UberMetalDood
New member
I was shopping for one of the new Gibson Les Paul Classic Plus models (they're basically the Traditionals with baked maple necks, different colors and options) when I came across this:
I normally won't give any attention to Les Paul Studios because they're chambered and very light. They are great guitars, but not what I like in a Les Paul. People say that the Studios are just Les Paul standards without the binding and different pickups, but I have owned several standards and the studios don't have the same quality wood.
So I come across this amazing looking "Deluxe" about three months ago. I pulled it from the rack and it was heavy! Boy did it feel great, exactly like my Traditional. It had a whole different feel and sound than the other studio models. When I got home, I checked out Gibsons website and looked up some information on the Internet. It turns out, Gibson did these as an Exclusive Guitar Center deal.
These are basically Les Paul Traditionals (weight relieved) without binding, Burstbucker Pro bridge and 490R neck. Even though it doesn't have any binding, you can see the separation between the body and maple cap, so it's like natural binding.
I played this guitar every week while I kept saving $20 here, $10 there, and scraping change until I finally saved enough to get this one. I walked out of Guitar Center with it inside its hard shell case (same one that comes with Traditinals) for about $1160.
I am TOTALLY satisfied with this guitar. In fact, more so than any Les Paul I've bought before. I was able to get a fantastic quality, WEIGHT-RELIEVED, Les Paul with pickups that I don't have to change any time soon for a lot less than I would have to pay for the models I originally desired.
I'm not saying all of this because of the excitement from getting a new guitar because I've been playing this guitar every week for 3 months. All of the newness and excitement had passed. I knew it was only a matter of time before it was mine.
I'm not without complaints however. One thing that irritated me was the fact that they don't come with pick guards. Guitar Center sells them but they're $22 - and get this... you have to buy the little metal bracket separately for $11. I don't understand why they don't come with them since the cheapest Gibsons come with them, but I guess if it keeps the price reasonable then I'm not going to make any phone calls to Gibsons office.
I should also mention that I wasn't expecting much out of the Burstbucker Pro and 490R combo, but it turns out that they compliment each other pretty well. If you tried Burstbucker Pros before and didn't like them, it's a good chance you were playing a chambered Les Paul. They sound MUCH better in a more solid piece of wood. Even though the pickups are pretty good, I have plans to install a Seth Lover set.
Oh, did I mention these have push/pull coil taps built into the volume knobs? Yeah. They're pretty cool. Even though they don't sound much like single coils when you tap them, they do give you a nice range of different tones.
This was such an incredible deal that I'm going to sacrifice two of my Stratocasters to trade-in for another one of a different color. Well, enough talk. Let me show you a few pictures...
I normally won't give any attention to Les Paul Studios because they're chambered and very light. They are great guitars, but not what I like in a Les Paul. People say that the Studios are just Les Paul standards without the binding and different pickups, but I have owned several standards and the studios don't have the same quality wood.
So I come across this amazing looking "Deluxe" about three months ago. I pulled it from the rack and it was heavy! Boy did it feel great, exactly like my Traditional. It had a whole different feel and sound than the other studio models. When I got home, I checked out Gibsons website and looked up some information on the Internet. It turns out, Gibson did these as an Exclusive Guitar Center deal.
These are basically Les Paul Traditionals (weight relieved) without binding, Burstbucker Pro bridge and 490R neck. Even though it doesn't have any binding, you can see the separation between the body and maple cap, so it's like natural binding.
I played this guitar every week while I kept saving $20 here, $10 there, and scraping change until I finally saved enough to get this one. I walked out of Guitar Center with it inside its hard shell case (same one that comes with Traditinals) for about $1160.
I am TOTALLY satisfied with this guitar. In fact, more so than any Les Paul I've bought before. I was able to get a fantastic quality, WEIGHT-RELIEVED, Les Paul with pickups that I don't have to change any time soon for a lot less than I would have to pay for the models I originally desired.
I'm not saying all of this because of the excitement from getting a new guitar because I've been playing this guitar every week for 3 months. All of the newness and excitement had passed. I knew it was only a matter of time before it was mine.
I'm not without complaints however. One thing that irritated me was the fact that they don't come with pick guards. Guitar Center sells them but they're $22 - and get this... you have to buy the little metal bracket separately for $11. I don't understand why they don't come with them since the cheapest Gibsons come with them, but I guess if it keeps the price reasonable then I'm not going to make any phone calls to Gibsons office.
I should also mention that I wasn't expecting much out of the Burstbucker Pro and 490R combo, but it turns out that they compliment each other pretty well. If you tried Burstbucker Pros before and didn't like them, it's a good chance you were playing a chambered Les Paul. They sound MUCH better in a more solid piece of wood. Even though the pickups are pretty good, I have plans to install a Seth Lover set.
Oh, did I mention these have push/pull coil taps built into the volume knobs? Yeah. They're pretty cool. Even though they don't sound much like single coils when you tap them, they do give you a nice range of different tones.
This was such an incredible deal that I'm going to sacrifice two of my Stratocasters to trade-in for another one of a different color. Well, enough talk. Let me show you a few pictures...