Absolutely Timeless: Gibson’s Les Paul Standard Cary Nov 2nd

What can I say, the Gibson Les Paul Standard is quite possibly the most coveted guitar in the world, and for good reason – its warm, melodic, but still somehow raw sound has set one of the highest standards for rock guitar tone… and “tone,” of course, is the holy-grail of most guitar players.

In fact, the Les Paul manages to provide the preferred guitar tone, playability, and style of literally generations of guitar players, and across the entire spectrum of musical styles.

The Les Paul (or LP, as it is affectionately known) was first conceived and built in 1952 by the unbeatable team of Gibson USA and groundbreaking guitarist Les Paul himself, and since its release the instrument has gone on to become a legend in solidbody electric guitars – a legend that continues to thrive to this day.

While the LP Standard may be an absolute monster of tone and sustain, and is easily one of my all-time favorite guitars, it does have a few admittedly minor drawbacks – the first one being weight.

The Les Paul may look fairly small in size, but its solid mahogany body is surprisingly heavy… in fact, if you’re used to a light-weight Strat or Tele you may be shocked at just how heavy this guitar can feel. Of course, that solid mahogany body is a big part of why the LP provides such angelic sustain, so you’ve got to take the good with the bad.

The other downside is one that will hit you where it hurts – square in the pocketbook! If you’ve ever priced any of Gibson’s other high-end model guitars, well, you know where I’m going with this. With the LP Standard you will undoubtedly get a whole lot of guitar, but make no mistake, you’ll also pay a premium.

That said, the Les Paul is a gorgeous guitar, and it’s popular (in spite of the price tag) for a very good reason. If you’ve got the money to spend on the best, and you prefer a guitar with a highly playable neck and that classic humbucker bite, well, the Les Paul Standard is a no-brainer.

The Gibson Les Paul Standard Features–

• Carved Maple Top & Solid Mahogany Back
• Mahogany Neck With Slim-Profile
• 24.75-inch Scale Length
• Rosewood Fingerboard With 22 Frets
• Pearl Trapezoid Inlays
• Dual BurstBucker Pickups
• Two Volume & Two Tone Controls
• 3-Way Pickup Switching
• Tune-o-Matic Bridge and StopbarTailpiece
• Chrome Hardware
• Green Key Tuners

And with their latest line of Les Paul Standards Gibson has added a host of decidedly modern but still classic finishes, including:  Goldtop, Light Burst, Desert Burst, Heritage Cherry Sunburst, Honey Burst, Root Beer, Latte Crème, Wine Red, Ebony, Trans Amber, Cayenne, and Iced Tea.

This entry was published Wednesday, November 2nd, 2005 at 12:13 pm. Feel free to leave a comment, or better yet, trackback from your own blog/website.
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