2019 Les Paul Classic: In or Out?

[Junk Yard Dog]

Played one yesterday. It's Lighter than my GC 2012 Trad Pro II, which was heavy (no weight relief). Sold that one.

The 2019 LP Classic played pretty well, overall! The setup was a little too high and strings too light for me. I thought pickups were ok. Wasn’t sure about all the push/pull options and PCB, but it sounded pretty good. They lacked some of the 'chuff' of my Duncan Customs. I don't really geek out that much on push/pull tonal flexibility on guitars.

Fretboard was dry, but that’s fixable. I love the 60s Slim necks.

Anyway, I can get a really good deal on it and I want another LP so I can get my Slash on.

who’s played or has one? Love it, like it, hate it? Who passed and why? I'm seeing a lot of the 2019 Honeybursts going down in price right now.

thx!

 

[romanianreaper]

Hey man, I have a 2019 Standard and played the Classic a few weeks before I got my Standard. I really thought the new Classic is solid and liked it more than my 2013 Classic. I really like that lack of weight relief and thought it sounded and played great.

 

[Monomyth]

I own a honeyburst classic lite 2019 and it’s super good, total 10/10

 

[Junk Yard Dog]

Most all the reviews are positive things. Lots of comments on the QC. The one I played stayed in tune better than any guitar I’ve ever picked up off the rack. Especially a LP.

I’ve seen the weights vary online from 8-10 lbs.

 

[johnpace2]

I own a honeyburst classic lite 2019 and it’s super good, total 10/10

I've been seriously thinking about snagging one of these. That light weight should make for a great gigging guitar.

 

[controlled_voltage]

my guitar repair guy who knows his shit and is super busy told me new LP's are great and overall gibson has upped the consistency and quality making new fenders pale in comparison.
i am not an Lp guy but have been eyeing up buying a standard just to have in the arsenal.
there is a head spinning amount of info and conjecture online [natch] and it seem slike one needs to play 50 of them to find that special piece of wooden pussy to love

 

[BryanMx]

FWIW: Ive had 2 Les Pauls in the last 4 years. The first was a 2016 standard I had for 9 months before the 7th, 12th and 15th fret inlays started to lift in the corners. I contacted Gibson and they were willing to work on it for free but I was going to have to pay shipping both ways...
The second was a 2018 standard and within 4 months the headstock clear coat started to bubble. Around a month later, the 7th fret inlay began to lift in the corner...
TLDR: Gibson's build quality and QC are garbage and I wouldn't buy one until they prove otherwise.

 

[crankyrayhanky]

+1 on not needing coil splitting pots. Is this really a draw for people? It always sounds like garbage to me. If I want single sound I'm not doing that

At some point, I'll grab another Gibson though. Love the chunk.

 

[romanianreaper]

FWIW: Ive had 2 Les Pauls in the last 4 years. The first was a 2016 standard I had for 9 months before the 7th, 12th and 15th fret inlays started to lift in the corners. I contacted Gibson and they were willing to work on it for free but I was going to have to pay shipping both ways...
The second was a 2018 standard and within 4 months the headstock clear coat started to bubble. Around a month later, the 7th fret inlay began to lift in the corner...
TLDR: Gibson's build quality and QC are garbage and I wouldn't buy one until they prove otherwise.

Gibson had a ton of quality control issues over the past several years. I am a Gibson fanboy and it got to the point where every Les Paul I picked up at the store had some issue. I got so annoyed that I almost swore off Gibson and was going to go to PRS.

I started hearing all of the rumors about Gibson "going back to basics", "turning things around", etc. Like everyone else, I'd heard that story before so wasn't expecting too much. Last summer I went to Sweetwater and they had a bunch of the 2019 Les Pauls with all of the "back to basic" components. I picked one up and immediately it felt right again.

Thinking it was a fluke, I waited to try out a few more. Every new Les Paul I've picked up sounds and feels great. I ended up buying one a few months ago that was two weeks off the factory line. It took weeks for the heavy lacquer smell to die off. LOL. I love it though and one of my favorite guitars. The volume and treble pots work awesome, minimal noise, no weight relief, stays in tune great, etc. I have no issues with the guitar at all and one of my best purchases. Really solid guitar.

 

[Junk Yard Dog]

Just got back from GC down the road. They had one 2019 in ebony. It was 10.3 lbs. Heavier than the one I played on Saturday. I bring my little digital scale with me. I would not want heavier than that on stage doing what we do. I think 9 ro 9.5 tops would be ideal for me; I need some weight on my LPs. It played pretty well overall.

 

[JerEvil]

You know that saying "If you find a good playing Les Paul... BUY IT"??? Well I was looking for Les Pauls when I joined a KISS tribute. Went to my local GC and they were blowing out some models. Saw this Blue Classic Player Plus and though... "P90's... not for me."

Then I plugged it into a Runt 50 and holy hell, it was killer. Seriously the first Les Paul that just felt "right" in my hands. It's a great instrument. I prefer it to the Trad Plus you see next to it, but that's my "Ace" guitar.

