´65 Gibson SG vs. ´57 Gibson Jr. vs. ´59 Les Paul (Replica)

[Earplayer]

Hi mates!

OK - i have to make a very very tough decision...

I had finally a chance to play a ´65 Gibson SG, a ´57 Les Paul Jr. and a Replica from a ´59 Les Paul - damn those old wood guitars are the ****.
So i am between 3 guitars at the moment - all three are very exceptional guitars.
I play Rock, Classic Rock, Blues with a vintage 100W Marshall Stack (thumbs up for the Alex Attenuator). My main guitar at the moment is a heavily modified Gibson R9 and that particular guitar usually beats the **** out of every other guitar. So i basically love my R9 - but i have to say that i prefer the following guitars:

- Vintage Gibson ´65 SG
- Vintage Gibson ´57 LP Jr.
- ´59 Les Paul Replica

The Vintage Gibsons are truly great instruments, not cheap and of course need new frets, new setup, probably a few new parts (tuners, saddles, nut, etc.). There is nothing that substitues old wood and an old instrument with all original parts. A warm, woody and dry sound that can only be achieved by these instruments.

The Replica was made from old wood, was built by a great luthier (worked on many original 58/59/60 Bursts) and sounds and feels great. It is one of the ´better´ Replicas i have heard shrill and very unbalanced Replicas too.

All three guitars are not cheap - actually they are in the same price-range! That is why i can´t make a decision at the moment.

What would you do and why?!?!?

PS
Sorry for my poor English.
All the best, Tom.

 

[GiorgioV]

Maybe go for the SG.

I think that, since you're spending a nice amount of cash, you want a versatile instrument. SGs are light, sound great, there's really nothing wrong with them. Neck could be kinda thin, that would be a deal breaker for me.

Since we don't know about the playabiity or the tone of the three guitars I'd assume it's equal between the three. In which case I'd buy the SG.

If one sounds much better than the others, I'd pick that one. If all of them sound awesome (albeit different), I'd pick the one that plays the best. If all of them sound and play great, I'd pick the SG.

 

[Earplayer]

all are great sounding instruments in their own way. playability of course is different but i wouldn´t have a problem with any of them.
the 57 les paul jr has a chunky neck but it is not bad at all.

the thing with the old instruments is like with old amps.. at a gig you will worry about some things (blowing the ot, filter caps, ... etc.). it is always a thrill to fire up old marshalls... i just heard a story about an old 61 sg where the neck-joint loosened up during a gig - can´t imagine that honestly but well... but all in all i also think that the sg is probably a wise choice.

 

[C-4]

If it were me, and I as well am an R9 player, I would be seriously looking at the replica and comparing it to the R9 I already own.

I have had so many LP's among other high-end guitars that now, if I were to get another LP, I would only want Gil Yaron to build me one.

As far as SG's go, I had a '61 SG LP Standard among others,and it was just mehh. Juniors are nice, but too much money, imho, for such a narrowly focused guitar.

The only thing about the vintage guitars is the value they will have later as opposed to the replica, unless it is built by a known person with a great reputation and was built with certifiable old growth wood, which will at least help prop up the value later on. The only thing there is that you need to find a buyer who wants a replica as you are looking at and is willing to pay the price you are asking when and if you decide to sell it. With the vintage guitars, their value will be pretty much set by their condition.

 

[Johnny Alien]

I am a fan of Juniors so I would swing that way.

 

[Jaan]

If you're going to rework a vintage guitar, then you're killing it's value. You're better off with the 59 replica.

 

[Earplayer]

hi - i was thinking of a gil yaron too... not cheap but they are really good looking guitars... i will wait i really can´t make a decision yet.