Gibson Baldwin LP Signature

Pickups are kinda weak as far as output. Hard to get real crunchy. The frets are in good shape, consistent heights, etc. I'm not going to alter them any, and they're not sticking outside the fretboard. Neck is as good as any $400-500 guitar.

Finish looks pretty sturdy and thick.

Sounds ok. Pretty muddy, sustain ok. Zero sparkle. It's not noisy at all doesn't pick up crap like a single coil. Good sound for first guitar. Tone knobs do almost nothing.

Well, the strings were on in the right order... Pretty crappy setup overall. Good parts, but they're not adjusted right. If set up right, is a good practice guitar or first guitar. DO NOT buy it if you don't have anybody to set it up right for you. If you do, it's ok to learn on this one.

Pickup selector switch a bit loose, but no pop. Couple of pots needed tightening. I've had same issues with expensive guitars, so no biggie. I'm really not worried about it falling apart, it's pretty solid, the previous user probably didn't take care of it.

Been playing five years, I own couple custom Mexican Fenders. I bought it so I can leave it around the house and throw in the truck and not worry about it.

Good first guitar. If you can use a screwdriver and follow directions to set it up properly, you'll have an excellent deal for $100 - I hear they're selling new for that.

Chinese gibson-baldwin les paul signature. Sunburst finish. Rosewood fretboard with dot inlay. It is pretty much what you would see on a normal gibson but with a different bridge, headstock, and pups.

This is where the guitar shines. It actually sounds quite good for a chinese factory guitar. i play rock and blues and it has always pulled through for me.

There was literally no set-up when i first got it. sunburst finish.

it's pretty rock solid. it can definaletly go through a gig all by itself.

n/a

The guitar is not bad. It's not my favorite, but it's not bad. I can say that i probably would buy something else if it ever got f**ked up or stolen.

Some reviewers were 'confused' about which G/B model - this is about the red sunburst LP Signature model - NOT juniors, teal finishes, etc. I watched this decline from a usurious $250 at Best Buy in '05, to $99 by '06. Dot position markers, one piece wrapunder tail, 'speed knobs' instead of tophat pots, and no Gibson logo on the headstock. Yep, it's a riceburner clone, all right. Most of 'em have issues from banging around inside the cheesy packaging, and apparently being manhandled by gorilla warehouse idiots. I went through around 20 before I found an acceptable one - no easy feat in BB with stupid [c]rap music blaring from the car stereo demos, lol.

I just hack around and I wanted an LP type to try without paying the ludicrous $500 to $1500+ price. The sound is okay and quiet enough for what I canoodle out of it. The neck pickup has a surprisingly fat tone and sustain, esp. compared to my Jap and Chinese Strats.

Busy Buzz-Buzz. Try it before you buy it. Setup ranges form competent to non-existent. Best Buy clerks didn't bother me (an advantage of age, I guess, lol). Each one had different issues ranging from flat sounding frets near the headstock to loose switches & finish flaws ... each must be examined stem to stern. Staying in tune when it sits for awhile ain't a strong point. Weird how the Chinese can't grasp matching both halves of the grain on the front, lol.

This ain't a pro's road/gig axe, PERIOD. To suggest otherwise is fatuous. No one with half a brain is gonna pay 99 samoleons and then expect to go Scott Henderson-ing around the US & overseas with it, okay? | : > D Sheesh.

Gibson's website is bleeped up. It's as if they don't even want you to contact them. Blah, blah, five year warranty - whyn't they make sure Chin Ho set it up right in the first place, and then preserve that with better shipping protection? Dopes. This is just a cheap LP (or SG) pattern axe for cheap hacker adults (like me) and beginner kids to chonk around with at a lowball price. Serious recording pros and elitist guitar snobs need not apply, lol.

Still and all, not bloody likely, but - I'd like to see Gibson make a Chinese Firebird "Signature" for lowball bucks - then my high school days guitar god wannabe wish list would be complete. $1,600-plus? - yeah, right - I have property taxes and oil heat bills to pay, Jack. Bwah-hah-hah.

Considering the price I paid for this guitar, I rate it very good. Some tuners were loose when I received he guitar, but these took only a few seconds to tighten with pliers. This is a solid body. I don't know why another reviewer said it was plywood. Some frets are sharp on the ends and would benefit from filing. Otherwise the guitar is not bad for the price paid.

I have only played this guitar directly into my computer. I compared it to my Fender Telecaster. It's not as loud or as sharp. It has more of a jazzy sound, but with some of the familar sound of a Gibson. A much better sound than I expected.

After tuning the guitar, I found the action to be not bad. A little high, but not bad. There was no buzzing of the frets. I couldn't detect any flaws in the finish. Everything alligned properly.

The guitar looks to be a strong guitar. The finish seems really good.

With the guitar, I received a booklet asking me to register with Gibson. It has a 5 year warranty. That seems a long time for such a cheap guitar.

For the price I paid, I can't knock this guitar. There are much worse deals out there. In Asia, I've seen imitation Gibsons. This guitar is not an imitation. It's made by Gibson in China and is much higher quality than the fakes I've seen. I'm a 100% satisfied with my purchase. I actually bought it to install some vintage pickups I've had kicking around. These pickups make it sound better. Now, I just need a Tusq nut for better sustain.

