Gibson LPJ 2014 as first e-guitar?

[Azrael]

Hi everyone,

 

I am about to buy my first electric guitar, after playing Rocksmith for the last half year with my western acoustic guitar that I own since 10 years or so.

Today I went to a shop, spent a while playing some guitars and I felt like my favourite was a "Gibson LPJ 2014 fireburst satin".

 

To be honest I couldn't hear a big difference between the LPs and Strats I played, and in terms of ease of playing they all felt good as well... but I really liked the "non-sticky" neck and looks of this one.

 

Any comments or experience with this guitar? :-)

 

At the moment I am not planing to buy an amp, because I will always play with headphones and thought that I can just do that through RS. Furthermore I will probably be able to get an acoustic amplifier from a family member for free together with a distortion pedal.

Basically I am wondering if this is a stupid plan and if I am missing a lot if I don't buy an amp...

[FuzzyMuff]

hi, personally I dont think its a stupid plan as such, but from my experience with rocksmith I find that the sound of my guitar gets lost in the mix for some tracks, so rather than play with settings, I use an AB-Y switch and use my amp with rocksmith.

 

I like it this way, but I played rocksmith alone for around a year, so its just a case of what suits you and your wallet best.

 

In time you may know more about tone and the sound youre looking for and there for have a better idea of what amps may suit your needs best.

[Wepeel]

If it's the guitar that felt right in your hands and you like the sound of it, you can never go wrong.

 

As for personal opinion, I prefer the Melody Maker.  Same LP style, but much lighter and has 2 P90's.  But that's also because I already have a Gibson LP Standard so when I bought it I wasn't looking for another guitar with humbuckers.  I also owned a 2014 SGJ (same '61 Zebra humbuckers as the LPJ) and sold it because a) I didn't like the neck, and b ) found the pups didn't have high enough output for my tastes.

 

But everything is subjective.  So if you like it, then it's the right guitar for you.

 

 

(I just realized the b ) makes a smiley face with glasses when you don't put the space in between.  Stupid emoticons)

[Brooklyn_Sounds]

If it's the guitar that felt right in your hands and you like the sound of it, you can never go wrong.

 

As for personal opinion, I prefer the Melody Maker.  Same LP style, but much lighter and has 2 P90's.  But that's also because I already have a Gibson LP Standard so when I bought it I wasn't looking for another guitar with humbuckers.  I also owned a 2014 SGJ (same '61 Zebra humbuckers as the LPJ) and sold it because a) I didn't like the neck, and B) found the pups didn't have high enough output for my tastes.

 

But everything is subjective.  So if you like it, then it's the right guitar for you.

I kinda feel the same, a couple of my friends have LPjs and SGJ and i wanted to love them but for some reason the way they sounded and felt in my hands just wasn't doing it for me. Also, i absolutely hate the pickups they come with, like you said no high output and they're ugly as hell. I don't know who at Gibson thought it was a good idea to put those pickups on satin finished guitars. Back to the point at hand, who cares what i think, whatever guitar feels good and plays and sounds good to you is the one you should get. it doesn't matter what's name is on the front of the headstock, depending on the style of music you wanna play maybe an Ibanez, a friend of mine has a Roadcore and swears by it, it kinda looks like a Fender Bronco. And if you plan on not buying an amp, a good program to check out would be Guitar Rig 5. Anyway good luck with whatever you go with. :)

[Younha]

You could read all the reviews/opinions on any one guitar to pick it up at the store and realize you don't like it at all. Everyone has their own personal guitar Excalibur, you just need to find yours. Try out some more if you feel like it. Try one of everything. If you still don't find anything you like that just sings and feels right to you, you found it. Get something that feels right and makes you want to play it every time you look at it. Good luck. It took me seven months to find mine, but I"m pretty picky and stingy.

I haven't played the LPJ too much, but it's a solid guitar for the price with Gibson on it.

[Motive]

I have this guitar LPJ, buy its a month ago, lock my profile. And can fair to say, that  is the best guitar of cheap, that i have anytime. I love its  sounds, perfect quality assemble.  Before purchase i think will change a stock pickups at LPJ to active EMG, but now i sure i will stay with stock pickups. They have great sound.

[Azrael]

Thanks everyone for your feedback.

I went back to the store today and tried some other guitars, but in the end the LPJ was the one for me.

 

Now I played a couple of hours at home and I am very satisfied, it is awesome :-)

[impregnablecrunch]

Personally I think both the 490s and 61 Zebras are excellent pickups. They are fairly versatile, but they really hammer rock songs especially well. Then again I do not play Metal or stuff like that, so maybe they are less than stellar for that. 

[flyingturtle]

Congrats on your guitar!

 

And, yeah, buy what feels good to you. It's probably because you've played on an acoustic for a long time that the LPJ feels more familiar in your hands. Les Pauls have wide flat necks ( flat on the fretboard side)-- a lot easier to do bar chords and such, in fact the Les Paul was designed as a jazz guitar  (since that's what Les Paul, the guitar player, mainly played). Strats tend to have rounded/curved necks (although they can come in a ton of different variations).

 

I think you mentioned that your LPJ has a satin neck? Yeah, my Gibson Les Paul Standard has a satin neck, too. I didn't like the regular finished necks on LPs, and got the Gibson LP Faded model with comes with a satin finish and it I like it so much better.  Much faster to move my hand around since I have sweaty hands. You picked a great neck. :)

 

If you ever decide to get a second guitar, you can also look at PRS guitars, especially the PRS SE line which is the budget line. They have similar necks to Gibson/Epiphone Les Pauls. They are usually relatively flat on the fretboard side. The back of the neck tends to be thinner than LPs but it depends on the model (the John Petrucci model thinner than the regular SE Singlecut).  SE line of PRS guitar have great construction (tend to be better than Epiphone).

 

[drewhark]

Enjoy. This is my first guitar I love it

[mjmiller1824]

I gotta say even if it doesn't sound right...if it feels right? Play the heck out of that guitar.

[danick]

Hi guys I'm new and I need some help. I just bought a 2014 120th ann. Gibson LPJ from reverb. It looked clean and the seller was easy and friendly. I have a concern though about the guitar. All 2014 LPJ's I see have the Gold Crown on the headstock however the guitar I just purchased has a Les Paul Model headstock logo. I can't find this anywhere else on a LPJ. Thanks for your help

 

[MaZtoR]

@@danick Give us a pic of the guitar and it might be easier to help.