraded it. Adjusted the tune o matic bridge at most to accomodate for dead notes and fret buzz. But this year at my guitar teacher I've been choosing to not play my own guitar, and trying out the Gibsons he has, he has an SG and a Les Paul and the thing is. This Dean 7 string, feels more comfortable than them to me despite the wider neck! Something just doesn't feel **right** playing a Gibson for me. Same goes for my Harley Benton Jazz Bass, beat on it since I got it and still doesn't even really need a setup. Also great video! I loved your little comments there in the beginning about the customer thing, it was funny to me but of course you're right. They advertize to people with money and that's who they want to buy their products etc etc.
Superb video! I got into guitars late in life last 2 years I’m pretty much on deaths door heart issues ,so I said. I always wanted to learn guitars and bought a bunch of them. 3 Harley Benton’s a Prs Schizoid from Indonesia, a tele from AIO in California and 2 Fender strats one MIM and one American Ultra. Plus an Epiphone hummingbird . And guess what. I suck on all of them! It’s the player that sets the tone not the equipment . Worst hobby is the Audiophile you can spend 20 k on just the speaker cables and I have . Marketing is the great evil in America. Once again great video !
I haven't done it for years, so maybe things have changed, but all I can tell you is go to a Guitar Center or equivalent and play a decent Gibson and it's Epiphone equivalent back to back. When I bought my LP there was a huge difference. Doesn't mean the Epi couldn't be made to sound good enough in a live setting, but the quality difference between the two guitars was evident. Even my wife who isn't a musician could hear and see the obvious differences. I'm not a mechanic, so I often buy cheap Harbor Freight tools as they're good enough to do what I need them to do. Doesn't make professional mechanics wrong for using more expensive, higher quality tools like say Snap On tools. Unlike me, they aren't just doing a job. They're living with them every day. You're right about the finishes. I have a Tele dipped in plastic and the thing could be used to drive railroad stakes without damage. For whatever reason, guitarists seem to like tattered looking instruments. It's like a badge of honor that they've been used and not just sat on display in a rich guy's house ;)
Hi Danny, hope you're well. Have just started watching your channel a couple of weeks ago and agree with everything you say I'm old aswell I've just turned 65 and in a similar situation but without the money I have to save up for a guitar I like. I've bought about 8 harley benton guitars including 3 kits and think they are well worth the price only had a problem with the SC 450 plus where the fret ends where rounded over that much the high E string slipped off the end of the fingerboard when trying to fret it . Have returned it to thomman for a replacement they are really good when it comes to customer service. Anyway looking forward to more of your videos.
Les Paul came with a prototype of a guitar but it was based on a hollow-body. Although it was a single-cut, it was more like an ES-335 than a Les Paul. I always found that interesting, that Gibson also made a guitar like the one Les Paul presented them with - a semi-hollow with a centre block - but gave it name of just letters and numbers. But Les wanted a solid body with a super-clean tone. So Les Paul had the idea but Ted McCarty made it into a workable model.
I bought the less expensive version of 2 guitars I was interested in. I got the SE version of the PRS Hollowbody II Piezo for $1,200 used Mint condition, compared to the $7,050 for PRS's Core version although there are differences in electronics. I also picked up the Epiphone version of the Slash LP for $850 compared to Gibson's $3200 version. The Epiphone sounds and plays great and I'm just an intermediate player anyway so any subltle differences I probably wouldn't notice. I also play a Martin 000-15M which to me is the perfect guitar. Light, pretty, perfect setup out of the factory, and the sweetest balanced sound ever. Now I've tried hundreds of Taylors, Gibsons, more expensive Martins, Yamaha, Ibanez, and more, some in the $4000 + range and nothing sounds or plays as sweet as my little Martin.
Hello Danny! First time seeing you and I loved your researched take on Gibson and their pricing. You focused a lot on economics and all seemed spot on. I'll add another stick to beat Gibson over the head with and that's the fact that the quality control over the consistency of the product famously now leaves much to be desired. I worked guitar retail and I can tell you that Gibson sent us more imperfect guitars than all of the other manufacturers combined. Those imperfections were usually minor and cosmetic but sometimes they were worse. For the price they charge though, even minor and cosmetic is unacceptable. The only issue I have with what you said is how you describe Les Paul himself. It's possible, likely even that he wasn't the best partner to Mary Ford and may have indeed held her back. It's a stretch to say that she was a better guitar player than him though. I don't know how familiar with his music you are but he was around a long time before he made hit songs with Mary Ford. It's hard to find but if you come across any of his old jazz recordings you will be amazed. So many only know him because of the guitar with his name on it. But in fact he was actually one of the very best guitar players ever. Mary was good, also better than people realize but her teacher was Les. I enjoyed your video and I agree with almost all of it. Cheers Danny!
Awsome man, this break down is awsome! I love it! I could listen to you rant about anything, all day long my friend. I don't have the cash like that so i like cheapo guitars and then i fix em up, but i do have suggestions for you. I played a Novo guitar and it was beautiful! It was made to feel old but played and felt better than any new guitar ive ever picked up! Also, as a builder and enthusiast, i would recommend looking into Knaggs guitars. Never played one but they sure do look beautiful!
Paul Mc Cartneys Hofner was under a hundred bucks. In the early 70s in Germany, I could've got a used one 75 bucks ,but my army buddy talked me out of it. He was a jazz ,classical and flamenco player. He said You Know Why It's Cheap? THAT'S ALL ITS WORTH! Told to buy a Fender and he'd show me how to play it. He said back then Fender aged their necks 7 yrs
You don't understand man! Both Gibson and Fender have magic dust that they sprinkle on their made in USA guitars. Their pickups are hand wound by in a clean room by people that are pure of mind, body, and soul. I'm not sure why Fender doesn't sue Gibson for stealing the "relic" idea.
when you spend 10000,- on a guitar you will always find that it sounds better than a cheaper one. If someone else doesn't hear that, it will of course be because the other person doesn't understand it enough. The buyer thus puts himself "above" the rest and suggests that he is a better guitarist, but he is actually showing that he is a production narcissist. A good sound is in the hands and brains of the player and almost not in the material..😉👍
Back in the day when I started playing guitar, the inexpensive guitars were mostly bad (hard to play, intonate, keep in tune, etc.) so you did what you could until you could afford a "real" guitar. That mindset stuck with me for many years until I found an inexpensive Epiphone Casino Made in China off the rack in GC. Amazingly, it was intonated, tunable and sounded / played great. I went online and got the best Epiphone Casino available at the time. Since then, I found many brands/models of guitars that aren't Gibson that work great for me: Fender, Ibanez, Jackson, Eastwood, etc. I have 6 Jacksons now, all purchased new, all kept stock; combined they cost less than one Les Paul Standard or Custom.
The thing is that if I spend $10,000 on a guitar it should be perfect in every way. It should be resonant and easy to play and free of blemishes (unless I bought something with a heavy relic) and designed well. The problem with Gibson is they simply aren't consistently better. Even more expensive models can be completely dead sounding and you have to hunt for a great sounding Gibson. That's truth. Anyone who plays a lot of them knows it's the truth and you have to play it and really listen. They're not consistent for the money. I want Taylor or PRS consistency for that much money and Gibson doesn't do it. I understand why people love Gibson. I'm a luthier and when you have a good one in your hands damn it's pretty magical, but there's a lot of duds in between
Took me a second to realize you were being sarcastic! I agree with you... and there's so many guys that buy one REALLY expensive guitar and say how fantastic it is, now nothing else compares, etc. I've been through over 100 guitars and I can't say there is "the one". Each guitar is unique and brings it's own strengths and weaknesses to the party. That's what helps create original sounds and approaches to playing. My personal take is I'd rather have a collection of pickup types as that seems to effect the sound more than anything else... and there's no one pickup that outshines the others.
