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King Loudness « + 1 for the Traditional Plus! »
Published on 03/15/11 at 17:38This guitar is a 2010 Gibson USA Les Paul Traditional Plus in the fantastic "Honey Burst" finish. It's reportedly built to emulate the late model Gibson USA LP Standards from the mid eighties to 2008 (when the updated and revised Standard model was released), and it definitely feels like a Les Paul. The specs are as follows:
Mahogany body with flamed AAA maple cap and "weight relief"
Mahogany neck with rosewood fretboard, 22 frets and the '50s neck profile
Tune-o-matic bridge/stopbar tailpiece
Kluson Deluxe tuning machines
Gibson '57 Classic humbucker (neck) and '57 Classic Plus humbucker (bridge)
300k volume pots, 500k tone pots, 3 way toggle switch
The guitar is definitely an outstanding model from Gibson. On paper, the specs looked perfect for me (non-chambered, the thicker "50s" neck profile, the more vintage '57 Classic/'57 Classic Plus humbuckers, and so on.) Because of these more vintage specs, I find that the guitar feels more akin to the vintage Les Pauls from the days of yore (when compared with the newer "2008" Standards and the Les Paul Studios.) The '50s neck profile is very substantial, so I feel like I am able to really dig in when I want to go for a wild bend (though it does not impede my fingers when I want to play some shred type stuff either), and the non-chambered body makes for a guitar that feels much more "real" than the lighter weight chambered LPs. I do have a few caveats about the features that Gibson offers but they are fairly minor. I'm not very impressed with the electronics as a whole. The 300k volume pot does not allow for a smooth volume rolloff when I wish to roll my volume down, and I find that the tone controls are very boxy, and just seem to add more bass as you turn them down (as opposed to having an even frequency response.) Also, the nut that Gibson uses is rather poor in quality. I would definitely spring for a bone or graphite one, as the Corian nut that comes stock can cause strings to bind and thus, tuning to slip. That all being said, I find the guitar to have the best overall feature-set in the USA line for someone who just wants a traditional Les Paul.
(Yes, the pun was intended.)
UTILIZATION
The Les Paul Traditional is essentially designed to recreate the classic Les Pauls of yore, so it is little wonder that Gibson chose not to deviate from the older designs (and this case, why would they?) What you sacrifice in ergonomics and things like upper fret access (to an extent anyway), you get back in things like the feel and the sheer TONE that only a guitar like this can produce. When I purchased mine, it took me a little while to fully get used to the trade-offs (coming from playing various lightweight superstrats), but in the end I found a guitar that was actually BETTER suited to what I wanted to do. The guitar is able to go from jazz to blues to classic rock to heavy metal/shred very easily, and after I realized this I knew why these guitars were used in so many genres of music by so many diverse artists. The Traditional has the edge over the other models because it uses the "weight relief" system (as opposed to chambering on the other USA LPs.) The weight relief system simply carves a few holes in the mahogany body before the maple top is applied to lessen the overall weight slightly. However, because it keeps more wood there than the chambering, there is more resonance, and the heavier weight gives it more sustain and density. In comparison, the "2008" Standards that I tried almost had more in common with semi-hollow body electrics like the Gibson ES-335 or 137 because the Standards were almost fully hollow guitars. I knew that when I was shopping for a Les Paul that I wanted a Les Paul... I found the Standard to lose some of the classic LP characteristics because of the chambering personally. The Traditional has the whole package to me... sound, looks, feel and the vibe of a real Les Paul, so that in the end cemented my choice.
SOUNDS
The sounds of this guitar are definitely one of the high points. I've used it with many different amps, (Mesa Boogie Mark Five, Splawn Quick Rod, Orange Rockerverb 50, various Peavey tube amps) and I have never once been disappointed in its tones or tonal variety. I've had it for almost a year now and used it in countless rock, blues and jazz settings and it's equally adept at any style in my opinion. The '57 Classic and '57 Classic Plus humbuckers are truly something special in this guitar. When I first purchased it, I thought that I would end up changing the pickups to something a little bit higher output, but after almost a year the stock pickups remain. These pickups are extremely articulate, and though they have a vintage voice to them, when you dial in high gain tones, they always remain clear and punchy. It's definitely wonderful to have pickups that can be so diverse, and combined with the fact that it's a very solid/dense guitar that they're installed in, it makes for a very pleasing experience overall. The only caveat I have is that I wish I was able to install a coil splitter on these pickups (they are only 2-conductor wiring), but c'est le vie I suppose. Overall this is a killer sounding guitar that definitely gives off a huge breadth of tonal possibilities and at the same time never loses the vibe that makes it a Les Paul.
