Vintage guitar of the week #12 - 1989 Gibson Les Paul Custom

Why bother with a Gibson reissue Randy Rhoads Les Paul when you could buy this instead for less?

This 1989 Gibson Les Paul Custom to many guitar players says one thing: "Looks like a Paul that Randy Rhoads would play." And you would be right.

This Paul is really, really close to the Gibson Randy Rhoads Les Paul Custom guitar. Technically, the Gibson Rhoads Paul is a 1974 VOS reissue model while the '89 model isn't, but that doesn't matter for much.

I'd still take the '89 model anyway and do so for two reasons:

1. The '89 literally costs $3,000 less than the new Gibson Rhoads Paul (I'm not kidding.)
2. The '89 is usually found in very good condition and doesn't say "Randy Rhoads" on it anywhere since it's not a signature model. It's just a regular Gibson Les Paul Custom, usually in white.

To me, it's pretty obvious that the '89 LP Custom is a much better deal.

If you like the look of this Paul, grab it if you have the cash, because otherwise you'll have to spend $3,000 more for a new reissue of the same thing.

Published 2015 Sep 26