Fabulous Guitar, or Expensive Dog? You Decide.
Written: Nov 07 '04 (Updated Sep 22 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Looks great and essential for hard rock
Cons: Heavy and not as playable as many other axes
The Bottom Line: The Les Paul is one of the essential rock and roll guitars with that essential overdriven distortion. It's expensive and difficult to play, though.
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| buffoonery's Full Review: Gibson Les Paul Classic Ebony with Case |
It would be overstating the obvious to say that the Gibson Les Paul is one of the two most important rock and roll guitars ever made (the other being, of course, the Fender Stratocaster). From Eric Clapton to Jimmy Page to a host of modern day metalheads, the Les Paul has set the pace, its classic overdriven sound providing the undercurrent for everything from blues to hard rock to death metal. Reviewed here is the Les Paul Classic, my version being the ebony-flavored mode, and based on a 1960’s model.
In 1950, Gibson’s electric guitar line entirely consisted of archtop hollow body models: the ES 125, 140, 150, 175 (see my review), 300, 350, and (most expensive) ES-5. However, Leo Fender has recently launched his first solid body electric, the Broadcaster, and the market implications of that machine were obvious. Gibson President Ted McCarty had to respond. McCarty says he put together a team of engineers and got to work, only contacting famed guitarist Les Paul later in the game. Paul has a different story, saying that he played critical roles in the design of the new guitar. (Paul had designed in the early 40’s an electrified guitar that he called “The Log” that was eons ahead of his time).
At any rate, the new guitar was released in 1952 and priced $20 more than a Strat at $210. The Custom and Junior were introduced 1954, the all-mahogany two two pick-up Custom being Paul’s guitar of choice. Gibson would later design the alnico (for aluminum/nickel/cobalt) and humbucking pickups as well as the classic Tune-O-Matic bridge for this guitar. Since then, the result is history.
Here are the technical specifications on the Classic:
BODY
Top Species: Carved maple
Back Species: Mahogany
Binding: Single-ply top
NECK
Species: Mahogany
Profile: 1960 Slim taper
Peghead Pitch: 17°
Thickness at 1st fret: 0.800"
Thickness at 12th fret: 0.875"
Heel Length: 0.625"
Neck Joint Location: 16th fret
FINGERBOARD
Species: Rosewood
Scale length: 243/4"
Total Length: 18.062"
Nut Width: 111/16"
Width at 12th fret: 2.062"
Frets: 22
Inlays: Yellow Pearloid Trapezoid
Binding: Single-ply
HARDWARE
Plating Finish: Nickel; Gold available on Ebony
Bridge: Tune-o-matic
Tailpiece: Stopbar
Knobs: Amber Top Hat
Tuners: Green Key
ELECTRONICS
Neck Pickup: 496R ceramic magnet humbucker
Bridge Pickup: 500T ceramic magnet humbucker
Controls: Two volume, two tone, three-way switch
CASE
Exterior: Black Reptile Pattern Hardshell
Interior: Dark Grey Plush with Black Shroud
Silkscreen: Silver 'Gibson USA' logo
STRINGS
Brite Wires .010-.046
OTHER
* Available Left-handed
A lot of people have a love-hate relationship with the Les Paul: they love to hate it. As a Strat man, I can understand why. The Les Paul is much heavier than a Strat and lacks the body-fitting contours that make a Strat such a joy to hold and play. At around nine pounds, hanging on to it for a couple of hours gets tiring. It’s less fun to practice with as well. The upper reaches of the fret board are also more difficult to reach. The neck is fatter and not as fast.
Contruction quality on this expensive instrument is excellent. There are no flaws at all to speak of. Hardware, neck, fretboard, tuners, electronics are all joined almost seamlessly to the body.
The reason I bought a Les Paul, though, is because I wanted the sound. The ceramic 496 and 500 magnetic humbuckers deliver a wide palette of sounds, but most of you will just turn it to eleven through some Marshall amps to get that classic overdriven Zeppelin/Bad Company/whatever sound you love and crave. But you can get bluesy and even jazzy tones out of this guitar if you roll down the volume and tone controls so your tube amp doesn’t sound like it’s ready to blow a fuse. The rose wood fretboard helps with brightness and the mahogany body gives those critical undertones. The two pick-ups are controlled by a three-way switch and each pick up has its own volume and tone control.
This is an expensive guitar and, for a buying decision, you have to decide whether you want to blow the money for one Les Paul or two or three very serviceable other models. In favor of the gilt-edged Les Paul is the fact that the construction quality is superb, it delivers a very specific, highly desired sound, will retain its collection value, and looks great for the chicks. On the other hand, it is costly, heavy, and less playable than a lot of guitars. I went out and spent the dough, just because I had to have one, but I spend most of my time on my Strat. The decision is yours.
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Recommended:
Yes
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