To be fair, $500 in 1969 is the equivalent of about $3.5k today. If you can sell your 2009 LP for that much you're doing pretty well! Still would be kicking myself if I'd been there at that time, had one and sold it, though!
There is practically no significant difference that I could detect-- they all sounded great! As you have proven time and again Johan, the amp is 90% of the sound. What would have been hilarious though, is if you would have compared your $100 Epiphone Les Paul (with the upgraded pickup) in the mix. I suspect that in a blind challenge very few people would be able tell the difference. Great job as usual! Cheers from Miami, FL.
59>58>60>08 Hate to buy into the 59 hype but it really does sound the best. It's all about the "roundness" of the tone and the 59 has the most round tone of all of them. You can really hear how sharp at the edges the 08 is in comparison. The highs are a little piercing and the low notes have a "boom" or a pop to them that stands out too much. I find that lack of roundness is what separates guitars in general. Surprisingly I thought the 60 was only slightly better than the reissue though. It was the least "round" of the three old ones. I'd bet you could find newer les pauls that would out perform that 60 or even the 58. I wish I could send you my Orville by Gibson 89 Les Paul to compare it because it's seriously good as well. Very round tone. It would be interesting to see how it measures up to these.
Your R9 has a brighter attack in this video. Not worse or better just different. R9 is killer and drips Johan mojo. It’s your personal signature axe that fits you perfectly and you can spend the extra dough on a Ferrari 😆
LOL this is true, hence, ive watched this video a few times and had different answers every time, i went from the 58, to he 59, now the r8 sounds the most focused....I probably would take one of those bursts over the Ferarri though...In 10 years ill be able to buy a few Ferarris....Because, these works of art, are definitly going into the millions in the next decade or close to it, hope i can get one before that happens.
Even without headphones on my iPad I can hear that the 59 (compared to the 2008) has a little more 3 dimensional tone to it. It’s almost as if you added a xotic RC booster feel when listening to the originals. This is a great video comparison guys! Cheers!
With my eyes closed, using decent headphones and DAC/amp, I couldn’t always tell the difference between transitions. The reissue bursts are great guitars and seem to get incrementally better every year. Awesome video, Johan.
Not gone lie but I much preferred the sound of your Reissue, a lot snappier and lively to my ears. Out of the 3 original bursts my favorite was definitely the 1960. All guitars sounded amazing.
Awesome vid👏👏 After a close listen with top shelf headphones, I say the 60 has the warmest tone. The 59 has a great mix of treble and warmth, and the 58 is the brightest of the originals. Basically thinner necks seem to be mellowing the tone. The 08 sounds like a modern reissue. There are a few instances of it sounding very nearly vintage but the notes have to be perfectly mothered to get that. The originals just normally sound that way all the time. The vintage ineffable is most clear in the vibrato ring time of a single note, and sounds more like a human voice (rich and complex, almost layered) vs “a single vibrating metal string”. Simon’s playing is as if he’s demonstrating this intentionally 👏👏 In my experience the caps are most responsible for this. The vintage pots will let more of it through, like a lense. An original abr seems to feed both of those components more of the warm midrange tones to begin with. There is, painfully, no alternative way to make up the combined difference a vintage ABR + centralab pots + pio .022 bumblebees will make. Even if only those parts are swapped into a reissue. Less certain are the pickups. PAF’s are an expensive gamble. Modern custombuckers are a cheaper gamble. To me it makes the most sense (and has worked well in my R8) to add a set of pickups wound with modern materials *but* a spectroscopic end-result of sound in mind. Many pickup builders insist on copying exact physical characteristics of PAF’s but the metallurgy of the materials isn’t the same, and no wonder to me when neither is the sound. There’s at least one (probably many more) pickup winder out there using spectroscopy to guide their hunt for mojo. And will likely insist on Russian PIO caps, which are very good, but I’ve found NOS bumblebees to be superior to even those. Point being if the maker isn’t specifying (and/or providing with a pickup set) which caps to use with their design, how can you trust it? Would be like Ferrari shrugging at the suggestion of putting truck tires on it’s f1 racer.
All slightly different, but none better. Just slightly different. The fact that the R9 is a tenth of the price and holds it's own is impressive. In another 50 years it won't matter much I would guess. Great video mate. Love your work.
That's kind of the point though. You shouldn't need to "EQ" your way out of it being too sharp. And the guitar fundamentally itself doesn't have a roundness of tone, so simply rolling off the tone control won't provide that warm mid range depth. It will just sound less "sharp".
all great guitars, you and Simon did a nice job with the demo. I have a 2008 plain top R8 which I absolutely love. The R9 in this video seems to be a touch louder and more treble than the others, probably due to aging of the magnets of the older models. Good stuff..thanks!