Gibson's (the Les Paul, 335, SG, Junior's etc) are excellently _designed_ guitars and when built with care and attention to detail are fantastic instruments. At this point though, anyone and everyone even mildly interested in electric guitars knows that Gibson has - and has had - an issue with consistency/quality control for a long time now. Going all the way back to the "Norlin-era" of the 70's and to a lesser extent, even the mid to late 1960's. When you want a Gibson, the trick is having to put in the leg work to find one out in the world. It's a risk to purchase them online unless you have a great relationship with a dealer. A dealer who is a player themselves and _knows_ what a great guitar is. One who will be honest with you on the phone or through online messaging about a guitar's playability, fit and finish and one who ultimately, has the patience and excellent return policy to let you ship it back and swap it out if it's not up to snuff. Frankly though, that's not an easy thing to find or relationship to build. So often when I've called guitar shops and asked them to pull a specific guitar off the floor and give an honest, detailed accounting of it's playability and the shape it's in, I get a far less than enthused person who does not seem interested in putting in the time to give an honest accounting. "Old school" customer service is lacking throughout the sales industry whether it's instruments, cars, electronics etc. So again, the best bet for a player looking for that "perfect" Gibson should be ready and willing to be patient and diligent. Searching your local Guitar Center's, small "mom and pop" guitar shops and playing each and every one yourself until you find that one winner. It's not as instantly gratifying as that immediate serotonin release you get buying one online in that exact color or finish you wanted but it's far more rewarding overall. There is nothing like a fantastic playing and feeling guitar. Those guitars that have that intangible 10 to 20% more magic over all the others. Sure, it's rare that you're going to find that perfect playing guitar in the exact color you wanted. Although it's been my experience that a fantastic playing guitar somehow starts to _look_ better with time. Then the longer and more serious yo play, the more you appreciate that really great instrument. Especially if you put in the work to find it.
Your very well researched argument is good. The most recent lawsuits were about body shapes and very very hard to defend legally, and even when they did actually win that one specific lawsuit against Jackson for the Flying V their financial payout winnings were very very low. I was going to recommend a PRS Custom 24-08,.but only an older one because Sir Paul of PRS started using a nitro finish on that particular model about 3 years back,..LoL You can find videos on RUclips of PRS layers combining about the fast deterioration of the $4000 plus guitars due to said use of Nitro on their Custom 24-08. I was shocked when I watched them as I never imagined Paul would approve such a thing. But an older PRS custom 24 from before I think, 2019, will have a Poly finish that is super protective and modern. Also,...on a completely odd note,..fender makes a version of the telecaster called the Telecaster FMT,..which is basically. telecaster body but all set up like a Les Paul,.including carved flame top and double hum buckers. These Telecaster's were first made in Japan and now made in Indonesia and now cost around $1000 brand new ( they are still in production ) and a couple hundred $$ less used on Reverb. You can also buy an Epiphone Les Paul and upgrade the electronics and hardware to fit your tonal taste and its still jsut as much a Les Paul as any guitar with a G on he headstock,..it just wont have the nitro finish. I would. go to a Guitar Center and play a Epiphone 1959 Les Paul with the Gibson pickups and pOly finish and see if that works.
Have been doing gigs for a number of years with expensive guitars, did a gig one night with a budget Ibanez to try out for a friend and my band members and a few listeners said how good it sounded , just goes to show.
You make a lot of sense and me at 64 played my whole life and still perform when I was 19 playing regularly I pooled all my savings In 77 and bought a Les Paul custom. Was I crazy at the time maybe. I went on playing it for over 40 years never bought another guitar and that Les Paul has held up all those years. I finally replaced the bridge and nut and need to get a few frets dressed to fix buzzing. Couple years ago I decided I wanted a ES 335 and a SG I read reviews on Epiphone Sheraton being so nice. I bought one very nice guitar feels great once set It up how I like it. Then bought SG saw a fancy model Epiphone. Same thing fit finish feel I could get almost as nice as Les Paul. The finish was stunning on the SG The electronics are good but they do fall short from my 77 Gibson specially play live when I had to switch off. I have to really reset amp. But to answer everything you said. I wasn’t paying 5 grand for Gibson 335 or 2000 for SG that I can play as well on and create a tone I liked on either one. The computer cuts and makes these Epiphones good enough for a good player to make it work unless not having Gibson across head means that much. Your playing it you make sound good not the brand. I mainly use Les Paul we been playing many years it’s amazing tone and guitar. But your correct in you thoughts the computers can duplicate the fretboards and the bodies better tuners are being sold as well. I get ya
Thank you for reply. But being I play live all the time and the electronics in the Gibson are a cut above Epy and will match my 77 Les Paul custom quality sound and levels I decided I may just trade the Epy SG for the Gibson SG 61 I live in Nashville TN area where they are made and I can play a bunch at Gibson factory where they also sell Epys and compare and find one. 2 grand isn’t 5 grand. But it’s been a tug a war in my brain coming to this conclusion. Love your channel and your wisdom.
Just stumbled upon your channel and your videos are amongst the best that I’ve seen on RUclips. Sincere, honest, genuine and funny as hell!!! Just the type of content that we need more of nowadays. Keep making videos man! Much love from Sweden!
Great point Danny I watch another channel they other day. A guy named dr.rick was on it had a $10,000 custom LP and his friend had hb 550 pro they done a blind test the dr.rick played both and let me tell you that man can play both sounded great because of DR.RICK so yes you are right 2 guitars setting side by side sounds the sMe it's the person that makes it sound good I have always thought the same way been looking at hb for awhile now. Thanks for sharing
I gave up on Gibson years ago, but I have tried a few in local stores since. Not worth it IMO. Meanwhile, I have a few Fenders (MIA, MIJ, MIM) that are all great. Same for Ibanez, Jackson, D'Angelico, Eastwood, and many more. Someone is buying Gibson's, it's their money. That leaves more non-Gibson guitars for the rest of us. 😁
LES PAUL WAS THE CO-DESIGNER AND CONSULTANT, NOT JUST A MINDLESS ENDORSEE!!! You are really doing the man a disservice by minimalizing his contribution...😕😕😕 You are pretty much spot on about everything else though!!!
@@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic I wish I could find the old issue of Guitar Player Magazine from the '70s with a Ted McCarty interview we're he talks about Les having very DEFINATE ideas about that guitar before he would put his name on the headstock. That PAF sticker deal sounds like some "Authentic" Gibson bullshit as usual. One thing we can agree on, Gibson doesn't care one bit about me or you!!!
I heard gibson didnt give a crap about what les paul had to say, they went and slapped les paul name on the SG, and when the contract was up, they had to remove the name from the SG because les paul hated it. dont sound like les paul had much to say given this example of how gibson behaved. ALSO I dont think les paul had much to do with the McCarty guitar now called the les paul because I seen the invention of les paul, it was a LOG with some pickups on it, detachable sides and looked like 335. I seen footage of les paul playing something commercially made that also looked like a 335, dont look a thing like a mccarty les paul..
@@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic The "Log" was a piece of solid wood with two sides of an Epiphone hollowbody because when Les played the log in public nobody payed attention. So, he came up with the idea of gluing wings on it to make it look like an actual guitar and not a science project. Then people loved it!!! My guess is that between Gibson's lies and Les Paul's ego we'll probably never know the whole story. The simple fact is, Les Paul was absolutely involved in the making of the Les Paul. Les ordered several changes before he would agree to have his name on it. Another fact, Les and Mary Ford remained friends until her death so I doubt divorce had much to do with Les not wanting his name on the SG or renewing his endorsement deal. I think it had a lot to do with dealing with Gibson's bullshit!!! Gibson has proven time and time again they don't have any scruples when it comes to their business dealings... Love the videos and I enjoy the debate but I think we're deadlocked here my friend. We ALL know how hard Gibson goes after people that make them mad. Why wasn't Les one of them??? Because he was the only artist to ever have Gibson by THEIR balls!!!
Excellent video! After 40 years as a pro musician, I can tell you that any real guitarist can make a Barbie or Keith Urban guitar sound like a 10,000 dollar Gibson. As Clapton said: 'It's in the Way that You Use It! Oh, and I kinda like the idea of being dug-up, dusted-off and paraded around once a year or so!
