# Gibson Les Paul Traditional vs Gibson Les Paul Traditional Pro?



## Ravi (Jul 3, 2012)

Hey guys! Im brand new to the forum and thought I should ask a question for all the experienced people out there!

I have a question about the Gibson Les Paul Traditional and the Gibson Les Paul Traditional Pro. 

My question is since the Gibson Les Paul Traditional Pro has the coil split option, why is it cheaper than the Gibson les Paul Traditional?


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## notjoeaverage (Oct 6, 2008)

Traditioanal has a AA top 

Pro is an A top


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## Ravi (Jul 3, 2012)

Thank you for responding, I was starting to think the forum wasn't very active? Is it just this time of day?


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## pattste (Dec 30, 2007)

According to the specs and the pictures on the Gibson site, the Traditional Pro has a plain top while the Traditional has the flamed top. There may be other differences, I didn't study the specs at length.

Gibson.com: Gibson Les Paul Traditional
Gibson USA: Les Paul Traditional Pro Exclusive, Pictures and Tabs, Download Guitar Music and Buy Gibson Electric Guitars Online

Of course if you buy a Goldtop or Ebony, the difference becomes moot.

I didn't know they currently made so many different Les Paul variants.


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## pattste (Dec 30, 2007)

Ravi said:


> Thank you for responding, I was starting to think the forum wasn't very active? Is it just this time of day?


It took a whole 16 minutes before you got a reply. We apologize for the delay.


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## Ravi (Jul 3, 2012)

So overall would you reccomend purchasing the Traditional or the Traditional Pro?


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## Ravi (Jul 3, 2012)

I'm sorry, It's my first time on a forum, I'm not quite sure how fast replies and such are.


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## pattste (Dec 30, 2007)

Ravi said:


> So overall would you reccomend purchasing the Traditional or the Traditional Pro?


It is a pretty big investment so I would recommend that you play a bunch of guitars and buy the one that you prefer. Of course, if the coil split or some other feature is important to you, it will make your decision easier. I used to have a Yamaha SBG guitar with the coil split and never used it as the pickups sounded anemic when split. I understand that's to be expected somewhat but it wasn't really usable like that as far as I was concerned. You will find that different guitars will speak to you differently, sound and feel a little different. I'm very picky when it comes to guitars, I know people who buy online sight-unseen and are happy like that but it certainly wouldn't work for me.


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## Ravi (Jul 3, 2012)

Thank you very much.


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## chimo (Mar 29, 2006)

Not sure where "Somewhere, Earth" is but if it happens to be in Canada, you'll find that the Traditional Pro was not really available this side of the border. There were a few that came available as a limited run but the Traditional Pro was a run for the big US retailers (Guitar Center and/or Musicians Friend etc.). The one (1) Trad Pro I've played it was quite heavy for a modern Paul, probably in the 11 lbs range. It did have a figured top, but nothing compared to what comes on the regular Traditiona. Also it had locking Grover tuners and a satin finished neck. It has a different pickup in one position (the neck maybe?) and last but certainly not least it did not have the PLEK treatment that the Traditional model has had performed.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

I'm not a big fan of coil split, because like pattste mentioned, humbuggies don't sound great split. I DO however very much like the way a humbucker sounds wired in parallel instead of series. It gives you a brighter, more single-coil sound, but it still remains hum-cancelling and doesn't lose volume quite as much.

If single coil sounds are important to you, you could get the Pro and rewire it so it switches the coils to parallel instead of cutting one coil out entirely. Alternatively, if you like a fancy top, you could get the regular Trad and do it yourself, though you'd have to buy some push-pulls.

I like the Trads myself, even though I have a Standard. I find the Trads sound more like Les Pauls (which I guess is the point).


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## Ravi (Jul 3, 2012)

Yes but I could go to the states and pick one up once im good enough. But thank you for the information.


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## Roryfan (Apr 19, 2010)

pattste said:


> According to the specs and the pictures on the Gibson site, the Traditional Pro has a plain top while the Traditional has the flamed top. There may be other differences, I didn't study the specs at length.
> 
> Gibson.com: Gibson Les Paul Traditional
> Gibson USA: Les Paul Traditional Pro Exclusive, Pictures and Tabs, Download Guitar Music and Buy Gibson Electric Guitars Online
> ...


I took a look through the specs and the Traditional has a fatter 50s profile neck and a 57 Classic Plus in the bridge, whereas the Traditional Pro has a slimmer 60s profile neck and a much hotter Burstbucker 3 in the bridge positon (both guitars use a Classic 57 in the neck position). If you're a metal guy then the Pro might be a better fit.

Both guitars are Plek'd (this is a very good thing for playability) and the bodies are weight-relieved, although I believe the first generation of Traditionals weren't.

Although geography & availability may limit your options, the only way I would buy a guitar, especially a Les Paul, without playing it first is if I got it gently used at a decent enough price that I could flip it & break even if I didn't like it. If you prefer to go the brand new route, then try to play it first or at the very least make sure you can return it. Before deciding whether or not it's a dog, spend some time playing it unplugged.


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## Roryfan (Apr 19, 2010)

hollowbody said:


> I'm not a big fan of coil split, because like pattste mentioned, humbuggies don't sound great split. I DO however very much like the way a humbucker sounds wired in parallel instead of series. It gives you a brighter, more single-coil sound, but it still remains hum-cancelling and doesn't lose volume quite as much.
> 
> If single coil sounds are important to you, you could get the Pro and rewire it so it switches the coils to parallel instead of cutting one coil out entirely. Alternatively, if you like a fancy top, you could get the regular Trad and do it yourself, though you'd have to buy some push-pulls.
> 
> I like the Trads myself, even though I have a Standard. I find the Trads sound more like Les Pauls (which I guess is the point).


The coil tap on my '81 ES-335 actually works nice & I once had a McCarty (mid-late 90s?) that did a surprisingly decent Tele impression. 

But everything else has stank. Had a bee-yotch of a time with 'buckers in the neck position of Tele. The 250 or 500k pot question became a big problem.


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