"is that a REAL les paul?"

[pcake]

in the late '90s, i was in a band looking for a singer. the guitar player played a 1971 gibson les paul black beauty, and it amazed me how many people

A) judged our band serious because our guitar player played a les paul

B) asked "is that a REAL les paul?" breathlessly like they were asking if it was some religious antiquity or the dead sea scrolls

C) upon being told that it was, indeed, a real les paul, asked "can i touch it?"

really? can you touch someone else's guitar that feels pretty much like touching any wood with lacquer on it??? yet at least 20 people - probably more - asked if it was a real les paul and then asked to touch it. how weird is that?

as for how serious our band was, well, i'm not sure the guitar player having a les paul gave the drummer and i cred. and no one ever asked to touch our instruments, so i guess if the guitar player is okay, he passes his mantle of musical cred upon the rest of us

 

[Aberdumbie]

I just play in my church these days. Rehearsal is Wednesdays after work so I tote my bass to work on Wednesdays. Beautiful tweed case with a small Fender logo. And invariably, anyone that walks in my office when it is here does the very same thing... Is that a REAL Fender? Can I see it??....... I have a forty year old bass that sits in a stand wide open for anyone to see. It's my lunchtime stress reliever. It's a cool restored old bass (my first). I cannot think of anyone that has ever even mentioned that when they come in here.

 

[Alkali Ike]

When I see a new Corvette parked someplace, I have to stop and look at it. I really want to touch it.

Of course it’s possible the Corvette’s owner barely knows how to drive.

 

[Johnny Crab]

Got the same reaction from an older co-worker here when he walked into my cubicle and I was changing the strings on a Fender P at lunch(time management).

"Wow, a real Fender!"

He didn't ask to touch it though.

 

[Bob_Ross]

As the former owner of two different fake Les Pauls (a Carlo Robelli in 1974, and an Aria in 1979) I can confirm that the opposite is also true: Some people will judge your band un-serious if you're not playing a real Les Paul.

 

[ZenG]

Why yes....it is a real Les Paul...but quite frankly these strings are the cheapest sh*t I could find...

 

[mongo2]

in the late '90s, i was in a band looking for a singer. the guitar player played a 1971 gibson les paul black beauty, and it amazed me how many people

A) judged our band serious because our guitar player played a les paul

B) asked "is that a REAL les paul?" breathlessly like they were asking if it was some religious antiquity or the dead sea scrolls

C) upon being told that it was, indeed, a real les paul, asked "can i touch it?"

really? can you touch someone else's guitar that feels pretty much like touching any wood with lacquer on it??? yet at least 20 people - probably more - asked if it was a real les paul and then asked to touch it. how weird is that?

as for how serious our band was, well, i'm not sure the guitar player having a les paul gave the drummer and i cred. and no one ever asked to touch our instruments, so i guess if the guitar player is okay, he passes his mantle of musical cred upon the rest of us

LOL, that brings back memories. Back in the late 70s a friend of mine decided to buy another acoustic and he asked me to go with him to the local "boutique" dealer to see what they had and keep him from doing something stupid. When we walked in, I immediately spotted a three pickup Black Beauty hanging on the wall. I nudged my friend and said something like "Forget the acoustic, get the Black Beauty, you'll never regret it." He said he wasn't interested but I noticed he kept sneaking looks at it so I asked to try it. Turns out it was from the early 70s. When he saw me playing it he took it from me and played it for about a half-hour and bought it. He played it from that day on and people would always ask about it. We went our separate ways a couple of years later but I ran into him a few years back and he still had it, it's worth way more than he paid for it and he won't sell it.

Another friend also has one his father bought it new for him as a HS graduation present back in the early '70s. People also ask him about his.

Maybe it's the three gold pickups creating all that interest.

Weird thing is, I have a recent black Ignition Hofner Club bass that I've used quite a bit over the last few years and every so often I get asked if it's a Les Paul.

 

[pcake]

the guitar player (who i later started dating and we've been married for ages) paid $800 for his 1971 black beauty in rat condition with missing parts; he assembled some original hardware and it's complete but it's missing some paint, the hardware is missing some gold and he's received offers of over $3500 for it as is!

 

[five7]

People constantly touch my shaved head but they don't ask first if it is real.

 

[Stumbo]

...no one ever asked to touch our instruments...

Speak for yourself...

 

[Killed_by_Death]

I've got a friend who thinks you need a Les Paul if you're serious about playing guitar. He'll say this in a joking manner, along with "Real players only play single cuts!", but I think he really believes it a little bit.

 

[Stumbo]

I have a modded '83 LP studio that is my fav. I can't use Strats because the volume knob gets in the way of my hand placement.

 

[Diamond_Dave]

If people only knew that they, too, could own a "real Fender" for the low price of $350 on eBay...

 

[two fingers]

A friend of mine is a guitar player in Nashville and doesn't own my kind of Telecaster..... not a Fender, not a boutique, not any kind. He has a Taylor solid body electric and a couple of Strats. Yeah, he gets asked lots of questions.

 

[micguy]

I built all my instruments. Does that mean none of them are “real”?

 

[tpaul]

I've got a friend who thinks you need a Les Paul if you're serious about playing guitar. He'll say this in a joking manner, along with "Real players only play single cuts!", but I think he really believes it a little bit.

The first part is BS, but that last part is true, ask anyone over at the TDPRI.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Isn't the T in TDPRI for Telecaster?
not very single cut...

 

[khutch]

the guitar player (who i later started dating and we've been married for ages) paid $800 for his 1971 black beauty in rat condition with missing parts; he assembled some original hardware and it's complete but it's missing some paint, the hardware is missing some gold and he's received offers of over $3500 for it as is!

Well, if he got the girl then I suppose that old LP really did give him some cred!

 

[tr4252]

I own a "real" Les Paul. It's an Epiphone. Les worked for Epiphone; (I think he made The Log solidbody-ish guitar when he was there, to test the solid body concept). Therefore I consider it paulworthy, especially after having played many real L.P.s over the years. Some might disagree.

Nobody's ever asked me the question, but now I have my answer ready.

"it's a guitar designed by Les Paul, made by the company he worked for, and has his name on the headstock. No, I guess it's not real enough by your definition."

Funny, nobody has ever asked about my Les Paul Junior, either, but I did ask a guy once; "Wow! Is that a real Sears Silvertone amp?"

Tom

 

[BassUrges]

If my wife saw this thread, she would claim that I decide if things are real by lunging at them touching them without permission.

Which is totally untrue, I SWEAR.