Wow! First off, great side by side! Almost impossible to do! But you nailed it. Having 2 players was crucial for obvious reasons. First impression, 2008 holds it’s own! Loved the sweetness of others. My personal favorite was the 60. I’m hearing a bit more high end sparkle. Fantastic job! Thank you.
The stock pups on the R9 is great already not to swap out. All similar sounding and eq'ing it can be quite surprising how they can all sound the same. The R9 is closer to the heart. Great choice and great demo.
Love the comparison. You mentioned the 1960 was your favorite. How about a detailed video of what and why it is “ the best you’ve ever played “ I’d love to get your insights as I will never be able to get my hands on any vintage pieces and will definitely never be able to afford them either. Keep up the great work!
What's so interesting is the very different tonal characteristics across the vintage examples - certainly with the 60 being brightest (and I'd bet $6 bucks the lightest weight). As an owner of a more recent run R9 that I A/Bd against a pretty famous 59 and thought was dang close, I am quite pleased to hear how well your 2008 held its own against the vintage crew. I listened twice and scrolled up and down to try and guess. 60 stood out (again, brighter) but the other 3 were all very similar yet uniquely voiced. One little trick I've done to get a slightly more vintage vibe out of my 2014 is drop the pickups down just a bit and that really gets close to the effects of time on magnets. Assuming you can get access again, I'd love to see this with a decent little distortion box out front so you could compare note bloom and overdrive characteristics. Thanks, Johan & Simon!
Amazes me how much difference there is between them! I agree that the '60 definitely had something special. There's something in the upper mid-range that adds clarity like your R9 does but in a way that sounded much sweeter to my ears. It also definitely has less bottom end than any of the others so it stayed clearer even at higher gain. If it's not about which one to buy but just which one to use in the studio, I'd take that '60 first, but if it wasn't available I'd honestly say your R9 would probably be my next choice. The others just didn't have the high end clarity and actually sounded a little muddy to me. Might just be the age of the pickups or something, I don't know. Amazing video as always! Cheers!
Maybe the '08 shapes out the heights a little bit more as the three Vintage ones. But my overall impression is, that these 4 are so close together, that I need to rethink my personal 'Holy Grail' thing ......
It's fairly subtle but I think the '58 and the '59 possess just a bit more depth to the "warmth" than is present in the R9. Conversely I guess you could say that the originals lack a bit of the crispness and sparkle that the R9 exhibits too. It may be due to the fact that the magnets in the PAF's are 60 years old now, I don't know, but they're great sounding guitars, one and all. I've got one of the new 60th Anniversary R9's and would love to hear one used in the same comparison test. Cool video Johan. Thanks for putting it together and sharing.
And here we see why the '59 is the epitome of guitar sound. If you're a fan of rock and blues music, you're a fan of that sound--the one so many of us chase after.
Excellent presentation, with he short riffs! Good job! Very little difference between the guitars, I think, but the 2008 sounded slightly thinner. My favorite was the 1959!
Were they all stringed up with freshies of the same brand and gauge for filming?? I hear the differences everyone else is hearing too but can’t help but draw comparisons from my own new vs old string DI comparisons…
Hi Johan. Nice video as always. To my years the only difference between the reissue and the originals, is that the 2008 has, as it happens in all custom shop models be it Fender or Gibson, a liitle more output and more mids. Cheers, see you next friday.
The '59 was the winner to my ears, has mellow yet still sparkly tone .. sounds like butter and peppermint!! LoL .. but the R9 sounded just like the '58 and '60 . .... I have a 2001 R7 and 2005 R0, the Gibson custom shop guitars as close as you can get without selling your house. ;-)
59 sounds best to me. It's full but clear. It's got balls. I liked the 60 for its present mids. I think it would be a killer rock guitar. Its a tie between your R9 and the 58 for me. The sound similar, if only for a sweeter upper midrange on the 58. Great clip once again Johan
I agree the 1960 definitely sounds the best, and has a certain magic to it... But the good thing is, the R9 is firmly in the same territory as the originals. Had you told us it was an original too, I think nobody would have questioned it. The difference between the R9 and the originals is as small as the difference between the '59 and the '60.
Interesting how all the old ones seem to sound 'relaxed' and more balanced as the R9 has a little metallic bite on top that the others don't have. Cool colour on that 58!
Great stuff Johan. They all sound very similar, only subtle differences, the 59 sounds a little warmer, less trebly at a pinch. Otherwise the R8 sounds as good as the older originals I reckon.
To my ears, both for 58 and the 2008 sound amazing, and identical. They are the best of the bunch. I noticed that the other 2 you had slightly more mids , and had less top end sparkle, with the 59 being the one I like the least. Who’d have thought it? Give me the 2008 any day, at least I wouldn’t be afraid to leave the house with him.
