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tjon901 « Super light Les Paul »
Published on 08/11/11 at 12:36THe Gibson Axcess line of guitars are guitars for people who want the lightest possible Les Pauls. I guess they have hurt their backs over the years playing real Les Pauls and want something lighter. These guitars have super thing bodies and are still weight chambered so these guitars are light as a air. You get a mahogany body with a maple top and a 1 piece set mahogany neck. The neck join is super carved away so it feels like a neck through guitar there. The fretboard is rosewood with trapezoid inlays. The tuners are Kluson style tulips with a standard tune-o-matic bridge down at the bottom. The pickups are a set of Gibsons a 496R in the neck and a 498T in the bridge. These are not my favorite Gibson humbuckers. You get two volume and two tone knobs with the the ability to split the bridge pickup with a push pull pot. There is a standard 3 way toggle on the upper bout.
UTILIZATION
These guitars are very easy to play for Les Pauls. Their thin and chambered bodies mean the guitars are super light. They have extra contours on the back so they are comfortable there as well. The neck joint on this guitar is super smooth and I dont know why they dont just do it for all of their guitars. These high end Gibsons have a PLEK machine setup. This means the guitar is put in a machine and the a laser is used to level the frets to perfection. These guitars have a great setup right out of the box because of this.
SOUNDS
The one on this guitar is pretty odd because of the body. It is thinner than a normal Les Paul and it is weight chambered. I dont know how light they needed this guitar to be but I find this pretty excessive. The classic Les Paul tone comes from a thick piece of mahogany with a maple top and a fat mahogany neck. This guitar has a thin mahogany body with a bunch of swiss cheese holes in it. Something has got to give. Gibson wont change the angle of their headstocks because they claim they sound better and even admit that the angle makes them very prone to breaking. But they are willing to turn their bodies into swiss cheese because it is out of sight and out of mind. They say the chambering doesnt change the tone either. If cutting a tone of holes in the body doesnt change the tone how could changing the angle of the headstock do anything. This guitar plays very well and is very comfortable but the tone is not there. They didnt even put their best pickups in it. It has pickups of a Les Paul studio. It has a coil split but if you are a Les Paul player you have got by for years without these and I dont think you are suddenly going to use them now. If Gibson is going to charge 3000 dollars for a guitar they should at least put in some Classic 57s if they have to keep it in house.
OVERALL OPINION
These guitars are pretty popular among older professional players who have long sets and such. These guitars are intended more for live use where the specific tone of the guitar is not as important as playability and comfort. With this guitar you can play a long set without your shoulder falling off or your back breaking. Things like the upper fret access and the neck joint are things I think they should have all every Les Paul. They wont do it but they should. If you are a gigging pro and need a Les Paul that you can hold up all night here it is.
UTILIZATION
These guitars are very easy to play for Les Pauls. Their thin and chambered bodies mean the guitars are super light. They have extra contours on the back so they are comfortable there as well. The neck joint on this guitar is super smooth and I dont know why they dont just do it for all of their guitars. These high end Gibsons have a PLEK machine setup. This means the guitar is put in a machine and the a laser is used to level the frets to perfection. These guitars have a great setup right out of the box because of this.
SOUNDS
The one on this guitar is pretty odd because of the body. It is thinner than a normal Les Paul and it is weight chambered. I dont know how light they needed this guitar to be but I find this pretty excessive. The classic Les Paul tone comes from a thick piece of mahogany with a maple top and a fat mahogany neck. This guitar has a thin mahogany body with a bunch of swiss cheese holes in it. Something has got to give. Gibson wont change the angle of their headstocks because they claim they sound better and even admit that the angle makes them very prone to breaking. But they are willing to turn their bodies into swiss cheese because it is out of sight and out of mind. They say the chambering doesnt change the tone either. If cutting a tone of holes in the body doesnt change the tone how could changing the angle of the headstock do anything. This guitar plays very well and is very comfortable but the tone is not there. They didnt even put their best pickups in it. It has pickups of a Les Paul studio. It has a coil split but if you are a Les Paul player you have got by for years without these and I dont think you are suddenly going to use them now. If Gibson is going to charge 3000 dollars for a guitar they should at least put in some Classic 57s if they have to keep it in house.
OVERALL OPINION
These guitars are pretty popular among older professional players who have long sets and such. These guitars are intended more for live use where the specific tone of the guitar is not as important as playability and comfort. With this guitar you can play a long set without your shoulder falling off or your back breaking. Things like the upper fret access and the neck joint are things I think they should have all every Les Paul. They wont do it but they should. If you are a gigging pro and need a Les Paul that you can hold up all night here it is.