Gibson 1954 Les Paul Goldtop VOS

Playing one of these guitars is always like taking a trip to the past. The old school bridge, the special checking on the finish, the whole mojo, everything... The guitar features a mahogany body with a maple top, mahogany neck with a rosewood fretboard, 22 frets, trapezoid inlays, pickguard, binding, hard tail bridge, two P90 pickups, two volumes, two tones and a three way switch.

UTILIZATION

This guitar was dead perfect. The first thing you notice is that the finish looks awesome with that worn look. The checking on the headstock is absolutely spot on to what a really worn guitar would look like. The frets were amazingly level and had a perfect crown to them. This is vital to achieving low action without fretting out. I was able to get it down to about 1/32'' while still being able to bend a full step on every fret. The ends were done nicely, and they didn't slice up your hand at all. To top it off, the nut was cut properly too. The guitar held tune like a champ. However, this is not the case with all of these guitars. I've played a few that were absolutely horrible, so be sure to check yours before buying it if you can.

SOUNDS

These P90s in this are pretty low output, but I'm sure most people who buy these aren't looking for super high output pickups in the first place. For those that don't know, the P90s are similar to a single coil, but they tend to sound a bit bitter and have less of that aggressive treble bite to them. This guitar did that blues tone in spades, and it just oozed in tone. However, a guitar like this is a bit pigeon holed into only being able to do a few different styles whereas the "newer" humbucker ones can do a bit more. Regardless, it sounded great.

OVERALL OPINION

These guitars are big money, and if you can afford it, you're probably not even going to bother reading one of these reviews. However, if you happen to stumble upon one of these at your local music shop, see if they'll let you play it. You might understand why they cost so much. It really is in another league in terms of mojo and vibe.