I've been looking for a nice les paul for years, and I had lately given up. But hearing you R9 against the 3 bursts has kind of given me a better idea of what to look for. When did you buy your R9 and what was the reason for picking the one you have?? Maybe a video with a full story of how and what made you choose just that guitar?? Great clip as usual :-) Cheers
@Daniel Doran I'm using certified 525k JEL pots in mine, it made a world of difference with the stock pots on my Standard. A lot of old Bursts had pots in the 600-700k range. The taper on the JEL pots is different too and much more usable than standard CTS. You can go from a saturated tone to a clean one just by rolling the knob down from 10 to 7.
Interestingly, the 3 Bursts sound like they are typically described: - the 58 full, round, less aggressive - the 59 more focused, but still very open, with its famous mid grunt - the 60 the aggressive version of the 59, with even more mids and a bit more output imho the R sounds much harsher; and I think in reality the differences would be much more drastic as on the recording. Great video! Thanks Johan!
@@user-qr7ee2cp4y I'm sure it'll make a difference, but how much of a difference when you're out jamming with your buddies? Old guitars are mostly valued for nostalgia. Gibson and Fender are building truly amazing sounding custom shop guitars these days.
Last Sunday I played a 1957 Les Paul Special through a Bogen Shiva. It was pretty good, but I still think my 1993 Les Paul Custom shop Standard completely slays it. I played a 65 melody maker that was pretty tasty, and I played an 83 Gibson Victory which had phenomenal action but didnt have much output.
@@jumpnrun3368 My main player is a 93 custom. The prehistoric ones where they had the neck decal for one year. It's fantastic, what I choose above all my others guitars (and I have a Gibson from every decade since the 1950s (except the 80's for some reason)).
Sounds like the '59 has a slightly hotter pickup, with the R9 having a crispier tone with less low-mids compared to the vintage ones. All 4 sounded great. I really love the tone of my 2000 R9 with Lollar Imperials, I just wish these reissues had a more accurate neck profiles reproduction. Great video as always!
They all sounded great the 2008 and the 1960 were close with great attack...the 58/59 were softer with much more low end, perhaps the 50s pickups ...how does the string tensions on the 2008 vs 58/59 feel ?
I can hear the subtle differences but the question is "does the 2008 R9 stand up to the originals? I'd say yes and would take any one of them. This seems to be the general consensus on this thread.
I’m pleasantly surprised. I’ll take the R9. I like the brighter side of this. Beautiful comparison. What pickups are in the R9? I’m going for a set of these babies.
Not a hell of a lot in it. The vintage LPs were just a bit mellower, to my ear, but the R9 can hold its head high in august company here. Can't speak to any difference in feel, of course, or "magic" that might happen with the originals. That would be interesting to get yours and Simon's take on any differences there. My feeling is that making Les Pauls is a well-understood science. You can get a heck of a lot closer to the "ideal" than, for instance, making a new speaker sound like a vintage Greenback. Also, sometimes strict A/B testing can make us forget that "great" sounds don't have to be the same sounds as a particular component or combination. In this case, though, if you rolled just a touch of treble off of the R9, it would be tough to pick the difference. To my ears, over RUclips. To the player, in the room, there still may be something more we can't grasp.
man that reissue sounds pretty spot on, the 59 is buttery though, 58 identical to the 08, and the 60 just a touch smoother, differance is probably just in the age and condition of the pickups, a penny says rewinding/new magnet the 59's pickup would put it closer to the other 3
Remarkably, they all sounded fairly close in a lot of ways. I give the nod to the 1960 though - to my ears it had a slightly thicker tone on all the riffs, but more so on the lower part of the neck.
The R9 is brighter But Honestly its placebo with the older guitars I can't see the monetary difference of a couple of hundred grand Great video as usual John
The 1958 and the 2008 sound very similar through my computer speakers. The 1959 sounds the most different,the 1960 slightly less than the 1959. this video is a great priviledge to hear these guitars next to each other, so "Thank You Johan. P.S. Is it possible to do an acoustic comparison of these guitars?
the sonic differences amount to about two ticks/degrees on the tone pot, which gives the reissue a smidgen more detail in the sustain portion and a brighter attack. the rest is effectively identical to anyone but the player. the differences are 'night and day' to an investor, though.
All fantastic Gibson Les Paul Guitar’s. Not that much in the sound testing to me but maybe in how it feels to the player i’ve got the 1960 Reissue .😊👍🏼🎸
Maybe 1958/59 has a slightly more woody sound than the reissue but you can alter the tone of any electric guitar if you know how change the equalizer on your amplifier to the right settings for yourself.🎼🎸👍🏼😊
The ‘60 has that magical midrangey Kossoff sound, definitely stood out to me. The ‘58 seemed to lack a little punch? The Reissue hung in there very well, not as much prominent midrange as the others, but that may come down to the pickups...a different tone than the others, but still very nice.