Completely agree - you have a new subscriber 🙂 I immediately think of EVH's Frankenstrat. If finish was such a big deal, Schwinn's Bike Paint should be revered. My current favourite guitar in my collection is a HB £75 kit guitar with a Schaller trem & SD pickups, covered in Rustoleum spray can paint.
Persons ask me what guitar brand to get? I ask them are you wanting one to play, resell, or as investment. Lots of good playable guitars being made nowadays. And lots of collectibles and investment types also. My expensive guitars spend almost all there time in case’s. My other 25 guitars i have are on my walls so i can grab and play.
I think I would not be, because until recently i havent heard of 3 out of those 4... but gibson had been heavy on the marketing, so i look into the products and found what i found... and with that authentic video they tried to put out there, left a bad taste.
I'm a late starter. I COULD probably drop a couple grand on something nice, but I don't see the point. I got an IYV for 147 and was happy. I could redo the electronics on it with Gibson pickups and it'd sound just as good as a Gibson. Hell, if I wanted to drop any money, I could just get a Gretsch for 600 and it'd sound awesome. I like their sound better anyway.
I would also never consider buying a used aged guitar of somebody else.. I can understand family hierlooms like if your dad giged and that was his guitar, you can play it proud. but some random person? I rather buy new.
Dude love this vid, yes it's wood with some metal parts. You can get a very good guitar for a lot less than a Gibson. As a player I would not pay any more than 4 to 5 hundred for a guitar at the most. Over my 28 years of playing I have had guitars for 150 to 300 that have been absolutely amazing. I saved up for a Gibson SG at one point after spending a bit of time in the guitar shop I trying a few out I choose an Epiphone SG over the Gibson one it just felt better in the hand and needed a lot less set up work than the Gibson ones. I have built a fair few guitar kits and nitro is my least favorite finish, I prefer oil finish nitro is so fickle and temperamental. One guitar had a chemical reaction with the rubber on one of my guitar stands.
Just subed you are refreshing thank you for the honesty so excuse me if you are aware but I think the answer is Yamaha best value for material may Murphy bless you.
I paid over 4 grand for my Gibson Les Paul. I’ll admit spending that much money on a guitar is IRRATIONAL. Guitars can be made at the same level (or better e.g. Eastman) for half or much less than half. Guitar is not a rational hobby for many people, including myself. I did buy a Squier recently for 400 bucks and the guitar is FANTASTIC
I saw that a paul newman daytona was costing 250k a piece, but the actual daytona worn by paul newman sold at auction for 17 million. dude.... dude.....
Everything you said is so true. I bought a LP standard to have a “real LP” to keep at home and was really satisfied until I bought a 59 LP reissue by Epiphone to take on the road with me because I travel a lot for work. My $600 guitar kicks the sh$t out of my $3k guitar and they are owned by the same company!! So I ended up switching out the pickups on the LP and now I’m satisfied with it. New sub here, keep up the great work
OVERHEARD AT GIBSON ONE DAY: "Damn, I was just putting the finishing touches on one of our LP Standards & I dropped it halfway down the stairs! It's all scuffed & marked up AF, & I'm gonna lose my job!" "No worries, Munsen, our head of marketing just came up with a way around this exact problem."
awesome video man thanks for taking you're time to make it, and I love you're sense of humour ur supper funny ps. come on you can't be that old :p you still look 25 years young thank you and hello from Vancouver Canada
All these are true but to be honest the breaking point for me is on top of all these people defending QC issues of such expensive instruments. I myself really tried to justify more expensive guitars. Imo, especially if you can do some minor work on the instruments, it is not worth going above Fender MIM or epiphone stuff. And with harley bentons on their 300-400 models offering this kind of quality I don't even know what we are discussing anymore. Also you are not that old :p cheers
Well you're partially right about Les Paul. He did infact invent a version of the electric guitar nicknamed "The Log" (which was a hollow body epiphone with it's middle sliced out, replaced with a 4x4, the neck and bridge attached to that and some pickups nailed to it. He tried to pedal it to Gibson years before and they just weren't interested. Until Fender started making affordable guitars, then Gibson got in contact with him and McCarty designed the Les Paul from that. Seems another pattern of Gibson was to ignore players wants until someone else was doing it - like Tony Iommi with his 24 fret John Birch SG. Slash's guitar was a copy of a Gibson, then Gibson made a copy of that when he struck an endorsement from them. It's funny though - Fenders the same. The company was built (I'm sure to compete with Gibson) as an alternative for musicians to have quality instruments at affordable prices. As they gained popularity (and changed ownership), that seemed to have gone out the window (although at least they have varying price points but generally look the same as their higher priced guitars). In terms of paint, you're spot on. Lacquer was what they had back then and that's what was used on furniture. Fender actually used automotive paints (which were better). However there was a lack of colour choice - hence why all of the guitars made in the 50's were the same colours as the auto-mobiles of the time. If you search for it, there's an interview with Pete Townshend around the time he was using Les Paul deluxe's where he states to a question why he uses Gibsons along the lines of "I've got a deal with them, but I had to go through a heap of them to find 10 good ones". I'm with you Danny. I'm at an age where I could buy whatever guitar I want. I'm not a professional musician and I'm content with that. I've got enough knowledge and skill under my belt to modify whatever guitar I get to make it play as good as much higher priced instruments. After all as you say, a guitar is only wood, strings and pickups in essence.
wow that was alot and very well written! i dont know why any player (vs fan/collector) would want a tony guitar, that thing was modded for his missing fingertips.. 🤔
@@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic Haha I've got two of them sitting in the collection LOL. Only Epiphones, but ones the original they brought out and the newer one from 2017. The newer ones actually a great guitar to play. The older one has very dark sounding pickups, not really my thing but still looks cool. So you need to use that one with a treble booster. And yes, I'm a big Black Sabbath fan! You're correct in that he did create the guitar with the missing tips in mind. Mainly using much lighter gauge strings (8-32 which are now common place), higher output pickups (more magnets to cope with smaller gauge strings and lower string tension), 24 frets (which he just wanted) and badass bridge (to help correct intonation due to lower gauge strings). And obviously the inlay crosses - just because 😁 He didn't want to mass produce them back in the late 70's. He just wanted Gibson to build HIM a guitar, which they couldn't (or wouldn't do). But of course, now Black Sabbath and Tony Iommi are forever in the rock legends relm, Gibson sees they can make a buck off someone else's hard work so mass production it is!
I heard the "The prices are the same as 1959 if you adjust for inflation" argument a lot by Gibson fans, and its true and false. Because you also have to factor in the income of the average worker, which got left behind by a longshot. As for their guitars, i have a few Epiphones and a Gibson SG. I gotta say that the Nitro finish feels better and i wish other brands would use it, if only for their higher priced models. Playability wise, they're pretty much equal. With that being said, if i was in the market for a new Les Paul, i would probably go with Eastman.
The same thing I have been saying for years to other guitar players. They respond that I'm just stupid and spend crazy amounts of money to buy basically a very expensive logo on the headstock :)
I want to find an arguing point, but you make it difficult. One thing I have observed is typically between each step there is an average of 5% difference, which is really difficult to justify and most people would not notice, that said in respect to the current none replica/reissues/vos models, Model (A): $800, Model (B): $1200, Model (C): $1600, Model (D): $2100 etc... So theoretically model (D) is a %15 improvement over model (A) in tangible differences such as fit, feel, tone, finish etc.. The law of diminishing returns apply to tangible differences whereas the person forking out the $ makes up the remaining difference in emotion and in many cases assumed admiration or jealousy among their piers.
the issue here is that it is NOT A 15% improvement over model A, rather, because this is an item for ART, it is just a 15% Change of attributes which is neither better or worse, just different, and they would love to convince you that such difference = better... ART is very subjective there is no better or worse.. which is why none of it justifies that very high price...
