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tjon901 « Black Standard »
Published on 08/10/11 at 07:05This is the Les Paul Standard. It is the model between the studio and the custom. When people say Les Paul this is usually what they mean. The Traditional series of the Standard line gives you a Les Paul based off of a certain era. You get a mahogany body with a carved maple top. The set neck is a mahogany neck with a rosewood fretboard. The profile on the neck is a nice and slim 60s profile so it is easy to play. Up top you get locking grover tuners and at the bottom you get a standard tune-o-matic with a stopbar tailpiece. The pickups are Gibson all around with a 57 Classic in the neck and a Burstbucker 3 in the bridge. The controls are a volume and tone for each pickup with a 3 way toggle. The volume knobs have a push pull pot for coil splitting. The black finish with the aged pickguard give this guitar a cool vintage look.
UTILIZATION
The 60s neck profile is my favorite neck profile on a Gibson. It came a long when they were trying to make their guitars more playable. A mission that eventually ended up replacing the Les Paul with the SG. The 60s profile is pretty thin. It is super thin compared to the 50s profile. With this thinner neck the guitar is very easy to play. This guitar also has locking tuners which is pretty rare for a les paul. Gibson is using a Plek machine on most of their guitars now. This means a laser is used to level the frets to perfection. This means on those models the action should be perfect. The action on this guitar is pretty good due to the plek process. Since they dont use stainless steel frets though this setup will eventually wear out.
SOUNDS
The pickup combination in this guitar is a good combination but I have not seen it in many Gibsons. The 57 Classic with the Burstbucker 3 is like a new and old combination. The 57 Classic is one of the best modern PAF pickups out there. It has all the sag and vocal qualities of the old PAF pickups. This in the neck position is super smooth and can really gives you all the bluesy and jazzy lead tones you want. The Burstbucker 3 is the hottest Burstbucker Gibson makes. I find it a bit strange to be combined with the 57 Classic in the neck. The output difference between the pickups is pretty huge. The Burstbucker has a lot of bite and edge to its sound. Its Gibsons rock and roll pickup.
OVERALL OPINION
With this 60s style Les Paul Standard you can have all the feel of a 60s guitar without the cost. These guitars are pretty cheap compared to some Gibsons and they give you all the playability you want and expect from a Gibson. Not everyone can go drop a ton of money on a real 60s Gibson and if you did you wouldnt want to gig with it or play it out. With this model you can gig with it all you want and you know if it gets damaged it can be easily replaced. If you are in the market for a specifically 60s style Les Paul this is your best bet.
UTILIZATION
The 60s neck profile is my favorite neck profile on a Gibson. It came a long when they were trying to make their guitars more playable. A mission that eventually ended up replacing the Les Paul with the SG. The 60s profile is pretty thin. It is super thin compared to the 50s profile. With this thinner neck the guitar is very easy to play. This guitar also has locking tuners which is pretty rare for a les paul. Gibson is using a Plek machine on most of their guitars now. This means a laser is used to level the frets to perfection. This means on those models the action should be perfect. The action on this guitar is pretty good due to the plek process. Since they dont use stainless steel frets though this setup will eventually wear out.
SOUNDS
The pickup combination in this guitar is a good combination but I have not seen it in many Gibsons. The 57 Classic with the Burstbucker 3 is like a new and old combination. The 57 Classic is one of the best modern PAF pickups out there. It has all the sag and vocal qualities of the old PAF pickups. This in the neck position is super smooth and can really gives you all the bluesy and jazzy lead tones you want. The Burstbucker 3 is the hottest Burstbucker Gibson makes. I find it a bit strange to be combined with the 57 Classic in the neck. The output difference between the pickups is pretty huge. The Burstbucker has a lot of bite and edge to its sound. Its Gibsons rock and roll pickup.
OVERALL OPINION
With this 60s style Les Paul Standard you can have all the feel of a 60s guitar without the cost. These guitars are pretty cheap compared to some Gibsons and they give you all the playability you want and expect from a Gibson. Not everyone can go drop a ton of money on a real 60s Gibson and if you did you wouldnt want to gig with it or play it out. With this model you can gig with it all you want and you know if it gets damaged it can be easily replaced. If you are in the market for a specifically 60s style Les Paul this is your best bet.