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90s "good wood " era vs post 2013 era ....... ?

Dr. Green

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Dec 12, 2018
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683
I jumped into this game in 2003

missed out on the 90s good wood guitars completely and have never even played one

so my question for you Les Paul nuts and gurus is how do the good woods compare to the hide glue custom bucker models ???????
 

MikeSlub

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Lots of myths about what era was "good wood", best pickups, whether hide glue makes a difference, etc. My personal experience is that there are great sounding and playing Historics from all eras. Of course, everyone has preferences on the sound of pickups, and there have been lots of pickup variations over the years in Historics.
 

MikeSlub

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A few Historics over the years:

1999 40th Anniversary

1999_Gibson_Les_Paul_Historic_59_Reissue_40th_Anniversary.JPG

1999 40th Anniversary Murphy Painted/Aged


1999_Gibson_Les_Paul__59_Historic_Aged_by_Tom_Murphy_Vintage_World_Run.JPG


2003 Brazilian Board

2003_Gibson_Les_Paul__59_Historic_Brazilian_Fretboard_Darkburst.JPG

2009 Historic Wildwood Burst

2009_Gibson_Les_Paul_Historic_50th_Anniversary_Pale_Whiskey_Burst.jpg

2011 Historic DaPra Carmel Fade

2011 Gibson Les Paul Historic DaPra Caramel Burst Fade 1959 Reisssue.jpg

2013 "Big Top" Historic

2013 Les Paul Historic 1959 Reissue Sunrise Teaburst.jpg

2015 True Historic

2015_Gibson_Les_Paul_True_Historic_59.jpg

2017 Historic Murphy Aged

2017_Gibson_LP_True_Historic_Aged_Painted_Murphy.jpg

2019 Historic Green Lemon

2019_Gibson_Les_Paul_Historic_60th_Anniversary~0.jpg
 

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axeman565758

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Jan 23, 2007
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1,204
my opinion is "the good wood era' is nonsense. I have owned various R6,7,8,and 9 models from 99, 00, 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 07, 09, 10, 12, 14 and now own an '18 R7 and a '20 60th R0 (both M2M's).
Some models/years were very good and some were so-so. The two models I have now, I'd put up against any of the previously owned. But that's just me. Put a great playing /sounding Historic in someone's hands and I guarantee they can't tell you if its a '94 or a 2020. But then again, it's what the player thinks.
As Mike Slub commented above.....
 

Dr. Green

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Dec 12, 2018
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683
now wait a cotton pickin minute here .... hold your horses !

I did not coin the term " good wood era " ...... I have heard that term used for a long time to describe custom shop les pauls around the 1995-1999

in fact I just typed in the words " good wood era " on reverb and guess what popped up ?

yep ..... late 90s pre historics

so my question is valid ...... aint it ?
 

MikeSlub

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now wait a cotton pickin minute here .... hold your horses !

I did not coin the term " good wood era " ...... I have heard that term used for a long time to describe custom shop les pauls around the 1995-1999

in fact I just typed in the words " good wood era " on reverb and guess what popped up ?

yep ..... late 90s pre historics

so my question is valid ...... aint it ?
Yes, we've heard the term "good wood era" used many times. I think what you're hearing from us is that there is "good wood" from every era of Historics, not just the 90's.
 

Dr. Green

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Dec 12, 2018
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683
this is extremely funny
I googled " good wood era" and found a ton of posts about it

the funniest is this one off another music web site


" The so-called Good Wood era is a specific period referred to with respect to Les Paul Historics made between 1996 and the early 2000s.

The term started appearing in the Les Paul Forum, to identify R9s that had a particularly spectacular flame top.

So to clarify, it is quite specific, it does not apply to all guitars or all wood types, it is not related to tone or weight, and yes, it makes no sense. " - Surf freak
 
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MikeSlub

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this is extremely funny
I googled " good wood era" and found a ton of posts about it

the funniest is this one off another music web site


" The so-called Good Wood era is a specific period referred to with respect to Les Paul Historics made between 1996 and the early 2000s.