 

[Junk Yard Dog]

You know that saying "If you find a good playing Les Paul... BUY IT"??? Well I was looking for Les Pauls when I joined a KISS tribute. Went to my local GC and they were blowing out some models. Saw this Blue Classic Player Plus and though... "P90's... not for me."

Then I plugged it into a Runt 50 and holy hell, it was killer. Seriously the first Les Paul that just felt "right" in my hands. It's a great instrument. I prefer it to the Trad Plus you see next to it, but that's my "Ace" guitar.

What's the fiddle on the left? Congrats on the Classic Player Plus!

 

[Junk Yard Dog]

So last night I went to Sam Ash to play 3 of their 2019 LP Classics. What was weird was NONE of them started with 19xxxxxxx in their serial number like the other 2019 Classics, and it only stamped "Made in USA", and not "Made in USA / 2019 Model". So I did not know what to make of that. They were all floor models and all three had some cosmetic bumps and bruises. The headstock identification threw me off as all the other 2019s I've seen were stamped differently.

Anyway, I didn't love the way any of these sounded or played. Which was weird, because I played two other 2019 Classics at Guitar Center (didn't look at the headstock IDs, tho) and they played a bit better.

I can say at this point, I'm not a fan of the 61 BB's. Compared to the Classic 57s, they're way brighter and muddy in the neck. I bet with some pickup adjusting they can sound better to my ears, but Sam Ash had a 2018 Classic with 57s and those sounded much clearer and better to my ears. ...Oh, and the 2018 Classic just felt and played better.

So now I don't know what to make of things. That 2018 Classic felt more solid/sturdy, had good acoustic resonance and plugged in sustain. The 2019 Classics at this Sam Ash location did not do it for me enough to buy one. To be fair, i'm VERY particular about my setups and I don't like most guitars off the rack as they action is always higher than I like and fretboards are icky, strings are crap, etc., so it is hard for me to really "judge" at times.

I will continue to play 2019s in the DFW area. But I'm still going to look at some 2017 Classics (Ts), but buying used makes me pretty nervous when you cannot return it.

Will update later.

 

[romanianreaper]

Anyway, I didn't love the way any of these sounded or played. Which was weird, because I played two other 2019 Classics at Guitar Center (didn't look at the headstock IDs, tho) and they played a bit better.

I can say at this point, I'm not a fan of the 61 BB's. Compared to the Classic 57s, they're way brighter and muddy in the neck. I bet with some pickup adjusting they can sound better to my ears, but Sam Ash had a 2018 Classic with 57s and those sounded much clearer and better to my ears. ...Oh, and the 2018 Classic just felt and played better.

So now I don't know what to make of things. That 2018 Classic felt more solid/sturdy, had good acoustic resonance and plugged in sustain. The 2019 Classics at this Sam Ash location did not do it for me enough to buy one. To be fair, i'm VERY particular about my setups and I don't like most guitars off the rack as they action is always higher than I like and fretboards are icky, strings are crap, etc., so it is hard for me to really "judge" at times.

That is crazy man. I was so impressed with the new Classic I played that I actually talked with one of the Guitar Center salesmen about them. I tell ya, I really dig my Standard.

 

[Junk Yard Dog]

Anyway, I didn't love the way any of these sounded or played. Which was weird, because I played two other 2019 Classics at Guitar Center (didn't look at the headstock IDs, tho) and they played a bit better.

I can say at this point, I'm not a fan of the 61 BB's. Compared to the Classic 57s, they're way brighter and muddy in the neck. I bet with some pickup adjusting they can sound better to my ears, but Sam Ash had a 2018 Classic with 57s and those sounded much clearer and better to my ears. ...Oh, and the 2018 Classic just felt and played better.

So now I don't know what to make of things. That 2018 Classic felt more solid/sturdy, had good acoustic resonance and plugged in sustain. The 2019 Classics at this Sam Ash location did not do it for me enough to buy one. To be fair, i'm VERY particular about my setups and I don't like most guitars off the rack as they action is always higher than I like and fretboards are icky, strings are crap, etc., so it is hard for me to really "judge" at times.

That is crazy man. I was so impressed with the new Classic I played that I actually talked with one of the Guitar Center salesmen about them. I tell ya, I really dig my Standard.

I still think it's a great guitar, don't get me wrong. I personally would swap the 61s and just set it up to my specs. I love the neck on these! Perfect for me.

 

[JerEvil]

You know that saying "If you find a good playing Les Paul... BUY IT"??? Well I was looking for Les Pauls when I joined a KISS tribute. Went to my local GC and they were blowing out some models. Saw this Blue Classic Player Plus and though... "P90's... not for me."

Then I plugged it into a Runt 50 and holy hell, it was killer. Seriously the first Les Paul that just felt "right" in my hands. It's a great instrument. I prefer it to the Trad Plus you see next to it, but that's my "Ace" guitar.

What's the fiddle on the left? Congrats on the Classic Player Plus!

That’s my Trad Pro. It’s a 2013 I believe. Bought it for the KISS tribute stuff.