I have a Gibson that I love the tone of, when everything is going good- but it has intonation issues and I think kinda subpar tuners, understandable for lower level les Paul’s but still not what one would expect from Gibson…. I got mine at a great price, but I think you’d be better off spending the same on a higher level epiphone, they also sound good
and tuners are tuners. They should work fine as long as they’re not the cheapest quality what I do is that after I change strings, I stretch the strings then I Detune it, a couple of full turns, and stretch the string and tune it back up and stretch the strings and detune it a couple of turns, and then stretch the strings, because if the strings are not stretched at the wraps of the tuners, then Jetta just throws it off
@@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic The tuners work pretty well but the design for repair is really bad; ive had two break in half and they are impossible to reattach, I needed to buy new tuners. It's a nice guitar but has always needed a nice setup ive neglected to get. its probably worth it.
This guy, Murphy BEATS it up and charges you more .. PRICELESS.
Walk into any Irish bar..start a fight with "Murphy"..get beat up..and then play like Gary Moore?
You speak the truth using facts. People don't like facts and logic. I remember buying my first Gibson and thinking, it's not really anything other than a guitar with Gibson on it. Totally agree with you, what's a guitar wood and bits. CNC really has changed things.
I’m old too. I have Gibsons, but when I got Harley Benton’s three years ago I was shocked at how good they were for the price. CNC machines changed everything. We pay for the Gibson brand, mainly for resale value.
That's a load of horseshit too if you think about it!!!
If you pay $2,800 for a Les Paul Standard, and take care of it, you can probably sell it for $2600 later.
If you buy an Epiphone for $600, can sell it for $400 later.
The big difference being that I don't have a heart attack every time my Epiphone gets a little scratch on it!!!
To my way of thinking, unless you are a complete beginner, if you buy a guitar with an eye toward selling it, it’s probably the wrong guitar.
@@joehahn8817 Don’t buy a Epi Modern. The fit and finish are _too_ freaking good. Fortunately (compared to Nitro), it’s bulletproof. But when the scratch finally happens, it’s gonna be a dark day in the Maekong household. I shit you not. I and this guitar have bonded.
I ride my wife. For me .
Not keeping it pristine for another dude.
Hahahaa
Could be the best guitar rant ever. Yeah, all those lousy guitarists that didn't get famous also played Gibson guitars with nitro cellulose finishes. Freakin' spot on! Thanks, that was great! 👍
I have a $500 Epiphone and have played a good few $2500 Gibson's at my local GC. There is definitely a difference in workmanship (usually) but it is NOT a $2000 difference
I bought a Epy SG and a Sheraton. They play well. I play live s lot I just can’t get the sound and control at gigs thst I do from My 77 Les Paul custom. I need a lighter guitar the Paul is killing my back. So I decided to sell the SG Epy and get Gibson SG 61.
I think that with you picking up guitar later in life and really smart about where you spend. You have none of the baggage that comes from being in this for years. You’re a voice of reason!
As a matter of fact, I like what your saying so much I’m going to give you a shout out on my live stream.
Rock on!
Hello Mike. This gentleman has some valid points but unfortunately nothing will change. Looking forward to the show tonight !
thank u
At 67 i am in a similar postion to you Danny, i tried to learn guitar in my younger days but didn't have the dedication
or money to buy a good one.
Now as you have said my days are numbered, and now have the time and funds to buy what i have always desired, but
i am like you and want a level of quality that justifies the price, i will never be a great player and spending thousands on
a top end exotic guitar would be a waste of money, and in these uncertain times what i have will have to last me until the end.
I hope you find your dream guitar some day, one thing is for certain it won't be a Gibson!
" I'm not stupid - I look into things b4 I spend my money." 😆LMAO... (U tell 'em Danny) 🎸🎤🎶
As far as the manufacturing is concerned Gibsons were hand built throughout the 50s through the 70s and then they separated some models that were hand fitted from machined parts and some were still hand built for the higher end. This is why 58, 59, and 60 Les Paul’s are so sought after because a master luthier built them not just to patent specs but built them to their own specs and every one plays and sounds unique. They were also marketed through Les Paul’s tv show which initially put them in the hands of a lot of people who didn’t know how to play and expected the guitar to play itself,colloquially speaking . What happened is those guitars found their way to pawn shops and second hand stores where predominantly black blues players bought them and they became the staple of that eras American blues, which was the influence of the British blues bands who went searching for those guitars so guys like Eric Clapton, Peter green, Jimmy page and Jeff Beck started playing them and with the British Invasion caused a bunch of people in the US to want those guitars again. However since every guitar was a unique piece it started the collector market, it wasn’t just I want a Les Paul it was I want this model year Les Paul with a serial number in this range. So first they were expensive then they were cheap and then they were collector priced.
From a business standpoint Gibson fumbled because seeing the price the older guitars were fetching second, third and forth hand they priced themselves out of the market, meanwhile fender was mass producing much simpler designs that anyone could be trained to put together in a day and selling for way less and of course there is a storied history there but that’s a different topic,
But getting to today Gibson has made s conscious decision to be a collectors brand the difference is now it makes sense for them to do it. 80% of all new guitar sales are cheap imports with different manufactures all using the same cheap factories slapping a logo on them and selling for low margins. There are some great guitars to be had in the 300 to 500 price range but those guitars will not hold value the minute they are unboxed they are worth 100 less than the purchase price, Gibsons, like them or not, hold their value and that’s why it makes sense for Gibson to get a premium. I have a Les Paul I absolutely love I also have a Strat that cost less than half the price I love and several cheaper imports that I play often. If I were to sell off my collection the only guitar that would fetch the same price or more than I paid is the Les Paul, the Strat would be close the rest would hopefully find a good home but I would have lost money on them,
If Gibson were to suddenly drop prices it would destroy the brand being US made they wouldn’t be able to price at cheap import levels and wouldn’t take enough market share to survive in that margin and would no longer have that collector market for newer instruments. I get why so many players don’t like Gibson as a company but the quality issues so many lament are not as severe as stated and those that lament the loudest probably have never owned a Gibson. It comes down to this if you are buying a 6k guitar and you didn’t like how it sounded or felt you should not have bought it, or you should have addressed the problems with the shop who would have either corrected it and charged Gibson or sent it back and replaced. Gibson doesn’t make guitars for working players or even hobbyists that just want a solid guitar to play, they make guitars for a specific demographic that not only has the money but also has an appreciation for the brand and understands it’s an investment. I am not a Gibson fan boy and when I go out to play I typically don’t bring my Les Paul there are plenty of great guitars for less money that will serve a player well, I just don’t hate the company or their guitars they are what they are buy them or don’t.
I will add you can still have Gibson build a guitar to spec but it will cost a whole lot of money and will be made of existing spec parts.
This comment was hugely informative and largely correct. You know what you're talking about. The only thing that I would argue with is about the quality control. It is in fact as bad as people say. I worked guitar retail for many years and Gibson by far was the worst when it came to sending us blemished or imperfect guitars. More than all the other manufacturers combined. Most were relatively minor but sometimes it was worse. Even unplayable in one or two instances where someone forgot to cut the nut properly and the high E string would dislodge from just a simple strum. This particular guitar was before the new management and I understand that they are trying to rectify these things. Having dealt with Gibson the company recently though I can tell you that they still have a ways to go in this and a few other areas.
I hope you got a good grade on your thesis. 🤣
@@MrPhins I’m not sure you understand what a “thesis” is.
@@chrisgeo1642 Can you say "Sarcasm"???
Thanks for mentioning Les Paul/Mary Ford..so many cool female players nowadays..
I appreciate your observations. Thank you for sharing. Well done I say.
In 1954, the 1st year of their budget friendly student guitar the Gibson Les Paul Jr. Cost $119. This is equal to about $1233 dollars today in 2022. A Standard cost $250 without the case. That's about $2760 today. Seems like their prices have always stayed about the same.
