Is this a good guitar?

I don't know how you can say "It's a Gibson so it's always going to be decent." :p

Every guitar is different and I've played some horrific Gibsons.

As for the op, I wouldn't advise spending £700 on a guitar if you are 'new to the guitar'. I expect the Les Paul linked would be nice as a Les Paul, but even so, I've never played a Les Paul and actually thought that it was nice to play. Definitely go into a shop and try out any guitar that you would even consider buying. But I'd be looking at instruments more around the £300 mark.
 
There is always the other side though.
You could buy a decent guitar and it gives you the motivation to play it.
I always remember a workmate of mine buying his first guitar & amp.
He went out and bought a Gibson Les Paul Standard & a Marshall stack and he did get to a really good standard playing in bands.
However, he suffered the same disease that many musicians go through (a woman) and sold his gear.
 
dmpoole said:
There is always the other side though.
You could buy a decent guitar and it gives you the motivation to play it.
I always remember a workmate of mine buying his first guitar & amp.
He went out and bought a Gibson Les Paul Standard & a Marshall stack and he did get to a really good standard playing in bands.
However, he suffered the same disease that many musicians go through (a woman) and sold his gear.
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Amen to that!

I agree - its sometimes the kick in the balls thats needed!

Although maybe try an epiphone first? /awaits flames....

Whatever people say they are decently made! I normally only buy fender electrics, yamaha or martin acoustics and godin or schecter basses - but as above I've played some awful Les Pauls and some wonderful epiphones!

But good to see someone using Thomann - they're the only place I can get Elixir Med X-Long scale bass strings...
 
Personally I do not see the point in buying a cheaper guitar and having to then fork out for another one when I get better. Why not just buy a good quality guitar from the start? There is no rule that says I am a beginner and so must have a cheap guitar.

Dmpoole seems to know a lot about guitars, can you please tell me what you think of this guitar?
 
The P90 is a really nice sounding pickup.
Most local guitar shops will have one of these, go in and pick it up to see how you like it.

I believe that model is chambered, it should have a nice balance to it without breaking your back like a few les paul models have been guilty of.
 
SoSolid said:
Personally I do not see the point in buying a cheaper guitar and having to then fork out for another one when I get better. Why not just buy a good quality guitar from the start? There is no rule that says I am a beginner and so must have a cheap guitar.

Dmpoole seems to know a lot about guitars, can you please tell me what you think of this guitar?
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I agree - there is no point!

Maybe if you explain how long you've been playing etc it'll be easier to help you!

Personally, to be blunt, unless you go into a shop and physically play the guitar you'll never know. In my opinion, buying a guitar over the internet is more trouble than its worth... although I'll probably be corrected.
 
I disagree. I started off buying an epiphone les paul special for around £200- quite a cheap budget i'm sure you'll agree, yet what a fantastic piece of kit it was and perfect for learning on. All the quality I required was there, whilst I wasn't (overly) distraught when it took quite a few big knocks at my first few gigs etc.

The guitar the OP has posted will play like a dream I am sure, despite some people's comments it is rare to find a poor gibson- nonetheless, I deem it a very bad idea not to get around all your local shops and try out all the different options.

Like that scene in harry potter where he is choosing a wand- when you play the guitar that is truly right for you- you will glow golden, hair will blow around and you will raise a few inches off the floor ! :D

Get testing and trying chap ;)
 
trickyj said:
I disagree. I started off buying an epiphone les paul special for around £200- quite a cheap budget i'm sure you'll agree, yet what a fantastic piece of kit it was and perfect for learning on. All the quality I required was there, whilst I wasn't (overly) distraught when it took quite a few big knocks at my first few gigs etc.

The guitar the OP has posted will play like a dream I am sure, despite some people's comments it is rare to find a poor gibson- nonetheless, I deem it a very bad idea not to get around all your local shops and try out all the different options.

Like that scene in harry potter where he is choosing a wand- when you play the guitar that is truly right for you- you will glow golden, hair will blow around and you will raise a few inches off the floor ! :D

Get testing and trying chap ;)
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Thats what I should have written :)

Its also the fun you get from trying out different guitars!

I'll also clarify that the gibson that I found poor was an SG - but it had terrible passive pickups (why!?) and just felt cheap...

As above - you'll be hard pressed to find a poor gibson - but get out and try as many as you can..

Sorry if I came off as harsh! :)
 
Les Paul Juniors and preworn "Specials" are really bottom guitars in Gibson lineup. It's probably worth about £200 with the rest of the price being headstock label markup. There are tons, tons of better guitars for under £600... Besides, IMHO, P90ies are slightly too specific sounding for first electric guitar, get one with normal hambuckers.
 
I see what you're saying about buying an expensive guitar being the motivation to take playing the guitar seriously, but in my experience, the majority of the people that I've known who have subscribed to this theory have ended up selling the guitar because it was just sitting there gathering dust.

I think that irrespective of how expensive (or conversely how cheap) your guitar is, if you're really motivated to pick it up and play it as much as possible then you'll do so. Just having an expensive guitar itself isn't a motivator... no matter how much you spend on a guitar, if you're not serious about it then you'll not be motivated to learn. You have to want to learn to play in the first place.

Sure, there are people that I know who have bought expensive guitars as their first guitar and have stuck at it. In these cases it's true that they've had a great guitar from the beginning and never needed to think about upgrading it, but in my experience, these people are the minority.

You could argue that people become disillusioned with learning the guitar because they're playing naff ones that sound horrible... which is why I wouldn't necessarily recommend going to the other extreme of the scale and getting a £20 electric guitar & amp package from Asda.

I would rather suggest spending slightly more and getting a good guitar (e.g. one from the Pacifica range), because in that way if you are disillusioned and decide to sell it in your local newspaper classified ads then you won't be as much out of pocket compared to selling, for example, a 2nd hand Les Paul. On the other hand, if you are genuine about playing the guitar then a Pacifica or one of the Line 6 ones I tried recently will satisfy your needs for quite a while (although admittedly not as long as a LP or a pre-CBS Strat, etc...). At the end of the day, to me it's about minimising risk.

However, if you're happy spending that amount of money on your first guitar, then who am I to stop you from doing so?

I would recommend going to a bricks & mortar store to get the feel of one first though.
 
itsallaboutyou said:
Thats what I should have written :)

I'll also clarify that the gibson that I found poor was an SG - but it had terrible passive pickups (why!?) and just felt cheap...
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A large majority of guitars come with passive pickups, this seems an odd statement to me.

I agree with lots of the other people. Make sure you go to a shop and actually try some guitars first. For the money you're considering spending there are a lot of guitars to choose from.
 
SoSolid said:
Dmpoole seems to know a lot about guitars, can you please tell me what you think of this guitar?
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I don't know a lot about guitars, I just know what I like and from experience of playing on stage for nearly 4 decades how good different guitars sound through various amps and if they stay in tune or not.
The Les Paul Special is the type that Bob Marley used to play and personally I prefer a Standard or for cheaper, a Studio.
However, I will re-iterate what others have said - don't buy a guitar until you've tried it.
Find a local shop,try one and then buy off Thomann but it doesn't mean that your new one will play like the one in the shop.
Back in 79 I trawled the country looking for a Strat that I liked where I bought the first Les Paul I saw.
 
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