# Les paul Standard vs Les Paul Classic...



## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

OK...i'm a wee bit confused. i keep seeing the Les Paul Classic, but i can't seem to find any info on them as to what's different from a Standard model. TO add to the confusion, my friend bought off ebay a Classic Standard.!!!

So what's the main difference with a Standard and Classic?


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## bagpipe (Sep 19, 2006)

Les Paul Classic has the thinner 60s neck. Also has high output ceramic pickups (500T/496R - I think those are the numbers ?). A lot of them also have the "snot green" fingerboard inlays. Other than that, they're pretty much identical to a Standard.


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

bagpipe said:


> Les Paul Classic has the thinner 60s neck. Also has high output ceramic pickups (500T/496R - I think those are the numbers ?). A lot of them also have the "snot green" fingerboard inlays. Other than that, they're pretty much identical to a Standard.


does this mean every LP with a 60's neck is a CLASSIC?...mine's a Standard and it has the 60's neck with Burstbuckers.


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## allthumbs56 (Jul 24, 2006)

al3d said:


> does this mean every LP with a 60's neck is a CLASSIC?...mine's a Standard and it has the 60's neck with Burstbuckers.


With the Standard, you had the choice of necks. Along with the "snot-coloured" inlays and the 60's neck, the Classic also had a plain top (the Std had AA figured) and, I believe, exposed 490/498s as opposed to th Std's nickel Burstbuckers.


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

So what's the going rate for a Classic?...in mint condition?


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## vasthorizon (Aug 10, 2008)

al3d said:


> So what's the going rate for a Classic?...in mint condition?


It depends. What finish does it have? Goldtop, Ebony, etc., all have different prices. And it also depends on the year.


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## nonreverb (Sep 19, 2006)

allthumbs56 said:


> With the Standard, you had the choice of necks. Along with the "snot-coloured" inlays and the 60's neck, the Classic also had a plain top (the Std had AA figured) and, I believe, exposed 490/498s as opposed to th Std's nickel Burstbuckers.


lol...well, they're better than the piss-yellow inlays they had a few years back...


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

This is it..looks like the greenish inlays.


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## vasthorizon (Aug 10, 2008)

What year is it?


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

vasthorizon said:


> What year is it?


add sais 2001, comes with the brown case with pink satin..


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## vasthorizon (Aug 10, 2008)

al3d said:


> add sais 2001, comes with the brown case with pink satin..


Anywhere between $1,200 - $1,400.


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

vasthorizon said:


> Anywhere between $1,200 - $1,400.


that much difference from a Standard?...a standard like mine goes for a minimum of 2200$..so just different pups and you go THAT low?


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## vasthorizon (Aug 10, 2008)

al3d said:


> that much difference from a Standard?...a standard like mine goes for a minimum of 2200$..so just different pups and you go THAT low?


Oh, sorry. I quoted in USD. . I must stop switching forums. LOL! Sorry about that.

In Canadian dollars, roughly around $1,500 - $1,700. That's it. Earlier classics (90's), IIRC, are valued more.


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## allthumbs56 (Jul 24, 2006)

al3d said:


> This is it..looks like the greenish inlays.


Love the look of that burst and I am a fan of plaintops. That's one that I'd jump on. Tough to price in this market - I've seen some real nice Standards listed here lately for obscenely low prices. 

New, I think the Classic was $300 - $400 less than the Standard ....... I think.


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

allthumbs56 said:


> Love the look of that burst and I am a fan of plaintops. That's one that I'd jump on. Tough to price in this market - I've seen some real nice Standards listed here lately for obscenely low prices.
> 
> New, I think the Classic was $300 - $400 less than the Standard ....... I think.


he wants 1600$ for it


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

al3d said:


> he wants 1600$ for it


That's a good price, I keep seeing Ebony ones for $1500 and the going price seems to be 1500-1700 like Vast was saying.

However, those pickups look like they're nickel covered. Did he do a pickup upgrade, or just add covers?

Also, the brown case with pink lining is a nice touch. The Standard I bought last week came with the snakeskin black case with white lining  I'm hoping someone on the Toronto CL wants to trade me!


