Gibson '57 Les Paul Goldtop Reissue Reviews 5

I picked this guitar up at my local music store on a deal for 2,100. I couldn't pass up this this guitar.

I just thought I'd go to the music store and play a few Les Pauls so I could decide which model I was most in love with. First I played a classic and I really liked the slim-tapered neck. I am a big fan of thinner necks. Then I was playing a few standards when the guy that was showing me guitars pulls down a goldtop. He hands it to me and I was immediately turned off by the thickness of the neck. Also, I thought the gold paintjob was kind of silly. But then I plugged it in and understood why the clerk had pulled it down. The sound coming out of the princeton I was plugged into was unbelievable, all the other Les Pauls weren't even close. The huge 50' style neck coupled with the long neck tenon that comes standard on all the historic reissues gave the guitar incredible sustain and the '57 vintage pickups gave it a warm, bassy, harmonic enriched tone. I immediately fell hopelessly in love with this guitar.

The only drawback I could find on this guitar was that i thought the pickups were a little weak on the high end and a little undefined overall. But honestly I thought it sounded wonderfull in it's own fight. It gave it a sort of bluesy feel which I love. Also, some people are turned off by the gold so I have a little peice of advice; if you like gold tops but think the newer ones look a little too yellow try finding one that's at least 5 or 6 years old, supposedly they started to put yellower paint on in the more recent years; if you don't like goldtops but you happen to fall in love with one remember that making music is about sound anyway so quit complaining.

Excellent construction. Like I said, the long neck tenon and fat '50s style neck make for great sustain and a big, dark, Les Paul sound.

I love my Goldtop. It's my main guitar. Go buy one.

Joe Smith rated this unit 5 on 2002-11-08.

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