Fenders were kinda pricey relative to the time as well. Back in the day top of the line Gibsons were pretty much exclusively instruments for pros. The market has evolved a ton since then though--so a lot of their most expensive products these days are bought by amateurs/hobbyists etc. Then there's the whole spin vintage has put on things. The relic thing is kinda silly when it's purely cosmetic--but the underlying thing a lot of us were realizing when we were younger is that used guitars were often just much better than brand new guitars. Some used guitars might've looked cool as part of the package--but there was that better playability thing driving it originally at least anyway :)
Back in the early 50's they were exclusively made by hand with hand tools compared to today where they are somewhat still handmade although also using CNC machines. So the price today for "handmade" doesn't mean the same as it did then. So that's where the argument about overpriced comes from...
I think the nitro thing is purely for aesthetic in the minds of most people. They want to achieve the "road worn" rockstar look
And they age different crackle and flake ,discolour you have to love it I do hahaha
Exactly how I feel. Gave my 94 les Paul custom away years ago and quit playing. Then rekindle my desire to play again. Wishing I had not gave away les Paul. So I bought a nice firefly piece of wood and it plays great. Humbled.
I feel great playing it I’m glad I didn’t throw a bunch of money away for nothing.
As far as nitro, I like that it shows cracking and ware. Different strokes for different folks.
The bit about nitro finishes is so good. Great video.
Get this man more subs. I subbed on that intro alone 🤣 and somebody do something about this Murphy guy beating shit up.
I used to want a Gibson so bad until I got my hands on one. I've been a Fender fan for 15 years now.
wait -till you discover you can have them custom made for the same price; I have warmoth, allparts, hipshot and some other parts just to make guitars I really like and I absolutely don't wanna part with them.
Look into G&L over Fender ;-) Leo perfected his designs with G&L before he passed.
Fenders are “hum dingers” for sure…60 cycle hum dingers 😵💫😫
in the early 80s, The Japanese invasion with Ibanez Destroyer, ESP, Yamaha even Korean made Kramer etc... has called a new wave of musician, from George Lynch of Dokken, Eddie Van Halen to Metallica, Satriani, Vai and Paul Gilbert... Better quality and advance technology in making guitar improve the musicality itself!
Good points. Awesome video man!! My favorite line “I’m not stupid”. No you are not stupid. You are a smart guy with have full of common senses.
This vid alone has made me subscribe! Absolutely brilliant sir.
thank u!
I love the “You can’t afford it. That’s why you’re hating.” Excuse. Yeah, because that’s what’s stopping us from our passion? Such a STUPID argument 🤣 Edit: We currently live in a “Take My Money Now!” World because these young kids grew up only knowing social media marketing lies 😕
Your right on the money.Could you consider doing a review on expensive acoustic guitars?
this guy Murphy , he beats it up for ya lol. Priceless.
You are AWESOME. Keep bringing Truth!
Truths. Refreshing. Thank you. 🇨🇦
Preach it Brother! Man I feel this so much. I have a lot of guitars - from $50 all the way up to about $1200. I love them all, and I play them all. I think the difference in price can be seen in the quality of hardware, and also in the time spent in setting them up… I do not own Gibsons… but I do have Epiphones that are just as good in my opinion. People are brand crazy. If you are a new or aspiring guitarist… Do not be afraid to buy a used guitar. Do not be afraid to buy inexpensive guitars. Do your homework. Watch video reviews - Educate yourself. Learn to do your own setups. Until then, buy what you can afford, but save some money for a good setup too! It can make a harsh, meh, piece of wood with metal on it, into an awesome instrument that is a joy to play! Nice honest talk here man! Subscribed!
thank u!
I have played a cheap Dean guitars 7 string that my dad bought me for like 200 bucks or something in 2017. This thing still stays in tune after constant abuse and playing and dropping it and all that, never upgraded it. Adjusted the tune o matic bridge at most to accomodate for dead notes and fret buzz. But this year at my guitar teacher I've been choosing to not play my own guitar, and trying out the Gibsons he has, he has an SG and a Les Paul and the thing is. This Dean 7 string, feels more comfortable than them to me despite the wider neck! Something just doesn't feel **right** playing a Gibson for me.
Same goes for my Harley Benton Jazz Bass, beat on it since I got it and still doesn't even really need a setup.
Also great video! I loved your little comments there in the beginning about the customer thing, it was funny to me but of course you're right. They advertize to people with money and that's who they want to buy their products etc etc.
Superb video! I got into guitars late in life last 2 years I’m pretty much on deaths door heart issues ,so I said. I always wanted to learn guitars and bought a bunch of them. 3 Harley Benton’s a Prs Schizoid from Indonesia, a tele from AIO in California and 2 Fender strats one MIM and one American Ultra. Plus an Epiphone hummingbird . And guess what. I suck on all of them! It’s the player that sets the tone not the equipment . Worst hobby is the Audiophile you can spend 20 k on just the speaker cables and I have . Marketing is the great evil in America. Once again great video !
I haven't done it for years, so maybe things have changed, but all I can tell you is go to a Guitar Center or equivalent and play a decent Gibson and it's Epiphone equivalent back to back. When I bought my LP there was a huge difference. Doesn't mean the Epi couldn't be made to sound good enough in a live setting, but the quality difference between the two guitars was evident. Even my wife who isn't a musician could hear and see the obvious differences.
I'm not a mechanic, so I often buy cheap Harbor Freight tools as they're good enough to do what I need them to do. Doesn't make professional mechanics wrong for using more expensive, higher quality tools like say Snap On tools. Unlike me, they aren't just doing a job. They're living with them every day.
You're right about the finishes. I have a Tele dipped in plastic and the thing could be used to drive railroad stakes without damage. For whatever reason, guitarists seem to like tattered looking instruments. It's like a badge of honor that they've been used and not just sat on display in a rich guy's house ;)
Hi Danny, hope you're well. Have just started watching your channel a couple of weeks ago and agree with everything you say I'm old aswell I've just turned 65 and in a similar situation but without the money I have to save up for a guitar I like. I've bought about 8 harley benton guitars including 3 kits and think they are well worth the price only had a problem with the SC 450 plus where the fret ends where rounded over that much the high E string slipped off the end of the fingerboard when trying to fret it . Have returned it to thomman for a replacement they are really good when it comes to customer service. Anyway looking forward to more of your videos.
Les Paul came with a prototype of a guitar but it was based on a hollow-body. Although it was a single-cut, it was more like an ES-335 than a Les Paul. I always found that interesting, that Gibson also made a guitar like the one Les Paul presented them with - a semi-hollow with a centre block - but gave it name of just letters and numbers. But Les wanted a solid body with a super-clean tone. So Les Paul had the idea but Ted McCarty made it into a workable model.
Love this video. Like you I can afford any guitar I want and like you I’m not a fool with my money.
I bought the less expensive version of 2 guitars I was interested in. I got the SE version of the PRS Hollowbody II Piezo
for $1,200 used Mint condition, compared to the $7,050 for PRS's Core version although there are differences in electronics. I also picked up the Epiphone version of the Slash LP for $850 compared to Gibson's $3200 version. The Epiphone sounds and plays great and I'm just an intermediate player anyway so any subltle differences I probably wouldn't notice. I also play a Martin 000-15M which to me is the perfect guitar. Light, pretty, perfect setup out of the factory, and the sweetest balanced sound ever. Now I've tried hundreds of Taylors, Gibsons, more expensive Martins, Yamaha, Ibanez, and more, some in the $4000 + range and nothing sounds or plays as sweet as my little Martin.
You're very funny, and I hope your channel takes off. Murphy is a cruel man.
thank u
Briliant! Thank you.
thank u
Hello Danny! First time seeing you and I loved your researched take on Gibson and their pricing. You focused a lot on economics and all seemed spot on. I'll add another stick to beat Gibson over the head with and that's the fact that the quality control over the consistency of the product famously now leaves much to be desired. I worked guitar retail and I can tell you that Gibson sent us more imperfect guitars than all of the other manufacturers combined. Those imperfections were usually minor and cosmetic but sometimes they were worse. For the price they charge though, even minor and cosmetic is unacceptable.
