MGR/Rob « Gibson Les Paul Classic »
Published on 10/24/02 at 15:00Acquired at Pro Sound in Colorado Springs. Paid new Gary Moore in trade, value $1650.
It's a Les Paul, what can I say? It was made with admirable attention to detail, unlike the Gary Moore. The sunburst is fabulous, the parts are authentic to the 1960 specs to which it is built. The top is not flame, but many of the 1960s were not either. It's a good start on an LP collection. A Classic, as the name implies.
I came here to say this to Classic owners: If you hate the '1960' engraved pickguard, as I did, take note: replacement parts ('plain' pickguards) from All Parts, Stew-Mac and even Gibson DO NOT FIT this model. The screw holes by the neck DO NOT ALIGN (pickguard of the 1960 is made to different specs), so if you don't want to drill a hole into a Les Paul, take the 1960 pickguard to a machine shop, cut .007 to .010 off the top as needed, and buff with Meguires #9 swirl remover to restore a mirror shine. Trust me on this.
Outstanding. The strings were dead as doornails in the shop, and I was nervous about committing, but new strings made it practically acoustic in its response. It is a very well-made guitar, perhaps because they were building it to a quality standard that's 42 years old. I had a bad experience with a signature model, but this classic is sweet.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
It's a Les Paul, what can I say? It was made with admirable attention to detail, unlike the Gary Moore. The sunburst is fabulous, the parts are authentic to the 1960 specs to which it is built. The top is not flame, but many of the 1960s were not either. It's a good start on an LP collection. A Classic, as the name implies.
I came here to say this to Classic owners: If you hate the '1960' engraved pickguard, as I did, take note: replacement parts ('plain' pickguards) from All Parts, Stew-Mac and even Gibson DO NOT FIT this model. The screw holes by the neck DO NOT ALIGN (pickguard of the 1960 is made to different specs), so if you don't want to drill a hole into a Les Paul, take the 1960 pickguard to a machine shop, cut .007 to .010 off the top as needed, and buff with Meguires #9 swirl remover to restore a mirror shine. Trust me on this.
Outstanding. The strings were dead as doornails in the shop, and I was nervous about committing, but new strings made it practically acoustic in its response. It is a very well-made guitar, perhaps because they were building it to a quality standard that's 42 years old. I had a bad experience with a signature model, but this classic is sweet.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com