Gibson Les Paul Junior Special P90

[FretFire]

Has anyone spent some time with the newer LP Jr. Special P90? I was at my local GC checking out a few P90 options yesterday, and tried one of these and the Pelham Blue LP Jr.

The plain Jr. felt like a cheap toy, the finish was sinking by the edge of the fretboard and whatever dye they used on the fretboard was rubbing off. I could easily see two seams on the body where the finish was sinking into them. Granted, this particular guitar seemed to have taken quite a bit of abuse by GC tire-kickers, but it just didn't feel very solid.

The dual-P90 LP Jr. Special, however, felt much better. I like the price point, too ($749 for the satin models). I wish it had a wraparound tailpiece, but overall that's a pretty minor gripe. So, do any of you guys have one of these? How do you like the stock pickups?

 

[Andrew Lamprecht]

Re: Gibson Les Paul Junior Special P90

SONUVABIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

 

[FretFire]

Re: Gibson Les Paul Junior Special P90

SONUVABIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Were you not aware that these existed? :laugh2:

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Gibson Les Paul Junior Special P90

Some opinions from a mahogany slab + P-90 maniac.
1) Nitro-cellulose is SUPPOSED to sink into the grain ever so slightly.
2) A Junior made from a one-piece body would be a mightily expensive item - thereby defeating the object of the original design.
3) Juniors and Specials were made to be beaten up.
4) What are the stock pickups nowadays?

My old LP Junior Special started out life with P-100, stacked coil, noise-cancelling pickups. Not actually a BAD pickup as such. Just doesn't behave like I think a P-90 should. (Neither, for that matter does the SD P-90 Stack.)

If, like my LP Goldtop, both your P-90s are the same spec., one of them will disappoint. Either the neck/Rhythm pickup will seem muddy or the bridge/Treble unit will lack balls.

 

[FretFire]

Re: Gibson Les Paul Junior Special P90

Some opinions from a mahogany slab + P-90 maniac.
1) Nitro-cellulose is SUPPOSED to sink into the grain ever so slightly.
2) A Junior made from a one-piece body would be a mightily expensive item - thereby defeating the object of the original design.
3) Juniors and Specials were made to be beaten up.
4) What are the stock pickups nowadays?

My old LP Junior Special started out life with P-100, stacked coil, noise-cancelling pickups. Not actually a BAD pickup as such. Just doesn't behave like I think a P-90 should. (Neither, for that matter does the SD P-90 Stack.)

If, like my LP Goldtop, both your P-90s are the same spec., one of them will disappoint. Either the neck/Rhythm pickup will seem muddy or the bridge/Treble unit will lack balls.

I own nitro-finished guitars, but what I saw on this LP Jr. yesterday was pretty bad. It looked like wrinkled aluminum foil, but *only* right where the finish met the fretboard and along the seams in the body. I don't have a problem with multiple-piece bodies, by any means. I fully realize this could be an isolated example, though, and it's probably been treated pretty badly at GC.

I agree these guitars are made to play and wear, hell my tele is a relic'd mess, but the plain Jr. I played yesterday just felt more "cheap" than "beat". I am really considering picking up one of the dual-pickup Specials though.

As for the pickups, does Gibson at least use "standard" size P90s? A pickup swap is easy enough to do, but I've had issues arise from pickup thickness/route depth with P90s in other guitars.

 

[Gunny47]

Re: Gibson Les Paul Junior Special P90

hmmm interesting. I wasn't aware that they brought back the non-custom shop LP singlecut special. I agree about the wraparound - but that burst still looks mad classy. I'll have to try one out.

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: Gibson Les Paul Junior Special P90

Sent you a PM.

The PRS SE Soapbar is what you're looking for. Wraparound tailpiece, light, resonant, thin finish, better sounding pickups, better fretwork, cheaper.

 

[FretFire]

Re: Gibson Les Paul Junior Special P90

Sent you a PM.

The PRS SE Soapbar is what you're looking for. Wraparound tailpiece, light, resonant, thin finish, better sounding pickups, better fretwork, cheaper.