To answer the question...yes I think your your R9 does sound pretty close to the real bursts! Surprisingly similar, and even though there were differences, they all sounded great.
Upon first few minutes in, they kinda sound the same, but as you continue to listen I realized that the originals had that ‘Girth’ to them. I would like to say that it’s probably because of the hide glue they used in the construction. So The newer reissues should sound also the same, as they use hide glue. This is a really nice video by the way. Thanks.
R9 is a little brighter on the top end, but it holds up very well against the bursts. Not as far off as I thought it would be. The bursts all had a mellower tone to the top end.
R9 holds up well. The 58 for me though......it has a magic, a more rounded mellow crunch; hard to verbalise tbh. Thanks for your continued brilliance :)
Johan have you tried the Fender Telecaster Deluxe? It's kind of like Fender trying to copy Les Paul. It's my favorite guitar, what do you guys think about it?
Johan, big fan but the 2013 and newer R9s are much closer in spec to the original Bursts. I was ready to buy a Burst conversion until I tried several. I like the 58 best in that video. And don’t forget every guitar is different. Please do another Burst comparison with several post 2012 R9s
There seems to be a resonance and articulation of the notes on the orig 58 and 60. The 59 sounded close to yours to my untrained ear, but maybe slight brighter. I really thinks its the difference of the PAF vs the burstbuckers. You should try a set of Doyle Coil PAFS in yours. I'll bet that it's a lot closer to the true PAF OF THE originals. I have an r8 and mine sounds very much like yours.
They all sound like great Les Paul's. I will take them all! Les is more!
More Les Paul wins!
One dude that sold an original burst 50 years ago for 500$ disliked this video
Hahaha! Cheers ;-)
To be fair, $500 in 1969 is the equivalent of about $3.5k today. If you can sell your 2009 LP for that much you're doing pretty well! Still would be kicking myself if I'd been there at that time, had one and sold it, though!
lol x 10 :)
OMG . .. .i just sprayed coffee on my screen . . :-D
damn that is funny!
Very subtle, but detectable, differences between all 4 LP's. If I had my choice, I'd take... the Bassman !!!
Byron Laird so agree, there is a lot in the amp! People who can afford Original LP usually have great amps too!
This guy knows what he's talking about.
That ‘59 is unbeatable, also unbelievable sound. I just couldn’t trade my house for one.
This is one of the best videos ever out on RUclips. Well done Johan and Simon. Really well structured comparison.
There is practically no significant difference that I could detect-- they all sounded great! As you have proven time and again Johan, the amp is 90% of the sound. What would have been hilarious though, is if you would have compared your $100 Epiphone Les Paul (with the upgraded pickup) in the mix. I suspect that in a blind challenge very few people would be able tell the difference.
Great job as usual! Cheers from Miami, FL.
Hey another Floridian...Hi from Tallahassee.
59>58>60>08
Hate to buy into the 59 hype but it really does sound the best.
It's all about the "roundness" of the tone and the 59 has the most round tone of all of them. You can really hear how sharp at the edges the 08 is in comparison. The highs are a little piercing and the low notes have a "boom" or a pop to them that stands out too much. I find that lack of roundness is what separates guitars in general.
Surprisingly I thought the 60 was only slightly better than the reissue though. It was the least "round" of the three old ones. I'd bet you could find newer les pauls that would out perform that 60 or even the 58.
I wish I could send you my Orville by Gibson 89 Les Paul to compare it because it's seriously good as well. Very round tone. It would be interesting to see how it measures up to these.
Your R9 has a brighter attack in this video. Not worse or better just different. R9 is killer and drips Johan mojo. It’s your personal signature axe that fits you perfectly and you can spend the extra dough on a Ferrari 😆
LOL this is true, hence, ive watched this video a few times and had different answers every time, i went from the 58, to he 59, now the r8 sounds the most focused....I probably would take one of those bursts over the Ferarri though...In 10 years ill be able to buy a few Ferarris....Because, these works of art, are definitly going into the millions in the next decade or close to it, hope i can get one before that happens.
Johan, you’re guitar sounds the best to me. It’s bright and lively!
All VERY similar! R9 has done a very good job but is hotter/brighter slightly! Otherwise '59 1st, 58 2nd, 08 3rd, & the 60 4th! \m/
I doble that, the '59 is somehow smoother, riper, but all 3 are very high quality. Cheers, Feri
@@ferencgraca7574 Yeah! I think every1 thought the 59 was the best example!
Yes, but that 60, wants to distort, mb it’s ready to play some metal,
Even without headphones on my iPad I can hear that the 59 (compared to the 2008) has a little more 3 dimensional tone to it. It’s almost as if you added a xotic RC booster feel when listening to the originals. This is a great video comparison guys! Cheers!