The only issue I have with what you said is how you describe Les Paul himself. It's possible, likely even that he wasn't the best partner to Mary Ford and may have indeed held her back. It's a stretch to say that she was a better guitar player than him though. I don't know how familiar with his music you are but he was around a long time before he made hit songs with Mary Ford. It's hard to find but if you come across any of his old jazz recordings you will be amazed. So many only know him because of the guitar with his name on it. But in fact he was actually one of the very best guitar players ever. Mary was good, also better than people realize but her teacher was Les.
I enjoyed your video and I agree with almost all of it. Cheers Danny!
Thanks Danny, someone has to take up the torch for rationality, I appreciate your video.
Awsome man, this break down is awsome! I love it! I could listen to you rant about anything, all day long my friend. I don't have the cash like that so i like cheapo guitars and then i fix em up, but i do have suggestions for you. I played a Novo guitar and it was beautiful! It was made to feel old but played and felt better than any new guitar ive ever picked up! Also, as a builder and enthusiast, i would recommend looking into Knaggs guitars. Never played one but they sure do look beautiful!
Paul Mc Cartneys Hofner was under a hundred bucks. In the early 70s in Germany, I could've got a used one 75 bucks ,but my army buddy talked me out of it. He was a jazz ,classical and flamenco player. He said You Know Why It's Cheap? THAT'S ALL ITS WORTH! Told to buy a Fender and he'd show me how to play it. He said back then Fender aged their necks 7 yrs
You don't understand man! Both Gibson and Fender have magic dust that they sprinkle on their made in USA guitars. Their pickups are hand wound by in a clean room by people that are pure of mind, body, and soul.
I'm not sure why Fender doesn't sue Gibson for stealing the "relic" idea.
What’s extremely funny about this is that MIM and the MIJ versions of Fender guitars are sometimes much better quality than the US made.
Hey man, loved the show. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"I'm literally the person Gibson wants to sell to." lol
if we start to question the cost of manufacturing something vs the sale amount the whole system breaks down.
Danny…..I’ve been to Indonesia…..never saw the corpse rituals, but I’ll go there with you, and we’ll look into that!
theres videos on that! amazing!
when you spend 10000,- on a guitar you will always find that it sounds better than a cheaper one. If someone else doesn't hear that, it will of course be because the other person doesn't understand it enough. The buyer thus puts himself "above" the rest and suggests that he is a better guitarist, but he is actually showing that he is a production narcissist. A good sound is in the hands and brains of the player and almost not in the material..😉👍
Same thing is, that rich ppl buy sportscar believing that skills automatically increase with the HP of your car. Rediculous.
Back in the day when I started playing guitar, the inexpensive guitars were mostly bad (hard to play, intonate, keep in tune, etc.) so you did what you could until you could afford a "real" guitar. That mindset stuck with me for many years until I found an inexpensive Epiphone Casino Made in China off the rack in GC. Amazingly, it was intonated, tunable and sounded / played great. I went online and got the best Epiphone Casino available at the time.
Since then, I found many brands/models of guitars that aren't Gibson that work great for me: Fender, Ibanez, Jackson, Eastwood, etc.
I have 6 Jacksons now, all purchased new, all kept stock; combined they cost less than one Les Paul Standard or Custom.
The thing is that if I spend $10,000 on a guitar it should be perfect in every way. It should be resonant and easy to play and free of blemishes (unless I bought something with a heavy relic) and designed well. The problem with Gibson is they simply aren't consistently better. Even more expensive models can be completely dead sounding and you have to hunt for a great sounding Gibson. That's truth. Anyone who plays a lot of them knows it's the truth and you have to play it and really listen. They're not consistent for the money. I want Taylor or PRS consistency for that much money and Gibson doesn't do it. I understand why people love Gibson. I'm a luthier and when you have a good one in your hands damn it's pretty magical, but there's a lot of duds in between
Took me a second to realize you were being sarcastic! I agree with you... and there's so many guys that buy one REALLY expensive guitar and say how fantastic it is, now nothing else compares, etc. I've been through over 100 guitars and I can't say there is "the one". Each guitar is unique and brings it's own strengths and weaknesses to the party. That's what helps create original sounds and approaches to playing. My personal take is I'd rather have a collection of pickup types as that seems to effect the sound more than anything else... and there's no one pickup that outshines the others.
@@fishpotpete I totally agree with that
Gibson's (the Les Paul, 335, SG, Junior's etc) are excellently _designed_ guitars and when built with care and attention to detail are fantastic instruments. At this point though, anyone and everyone even mildly interested in electric guitars knows that Gibson has - and has had - an issue with consistency/quality control for a long time now. Going all the way back to the "Norlin-era" of the 70's and to a lesser extent, even the mid to late 1960's. When you want a Gibson, the trick is having to put in the leg work to find one out in the world.
It's a risk to purchase them online unless you have a great relationship with a dealer. A dealer who is a player themselves and _knows_ what a great guitar is. One who will be honest with you on the phone or through online messaging about a guitar's playability, fit and finish and one who ultimately, has the patience and excellent return policy to let you ship it back and swap it out if it's not up to snuff.
Frankly though, that's not an easy thing to find or relationship to build. So often when I've called guitar shops and asked them to pull a specific guitar off the floor and give an honest, detailed accounting of it's playability and the shape it's in, I get a far less than enthused person who does not seem interested in putting in the time to give an honest accounting. "Old school" customer service is lacking throughout the sales industry whether it's instruments, cars, electronics etc.
So again, the best bet for a player looking for that "perfect" Gibson should be ready and willing to be patient and diligent. Searching your local Guitar Center's, small "mom and pop" guitar shops and playing each and every one yourself until you find that one winner. It's not as instantly gratifying as that immediate serotonin release you get buying one online in that exact color or finish you wanted but it's far more rewarding overall. There is nothing like a fantastic playing and feeling guitar. Those guitars that have that intangible 10 to 20% more magic over all the others.
Sure, it's rare that you're going to find that perfect playing guitar in the exact color you wanted. Although it's been my experience that a fantastic playing guitar somehow starts to _look_ better with time. Then the longer and more serious yo play, the more you appreciate that really great instrument. Especially if you put in the work to find it.
Danny, your horse sense is cracking me up! All true, all true!
I don’t know a thing about guitar, but your storytelling was very interesting. Thanks Danny for the education on guitar.
Your very well researched argument is good.
The most recent lawsuits were about body shapes and very very hard to defend legally, and even when they did actually win that one specific lawsuit against Jackson for the Flying V their financial payout winnings were very very low.
I was going to recommend a PRS Custom 24-08,.but only an older one because Sir Paul of PRS started using a nitro finish on that particular model about 3 years back,..LoL
You can find videos on RUclips of PRS layers combining about the fast deterioration of the $4000 plus guitars due to said use of Nitro on their Custom 24-08. I was shocked when I watched them as I never imagined Paul would approve such a thing.
But an older PRS custom 24 from before I think, 2019, will have a Poly finish that is super protective and modern.
Also,...on a completely odd note,..fender makes a version of the telecaster called the Telecaster FMT,..which is basically. telecaster body but all set up like a Les Paul,.including carved flame top and double hum buckers. These Telecaster's were first made in Japan and now made in Indonesia and now cost around $1000 brand new ( they are still in production ) and a couple hundred $$ less used on Reverb.
You can also buy an Epiphone Les Paul and upgrade the electronics and hardware to fit your tonal taste and its still jsut as much a Les Paul as any guitar with a G on he headstock,..it just wont have the nitro finish.
I would. go to a Guitar Center and play a Epiphone 1959 Les Paul with the Gibson pickups and pOly finish and see if that works.
Have been doing gigs for a number of years with expensive guitars, did a gig one night with a budget Ibanez to try out for a friend and my band members and a few listeners said how good it sounded , just goes to show.
It was my first time watching. I just subscribed. Old Danny cracked me up!
