Gibson Les Paul Special Faded w/ Humbuckers Reviews 5

Bought at Guitar Center, Indianapolis, IN, for $583 after some haggling, in January 2004 (Musicians'friend quoted at $749). Looking for a versatile guitar that can churn out clean, fat blues tunes, and also sharp, distorted metal noise. Initially wanted a Fender US Highway Strat but Guitar Center did not carry the specs I'm looking for. Forked out slightly extra and got this plain looking but extremely awesome Gibson LP. Works beautifully for a poor and sometimes starving college student.

Brilliant! Though the maple top on a Gibson LP Standard may (slightly) contribute to the quality, sound is amazingly beautiful, clean or distorted. Forget the mother-of-pearl inlay, binding and the detailed finish. Worn cherry makes the guitar look very unique.

Probably the thin lacquer finish. Have to be extra careful when jumping around, especially on the stage if you're wearing a belt with a huge buckle and/or metal studs.

Mahogany body. Rosewood fretboard with pearloid inlays. Sufficient coats of lacquer to prevent pick scratches. Volume and tone controls for both pickups. 3-position pickup selector. Alnico 490R and 498T Humbucker pickups. Has Gibson's adjustable Tune-o-matic bridge. Great sustain, playability and most of all, versatility.

What can I say. It's a Gibson Les Paul, but fit for the budget of the Average Joe. I never regretted going overbudget on my expenses for this guitar (It's like falling in love and never getting bored!). If you're strapped for cash and don't really care for the aesthetics, this guitar is superb. If I were to stop buying electric guitars, I would end it with a Gibson Les Paul.

Latif rated this unit 5 on 2004-02-28.

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