Philosophical Gibson LP Question

[jgcable]

I have a question for all my JCF brotha's......
I recently picked up a 1998 Gibson Les Paul Standard. Its black and cream with gold hardware. I bought it from a guy who bought it new in 1998 to learn to play and 1 month after getting it he cut the tips of his fingers off on his fret hand in a carpentry accident. Because of this... he had 6 surgeries over the years and actually never learned to play. The guitar in its original case with all the original paperwork and even the original Gibson Brightwire strings sat under his bed for the last 15 years. The guitar literally has about 5 hours of playing time on it total and 2 of them are from me. Its in flawless time capsule condition.

Anyway.... Its heavy. I would say between 10-12lbs. It sounds and plays amazing of course.. even with the old strings.

I am in a working local band that plays a 2-3 times a month in local bars and clubs. I don't want to say I am rough with my gear but I do play it and I don't baby anything. All my guitars have scratches and nicks and dings on them. All my amps and cabinets have been loaded and unloaded many many times in rain, snow and any other weather.

I am VERY hesitant to play this LP live because I know I will end up putting scratches or nicks in it. I have plenty of other guitars to play. Because I haven't been playing it live I am also not playing it at home or at rehearsal. I prefer to play the guitars I play live all the time and they are for the most part workingman beaters that play and sound great and are fairly beat up cosmetically.

So.. after this long story I ask you... what would you do? Would you play it live? Would you sell it? I am not a collector. This is a collector grade guitar. I feel bad leaving the guitar in the case unplayed. It deserves to be played. It has been waiting for 15 years and now finally somebody (me) owns it who can play and yet.. it isn't being played. I didn't even change the strings on it. So... what you you do?

[CowboyFromHell]

Bro, you and I seem to disagree alot, and this may be another one of those times, but I say play it man. You said yourself you're not a collector, you're a player so I'll make it very simple for you... every quality guitar made was in perfect (or near perfect condition) at some point. The time comes when a person decides to pack it away as a collector or use the damn thing for its intended purpose. If a guitar really does have a soul, just packing it away like that seems to me to do nothing more than breaks its heart by taking away its purpose in this world. Let it live bud. Use it as it was meant to be. Let it sing. Don't be afraid to scratch it or ding it. To me that's like never crossing the road for fear of getting hit by a car. Step down off the curb onto the asphalt man. You and that Les Paul were made to rock... do it!!!

[jgcable]

Bro, you and I seem to disagree alot, and this may be another one of those times, but I say play it man. You said yourself you're not a collector, you're a player so I'll make it very simple for you... every quality guitar made was in perfect (or near perfect condition) at some point. The time comes when a person decides to pack it away as a collector or use the damn thing for its intended purpose. If a guitar really does have a soul, just packing it away like that seems to me to do nothing more than breaks its heart by taking away its purpose in this world. Let it live bud. Use it as it was meant to be. Let it sing. Don't be afraid to scratch it or ding it. To me that's like never crossing the road for fear of getting hit by a car. Step down off the curb onto the asphalt man. You and that Les Paul were made to rock... do it!!!

We may not agree on alot of things but this may be one that I do agree with you on. Its a great guitar. Why do I give a rats ass about resale value if I scratch it or nick it. I didn't buy it for investment.

[bombtek]

I say sell it. You are already fearful of dinging it in any way shape or fashion. Why put yourself through that. SOMEBODY out there will pay top dollar for a collector's piece like that if its as nice as you say it is. Sell the thing and let the worry be someone else's problem.

[Vass]

You already said it sounds and plays amazing, so check box one- wall hangers should play and sound like shit.

Who gives a fuck- you don't need the money, and they're not THAT brutally expensive anyway. Do you have another LP type guitar you use live? Because if you don't, now you do.

Play the shit out of it without a care in the world.

edit: I see them running $1500 to $2000 on GC's used site. If yours is mint as you say, figure you get the high end. The cheapest they have up there is $1500, and one has to assume that is not a perfect axe. So now what are we talking? Sell it now at $2000 perfect or sell it later with some war scars for $1500.

So $500 is the number you're really looking at.

[Maiden89]

I say play it. What's the point of having a nice sounding and playing guitar if it's going to sit in a case? I usually try to take care of my guitars as much as possible, but the occasional ding, pick swirl or dent always seems to happen.

With that said, I'm kind of in the same boat. I guess I'm kind of a hypocrite I bought a mint Dk2m white bengal that I hardly play because I don't want to ding or scratch it, but it sounds too good to just sit in a case. I don't want to sell it because it looks and sounds sooooo good, but I'm hesitant to play it much because of it's mint condition. I guess I'll have to take my own advice and just play it!

[Flatpicker]

Play it.

That's what they are made for.
And LP's look better with some dings and honest wear.

[Newc]

If you like the way it feels and sounds, play it. Don't look at it as "OMG it's a FUCKING LES PAUL!!!", but treat it like it's any other guitar - a musical instrument.

Then, take some time and really give it an honest appraisal as a musical instrument: does it play as well as you like a musical instrument to play? Does it sound as well as you like a musical instrument to sound? Does it feel the way you want a musical instrument to feel (worn with a strap, etc)? Does it suit the type of music you play most often, or would it be used only for "the Les Paul song"?

If you can get yourself mentally and emotionally past the "OMG it's a LFP!!" stage of it, and look at it objectively, you'll find the best answer.

I had my Trans Red LP Standard for over 10 years, and was stoked when I got it. The drive home with it was murder because I wanted to play it and look at it and couldn't drive fast enough. I used that guitar as my primary for 7 or 8 years straight, gigged with it in shithole bars, jammed it into my Daytona, and it even fell over at rehearsal one day (though it was in the case). It came with a few dents and dings, and I put more on it, including a nice chunk on the back edge from a ClipLock buckle. If I had writer's block and my other guitars didn't have any songs in them, the Les Paul always had something to say, and it spoke with clarity and authority. It became the Yoda of my collection.