I like the SE stuff just fine, but the Singlecut SE Soapbars don't pop up used too often. Even more rarely locally, and I'd like to play before buying if at all possible. But, if I had to choose between a Gibson and PRS SE when buying online the SE would win out.

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: Gibson Les Paul Junior Special P90

I like the SE stuff just fine, but the Singlecut SE Soapbars don't pop up used too often. Even more rarely locally, and I'd like to play before buying if at all possible. But, if I had to choose between a Gibson and PRS SE when buying online the SE would win out.

If you want to try mine out for a while, I will be glad to send it to you. I know it plays well.

PM me if you want to talk.

 

[FretFire]

Re: Gibson Les Paul Junior Special P90

I appreciate the offer bro, but it doesn't do me much good if I have to send it back :laugh2:. I'm just looking in passing for a backup guitar. I'll be sending out my SCT later this week in trade for an amp, and will eventually pick up another guitar. I'll want it to be as rough and nasty as my tele, but in mahogany.

 

[erksin]

Re: Gibson Les Paul Junior Special P90

Are they really calling these "Junior Specials"?

Junior - 1 pickup
Special - 2 pickups

Looks like a Special to me.

 

[DankStar]

Re: Gibson Les Paul Junior Special P90

I'd ditch the pickguard, but other than that, looks cool!

 

[Mr 9finger]

Re: Gibson Les Paul Junior Special P90

man in moon just bought one. I'll text him and point him to this thread so he can chime in.

 

[man-in-moon]

Re: Gibson Les Paul Junior Special P90

i just picked mine up from GC saturday. i got the gloss finish model. the 15% coupon borught the price down to just right under $700. so far i really like it. the stock pickups don't sound too bad. i tried it through several amps it it seemed to sound good through them all. i tried one of the new jrs. in pelham blue and did not care for it. i compared the jr. special to about 6 other guitars and it was just as good or better than the rest. i am pciky about my guitars 9fungers knows this lol. and it beat out a prs se one, some higher end ltds, an sg jr and a few others.
i say if you think you would like one grab it.
the maple board adds some nice snap to it keeping the neck pickup from being muddy. i play a lot of styles of music and think it would fit the bill for most of them. i was getting good blues and clean tones from the excelsior and a vox and getting some good classic rock and metal tones out of an egnater vengeance. alot of people will fuss about the maple boards but i am not one of them.

 

[SrDeMaFp]

Re: Gibson Les Paul Junior Special P90

 

[guitargeezer]

Re: Gibson Les Paul Junior Special P90

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I just picked up one of the Junior Special P-90s from the blow-outs at Zzounds. Got the gloss ebony finish for $549...spread over four payments.

Absolutely loving it!

 

[DHess780]

Re: Gibson Les Paul Junior Special P90

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I just picked up one of the Junior Special P-90s from the blow-outs at Zzounds. Got the gloss ebony finish for $549...spread over four payments.

Absolutely loving it!

Hi, I got one for Christmas (bought for myself). I loved it in the store. I got the gloss yellow and played it for a few minutes on Christmas before I discovered a problem. I loved the bridge pickup but I do understand the "muddy" critique of the neck pickup. My issue was the nut. They say that it has a traditional 1.695 nut width, but what they don't metnion in the specs is that the binding on the necks is the thickest I have ever seen and so the actual distance from E-to-E string is 1 and 7/16 inches. The fret board itself at the nut is only 1.5 inches (a hair above).
In my case the nut was positioned about a 32d of an inch off to the right. So when I finger an open G and move my pinky a tad the string and my finger slide right off the fretboard. I brought it back to the store (HOG Rochester, NY) and they are going to fix it. The real issue is that the nut has to be so precisely placed because if you off by a 32d of an inch the guitar is unplayable. I looked at other Gibsons and they all had wider necks, including a 2010 special in fadedd yellow, just because the unbound board allowed nmore room. Only the SG's with bound boards had a similarly narrow fretboard at the nut, 1.5 inches. The nut on the one I examined was properly placed so I know it's possible.
Thansk,Don