MGR/Lim Zhengxin « Gibson Les Paul Junior Special »
Published on 11/28/03 at 15:00I used to own an Ibanez GSA60 electric guitar which suited my needs very nicely, i have been playing the guitar for about a year now. I wanted to make a jump to the intermediate range of guitars and was looking at a Japanese Fender or a Epiphone Les Paul. The first time i tried out an Epiphone i was like "Woah!" as i sounded so much better then the Ibanez. Ultimately, a great offer came my way and i bought this Gibson Les Paul Junior Special for 850SGD.(About the same price as a Jap Fender or Epiphone) It is the 2001 model and is 1 year old.
The guitar sounds really good with its 2 P100 pickups, warm but not too warm. I play rhythm in a ska/punk band so i need a 'shiny' clean sound but personally i prefer something more powerful. This guitar proved to be the one for me because it is not as warm as the other les pauls, yet warmer than a Stratocaster. The sustain was pain superb, like all the other Les Paul models. Alone, i do a lot of Blues and this axe does blues very well too. In fact i would say it plays Blues better than rock.
The 2 strap knobs are really small and given that the guitar is heavy, it can slip really easily. That can be corrected by getting another strap though. One more thing i dislike about this unit is something very general about Gibson. The Les Paul Junior Special is the cheapest true Gibson model but honestly, it can easily come off as a high range Epiphone. In fact the Epiphone even has the pearl Gibson words on the headstock while this true Gibson doenst. Gibson is one of the top makers of the guitar and i believe they should standardise the way they design their guitars. A cheaper Gibson Les Paul is still a Gibson Les Paul, and a Gibson Les Paul is questionably one of the best guitars in the world.
This guitar is a very very solid model. The construction is good.
For the price, this guitar is a very very good buy. It is a true Les Paul by Gibson and it has a different sound from the usual LPs. Dun be put off by the P100s, they are great for the "unconventional" gibson user, like me - a punk rocker who wants ample sustain and a brighter sound. If you are considering a high end Epiphone, get this instead.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
The guitar sounds really good with its 2 P100 pickups, warm but not too warm. I play rhythm in a ska/punk band so i need a 'shiny' clean sound but personally i prefer something more powerful. This guitar proved to be the one for me because it is not as warm as the other les pauls, yet warmer than a Stratocaster. The sustain was pain superb, like all the other Les Paul models. Alone, i do a lot of Blues and this axe does blues very well too. In fact i would say it plays Blues better than rock.
The 2 strap knobs are really small and given that the guitar is heavy, it can slip really easily. That can be corrected by getting another strap though. One more thing i dislike about this unit is something very general about Gibson. The Les Paul Junior Special is the cheapest true Gibson model but honestly, it can easily come off as a high range Epiphone. In fact the Epiphone even has the pearl Gibson words on the headstock while this true Gibson doenst. Gibson is one of the top makers of the guitar and i believe they should standardise the way they design their guitars. A cheaper Gibson Les Paul is still a Gibson Les Paul, and a Gibson Les Paul is questionably one of the best guitars in the world.
This guitar is a very very solid model. The construction is good.
For the price, this guitar is a very very good buy. It is a true Les Paul by Gibson and it has a different sound from the usual LPs. Dun be put off by the P100s, they are great for the "unconventional" gibson user, like me - a punk rocker who wants ample sustain and a brighter sound. If you are considering a high end Epiphone, get this instead.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com