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Published on 05/02/11 at 15:53The Les Paul Custom has gone through a tone of changes throughout the years. The one I'll be focusing on in this review will be the one currently available on the market today. It features all of the same specs that people know and love from a Les Paul -- a mahogany body with a maple top, a set mahogany neck, 22 frets, binding, two humbuckers, a hard tail TOM bridge, two volume knobs, two tone knobs, two humbuckers and a three way switch. However, the absolute biggest change would happen to be the ebony fretboard. That's mainly the feature that makes this guitar a "Custom"
UTILIZATION
The Gibson Les Paul Custom is an amazing guitar that sounds absolutely huge. The neck profiles vary depending on what year you buy, and the one I played had a fairly thick neck. Some people will dislike this, but it was never a huge deal to me. I seem to be able to adapt from super thin necks like the Wizards to extremely thick Nocaster necks without much of a problem. The flatter radius on this was wonderful, and it allowed me to lower the action lower than a normal Strat would allow. The tuners on this model aren't as bad as the older Standard model, but I'd still replace them with locking tuners.
SOUNDS
The Custom really excels in sound. Normally, Gibson Les Pauls are very thick sounding. This works great for most styles of music, but sometimes it lacks a tad bit of clarity for genres such as metal, especially once you start tuning lower. The ebony fretboard on this guitar helps add some sizzle and bite that allows the guitar to cut through the mix without sounding thin. I'm not a fan of the pickups, so I always replace both those and the pots. This really opens up the guitar and makes it not only more aggressive but more versatile as well.
OVERALL OPINION
If you're searching for a Les Paul Custom, be sure to try a bunch out in your local music store. The quality control on Gibson guitars can be really iffy. The biggest things to look for would be tuning stability and fretwork. Pay particular attention to fretwork as that's what can really make or break a guitar. If you're looking for a metal guitar, it's really hard to beat this thing. Just be careful of the weight.
UTILIZATION
The Gibson Les Paul Custom is an amazing guitar that sounds absolutely huge. The neck profiles vary depending on what year you buy, and the one I played had a fairly thick neck. Some people will dislike this, but it was never a huge deal to me. I seem to be able to adapt from super thin necks like the Wizards to extremely thick Nocaster necks without much of a problem. The flatter radius on this was wonderful, and it allowed me to lower the action lower than a normal Strat would allow. The tuners on this model aren't as bad as the older Standard model, but I'd still replace them with locking tuners.
SOUNDS
The Custom really excels in sound. Normally, Gibson Les Pauls are very thick sounding. This works great for most styles of music, but sometimes it lacks a tad bit of clarity for genres such as metal, especially once you start tuning lower. The ebony fretboard on this guitar helps add some sizzle and bite that allows the guitar to cut through the mix without sounding thin. I'm not a fan of the pickups, so I always replace both those and the pots. This really opens up the guitar and makes it not only more aggressive but more versatile as well.
OVERALL OPINION
If you're searching for a Les Paul Custom, be sure to try a bunch out in your local music store. The quality control on Gibson guitars can be really iffy. The biggest things to look for would be tuning stability and fretwork. Pay particular attention to fretwork as that's what can really make or break a guitar. If you're looking for a metal guitar, it's really hard to beat this thing. Just be careful of the weight.