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King Loudness « A true workhorse! »
Published on 08/13/11 at 19:32The Gibson Les Paul Axcess came about after many requests from players over the years who loved the LP design but wanted to see some changes to make it more friendly to a lead player who might be used to a superstrat. These included a lighter weight, hotter pickups, more contouring on the body (especially around the neck joint) and a Floyd Rose tremolo system. Eventually Gibson gave in and now we have the Les Paul Axcess Standard.The features overall are fairly unique and there are a lot of them, but for the most part the core features of a mahogany body and neck, rosewood fretboard, flamed top, Floyd Rose Tremolo, dual humbuckers with coil taps, 22 frets and some beautiful Gibson finishes, both in solid colours and stains. It is made in the good ol' USA in Gibson's Custom Shop, renowned for their quality and attention to detail.
UTILIZATION
This guitar solves a lot of the problems I had with other Les Pauls like the Standard or Traditional that were clunky and hard to get around. The Axcess is quite easy to play due to a few different factors. Firstly it's very light in weight and it sits on the body a little bit easier than a typical LP. Also, the contouring on the body provides a WELCOME change in the design of the Les Paul. Finally upper fret access is unrestricted, AND no longer does the back of the guitar dig into my ribs! Combine that with all the versatility that this guitar offers with it's tremolo, awesome Gibson pickups and coil splitting, and you have a true modern warrior's Les Paul!
SOUNDS
I've tried the Axcess models through various different American and British voiced amps. The cleans on this guitar are great. I'm not normally a huge fan of the cleans on a Les Paul unless I'm using more of a jazzier neck pickup sound. However, using the coil taps on this guitar really allowed me to tap into some inner Tele and Strat type sounds, which instantly made things more appealing. The dirty sounds were great as to be expected. I've always been a fan of the massive classic Les Paul sound and despite its chambering and removing even further wood for contours, this guitar certainly has great tone. Chords respond with a thickness and attack that you'd expect from a good Les Paul, and lead lines have near endless sustain, especially when mixed with usage of the Floyd Rose. The coil tap gives things a bit of a brighter and more trebly sound that works for jangly Fender-y textures. It does a multitude of styles well and I've been suitably impressed with this guitar for everything from jazz to shred... it's a true workhorse!
OVERALL OPINION
All in all I feel that the Gibson Les Paul Axcess Standard is possibly one of the best "tweaks" Gibson has ever done to the Les Paul's core design. They listened to players like myself who wanted these things, and they delivered in the best possible way. It takes nearly every feature I don't like about Les Pauls and improves upon it. The tones are stellar and you can go through many styles with ease. It's a fairly expensive guitar (about $3,500 new) but it's definitely well worth it. If you get a chance to check one out, do so by all means! It's truly the definition of a Les Paul brought into the modern age!
UTILIZATION
This guitar solves a lot of the problems I had with other Les Pauls like the Standard or Traditional that were clunky and hard to get around. The Axcess is quite easy to play due to a few different factors. Firstly it's very light in weight and it sits on the body a little bit easier than a typical LP. Also, the contouring on the body provides a WELCOME change in the design of the Les Paul. Finally upper fret access is unrestricted, AND no longer does the back of the guitar dig into my ribs! Combine that with all the versatility that this guitar offers with it's tremolo, awesome Gibson pickups and coil splitting, and you have a true modern warrior's Les Paul!
SOUNDS
I've tried the Axcess models through various different American and British voiced amps. The cleans on this guitar are great. I'm not normally a huge fan of the cleans on a Les Paul unless I'm using more of a jazzier neck pickup sound. However, using the coil taps on this guitar really allowed me to tap into some inner Tele and Strat type sounds, which instantly made things more appealing. The dirty sounds were great as to be expected. I've always been a fan of the massive classic Les Paul sound and despite its chambering and removing even further wood for contours, this guitar certainly has great tone. Chords respond with a thickness and attack that you'd expect from a good Les Paul, and lead lines have near endless sustain, especially when mixed with usage of the Floyd Rose. The coil tap gives things a bit of a brighter and more trebly sound that works for jangly Fender-y textures. It does a multitude of styles well and I've been suitably impressed with this guitar for everything from jazz to shred... it's a true workhorse!
OVERALL OPINION
All in all I feel that the Gibson Les Paul Axcess Standard is possibly one of the best "tweaks" Gibson has ever done to the Les Paul's core design. They listened to players like myself who wanted these things, and they delivered in the best possible way. It takes nearly every feature I don't like about Les Pauls and improves upon it. The tones are stellar and you can go through many styles with ease. It's a fairly expensive guitar (about $3,500 new) but it's definitely well worth it. If you get a chance to check one out, do so by all means! It's truly the definition of a Les Paul brought into the modern age!