Gibson Les Paul Custom Maple

These actually came about as almost a fluke. Chinese copies of Les Pauls started having maple fretboards, and then Gibson decided to copy the copies. It was pretty bizarre, but we were able to get something a bit different from the norm thanks to that. The guitar features a mahogany body with a maple top, maple neck with a maple fretboard, 22 frets, trapezoid inlays, pickguard, binding, hard tail bridge, two humbuckers, two volumes, two tones and a three way switch.

UTILIZATION

This guitar had been refretted, and the new fretjob was great. They didn't keep the binding ends, and if you ask me, that's the proper way to refret a Gibson. The binding ends really just get in the way, and I find it doesn't even look as good. It's also way more effort than it's worth to try to keep those. The finish on this was scuffed up a bit, but it was no big deal as this thing was meant to be played. The nut was replaced with a brass nut, and I have a feeling the guy before who owned this was either a Sykes or Malmsteen fan. The quilted maple top on this was really cool, and it popped quite nicely with the finish that was on it. The maple fretboard was pretty dark due to the wear and tear.

SOUNDS

This guitar actually had EMGs installed in it, so I'll be going by those instead of the standard pickups. The guitar had an EMG 81 in the bridge and an EMG 85 in the neck. The 81 in the bridge sounded thick, but it had enough bite to cut through without a problem. It worked awesome for metal tones; in fact, it was crushing. I was really surprised how nice it sounded. The 85 in the neck was super thick and worked awesome for those legato and shred leads. The clean tones were pretty awful on these, but that's fairly typical with EMGs. However, since it's geared towards metal, the clean tone doesn't really matter that much.

OVERALL OPINION

These are probably some of the coolest looking Gibson Les Pauls out there, but they're hard to find, and the consistency on them is very iffy. I've seen a few that are total boat anchors, and a lot of that has to due with the era in which they were built. The Norlin era, while having some of my favorite guitars, also has some of the worst overall. You really have to play these before buying.

This is probably one of the rarest Les Pauls out there, and it's pretty controversial. The guitar has a mahogany body with a maple top, a set maple neck with male fretboard, 22 frets, binding, two humbuckers, a hard tail TOM bridge, two volume knobs, two tone knobs, two humbuckers and a three way switch. That maple neck and fretboard would become synonymous with the "bad" years of the Les Paul, but these can really sound amazing.

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 maple neck and 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

It can be very hard to find one of these in good condition at a reasonable price. If you ever do find one, snatch it up. They sound amazing, in my opinion. Just be sure it sounds resonant as they didn't have the best quality during this period of time.

Mine is the 1977 US-made of course it was made at the factory in Kalamazoo
it is a true custom one real hot its very heavy and special wishes on this one c obviously the key that is natural maple unlike most of the les paul with a rosewood fingerboard is custom except Zaak Wylde and korina and two or three rare models I think

UTILIZATION

The handle is good c sublime guitar that has lived a little but is good c ca
the access is limited to acute as on all the paul c but not to make a guitar steve vai anyway
For all the cons say right now in terms of ergonomics ca pese a dead donkey and those who already know a les paul I speak koi
in terms of sound c the sound of the legend's gibson but I would say that the maple fingerboard on this model adds a koi I do not know of very very fine crystalline especially in the intermediate position of the microphones
I put the weight 9

SOUNDS

It is perfect for my style but very versatile guitar c we go from blues to progressive metal in a good condition one click to have a good amp and good distortion behind (vox bulldog in my case) but a guitar that will c all its fullness in the big sound but not the neo metal hardcore or I do not know koi same for fans of Mark Knopfler and Stevie Ray Vaughan c not a LP custom for you
that being said look at the number of guys who play on custom there's no harm in such different Zaak Wylde, Adam Jones of Tool, Elvis Costello etc. c c obviously eclectic good not the same microphones etc. ampl mm but the base is the same so the legend of

OVERALL OPINION

It's been some time I have about three months but I also have a black beauty and they both have a color of its very different, more felt in this case for the heavier maple and black beauty but for the cele is for many the key I think the pickups are different but have a sound similar and almost the same impedance
the quality / price? bah c a custom is a legend I did not even asked the price finally unearthed the info g maple was 2000 euros
is what I do it again this election and again yes yes yes c sublime guitar remember a custom will always value