You make a lot of sense and me at 64 played my whole life and still perform when I was 19 playing regularly I pooled all my savings In 77 and bought a Les Paul custom. Was I crazy at the time maybe. I went on playing it for over 40 years never bought another guitar and that Les Paul has held up all those years. I finally replaced the bridge and nut and need to get a few frets dressed to fix buzzing.
Couple years ago I decided I wanted a ES 335 and a SG I read reviews on Epiphone Sheraton being so nice. I bought one very nice guitar feels great once set It up how I like it. Then bought SG saw a fancy model Epiphone. Same thing fit finish feel I could get almost as nice as Les Paul. The finish was stunning on the SG The electronics are good but they do fall short from my 77 Gibson specially play live when I had to switch off. I have to really reset amp. But to answer everything you said. I wasn’t paying 5 grand for Gibson 335 or 2000 for SG that I can play as well on and create a tone I liked on either one. The computer cuts and makes these Epiphones good enough for a good player to make it work unless not having Gibson across head means that much. Your playing it you make sound good not the brand. I mainly use Les Paul we been playing many years it’s amazing tone and guitar. But your correct in you thoughts the computers can duplicate the fretboards and the bodies better tuners are being sold as well. I get ya
Thank you for reply. But being I play live all the time and the electronics in the Gibson are a cut above Epy and will match my 77 Les Paul custom quality sound and levels I decided I may just trade the Epy SG for the Gibson SG 61
I live in Nashville TN area where they are made and I can play a bunch at Gibson factory where they also sell Epys and compare and find one. 2 grand isn’t 5 grand. But it’s been a tug a war in my brain coming to this conclusion. Love your channel and your wisdom.
FACTORY?? is the factory open for people to go inside? or did you mean the Gibson Garage on 10th?
@@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic the garage is what I meant.
Funny video, I appreciate you, I’ll like and sub. Thanks for the laughs
thank u
Just stumbled upon your channel and your videos are amongst the best that I’ve seen on RUclips. Sincere, honest, genuine and funny as hell!!! Just the type of content that we need more of nowadays. Keep making videos man!
Much love from Sweden!
Great point Danny I watch another channel they other day. A guy named dr.rick was on it had a
$10,000 custom LP and his friend had hb 550 pro they done a blind test the dr.rick played both and let me tell you that man can play both sounded great because of DR.RICK so yes you are right 2 guitars setting side by side sounds the sMe it's the person that makes it sound good I have always thought the same way been looking at hb for awhile now. Thanks for sharing
I gave up on Gibson years ago, but I have tried a few in local stores since. Not worth it IMO.
Meanwhile, I have a few Fenders (MIA, MIJ, MIM) that are all great. Same for Ibanez, Jackson, D'Angelico, Eastwood, and many more.
Someone is buying Gibson's, it's their money. That leaves more non-Gibson guitars for the rest of us.
😁
LES PAUL WAS THE CO-DESIGNER AND CONSULTANT, NOT JUST A MINDLESS ENDORSEE!!!
You are really doing the man a disservice by minimalizing his contribution...😕😕😕
You are pretty much spot on about everything else though!!!
ruclips.net/video/pmrKmbbmjSY/видео.html
@@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic I wish I could find the old issue of Guitar Player Magazine from the '70s with a Ted McCarty interview we're he talks about Les having very DEFINATE ideas about that guitar before he would put his name on the headstock.
That PAF sticker deal sounds like some "Authentic" Gibson bullshit as usual. One thing we can agree on, Gibson doesn't care one bit about me or you!!!
I heard gibson didnt give a crap about what les paul had to say, they went and slapped les paul name on the SG, and when the contract was up, they had to remove the name from the SG because les paul hated it. dont sound like les paul had much to say given this example of how gibson behaved. ALSO I dont think les paul had much to do with the McCarty guitar now called the les paul because I seen the invention of les paul, it was a LOG with some pickups on it, detachable sides and looked like 335. I seen footage of les paul playing something commercially made that also looked like a 335, dont look a thing like a mccarty les paul..
@@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic The "Log" was a piece of solid wood with two sides of an Epiphone hollowbody because when Les played the log in public nobody payed attention. So, he came up with the idea of gluing wings on it to make it look like an actual guitar and not a science project. Then people loved it!!!
My guess is that between Gibson's lies and Les Paul's ego we'll probably never know the whole story.
The simple fact is, Les Paul was absolutely involved in the making of the Les Paul. Les ordered several changes before he would agree to have his name on it. Another fact, Les and Mary Ford remained friends until her death so I doubt divorce had much to do with Les not wanting his name on the SG or renewing his endorsement deal. I think it had a lot to do with dealing with Gibson's bullshit!!! Gibson has proven time and time again they don't have any scruples when it comes to their business dealings...
Love the videos and I enjoy the debate but I think we're deadlocked here my friend. We ALL know how hard Gibson goes after people that make them mad. Why wasn't Les one of them??? Because he was the only artist to ever have Gibson by THEIR balls!!!
I have a Gibson Standard and Studio, I wouldnt give them away if I was offered double what I paid.
Excellent video!
After 40 years as a pro musician, I can tell you that any real guitarist can make a Barbie or Keith Urban guitar sound like a 10,000 dollar Gibson.
As Clapton said: 'It's in the Way that You Use It!
Oh, and I kinda like the idea of being dug-up, dusted-off and paraded around once a year or so!
i enjoyed that immensely, thank you what you said is the truth.
Completely agree - you have a new subscriber 🙂 I immediately think of EVH's Frankenstrat. If finish was such a big deal, Schwinn's Bike Paint should be revered. My current favourite guitar in my collection is a HB £75 kit guitar with a Schaller trem & SD pickups, covered in Rustoleum spray can paint.
Awesome video!!! Do Fender next please. I want to hear your take on Fender today. I'm already laughing!
It will be a while, first I would need to get a tele and a strat style guitar, see how I feel about those and then look into the expensive versions..
Loved this. Thanks Danny.
I like this guy! Good vibe
thank u
Love this guy
That's worth a subscription...
thank u
Persons ask me what guitar brand to get? I ask them are you wanting one to play, resell, or as investment. Lots of good playable guitars being made nowadays. And lots of collectibles and investment types also. My expensive guitars spend almost all there time in case’s. My other 25 guitars i have are on my walls so i can grab and play.
Great video. 👍
Would you say the same about Ibanez prestige Kiesel and Suhr as well? I agree about the guitar doesn’t make the player
I think I would not be, because until recently i havent heard of 3 out of those 4... but gibson had been heavy on the marketing, so i look into the products and found what i found... and with that authentic video they tried to put out there, left a bad taste.
I'm a late starter. I COULD probably drop a couple grand on something nice, but I don't see the point. I got an IYV for 147 and was happy. I could redo the electronics on it with Gibson pickups and it'd sound just as good as a Gibson. Hell, if I wanted to drop any money, I could just get a Gretsch for 600 and it'd sound awesome. I like their sound better anyway.
I have never considered buying a fake aged guitar
I would also never consider buying a used aged guitar of somebody else.. I can understand family hierlooms like if your dad giged and that was his guitar, you can play it proud. but some random person? I rather buy new.
I am 100 % agreed with you. I like your videos.
Dude love this vid, yes it's wood with some metal parts. You can get a very good guitar for a lot less than a Gibson.
As a player I would not pay any more than 4 to 5 hundred for a guitar at the most. Over my 28 years of playing I have had guitars for 150 to 300 that have been absolutely amazing. I saved up for a Gibson SG at one point after spending a bit of time in the guitar shop I trying a few out I choose an Epiphone SG over the Gibson one it just felt better in the hand and needed a lot less set up work than the Gibson ones. I have built a fair few guitar kits and nitro is my least favorite finish, I prefer oil finish nitro is so fickle and temperamental. One guitar had a chemical reaction with the rubber on one of my guitar stands.