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

hollowbody said:


> That's a good price, I keep seeing Ebony ones for $1500 and the going price seems to be 1500-1700 like Vast was saying.
> 
> However, those pickups look like they're nickel covered. Did he do a pickup upgrade, or just add covers?
> 
> Also, the brown case with pink lining is a nice touch. The Standard I bought last week came with the snakeskin black case with white lining  I'm hoping someone on the Toronto CL wants to trade me!


i don't know about the pups..i just know he has a 57 on the neck and a seymour at the bridge, wich is an upgrade for sure.


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## Samsquantch (Mar 5, 2009)

The new Traditionals are better than both and are about $2300-$2400 new.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

I really regret selling my old Classic, I really let the 'snot green inlay' thing get into my head. It was a great looking, great playing, great sounding guitar, tho it was a heavy heavy thing. Some people don't like the stock hot pups but man I got outstanding cleans just rolling back the volume knobs, and for rock they _really_ did the trick. It was a Premium Plus, in Honeyburst.


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

Samsquantch said:


> The new Traditionals are better than both and are about $2300-$2400 new.


You're the first one i see say this..everyone i've talked to sais the Standard is supperior then a Traditionnal.


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## vasthorizon (Aug 10, 2008)

al3d said:


> You're the first one i see say this..everyone i've talked to sais the Standard is supperior then a Traditionnal.


This is where "tone is subjective" comes in. The newer Standards (Post October 2006) are chambered while the Traditionals are still swiss-cheesed.

If he's selling it for $1,600 in Canadian funds, I would say go for it. If it's mint, then it's good. But if I were you, I would wait for an early 90's or 2003 onwards classic to pop up. *wink**wink*


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

vasthorizon said:


> This is where "tone is subjective" comes in. The newer Standards (Post October 2006) are chambered while the Traditionals are still swiss-cheesed.


Yes..for sure. My Standard is 2003..


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## vasthorizon (Aug 10, 2008)

al3d said:


> Yes..for sure. My Standard is 2003..


That is a great year for Gibson. .


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

al3d said:


> You're the first one i see say this..everyone i've talked to sais the Standard is supperior then a Traditionnal.


I was looking at Traditionals too when I was shopping for a LP because they are weight-relieved, not chambered, so I thought they would be closer to a vintage LPs tone. I also heard that the chambering really affected the tone of the guitar. 

I did try out a Traditional (only one though) compared to the 2 Classics and 4 Standards I played, and I didn't like it as much as the Standard. It might just be me, or it may have been a bad guitar, or maybe I've gotten tired of the Classic 57 sound and the BB Pros sounded different to my ear in an exciting way, but at the end of the day, I went with the Standard. Also, I really didn't like the Classics I tried, but again, ymmv.


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## Samsquantch (Mar 5, 2009)

al3d said:


> You're the first one i see say this..everyone i've talked to sais the Standard is supperior then a Traditionnal.


A lot of people have said that, actually. The only way to know for sure is to go try out a few yourself. Just for clarification, I am referring to the newer chambered Standards. Lots of people have said the Traditionals have the tone and feel of older top notch Standards. I know a few players who actually prefer the Traditional to their Custom Shop R8's and R9's.


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## tojoe (Apr 5, 2009)

Iv'e tried the newer chambered LP's and the weight distribution feels weird, but it sure beats the heck out of a 11-13lb LP any day..Classics and Standards other then the nk shape some how feel different sometimes it's the carve, sometimes it's thick finish on the Standards. Still have one of each..


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

OK..here's a Tough one for the "exerts"..my friend just landed this on ebay, early this week. He's the one who got my thinking about the Standard and CLassic. now, this LP sais in the pup cavity LP5+ wich means usually Les Paul 50's neck. now the owner sais it's a thin neck...and it has Burstbucker Pro's in it. on the headstock..it sais CLASSIC, wich is realy weird, cause we could'nt find ANY info anywhere on such models. He sais the pups are stock..but Classics don't come with Burstbuckers usually, 


anyone can make sens of this?