As a minor side note, I will say that the guitar/pickups can be a bit picky when you're first dialing in an amp's settings... they may not react well together right away, but after some dialing in... I've found that the pickups usually find their sweet spot and from then on it is smooth sailing.
OVERALL OPINION
All in all, I feel that this is truly the best Les Paul in Gibson USA's fleet. How I came to acquire this guitar is definitely an interesting story. I was playing a Music Man JP6 when I got the irresistible urge to get myself a real Les Paul. So when my progressive metal band of that time bit the dust, I decided to go LP shopping. I must have played thirty to fifty different guitars, ranging from Epiphones and Gibson LP Studios all the way up to the Gibson Traditionals and 2008 Standards (and even a few LP TYPE guitars, like the PRS SC245 and Mira.) All in all, they each had their own thing that was nice, but no single guitar spoke to me enough to buy it. I was dejected and prepared to leave until my sales rep told me that I could order a Les Paul of my choosing and give myself one last option. After mulling it over for a bit, I opted for the Traditional Plus in Honey Burst, though quite honestly I wasn't expecting much. A little over two weeks later it arrived to the store, and I went to check it out. As the sales rep opened the box and I grabbed the case and opened it for the first time and in turn strummed those first few chords... a euphoria hit me like never before. I knew that this was MY guitar, that it was destiny. The guitar just fits me so well, and definitely feels and sounds like a guitar that I will have for a long time to come. I would most certainly have made the same choice if I had to do it all again. Sure I had to sacrifice my EBMM to get it... but in the end, this Les Paul is probably the best guitar I've ever had the pleasure of owning. Aside from a few minor issues I have with some of the parts, I'm convinced that after a year, I've found the best possible Les Paul for me. Thanks Gibson!
Mahogany body with flamed AAA maple cap and "weight relief"
Mahogany neck with rosewood fretboard, 22 frets and the '50s neck profile
Tune-o-matic bridge/stopbar tailpiece
Kluson Deluxe tuning machines
Gibson '57 Classic humbucker (neck) and '57 Classic Plus humbucker (bridge)
300k volume pots, 500k tone pots, 3 way toggle switch
The guitar is definitely an outstanding model from Gibson. On paper, the specs looked perfect for me (non-chambered, the thicker "50s" neck profile, the more vintage '57 Classic/'57 Classic Plus humbuckers, and so on.) Because of these more vintage specs, I find that the guitar feels more akin to the vintage Les Pauls from the days of yore (when compared with the newer "2008" Standards and the Les Paul Studios.) The '50s neck profile is very substantial, so I feel like I am able to really dig in when I want to go for a wild bend (though it does not impede my fingers when I want to play some shred type stuff either), and the non-chambered body makes for a guitar that feels much more "real" than the lighter weight chambered LPs. I do have a few caveats about the features that Gibson offers but they are fairly minor. I'm not very impressed with the electronics as a whole. The 300k volume pot does not allow for a smooth volume rolloff when I wish to roll my volume down, and I find that the tone controls are very boxy, and just seem to add more bass as you turn them down (as opposed to having an even frequency response.) Also, the nut that Gibson uses is rather poor in quality. I would definitely spring for a bone or graphite one, as the Corian nut that comes stock can cause strings to bind and thus, tuning to slip. That all being said, I find the guitar to have the best overall feature-set in the USA line for someone who just wants a traditional Les Paul.
(Yes, the pun was intended.)
