I had a botched refret on my les paul in Nashville. Found a guy in Georgia that exclusively does stainless steel refrets. His work is phenomenal. He has done two of my Gibsons for me.

Sweetwater is the best company to buy music gear, they always pack the gear perfectly so it is never damaged during shipping, unlike other companies like guitar center and others, and they stand behind everything they sell, if you don't like it they take it back, they do everything they can to make you happy, they take pictures of every piece of gear they sell so you get what you see, they are the best in the game.

Back in 2006-7 when I was a freshman in high school a friends dad had a lp custom that I got to borrow for a week or so. It was the first Gibson I got to play and always dreamed of owning one someday. That guitar lived it’s whole life in the case in a closet. 2 years ago I sent my old friend a message randomly asking if they still had it. I got to buy it finally for $2700. It’s yellowed nicely and the hardware has tarnished but overall in great condition, frets are still great and action is awesome. I changed all the pots to 550k VIP pots and it rips with the stock pickups. If you haven’t changed the pots in your I would highly recommend it. Opens them up and gives it the brightness it should have. Mine is wine red btw

Late 70's Norlin Custom are what Gibson made the best and the coolest ! Natural ones and Custom Artisan are my fav !!

I'm a big fan of the Norlin era Les Paul Custom's. Currently I don't have an actual 70s era LP, but I was able to acquire a 1974 Reissue Les Paul Custom.... and I love it! I get the best of both worlds, Norlin era aesthetics and feel, with the current day quality control. Her name is Tricia :)

The guitar market is wild now, when I got my hands on a Orville Les Paul Custom I paid 700 now they are 1,500

Nice to see someone not talking shit on Gibson, I’m an SG guy but that Les Paul is sexy 👍🏻

its funny natural like yours is my favorite les paul custom color I hope to get one one day

I have to say, your playing has really progressed since I started watching your channel. It's an inspiration!

Just bought a 2018 LP Custom and I Fn LOVE IT!

Rock on Brother Ray 🤘🏻. Ur riffs are dope AF ! Keep the content coming !

I have a natural 79 Standard I bought brand new off the rack in 81 for $600, the best guitar I've ever owned and played.

I tried the DR Dimebag signature just for fun while covering “It makes them disappear” (I love dimebag but I usually stick to my Ernie ball and elixirs) but I’ve been using other DR sets when I go to shops now. P.s. Amazing guitar and back story.

Congrats on the new sponsor brother! 🤘🏻💚✌🏻

Im a sweet water employee here in Arizona they take good care of us and make sure we take good care of the customer. Love to see one of my favorite channels sponsored by them

I love that custom. So much mojo! 🤘🏼🤘🏼

Wow, thats a good price, you got lucky there bro! 😎

That guitar is a dream for me . Interesting you mentioned Ron, as I saw one of his business cards on the board at my practice space the other day. He did a neck / headstock break repair for me on an iron bird like 30 years ago and I didn’t know he was still around the area.

I dont know why but i just love the looks of the standards so much i like customs but there is something about the standards that catches my eye

This video makes me want to look into getting a birth year Gibson and see what that would be like to own 🤘🔥🔥🤘

In time we get to love those guitars who needed the most attention and care… gibsons and fender with upgrades are becoming soul mates at some point. Enjoy that old beautiful lady

Modded guitars will always be my favourite kind of guitars! I love it when artists shape their instruments to fit them and not the other way around. But nowadays, especially with the growing collectors market, it is frown upon like never before. Even tho those same people embrace the modded guitars of the big players from back in the day they always seem to forget that as soon somebody else does that to their instrument. There is always some whining about how they "ruined" that guitar. Music is a form of art and an expression of self that shouldn't make a stop in front of a piece of wood.

Brotha I just want to say you have saved me a bunch of money and dropped some dope knowledge! Question though, if you have any tips for playing in and out of modes?

a good les paul will always have a place in my heart as they have been a main stay in my guitar collection my who life and my main guitar's for many many years. but as I progressed in my playing and found ESP and PRS single cut guitars these 2 brands have slowly replaced my les pauls over the years. I still own 4 les pauls but all but 2 will be leaving my collection soon. I really have become a fan of Schecter, ESP and PRS over the past 15 plus years and even though I have always kept a few les pauls around they are not my go to guitars anymore I pretty much keep them around in my studio for anyone else that might like to play or record with one. And it is nothing against them either as they are great guitars but I have learned and never realized that I actually fought playing them and now with guitars like my Schecter C-1 Silver mountain I do not struggle to play these guitars and do not feel like I am fighting or struggling to play them. It is crazy and it took me many years to realize and understand this but this is also the struggle I think all of us guitar players go through in that search for that guitar that just plays effortlessly for us. Anyway great video and story Ray.

You got a pretty good deal on that one, definitely needed some work. Some guitars are worth it though. This one seems to be one of those.

Damn, that was some awesome lead playing at the start. You sometimes say you are not good at playing lead. I beg to differ, man. Cheers and have a good one. Very nice LPC.

You could always get it refinished to a colour you like

Ron ruggerio refretted my ebony board 79 "the Paul" and did a great job. Can you tell us who the hack was? Was it ...superior...

I could not stand the pickups in my 2014 Gibson Les Paul Custom, even with the NS-2 it made to much unwanted noise, i had to swap for EMG´s and now its a dream to play.. :D

my 1st guitar, 80`s gibson flying v, i got used for about $350 almost 37 years ago. now they`re worth around $3,500. good investment. and my mom told me i should throw it away, wtf.

Imo natural finish is going to age way better than probably any other finish

I’ve been trying to find a guitar I had when I was 14-17 is a 2003 seafoam green jackson king v custom with a reverse headstock and a Floyd rose 1000 series

Have you done anything to make that sucker stay in tune ? I have a 2020 custom I bought off the demo shop and the g-string will stay in tune for about 1 bend and it's done . I know this is common but none of my other Les Paul's do it at all. Super annoying .

I'd buy a new custom over norlin and save bux. The new ones that comes with hot alnico V pups sounds amazing great for modern era hard rock/metal. The norlin era sounds dull to my taste

I love your videos but i still didnt catch the name of your band I'd love listening to some stuff.

Why would you need to hide the serial # on a video? Genuinely curious.

That looks like it weighs tons

Why hide the serial number

Screw Gibson you pay for the name then get a model that needs neck adjustments or whatever. My USA Charvel San Dimas plays better than any Les Paul I tried. My Charvel is a workhorse that won’t fail me

yeah, no, not worth it. Not if its just gonna sound like all the other guitars.

Awesome axe! I bought a 78’ Black beauty recently - my dream guitar finally! It has a fairly bright sound, but it somehow has that perfect midrange - a rock machine! Also - pancake bodies were discontinued around 77’. Cheers mate and enjoy!