Another killer demo Johan! I now have an R9 in my sight!
With my eyes closed, using decent headphones and DAC/amp, I couldn’t always tell the difference between transitions. The reissue bursts are great guitars and seem to get incrementally better every year. Awesome video, Johan.
They all sound fantastic. Great video Johan
Johan you can make some vídeos with original Dumble SSS and Overdrive? Cheers my friend.
Not gone lie but I much preferred the sound of your Reissue, a lot snappier and lively to my ears. Out of the 3 original bursts my favorite was definitely the 1960. All guitars sounded amazing.
Awesome vid👏👏
After a close listen with top shelf headphones, I say the 60 has the warmest tone. The 59 has a great mix of treble and warmth, and the 58 is the brightest of the originals. Basically thinner necks seem to be mellowing the tone.
The 08 sounds like a modern reissue. There are a few instances of it sounding very nearly vintage but the notes have to be perfectly mothered to get that.
The originals just normally sound that way all the time. The vintage ineffable is most clear in the vibrato ring time of a single note, and sounds more like a human voice (rich and complex, almost layered) vs “a single vibrating metal string”. Simon’s playing is as if he’s demonstrating this intentionally 👏👏
In my experience the caps are most responsible for this. The vintage pots will let more of it through, like a lense. An original abr seems to feed both of those components more of the warm midrange tones to begin with.
There is, painfully, no alternative way to make up the combined difference a vintage ABR + centralab pots + pio .022 bumblebees will make. Even if only those parts are swapped into a reissue.
Less certain are the pickups. PAF’s are an expensive gamble. Modern custombuckers are a cheaper gamble. To me it makes the most sense (and has worked well in my R8) to add a set of pickups wound with modern materials *but* a spectroscopic end-result of sound in mind. Many pickup builders insist on copying exact physical characteristics of PAF’s but the metallurgy of the materials isn’t the same, and no wonder to me when neither is the sound. There’s at least one (probably many more) pickup winder out there using spectroscopy to guide their hunt for mojo. And will likely insist on Russian PIO caps, which are very good, but I’ve found NOS bumblebees to be superior to even those. Point being if the maker isn’t specifying (and/or providing with a pickup set) which caps to use with their design, how can you trust it? Would be like Ferrari shrugging at the suggestion of putting truck tires on it’s f1 racer.
All slightly different, but none better. Just slightly different. The fact that the R9 is a tenth of the price and holds it's own is impressive. In another 50 years it won't matter much I would guess. Great video mate. Love your work.
An R9 is more like 1-2% of the price of a Burst.
very timely video as I am about to pull the trigger on a R8, thx JOhan
Great demo, If you backed the tone off a bit with the R9, would it sound closer to the originals?
That's kind of the point though. You shouldn't need to "EQ" your way out of it being too sharp. And the guitar fundamentally itself doesn't have a roundness of tone, so simply rolling off the tone control won't provide that warm mid range depth. It will just sound less "sharp".
What a killer riff you start at 2.40! Had to grab my lp and play that again and again!
Great comparison!! I would say your R9 sounds almost identical to the original 1960. Pretty subtle difference.
all great guitars, you and Simon did a nice job with the demo. I have a 2008 plain top R8 which I absolutely love. The R9 in this video seems to be a touch louder and more treble than the others, probably due to aging of the magnets of the older models. Good stuff..thanks!
Wow! First off, great side by side! Almost impossible to do! But you nailed it. Having 2 players was crucial for obvious reasons. First impression, 2008 holds it’s own!
Loved the sweetness of others.
My personal favorite was the 60. I’m hearing a bit more high end sparkle.
Fantastic job! Thank you.
Johan, you are the best!Thank you. 😎
The stock pups on the R9 is great already not to swap out. All similar sounding and eq'ing it can be quite surprising how they can all sound the same. The R9 is closer to the heart. Great choice and great demo.
As a Les Paul player myself to my ear out of these I like:
1) 1959
2) 2008 (Which really surprised me)
3) 1958
4) 1960
They all sound great, even through a Fender amp! ;)
They have a magical effect on Simon's hair too. Amazing growth since last video!
Thanks Johan for all these experiments! Could you do more videos with acoustic guitars?? Cheers!
59 ' - The sound is just non - improvable.
Love the comparison. You mentioned the 1960 was your favorite.
How about a detailed video of what and why it is “ the best you’ve ever played “
I’d love to get your insights as I will never be able to get my hands on any vintage pieces and will definitely never be able to afford them either.
Keep up the great work!
Just install t tops or pat sticker or even better PAF's on your R9 and make the battle again. Then we can talk. It's all about the PU's
Naw put some EMGS in the 58 I mean routing out for the battery compartment should not be a big deal.