I'd argue that epiphone is cheap gibson. Then there is p.r.s and Paul reed Smith. 2 are made over seas. 2 are made in the USA
I loved the rant! 😂😂😂
Just subed you are refreshing thank you for the honesty so excuse me if you are aware but I think the answer is Yamaha best value for material may Murphy bless you.
The Gibson Custom shop still uses cnc machines to make the basic core model before they relic them out !!! RIP OFF !!!
I paid over 4 grand for my Gibson Les Paul. I’ll admit spending that much money on a guitar is IRRATIONAL. Guitars can be made at the same level (or better e.g. Eastman) for half or much less than half. Guitar is not a rational hobby for many people, including myself. I did buy a Squier recently for 400 bucks and the guitar is FANTASTIC
I saw that a paul newman daytona was costing 250k a piece, but the actual daytona worn by paul newman sold at auction for 17 million. dude.... dude.....
Paying $5k for a stock Gibson is like paying Lamborghini money for a stock Corvette!
It reminds me of the 100 dollar jeans that were worn out and ripped up vs. The 40 dollar regular ones...
Everything you said is so true. I bought a LP standard to have a “real LP” to keep at home and was really satisfied until I bought a 59 LP reissue by Epiphone to take on the road with me because I travel a lot for work. My $600 guitar kicks the sh$t out of my $3k guitar and they are owned by the same company!! So I ended up switching out the pickups on the LP and now I’m satisfied with it. New sub here, keep up the great work
Them Epi '59s are great ain't they???
Straight shooter. Love it.
OVERHEARD AT GIBSON ONE DAY: "Damn, I was just putting the finishing touches on one of our LP Standards & I dropped it halfway down the stairs! It's all scuffed & marked up AF, & I'm gonna lose my job!" "No worries, Munsen, our head of marketing just came up with a way around this exact problem."
Really funny and true. I'm going to die soon, priceless.
I love his videos..... Authentically Honest.
awesome video man thanks for taking you're time to make it, and I love you're sense of humour ur supper funny
ps. come on you can't be that old :p you still look 25 years young
thank you and hello from Vancouver Canada
Glad you enjoyed!
All these are true but to be honest the breaking point for me is on top of all these people defending QC issues of such expensive instruments. I myself really tried to justify more expensive guitars. Imo, especially if you can do some minor work on the instruments, it is not worth going above Fender MIM or epiphone stuff. And with harley bentons on their 300-400 models offering this kind of quality I don't even know what we are discussing anymore. Also you are not that old :p cheers
Well you're partially right about Les Paul. He did infact invent a version of the electric guitar nicknamed "The Log" (which was a hollow body epiphone with it's middle sliced out, replaced with a 4x4, the neck and bridge attached to that and some pickups nailed to it. He tried to pedal it to Gibson years before and they just weren't interested. Until Fender started making affordable guitars, then Gibson got in contact with him and McCarty designed the Les Paul from that.
Seems another pattern of Gibson was to ignore players wants until someone else was doing it - like Tony Iommi with his 24 fret John Birch SG. Slash's guitar was a copy of a Gibson, then Gibson made a copy of that when he struck an endorsement from them.
It's funny though - Fenders the same. The company was built (I'm sure to compete with Gibson) as an alternative for musicians to have quality instruments at affordable prices. As they gained popularity (and changed ownership), that seemed to have gone out the window (although at least they have varying price points but generally look the same as their higher priced guitars).
In terms of paint, you're spot on. Lacquer was what they had back then and that's what was used on furniture. Fender actually used automotive paints (which were better). However there was a lack of colour choice - hence why all of the guitars made in the 50's were the same colours as the auto-mobiles of the time.
If you search for it, there's an interview with Pete Townshend around the time he was using Les Paul deluxe's where he states to a question why he uses Gibsons along the lines of "I've got a deal with them, but I had to go through a heap of them to find 10 good ones".
I'm with you Danny. I'm at an age where I could buy whatever guitar I want. I'm not a professional musician and I'm content with that. I've got enough knowledge and skill under my belt to modify whatever guitar I get to make it play as good as much higher priced instruments. After all as you say, a guitar is only wood, strings and pickups in essence.
wow that was alot and very well written! i dont know why any player (vs fan/collector) would want a tony guitar, that thing was modded for his missing fingertips.. 🤔
@@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic Haha I've got two of them sitting in the collection LOL. Only Epiphones, but ones the original they brought out and the newer one from 2017. The newer ones actually a great guitar to play. The older one has very dark sounding pickups, not really my thing but still looks cool. So you need to use that one with a treble booster. And yes, I'm a big Black Sabbath fan!
You're correct in that he did create the guitar with the missing tips in mind. Mainly using much lighter gauge strings (8-32 which are now common place), higher output pickups (more magnets to cope with smaller gauge strings and lower string tension), 24 frets (which he just wanted) and badass bridge (to help correct intonation due to lower gauge strings). And obviously the inlay crosses - just because 😁
He didn't want to mass produce them back in the late 70's. He just wanted Gibson to build HIM a guitar, which they couldn't (or wouldn't do). But of course, now Black Sabbath and Tony Iommi are forever in the rock legends relm, Gibson sees they can make a buck off someone else's hard work so mass production it is!
😆 That Indonesia Story was gr8 = insta-sub. I like u man 👌!!
thank u!
I heard the "The prices are the same as 1959 if you adjust for inflation" argument a lot by Gibson fans, and its true and false. Because you also have to factor in the income of the average worker, which got left behind by a longshot.
As for their guitars, i have a few Epiphones and a Gibson SG. I gotta say that the Nitro finish feels better and i wish other brands would use it, if only for their higher priced models. Playability wise, they're pretty much equal. With that being said, if i was in the market for a new Les Paul, i would probably go with Eastman.
Love the comments about the nitro finish and the crappy musicians Marketing works!
The same thing I have been saying for years to other guitar players. They respond that I'm just stupid and spend crazy amounts of money to buy basically a very expensive logo on the headstock :)
I'm loving this guy...new sub😅
I want to find an arguing point, but you make it difficult. One thing I have observed is typically between each step there is an average of 5% difference, which is really difficult to justify and most people would not notice, that said in respect to the current none replica/reissues/vos models, Model (A): $800, Model (B): $1200, Model (C): $1600, Model (D): $2100 etc... So theoretically model (D) is a %15 improvement over model (A) in tangible differences such as fit, feel, tone, finish etc.. The law of diminishing returns apply to tangible differences whereas the person forking out the $ makes up the remaining difference in emotion and in many cases assumed admiration or jealousy among their piers.
the issue here is that it is NOT A 15% improvement over model A, rather, because this is an item for ART, it is just a 15% Change of attributes which is neither better or worse, just different, and they would love to convince you that such difference = better... ART is very subjective there is no better or worse.. which is why none of it justifies that very high price...
Every word is perfectly True , at long last the true word.
Diggit. Danny is no pigeon for vultures like Gib$son. I really dit the wee wee yellow Junior with the dog ear P 90. Sweet guitar.
Entertaining rant. I’m still over the moon about my new Gibson Les Paul, though!
yes you would be, they spent alot of money on mind control!~
I have a Gibson that I love the tone of, when everything is going good- but it has intonation issues and I think kinda subpar tuners, understandable for lower level les Paul’s but still not what one would expect from Gibson…. I got mine at a great price, but I think you’d be better off spending the same on a higher level epiphone, they also sound good
issues? get a luthier to make you a bone nut or make one yourself.. and dont press the strings too hard?
and tuners are tuners. They should work fine as long as they’re not the cheapest quality what I do is that after I change strings, I stretch the strings then I Detune it, a couple of full turns, and stretch the string and tune it back up and stretch the strings and detune it a couple of turns, and then stretch the strings, because if the strings are not stretched at the wraps of the tuners, then Jetta just throws it off
@@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic The tuners work pretty well but the design for repair is really bad; ive had two break in half and they are impossible to reattach, I needed to buy new tuners. It's a nice guitar but has always needed a nice setup ive neglected to get. its probably worth it.
@@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic You don't even play, and you're giving out advice?
I think Les Paul made the hum bucking pickup