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tjon901 « Thin skinned Zakk Wylde Gibson »
Published on 10/22/11 at 21:16The Zakk Wylde Les Paul Custom is one of the longest running signature guitars in the Gibson line up. This is one of the newer variations on that theme. This guitar has the Gibson BFG treatment. I personally think the BFG treatment on this guitar is a bit of a scam. With this guitar you bascially get a Zakk Wylde Les Paul Custom without the complete finish process on it. The finish on it is similar to what you would get on a Faded Gibson. At least with this lack of finish you get a price discount. From what Ive seen these guitars are almost half as much as the normal Zakk Wylde LPC which is very overpriced anyway in my opinion. Apart from the finish what you are getting is a 70s Les Paul Custom with EMG's. Many 70s Les Pauls had maple necks like this one and on Zakk's guitar the paint on the back of the neck is removed for a raw finish. The pickups are a set of EMG's. There is an 81 in the bridge and an 85 in the neck. This is now a classic configuration for EMG's. It has a tone and volume control for each pickup and a 3 way switch. The guitar has a chambered mahogany body with a maple top. Normally I would say the chambering effects the tone but with the EMG's in this guitar it doesnt really matter.
UTILIZATION
The lack of finish gives the benefit of a smooth satin feel on the guitar. A normal Zakk Wylde Les Paul would just have this feel on the back of the neck but this guitar has it all over and it is very comfortable. The neck plays very nicely even though it is the fat 50s style neck due to the smooth raw maple feel. These Zakk Wylde guitars also come with huge frets which is very nice compared to the frets you would normally get on a guitar like this. This helps you get a nice action and smooth feel on the fretboard. This guitar has active EMG pickups which means they run on a 9v battery. Gibson does not put an external battery compartment on these guitars and it is kind of annoying. To change the battery on these guitars you have to open up the entire control cavity. Other makers give you a little compartment for the battery so you can change it on the fly.
SOUNDS
All the tone is still there even with the lack of finish. If you are looking for a Gibson bullseye guitar with EMG's this is probably the cheapest route. These are some of the most brutal sounding factory Gibsons. Even with the chambering in the body the EMG's take the tone into the metal zone. The 81 in the bridge has been an iconic metal pickup for decades. It has a high end crunch and distortion that gives it clarity no matter how much gain you are using or how low you tune. The 85 in the neck is a great pickup too. It has a more fuller sound than the 81 so in the neck position you can get fat lead tones. The 85 is also good too in the bridge. With EMG's quick connect system you can easily swap these pickups position without soldering anything. The 85 in the bridge produces a super thick tone and cleans up better than the 81.
OVERALL OPINION
This guitar is pretty cool I guess. It could be cheaper. If this guitar was like 1500 bucks it would be a real deal. With the official Zakk Wylde Les Paul Custom costing over 4000 USD these days alternatives like this are becoming more and more viable. Personally I would get an Edwards Les Paul Custom and drop some EMG's in it and for 1200 dollars you would have a guitar pretty much the same as Zakk Wyldes but with a different name on the headstock and a normal paintjob.
UTILIZATION
The lack of finish gives the benefit of a smooth satin feel on the guitar. A normal Zakk Wylde Les Paul would just have this feel on the back of the neck but this guitar has it all over and it is very comfortable. The neck plays very nicely even though it is the fat 50s style neck due to the smooth raw maple feel. These Zakk Wylde guitars also come with huge frets which is very nice compared to the frets you would normally get on a guitar like this. This helps you get a nice action and smooth feel on the fretboard. This guitar has active EMG pickups which means they run on a 9v battery. Gibson does not put an external battery compartment on these guitars and it is kind of annoying. To change the battery on these guitars you have to open up the entire control cavity. Other makers give you a little compartment for the battery so you can change it on the fly.
SOUNDS
All the tone is still there even with the lack of finish. If you are looking for a Gibson bullseye guitar with EMG's this is probably the cheapest route. These are some of the most brutal sounding factory Gibsons. Even with the chambering in the body the EMG's take the tone into the metal zone. The 81 in the bridge has been an iconic metal pickup for decades. It has a high end crunch and distortion that gives it clarity no matter how much gain you are using or how low you tune. The 85 in the neck is a great pickup too. It has a more fuller sound than the 81 so in the neck position you can get fat lead tones. The 85 is also good too in the bridge. With EMG's quick connect system you can easily swap these pickups position without soldering anything. The 85 in the bridge produces a super thick tone and cleans up better than the 81.
OVERALL OPINION
This guitar is pretty cool I guess. It could be cheaper. If this guitar was like 1500 bucks it would be a real deal. With the official Zakk Wylde Les Paul Custom costing over 4000 USD these days alternatives like this are becoming more and more viable. Personally I would get an Edwards Les Paul Custom and drop some EMG's in it and for 1200 dollars you would have a guitar pretty much the same as Zakk Wyldes but with a different name on the headstock and a normal paintjob.