What's so interesting is the very different tonal characteristics across the vintage examples - certainly with the 60 being brightest (and I'd bet $6 bucks the lightest weight). As an owner of a more recent run R9 that I A/Bd against a pretty famous 59 and thought was dang close, I am quite pleased to hear how well your 2008 held its own against the vintage crew. I listened twice and scrolled up and down to try and guess. 60 stood out (again, brighter) but the other 3 were all very similar yet uniquely voiced. One little trick I've done to get a slightly more vintage vibe out of my 2014 is drop the pickups down just a bit and that really gets close to the effects of time on magnets. Assuming you can get access again, I'd love to see this with a decent little distortion box out front so you could compare note bloom and overdrive characteristics. Thanks, Johan & Simon!
Johan, how much of that greatness comes from the pickup, and how much are the sum of the parts beside the pickup?
They all sound absolutely identical to me. Very impressive!
Amazes me how much difference there is between them! I agree that the '60 definitely had something special. There's something in the upper mid-range that adds clarity like your R9 does but in a way that sounded much sweeter to my ears. It also definitely has less bottom end than any of the others so it stayed clearer even at higher gain. If it's not about which one to buy but just which one to use in the studio, I'd take that '60 first, but if it wasn't available I'd honestly say your R9 would probably be my next choice. The others just didn't have the high end clarity and actually sounded a little muddy to me. Might just be the age of the pickups or something, I don't know. Amazing video as always! Cheers!
Maybe the '08 shapes out the heights a little bit more as the three Vintage ones. But my overall impression is, that these 4 are so close together, that I need to rethink my personal 'Holy Grail' thing ......
exactly
It's fairly subtle but I think the '58 and the '59 possess just a bit more depth to the "warmth" than is present in the R9. Conversely I guess you could say that the originals lack a bit of the crispness and sparkle that the R9 exhibits too. It may be due to the fact that the magnets in the PAF's are 60 years old now, I don't know, but they're great sounding guitars, one and all.
I've got one of the new 60th Anniversary R9's and would love to hear one used in the same comparison test.
Cool video Johan. Thanks for putting it together and sharing.
And here we see why the '59 is the epitome of guitar sound. If you're a fan of rock and blues music, you're a fan of that sound--the one so many of us chase after.
Excellent presentation, with he short riffs! Good job!
Very little difference between the guitars, I think, but the 2008 sounded slightly thinner. My favorite was the 1959!
Were they all stringed up with freshies of the same brand and gauge for filming?? I hear the differences everyone else is hearing too but can’t help but draw comparisons from my own new vs old string DI comparisons…
Hi Johan. Nice video as always. To my years the only difference between the reissue and the originals, is that the 2008 has, as it happens in all custom shop models be it Fender or Gibson, a liitle more output and more mids. Cheers, see you next friday.
I think the R9 holds up well. Someday I hope to own one. What kind of pickups are in your R9? Also were you playing thru a vintage Bassman?
The R9 has a Burstbucker II in the bridge
The '59 was the winner to my ears, has mellow yet still sparkly tone .. sounds like butter and peppermint!! LoL .. but the R9 sounded just like the '58 and '60 . .... I have a 2001 R7 and 2005 R0, the Gibson custom shop guitars as close as you can get without selling your house. ;-)
The reissue sounds bright snd harsh. Is that the case?
59 sounds best to me. It's full but clear. It's got balls. I liked the 60 for its present mids. I think it would be a killer rock guitar. Its a tie between your R9 and the 58 for me. The sound similar, if only for a sweeter upper midrange on the 58. Great clip once again Johan
I agree the 1960 definitely sounds the best, and has a certain magic to it... But the good thing is, the R9 is firmly in the same territory as the originals. Had you told us it was an original too, I think nobody would have questioned it. The difference between the R9 and the originals is as small as the difference between the '59 and the '60.
Great video as always! How would you say your SG sounds compared to your LP?
Great videos Johan. What kind of speaker do you have on that fender amp? Sounds sweet
Interesting how all the old ones seem to sound 'relaxed' and more balanced as the R9 has a little metallic bite on top that the others don't have. Cool colour on that 58!
Curious to hear it with a newer R9 with CustomBuckers instead of BurstBuckers... Or Duncan SkinnerBursts.
The reissue doesn't have the depth of tone the originals have. The reissue is a bit harsher by comparison.
I think the 58' sounded the best.And your 08'sounded the closest to it. Nice video and great 08' you got there! Beautiful sound !
The 2008 reissue sounds like a great tribute to the 58 59 & 60!! Spot on!!
Great stuff Johan. They all sound very similar, only subtle differences, the 59 sounds a little warmer, less trebly at a pinch. Otherwise the R8 sounds as good as the older originals I reckon.
