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Hatsubai « Very interesting figured top »
Published on 09/11/11 at 17:20Gibson has been experimenting with various tops, and this Zebrawood one was one of their creations. It's an attempt at trying to get both a unique look and tone out of a guitar, although I don't feel the Zebrawood attributes a ton towards the overall tone of the guitar. The guitar features a mahogany body with a zebrawood top, mahogany neck with a rosewood fretboard, 22 frets, trapezoid inlays, pickguard, binding, hard tail bridge, two humbuckers, two volumes, two tones and a three way switch.
UTILIZATION
The Zebrawood on this is very cool, and it adds a unique look to the guitar. To be honest, I'm not totally crazy over its looks as I feel the pattern is very overstated. I generally prefer a more subdued look on Les Pauls, but that's just me. The wood itself had some strong figuring going on, and it was a high quality top. The frets on this were top notch, and they were nicely leveled. The ends were a bit annoying, but that's kinda standard with what you'll find with bound necks. The nut itself was cut properly, and there were no issues with tuning.
SOUNDS
This guitar was killer, but it had aftermarket pickups installed in it. The guitar had a JB and a Jazz installed. The JB in the bridge is awesome for everything from blues to metal. It can really do every genre, it's that versatile. The mahogany body helps keep the JB sounding fat, and the bass on it is perfect enough to where it's not super tight to where it sounds sterile but it's also not super loose to where it sounds flabby. The Jazz in the neck is like a cleaner, more polite 59. It has a bit more treble and sounds a bit more linear, but it delivers some awesome clean and lead tones. I find that it's a bit clearer sounding than the 59.
OVERALL OPINION
The Zebrawood is the main reason to buy this guitar. If you're a fan of that odd figured wood, you'll probably really like this guitar. It really stands out when compared to other Les Pauls out there, and uniqueness means a lot when it comes to Les Pauls. After all, so many look alike that it's hard to be different while still getting that awesome Les Paul tone. I wasn't the biggest fan of the top, but it was definitely quality.
UTILIZATION
The Zebrawood on this is very cool, and it adds a unique look to the guitar. To be honest, I'm not totally crazy over its looks as I feel the pattern is very overstated. I generally prefer a more subdued look on Les Pauls, but that's just me. The wood itself had some strong figuring going on, and it was a high quality top. The frets on this were top notch, and they were nicely leveled. The ends were a bit annoying, but that's kinda standard with what you'll find with bound necks. The nut itself was cut properly, and there were no issues with tuning.
SOUNDS
This guitar was killer, but it had aftermarket pickups installed in it. The guitar had a JB and a Jazz installed. The JB in the bridge is awesome for everything from blues to metal. It can really do every genre, it's that versatile. The mahogany body helps keep the JB sounding fat, and the bass on it is perfect enough to where it's not super tight to where it sounds sterile but it's also not super loose to where it sounds flabby. The Jazz in the neck is like a cleaner, more polite 59. It has a bit more treble and sounds a bit more linear, but it delivers some awesome clean and lead tones. I find that it's a bit clearer sounding than the 59.
OVERALL OPINION
The Zebrawood is the main reason to buy this guitar. If you're a fan of that odd figured wood, you'll probably really like this guitar. It really stands out when compared to other Les Pauls out there, and uniqueness means a lot when it comes to Les Pauls. After all, so many look alike that it's hard to be different while still getting that awesome Les Paul tone. I wasn't the biggest fan of the top, but it was definitely quality.