UTILIZATION
The Les Paul Traditional is essentially designed to recreate the classic Les Pauls of yore, so it is little wonder that Gibson chose not to deviate from the older designs (and this case, why would they?) What you sacrifice in ergonomics and things like upper fret access (to an extent anyway), you get back in things like the feel and the sheer TONE that only a guitar like this can produce. When I purchased mine, it took me a little while to fully get used to the trade-offs (coming from playing various lightweight superstrats), but in the end I found a guitar that was actually BETTER suited to what I wanted to do. The guitar is able to go from jazz to blues to classic rock to heavy metal/shred very easily, and after I realized this I knew why these guitars were used in so many genres of music by so many diverse artists. The Traditional has the edge over the other models because it uses the "weight relief" system (as opposed to chambering on the other USA LPs.) The weight relief system simply carves a few holes in the mahogany body before the maple top is applied to lessen the overall weight slightly. However, because it keeps more wood there than the chambering, there is more resonance, and the heavier weight gives it more sustain and density. In comparison, the "2008" Standards that I tried almost had more in common with semi-hollow body electrics like the Gibson ES-335 or 137 because the Standards were almost fully hollow guitars. I knew that when I was shopping for a Les Paul that I wanted a Les Paul... I found the Standard to lose some of the classic LP characteristics because of the chambering personally. The Traditional has the whole package to me... sound, looks, feel and the vibe of a real Les Paul, so that in the end cemented my choice.
SOUNDS
The sounds of this guitar are definitely one of the high points. I've used it with many different amps, (Mesa Boogie Mark Five, Splawn Quick Rod, Orange Rockerverb 50, various Peavey tube amps) and I have never once been disappointed in its tones or tonal variety. I've had it for almost a year now and used it in countless rock, blues and jazz settings and it's equally adept at any style in my opinion. The '57 Classic and '57 Classic Plus humbuckers are truly something special in this guitar. When I first purchased it, I thought that I would end up changing the pickups to something a little bit higher output, but after almost a year the stock pickups remain. These pickups are extremely articulate, and though they have a vintage voice to them, when you dial in high gain tones, they always remain clear and punchy. It's definitely wonderful to have pickups that can be so diverse, and combined with the fact that it's a very solid/dense guitar that they're installed in, it makes for a very pleasing experience overall. The only caveat I have is that I wish I was able to install a coil splitter on these pickups (they are only 2-conductor wiring), but c'est le vie I suppose. Overall this is a killer sounding guitar that definitely gives off a huge breadth of tonal possibilities and at the same time never loses the vibe that makes it a Les Paul.
As a minor side note, I will say that the guitar/pickups can be a bit picky when you're first dialing in an amp's settings... they may not react well together right away, but after some dialing in... I've found that the pickups usually find their sweet spot and from then on it is smooth sailing.
OVERALL OPINION
All in all, I feel that this is truly the best Les Paul in Gibson USA's fleet. How I came to acquire this guitar is definitely an interesting story. I was playing a Music Man JP6 when I got the irresistible urge to get myself a real Les Paul. So when my progressive metal band of that time bit the dust, I decided to go LP shopping. I must have played thirty to fifty different guitars, ranging from Epiphones and Gibson LP Studios all the way up to the Gibson Traditionals and 2008 Standards (and even a few LP TYPE guitars, like the PRS SC245 and Mira.) All in all, they each had their own thing that was nice, but no single guitar spoke to me enough to buy it. I was dejected and prepared to leave until my sales rep told me that I could order a Les Paul of my choosing and give myself one last option. After mulling it over for a bit, I opted for the Traditional Plus in Honey Burst, though quite honestly I wasn't expecting much. A little over two weeks later it arrived to the store, and I went to check it out. As the sales rep opened the box and I grabbed the case and opened it for the first time and in turn strummed those first few chords... a euphoria hit me like never before. I knew that this was MY guitar, that it was destiny. The guitar just fits me so well, and definitely feels and sounds like a guitar that I will have for a long time to come. I would most certainly have made the same choice if I had to do it all again. Sure I had to sacrifice my EBMM to get it... but in the end, this Les Paul is probably the best guitar I've ever had the pleasure of owning. Aside from a few minor issues I have with some of the parts, I'm convinced that after a year, I've found the best possible Les Paul for me. Thanks Gibson!