The term started appearing in the Les Paul Forum, to identify R9s that had a particularly spectacular flame top.

So to clarify, it is quite specific, it does not apply to all guitars or all wood types, it is not related to tone or weight, and yes, it makes no sense. " - Surf freak
Yes, that term was slung a lot around these here parts!
 

DvnLesPaul

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Sep 17, 2002
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wasn't a certain amount of the good-wood hype attributed to the double staining process utilized at that time to enhance flame appearance?
 

J T

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Oct 20, 2005
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10,501
There are some very nice guitars from 2000 - 2012. Not to difficult to find at all. Not sure why those years are excluded from the OP's post.
 

renderit

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Jan 19, 2009
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I was always under the impression "Good Wood" was referring to finally getting away from the mostly boring tops that came from several decades before.

As in: we are still in the good wood era...

And I can criticize you for looking like you want to start a fight on purpose; however I hope I am wrong as I usually am and you are a most amiable fellow willing to give me the shirt off'n yer back and only bringing this up as a way to impart sparkle to the universe instead of reverting to killing unicorns which accomplishes the same.
 

Dr. Green

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Dec 12, 2018
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683
to me this is a classic late 90s "Good Wood "

how do they compare sound wise to 2013 and later models ?????????????????????????
 

Garyj

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Oct 10, 2021
Messages
2
to me this is a classic late 90s "Good Wood "

how do they compare sound wise to 2013 and later models ?????????????????????????
I’m not the right person to ask. All my LPs are from the 1990s. No complaints on how they sound.
 

brandtkronholm

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Dec 3, 2006
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2,737
Like Garyj, I too have a 1995 R9:

Screen Shot 2021-02-21 at 1.41.40 PM.jpeg

I've modified it with Luxe caps (paper-n-wax) and two PAFs; a double black (~7.5Ω) from a 1961/2 SG in the neck and a double white (~8.4Ω) from a 1959 ES335. Both donor guitars were beyond repair.

How does it sound? It sounds amazing.

How does it sound compared to post 2013 Les Pauls? Again, it's amazing. I've not encountered another reissue Les Paul that made me pause and doubt for an instant.

A better question is "How does it sound compared to an original 'Burst?" The answer is again, it sounds amazing. I don't think I have anything to gain sonically from an original 'Burst with my old '95 R9 in hand. Of course, I've never owned a 'Burst, but I've played plenty under good and proper loud/live ensemble conditions - and I've never been disappointed by the eventual comparisons to my '95 R9. Moreover, many of the times that my '95 R9 was compared to a 'Burst were before I did any modifications to it - before I replaced the caps and before I replaced the pickups. The changes that the modifications brought were subtle but real to my ears.

I think the comparison to classic era Gibsons is more apt. I got my '95 R9 in 1996 and the only other Les Pauls available for any kind of comparison at that time were the originals. Also, I've owned a few old Les Pauls ('53-'56) and other mid-late '50s and early '60s Gibsons with PAFs, but I've only kept one, a 1959 ES345.

I've never needed another Les Paul, but then, I stopped doing this professionally around 2003.
 

JPP-1

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Jul 11, 2006
Messages
1,336
Certain sellers of older less accurate Historics coined the term “good wood years” in an effort to try and maximize their value. It’s a contrived, BS term that is completely meaningless

While I agree with MikeSlub that every guitar is unique and should be judged on its own, I would also say that I have found the post 2012 Historics as a group have been consistently better than the late 90s early 2000 Historics I’ve played and owned.
 
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rockabilly69

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Jul 29, 2001
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Certain sellers of older less accurate Historics coined the term “good wood years” in an effort to try and maximize their value. It’s a contrived, BS term that is completely meaningless

While I agree with MikeSlub that every guitar is unique and should be judged on its own, I would also say that I have found the post 2012 Historics as a group have been consistently better than the late 90s early 2000 Historics I’ve played and owned.
I agree JPP-1, and another thing I like is the neck shape's better on the newer ones, their not as clubby with less shoulder.
 
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