To my ears, both for 58 and the 2008 sound amazing, and identical. They are the best of the bunch. I noticed that the other 2 you had slightly more mids , and had less top end sparkle, with the 59 being the one I like the least. Who’d have thought it? Give me the 2008 any day, at least I wouldn’t be afraid to leave the house with him.
I've been looking for a nice les paul for years, and I had lately given up. But hearing you R9 against the 3 bursts has kind of given me a better idea of what to look for. When did you buy your R9 and what was the reason for picking the one you have?? Maybe a video with a full story of how and what made you choose just that guitar?? Great clip as usual :-) Cheers
Call me crazy, but I actually prefer the sound of the R9 in this video. Such a high quality instrument. Great demo as always, Johan!
Daniel Doran Heard Joe Bonamassa saying that the wiring is the most important, not the pickups so you’re probably right.
@Daniel Doran I'm using certified 525k JEL pots in mine, it made a world of difference with the stock pots on my Standard. A lot of old Bursts had pots in the 600-700k range.
The taper on the JEL pots is different too and much more usable than standard CTS.
You can go from a saturated tone to a clean one just by rolling the knob down from 10 to 7.
Interestingly, the 3 Bursts sound like they are typically described:
- the 58 full, round, less aggressive
- the 59 more focused, but still very open, with its famous mid grunt
- the 60 the aggressive version of the 59, with even more mids and a bit more output imho
the R sounds much harsher; and I think in reality the differences would be much more drastic as on the recording.
Great video! Thanks Johan!
The old ones sound better, but not $300k better. Maybe $5k better.
Would be interested in hearing how close a new guitar with old pickups would sound... how about new guitar with old pickups and old bridge?
@@user-qr7ee2cp4y I'm sure it'll make a difference, but how much of a difference when you're out jamming with your buddies? Old guitars are mostly valued for nostalgia. Gibson and Fender are building truly amazing sounding custom shop guitars these days.
@Shaun Ashley haha anyone who says the wood changes the tone is talking out of their arse.
@@user-qr7ee2cp4y Oh yes, and I would like to know how the originals sounded when they were new...perhaps like a 2008 reissue?
@@fernandes5986 Not even close, good guitar starts as a good guitar, pickups, hardware, wood, all were different.
Last Sunday I played a 1957 Les Paul Special through a Bogen Shiva. It was pretty good, but I still think my 1993 Les Paul Custom shop Standard completely slays it. I played a 65 melody maker that was pretty tasty, and I played an 83 Gibson Victory which had phenomenal action but didnt have much output.
Early 90´s les pauls are dang underrated. incredible guitars. have a 93 les paul classic. it´s a beast with the 70´s super distortions
@@jumpnrun3368 My main player is a 93 custom. The prehistoric ones where they had the neck decal for one year. It's fantastic, what I choose above all my others guitars (and I have a Gibson from every decade since the 1950s (except the 80's for some reason)).
Sounds like the '59 has a slightly hotter pickup, with the R9 having a crispier tone with less low-mids compared to the vintage ones.
All 4 sounded great. I really love the tone of my 2000 R9 with Lollar Imperials, I just wish these reissues had a more accurate neck profiles reproduction.
Great video as always!
They all sounded great the 2008 and the 1960 were close with great attack...the 58/59 were softer with much more low end, perhaps the 50s pickups ...how does the string tensions on the 2008 vs 58/59 feel ?
They all sound great, but the 2008 sound has a lot more spank. It caught me off guard. Cool review 🤘
I can hear the subtle differences but the question is "does the 2008 R9 stand up to the originals? I'd say yes and would take any one of them. This seems to be the general consensus on this thread.
Sublime! All of them!
I’m pleasantly surprised. I’ll take the R9. I like the brighter side of this. Beautiful comparison. What pickups are in the R9? I’m going for a set of these babies.
Your R9 definitely emulates the 59 burst almost spot on. The 60 and 58 both seemed a bit warmer to me. I may be way off but thats how I call it.
Nope, the 59 definitely had more growl/bite, the R9 was too trebly, no low end, and didn't have the note definition of the 59.
I wonder if there is a ratio of sound to weight of these guitars ?
Not a hell of a lot in it. The vintage LPs were just a bit mellower, to my ear, but the R9 can hold its head high in august company here. Can't speak to any difference in feel, of course, or "magic" that might happen with the originals. That would be interesting to get yours and Simon's take on any differences there. My feeling is that making Les Pauls is a well-understood science. You can get a heck of a lot closer to the "ideal" than, for instance, making a new speaker sound like a vintage Greenback. Also, sometimes strict A/B testing can make us forget that "great" sounds don't have to be the same sounds as a particular component or combination. In this case, though, if you rolled just a touch of treble off of the R9, it would be tough to pick the difference. To my ears, over RUclips. To the player, in the room, there still may be something more we can't grasp.
