Got to play test 3 Les Paul Customs- a new one vs '68 Reissue Murphy Lab vs '57 RI VOS

GJgo

GJgo

Well-known member
I have a lot of thoughts, it was awesome to get the chance to back to back these monsters. Anyway wanted to share the clip for now & I'll weigh in with thoughts & answer questions as they pop up. :) Long story short the two RIs were both killer in their own way, and I took the '68 home.

 
GJgo said:
I have a lot of thoughts, it was awesome to get the chance to back to back these monsters. Anyway wanted to share the clip for now & I'll weigh in with thoughts & answer questions as they pop up. :) Long story short the two RIs were both killer in their own way, and I took the '68 home.

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Killer man!! Congrats!!

Every murphy i've had my hands on has been "holy shit" level good, it's just a question of finding one that looks cool IMO
 
DanTravis62 said:
Killer man!! Congrats!!

Every murphy i've had my hands on has been "holy shit" level good, it's just a question of finding one that looks cool IMO
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Thanks man. Yeah as I'm putting the puzzle pieces together and playing as many as I can, I'm seeing the same trend.

So generally speaking I did feel the '57 had a special tonal sauce to go with it's fat neck. Lower gain & warm / creamy.

However, we did sort out that by dialing the (very effective) volume & tone back on the (much easier to play) '68 we could get it ALMOST identical to the '57, just a touch brighter (from the maple cap) which you could likely fix at the amp. The all hog '57 though couldn't come up to match the aggression of the '68. The '68 also seemed to have better note bloom.

Really the RIs were both top notch, differences being personal preference.

The new production one had a host of QC issues including insane amounts of squeal.
 
Was that your MKIII? If so, what stripe?

Edit…never mind, read the vid description. Was that Mesa Cab new or used?
 
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skoora said:
Was that your MKIII? If so, what stripe?

Edit…never mind, read the vid description. Was that Mesa Cab new or used?
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Yeah, for posterity, my III+ green stripe DRG. Fantastic amp, best III I've had.

That was also my 2002 Recto Trad cab. I traded it in as part of the deal on the '68 RI.
 
GJgo said:
Yeah, for posterity, my III+ green stripe DRG. Fantastic amp, best III I've had.

That was also my 2002 Recto Trad cab. I traded it in as part of the deal on the '68 RI.
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It did sound amazing. What GC is that? Might want follow up with them on that cabinet.
Very smart to take in your rig for a big purchase like that. That way if it sounds a little different at home you know it’s just the room and not the gear.
 
skoora said:
It did sound amazing. What GC is that? Might want follow up with them on that cabinet.
Very smart to take in your rig for a big purchase like that. That way if it sounds a little different at home you know it’s just the room and not the gear.
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I'll PM ya on it. The cab has a couple scuffs as good gear should and it sounds killer.

Yeah I've taken a lot of gear in there and honestly it tends to sound a lot better in the store than it does in my garage. :ROFLMAO: That cab is def one of the good ones, and I've got a bunch of 00-03 sweet spot cabs so it was worth letting one go to score a trade in deal on the '68.
 
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GJgo said:
I'll PM ya on it. The cab has a couple scuffs as good gear should and it sounds killer.

Yeah I've taken a lot of gear in there and honestly it tends to sound a lot better than it does in my garage. :ROFLMAO: That cab is def one of the good ones, and I've got a bunch of 00-03 sweet spot cabs so it was worth letting one go to score a trade in deal on the '68.
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Funny enough, I don’t care about the V30’s and their era etc. I’ve just been thinking about getting a Mesa traditional cab but with that kind of grill cloth. Even if I got it, I’d pull the V30’s anyway ?
If they price it at what you mentioned it’d be a no go, so all is moot.
 
RI's sound livelier due to unpotted and lower output pickups. '57 is slightly meatier in lower mids, '68 has more sparkle. Standard Custom is duller but it is impossible to get the clarity of unpotted PAF with 498T or any high power potted humbucker.
The feel itself is quite a different with Reissues, they have worn-in feeling and std. Custom is more shiny and hard feeling.
 
what PUs in the 68 and 57? my 2020 57 ri allegedly has A3s which are ok for AC/DC type open chord riffing and stay rather thick in the upper registers but lose articulation.
 
@bubucci I agree.

@Catthan the '57 has the Custombucker & the '68 has the 68 Custom humbuckers. I know the Custombuckers are unpotted, but I don't know if the 68 Customs are.
 
the 57 58 59 and 68 custom buckers are all unpotted. my 68 bridge reads 6.81k my 59 reads 7.88k which i am almost positive are the same as the 57 and 58 custom buckers. I believe the 68 custom buckers are the only set with a lower output.
 
Racerxrated said:
Nice work!!

Sounds like avoiding Gibson's production line is a thing, if possible. To have the best chance at a good-great one anyway.
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It's really a crapshoot. For gibson's production line stuff you literally HAVE to play it in person - chances are way high you'll end up with something with an unconscionable flaw for an expensive guitar. OTOH, they sneak out crazy good stuff sometimes too, I've played it. There's goodwood era LP Studios out there that I would take over any R9, they're just relatively hard to find.

The custom shop/murphy/etc is a lot more consistent, and you'll pay out the ass for it - but especially if you can't touch it in person, it's the safest route to go to make sure you end up with something nice
 
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