There have been about a bazillion reviews written about the
Gibson Les Paul on epinions, including thirty or forty (or at least it seems that way) by Your Humble Author, so I’m not going to rehash the history of the design of the guitar because you can just click on one my Les Paul reviews below. Instead, I’m going to look at the new
2008 Les Paul Standard, which has some new design elements from Our Pals at Gibson that are worth looking at. Some of you may be surprised.
(Trivia question: Why did they call it the Les Paul Standard back in the 50s. Answer: In 1958, Gibson changed the color on the LP from the Sunburst Gold to a flametop. The “Standard” appellation was given to differentiate these guitars from the earlier Goldtops. Now, for all practical purposes, the “Standard” is the model between the
Studio and the more expensive
Custom and
Reissue models.)
First, the neck, which is mahogany with rosewood fretboard. Gibson claims to have now entered the ergonomic age, and the Standard’s neck is the result. It’s thicker on top (bass), narrower on the bottom, to better fit the design of the hand. Neck width is overall in the middle: in other words, I’ve played LP’s that are chunkier and slower up the neck than this one. Neck sanding is also done by hand, so Gibson says no two necks will be alike, which is a thin excuse for claiming that each guitar is a collector’s item.
Speaking of which, the guitar is equipped with Gibson’s largest ever neck tenon. The new design has the neck fastened on to the body and glued from the top. Gibson claims this provides better stability, sustain and resonance.
For the frets, Gibson now uses a German made “Plek” machine that uses a computer automatically finish the frets and minimize intonation problems and fret buzz. This guitar sounded pretty good on the 22-fret neck, so I guess it worked. The tuners are 18:1 Grovers.
You also get a chambered body, which first of all means that this is lighter than a lot of other LP’s so it’s easier on the back for performance. That’s a good thing. You’ll also get a better, louder acoustic sound but you’ll sacrifice some tonal anger when played electrically. The flametop finish is gorgeous and, as with a guitar of this price and quality, there aren’t any apparent construction or paint defects. The guitar is available in seven colors with nitrocellulose finish.
The bridge is a Tone Pro, which is good. The plug-in jack is a Neutrik locking jack, which may not to be to some people’s taste. I’ve never had a guitar jack pull out in forty years of playing so I don’t know why this is a problem all of a sudden.
No pickguard.
The new Standard is powered by two Burstbucker Pro pickups in the neck and bridge. These are fired up with Alnico V instead of II magnets so you’ll get more output and a darker tone at the cost of some sweetness. These are controlled by the usual three-way switch and dedicated volume and tone controls for each pickup. As with any Les Paul, tone is a matter of individual choice. Play the guitar and, if you don’t like the sound, don’t buy it.
This baby will run you $2500 - $2600 at the big box stores.
I’ve played a lot of Les Pauls and this model sounds pretty much like a Les Paul. The chambered body makes it easier to play and the neck has its virtues. Some guys who have never been weaned off the late 1950’s necks are not going to like the feel of this guitar, and the chambered body with its slightly mellower feel won’t help. For this kind of money, don’t buy it if you don’t like it.
Bottom line, this is another high quality guitar from Gibson. I don’t think I’d add to my collection – I like my 1990 Custom a lot and it doesn’t need replacing. Play it and see if you like the neck, which is a bit idiosyncratic. It’s a little early to tell, but this may hurt collectibility a little if you’re going try to resell this guitar to a hard core Les Paul player.
I’d give it four and a half stars if I could, but it’s certainly not a four star guitar so it gets the five.
Here are my other guitar reviews:
Epiphone Slash Les Paul Standard Plus Top Epiphone Zakk Wylde Les Paul Custom Epiphone Les Paul Standard Epiphone G-400 SG Fender Classic 50s Esquire Fender Cyclone Fender 62 Jaguar Fender VG Stratocaster Fender American HSS Stratocaster Fender Standard HSS Stratocaster Fender John Mayer Stratocaster Fender Eric Johnson Stratocaster Fender Stevie Ray Vaughan Stratocaster Fender 57 Stratocaster Reissue Fender 50s Telecaster G&L Legacy Strat Gibson ES-5 Gibson ES-5 Switchmaster Gibson ES-165 Herb Ellis Gibson ES-175 Gibson ES-333 Memphis Style Hollow Body Gibson ES-335 Gibson ES-335 1959 Reissue Gibson ES-350T Gibson ES-350T Gibson Les Paul Classic Custom Gibson Les Paul GT Gibson Les Paul 1957 Goldtop Gibson Les Paul Studio Gibson Les Paul Robot Guitar Gibson Les Paul Classic Ebony Gibson SG 61 Reissue Gibson Super 400 Gretsch Electromatic G5120 Hollow Body Gretsch White Falcon II Ibanez Artcore AS73 Semi-Hollow Body Joe Satriani JS 1000 Solid Body Guitar Ibanez Steve Vai Jem7 Ibanez Xiphos XPT700 Martin D-28 Acoustic Ovation VXT Acoustic Electric PRS McCarty PRS Single Cut PRS Santana SE Schechter Diamond C 1 Variax 700 Acoustic Other amp reviews from buffoonery:
Crate Acoustic CA30 Crate Power BlockFender Blues Deluxe Reissue Fender Cyber Twin Fender DSP 65 Fender 64 Vibroverb Custom Blackface Fender Super Sonic 1x12 Combo Fender MH 500 Metalhead Hughes and Kettner Switchblade 50 Combo Line 6 Spider II Head Line 6 Flextone III Plus Line 6 Vetta II Combo Line 6 Spider III 75 Line 6 Spider Valve 2x12 Combo Marshall 1974X 1x12 Combo Marshall Super 100 JH Mesa 5:25 Express Mesa Stiletto Ace Mesa 5:50 Express Mesa Dual Rectifier Roadster Mesa Stiletto Deuce Mesa Triple Rectifier Head Mesa Lone Star Combo Peavey JSX Joe Satriani Signature Head Peavey Classic 30 Combo Peavey Triple XXX Head Peavey Penta Head Roland Micro Cube Roland Micro Cube RX Vox Valvetronix AD60VT Vox AD50VT-XL 50 2x12 combo My effects and stomp box reviews:
Boss AC-3 Acoustic Guitar Simulator Boss BD-2 Distortion Pedal Boss ME-20 Guitar Multiple Effects Processor Boss GT-8 Multi-Effects Processor Boss GT-10 Multi-Effects Processor Boss ME-50 Multi-Effects Processor Digitech RP50 Guitar Effects Processor Digitech RP80 Guitar Effects Processor Digitech Brian May Red Special Overdrive Pedal Line 6 POD X3 Guitar Multi-Effects Board And you may also be interested in a few books such as:
Hugo Pinksterboer – Tipbook Amplifiers and Effects Ritchie Fliegler – Amps: The Other Half of Rock and Roll Michael Ross – Getting Great Guitar Sounds: A Non-Technical Approach to Shaping Your Personal Sound Nick Freeth – Classic Guitars: Identification and Price Guide