Wow the Burstbucker pick-up is so close to the original PAF! Amazing
man that reissue sounds pretty spot on, the 59 is buttery though, 58 identical to the 08, and the 60 just a touch smoother, differance is probably just in the age and condition of the pickups, a penny says rewinding/new magnet the 59's pickup would put it closer to the other 3
Very similar IMO. Please do it again as a blind test and let's see if all the cork sniffers in the comments are able to pick out the '59!
Remarkably, they all sounded fairly close in a lot of ways. I give the nod to the 1960 though - to my ears it had a slightly thicker tone on all the riffs, but more so on the lower part of the neck.
You should have done an acoustic comparison as well!!
The R9 is brighter
But Honestly its placebo with the older guitars
I can't see the monetary difference of a couple of hundred grand
Great video as usual John
The 1958 and the 2008 sound very similar through my computer speakers. The 1959 sounds the most different,the 1960 slightly less than the 1959. this video is a great priviledge to hear these guitars next to each other, so "Thank You Johan. P.S. Is it possible to do an acoustic comparison of these guitars?
Some awesome sounding guitar's for sure, for some reason the 60 les Paul has the sound, great review, thanks for sharing 😎 🎵 🎼 🎵 🎼 🎧 👍 👏 👏 👏
the sonic differences amount to about two ticks/degrees on the tone pot, which gives the reissue a smidgen more detail in the sustain portion and a brighter attack.
the rest is effectively identical to anyone but the player. the differences are 'night and day' to an investor, though.
All fantastic Gibson Les Paul Guitar’s. Not that much in the sound testing to me but maybe in how it feels to the player i’ve got the 1960 Reissue .😊👍🏼🎸
Maybe 1958/59 has a slightly more woody sound than the reissue but you can alter the tone of any electric guitar if you know how change the equalizer on your amplifier to the right settings for yourself.🎼🎸👍🏼😊
Also if the pickups are not coved this will alter the sound to slightly brighter without covers .🎸👍🏼
The ‘60 has that magical midrangey Kossoff sound, definitely stood out to me. The ‘58 seemed to lack a little punch? The Reissue hung in there very well, not as much prominent midrange as the others, but that may come down to the pickups...a different tone than the others, but still very nice.
To answer the question...yes I think your your R9 does sound pretty close to the real bursts! Surprisingly similar, and even though there were differences, they all sounded great.
Upon first few minutes in, they kinda sound the same, but as you continue to listen I realized that the originals had that ‘Girth’ to them. I would like to say that it’s probably because of the hide glue they used in the construction.
So The newer reissues should sound also the same, as they use hide glue.
This is a really nice video by the way. Thanks.
I feel like those wizz pickups might close the tonal gap a little
I think this video saved me at least $500,000. Thanks!
Jim Pion ...really...?
The reissue sounds bright snd harsh. Is that the case?
The biggest tone improvement you made to your les paul was the vid where to changed to an original bridge. Not sure if you still have it on.
the r9 and 1960 could be mistaken for one another on my end , they all sound great ...
R9 is a little brighter on the top end, but it holds up very well against the bursts. Not as far off as I thought it would be. The bursts all had a mellower tone to the top end.
Is it brighter cause the guitar is brighter or is it the strings? To me it sounds like the strings are newer
Dear Johan if you decide to sell your 2008 lp please inform me about or inform me if is it for sale another lp std with identical sound with yours
Now the real question is: was your R9 loaded with Wizz pickups, or Burstbuckers?
i think it says there is a bb2 in the bridge on the r9 in the intro
I sure wish you would have used a cranked Plexi for this demo... it's hard to really tell the character of the guitar with such a clean tone....
R9 holds up well. The 58 for me though......it has a magic, a more rounded mellow crunch; hard to verbalise tbh. Thanks for your continued brilliance :)
I'd like to see a modern R9 Les Paul that's been worked over by Historic Makeovers next to a real 59.
The 58 sounds awesome.
Johan have you tried the Fender Telecaster Deluxe? It's kind of like Fender trying to copy Les Paul. It's my favorite guitar, what do you guys think about it?
Wow, amazing
Johan, big fan but the 2013 and newer R9s are much closer in spec to the original Bursts. I was ready to buy a Burst conversion until I tried several. I like the 58 best in that video. And don’t forget every guitar is different. Please do another Burst comparison with several post 2012 R9s
I love the 58
‘59, ‘58, ‘60/‘02(?) ...But they were quite close and the R9 sounds just fantastic too. All of them sounded just great!
There seems to be a resonance and articulation of the notes on the orig 58 and 60. The 59 sounded close to yours to my untrained ear, but maybe slight brighter. I really thinks its the difference of the PAF vs the burstbuckers. You should try a set of Doyle Coil PAFS in yours. I'll bet that it's a lot closer to the true PAF OF THE originals. I have an r8 and mine sounds very much like yours.