I was in your same exact situation a while ago and chose teh classic. Better by far in my opinion. The sound is clear, loud, and articulate. it doesnt sound boxy like Std’s do (granted its dirtier sounding) and imo its an all around meaner, dirtier rock guitar. i use it for speed metal and it works great. peace

thats right, they have different necks, you can choose between the necks on a standard but firs you need to try both types to see which one ticks the box, then the pick ups too, the simplest way of doing this is to buy a used one and spend the money you save on customisation.

Lee knows more about Gibbo LPs than I do, for sure, but one thing struck me. You don’t actually say why you like the Classic, only the bits you prefer on the std.

Anyhoo, leaving the bridge aside, you can’t just pull the inlays and have MOP stuck in. A guitar neck has a radius (the Gib is flatter than a Fender, but it still curves). So, the new inlays need to be sanded to the same radius. To do that, all the frets will have to be pulled out.

I don’t even want to think about buying a classic and then having a carved maple top put in place of the original. Before you know it, you’ve spent more than the original cost of the instrument and killed its resale stone dead. If it’s just the sound, it’s far easier to buy the std and mod the pups. It’s also reversible if you later sell.

Did you know they both have different necks? and different pickups? so far you have only mentioned the look of the 2 models, nothing about sound or playability.