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250496026901&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT


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## allthumbs56 (Jul 24, 2006)

al3d said:


> OK..here's a Tough one for the "exerts"..my friend just landed this on ebay, early this week. He's the one who got my thinking about the Standard and CLassic. now, this LP sais in the pup cavity LP5+ wich means usually Les Paul 50's neck. now the owner sais it's a thin neck...and it has Burstbucker Pro's in it. on the headstock..it sais CLASSIC, wich is realy weird, cause we could'nt find ANY info anywhere on such models. He sais the pups are stock..but Classics don't come with Burstbuckers usually,
> 
> 
> anyone can make sens of this?
> ...


For all intents and purposes it's a Standard with a nicely figured top. Why it's labeled "Classic" I don't know.

Sometimes "rare" doesn't mean "more valuable" - just that there aren't many. A guitar with an undocumented headstock is suspicious to me - especially seeing that it's very scratched and the logo looks badly applied.


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

allthumbs56 said:


> For all intents and purposes it's a Standard with a nicely figured top. Why it's labeled "Classic" I don't know.
> 
> Sometimes "rare" doesn't mean "more valuable" - just that there aren't many. A guitar with an undocumented headstock is suspicious to me - especially seeing that it's very scratched and the logo looks badly applied.


yeah,..that's what got me worries..headstock looks like it's 20 years old. and the rest of the body is dead mint.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

Usually Classic's have the ink-stamped serial number on the back of the headstock. They did change out the inlays to less green ones, but I'm not sure it was as early as '03. That guitar has a lot of '???' attached to it.


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## bagpipe (Sep 19, 2006)

That guitar looks suspicious to me - especially that Gibson logo. 

I recently sold my 2003 Les Paul Classic to a fellow forum member. I hope he doesn't mind me posting these pics. They're just to give you a better idea of what my 2003 Classic looked like. Certainly different than your friends.

You could always call Gibson and ask them to verify the serial number of the new guitar.


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

I ran the serial number on a Gibson generator SN and it said it was a 2003 LP. but nothing else regarding the model or else


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## bagpipe (Sep 19, 2006)

al3d said:


> I ran the serial number on a Gibson generator SN and it said it was a 2003 LP. but nothing else regarding the model or else


You can actually call Gibson USA and give them the serial number of the guitar. They will give you all the information on it ie what colour it is, which model, exactly where and when it was manufactured, which dealer or distributor it was shipped to etc. 

I'd certainly do it in this case.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

It may have happened that someone put a "classic" truss rod cover on an LP standard...


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

Budda said:


> It may have happened that someone put a "classic" truss rod cover on an LP standard...


the classic is on the headstock..not on the trustrod cover..


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

al3d said:


> the classic is on the headstock..not on the trustrod cover..


you mean like this?:










Then I got nothin' lol


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

Budda said:


> you mean like this?:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


i was talking about my friend's LP.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

I was talking about this mystery LP that you're looking at


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

Budda said:


> I was talking about this mystery LP that you're looking at


then you're confused..LOL...the ONE we are talking about, does'nt have a CLASSIC trustrod cover ..


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

and the forum has concluded that it is *not* a les paul standard?


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

Did anyone mention that the Classic was discontinued by Gibson in the last year?


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## 2manyGuitars (Jul 6, 2009)

Okay, here's the deal.

*EVERYTHING* on that guitar says "Standard" except the headstock. 
I just called Gibson with the serial number and it comes back as a regular
2003 Les Paul Standard in Heritage Cherry.

I don't know what's up with that headstock, but something isn't right.


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## 2manyGuitars (Jul 6, 2009)

By the way, as far as prices on _real_ Classics, I've passed on a few plaintops in the $1200 to $1400 range. If it's a Classic Plus (which has a flame top) $1800 is a decent price. Particularly nice ones might fetch a bit more.

In 2007, they came out with the Classic Antique as the flame top model. It also differed from the regular Classic in that it had a bound headstock with the crown inlay, and it came with '57 Classics instead of those _horrible_ ceramic pickups. A used on will run you around $2000.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Al3d, sounds like you should buy it!


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## Spikezone (Feb 2, 2006)

al3d said:


> This is it..looks like the greenish inlays.


Looks like mine (except the new bridge, tuners and different pups, which don't really look any different):










Love my Standard!
-Mikey


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

Budda said:


> Al3d, sounds like you should buy it!


dude....seriously...read the thread before commenting...LOL..i don't wanna buy it, my FRIEND DID


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

my bad! did he buy it then or what?


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