It spent the last 2 years that I had it in the case, doing nothing. I wanted to play it, but I also wanted to play my Jacksons more. I finally sold it for about what I paid for it, and bought more Jacksons. I don't look back and say "wow, wish I hadn't sold it", which is the only guitar I don't say that about. However, I don't look back and say "wow, glad I sold it". I enjoyed it while I had it, and I know where there are more if I feel I want another one.

Just food for thought.

[jgcable]

Some more info... The 2 guitars I play live are a beat to shit 1994 Washburn that has been gutted, blocked and has a single Gibson 500T hum in it, 1 vol and a kill switch. Its my number 1 player. Everyone who has played it thinks it plays like crap. High action and no features. I love the guitar. My other live guitar is a 2 year old ESP EC1000 Deluxe which is basically a 24 fret Les Paul with jumbo frets and seymour duncans in it. It plays and sounds fantastic and its my live "LP". Its the guitar I play when we are doing songs where it matters if I am in tune or not!
I don't need a LP live.
Regarding the condition of this particular LP. Its collector grade. A local guitar store offered me $1200.00 for it cash and the owner told me that finding a 15 year old Gibson LP in this condition is once in a once in a lifetime event and to take very good care of it. He offered me the high dollar amount because of the condition. I wasn't interested in selling it. I was looking for a trade for a Rickenbacker 360-12v64 but that didn't work out because he sold it before I got there. He told me that he could easily get between $1800 and $2200 for it and that the 1998-2001 Les Pauls are some of the best models Gibson ever made and that its pre-chambered body.
I don't know a ton about Les Pauls. I have owned several in the past but never bonded with them because they were always too heavy. I had a beat to shit 1971 LPC in Alpine white with gold hardware ala Randy Rhoads. I sold it to a forum member because it was too heavy. This one weighs a ton too.

The thing is I would hate to play it for a while live, scratch it all up and then decide it just isn't working out and kill the resale or trade bait potential on it. There are several guitars I would rather have and actually play rather than this one.
I just had a friend who plays live around my area bring me his Gibson Explorer that fell over on the stand because of the wind outside over last weekend and the neck broke at the heel. I repaired it for him but it killed the value of that guitar. Lucky for him he has no intention of selling it. He loves the guitar. I could really care less about this LP although it does play and sound great. I have lots of guitars that play and sound great.

[DonP]

Sell it. I'd like to see how much it brings in because at the prices being thrown out in this thread, one could get a flamed burst Traditional or Standard. Not a big demand for boring black boat anchors. If it was a Custom things would be different. 1998 was ok but nothing special (I have an SG I bought new in 1998). 490R/498T pickups aren't liked in Les Pauls. They work better/great in SGs.

I'm realistically thinking $1200 to $1400 like the store owner. Put it on ebay with BIN of $1999.00 OBO and see if anyone takes the bait.

[Vass]

If you feel the ESP fits the bill and you know you don't want to play it out then I think you have your answer.

[Chad]

The weight alone would push me to sell it. I play while standing up a lot and just don't dig boat anchors. With that said, if you can get past the weight and really seem to like the guitar, then maybe just play it at home for awhile and see if you still like it after awhile. I know you said you like to play both home and live with your guitars, but maybe make an exception with this one.

I agree that you have to look at the cost of putting a few dings on a guitar. I haven't sold a guitar in awhile, but minor scratches/dings haven't hurt resale too bad on the guitars I've sold in the past. But I generally search out used guitars in nice condition at great pricing to start with. One guitar I bought, I played for about a year and during that time I put a ding on the headstock tip and some other minor scratches. But I think I actually made $200 or $300 when I sold it.

[Newc]

The weight of mine didn't bother me. It was heavy, but when I was playing it, I wasn't going "jeez this thing is heavy". It felt solid, and it stayed where I put it so I could focus on playing it rather than shifting it around while playing it just so I could play it.

And yeah, a black Standard has always seemd like a Custom-wannabe to me, or an import 'LPC copy", since they generally had rosewood boards. Standards should always come in Cherry or Tobacco burst or trans colors, Customs in Black or White or Silverburst. But that's just me.

[Hellbat]

I asked myself the same questions with my RR1T and Select Strat. They are both great lookers and I was concerned about play wear, but after thinking about it, they are my best guitars and when I'm playing live I want to play my best guitars.

Now I'm playing Adele, Beatles, and Aretha Franklin covers on an RR1T and looking fucking awesome while doing it hehe. If the frets get wear and the finish gets pick swirls, I don't give a damn. They are working tools and I keep as good care of them as I'm able to, but wear and tear is part of the equation. And since they are my main players I'm never selling them. I'll play them until a) they are unplayable and unrepairable or b) I'm dead.

[roodyrocker]

There is nothing special about the particular year Les Pauls you mentioned. So I don't think that should influence your dicision. 1998 year models are no better or worse than other years, generally speaking. I have certain guitars that I don't risk playing live but the ones that I do play live are kept in top shape. Just because you play it doesn't mean you have to beat the crap out of it. Also, the Les Paul crowd is a bit different than other brands. While I disagree with them, many of them actually like their Les Pauls to show signs of wear and use. I'd say play it but keep it in nice shape. Or, off it and get something else you'd enjoy better since simply collecting it isn't your thing.
Oh, and BTW, your old Les Paul Custom was either refinished at some point or it wasn't a 1971 model. Gibson didn't offer Alpine White on the Les Paul Custom till 1974