The first thing I want to say is that I am going to rate this guitar for the price I paid for it which was basically $100.00 plus shipping. Anyone that pays a hundred bucks for a guitar shouldn't have many expectations and I didn't. I pretty much figured it would be crap out of the box and it was better than I expected. Let me cover the positive things first. It does have a nice heritage cherry sunburst finish, which at least from the front give it that vintage 58 or 59 Les Paul look. The neck was straight and the tuning machines actually were pretty decent at keeping it in tune. The pickups have a pretty decent tone, with the bridge pickup being quite twangy, sort of like a telecaster, but beefier. Nice blues/jazz tones from the neck pickup. Good acoustic simulation in the middle position. The neck on mine was straight and true and required no adjustment even though it was shipped to me from the US to overseas. String height was good. No scratchy sounds from the volume and tone pots, no problem with the selector switch. So what you have is basically a guitar that I would compare with the Epiphone LP 100, except this one is cheaper and made in China - but the tuning machines and pickups are better on this one. Les Paul body style, a little thinner than your average Les Paul. I do personally like the wrap around bridge and it has nice binding both on the body and neck. Non locking tuners but like I said, they hold pretty well. 50's style neck a little fatter than later models. 22 frets, laminated top, two passive humbucker pickups. The body is plywood and the neck is maple. It did not come with any accessories, not even a cord. Now for the negatives. I don't like bolt on necks on Les Pauls, but my curiosity got the better of me and I had to buy it out of curiosity. The plywood body doesn't look like it will last forever. Now for the biggy - the frets wires just absolutely sucked going way over the edge of the binding on both the treble and bass side. If you are looking for a guitar to cut the crap out of your fingers out of the box - then this is the one. Still - that is something that can be fixed, with just a little time and know how. I'm going to give it a 7 for features. I take 3 points for it being a bolt on, the frets and no gig bag or cord.

I'm going to do a before and after assessment of this and then give an average. I play blues, blues rock, classic rock, country, elecrtric folk, hard rock and have my moments where I am in a metal mood. Out of the box it would handle blues and classic rock ok - but nothing to write home to Mama about. However it was quiet as a church mouse with a bright beefy sound on the bridge pickup, and a nice blues/jazz sound on the neck pickup. However for anything resembling hard rock or metal, it just didn't cut it. So the before score is a 5. What I did was I took the pickups out and repotted them and I put a crystal scalarizer at the bridge pickup and a metal scalarizer at the neck pickup. I put the pickups back in and adjusted them and the difference in sound was incredible. It actually sounds like a Les Paul. The crystal scalarizer at the bridge took a bit of the twang out of it and gave it a bit more midrange and the metal scalarizer boosted that bluesy/jazzy tone of the neck pickup. I've got several VOX, Fender, Laney, Peavey and Marshall tube Amps as well as a Behringer GMX 210, but the only thing I've played this through so far is my little Peavey Royal 8 Valveking and a ZOOM G2. Now it sounds really good through that combo - it's a bedroom rig. So now, it is excellent for all the types of music I play and the after score would be a 9, so again, I'll give it a 7 for sound.

The setup sucked. Basically there was no setup at all. The action was low but there was big time fretbuzz on the low E string. I remedied this by raising the bass side a little bit on the bridge and it took the fretbuzz out without making the action too high. The pickups were not adjusted at all - they were just there in the guitar. The bridge was properly routed, but the bookmatching on the top could have been a lot better - even at this price. The flaw was the fretwire. I took myself a wooden finger nail fire and some medium and light sandpaper and within an hour had the neck smooth as butter. Also the rosewood neck on this guitar was VERY dry, so I remedied that by applying a light coat of lemon oil and now the neck is very quick. I can only give this a 3 for action, fit and finish because even at the price - it should be much better than that. My neighbor got himself one of the Epiphone LP Juniors for $99 from musician's enemy and it was perfectly playable and sounded darn good right out of the box. So, for $100 Gibson should be able to do the same. I've dealt with Gibson a lot though over the years and even on their expensive guitars - quality control has been an issue. I once bought one of the worn cherry Gibson Les Paul Specials for about $600 and it was AWESOME right out of the box. A year later I bought a Gibson Les Paul Standard for $2,500 for my son for a college graduation present and it just absolutely sucked out of the box. It took me more time to get it straightend out than it did this Signature Series.

Now yes. Before no. I replaced the wrap around bridge with one from a Les Paul Goddess. I changed the tuning machines to Grover tuners and bought myself a couple of rolls of electric wire and re-saltered and rewired everything with high quality wiring. Costed me about $30 to do that. Who cares about the finish? If you play it and gig with it, it will look like crap within one year, even if it is a $10,000 Jimmy Page Les Paul. I put Wilkinson Strap locks on it - so no problem there, but the strap buttons are good and solid. I would never gig without a backup. I didn't buy this guitar to gig with, I bought it to keep in my bedroom beside my little Peavey Royal 8 tube amp and my ZOOM G2, however, it would pass as a backup now, but not out of the box. Out of the box, I could only give this a 4. After, I could give it an 8, so I will give it a 6.

Never had to do anything with this one that required sending it to the shop. Over the years, I've learned to do all my tech work myself, even took a luthier course because I got tired of waiting 6 months to get a guitar back from the factory that was screwed up if they tried to fix it. It has a 5 year warranty. I have dealt with Gibson in the past because of some issues on other Gibson axes and to be honest they were the biggest snobs in the music business, even though you may have blown a working man's pay check for a year on one of their guitars.

I've been playing 45 years and I have way too much gear to list here. I bought this guitar out of curiosity and to keep in my bedroom. I didn't expect much and it was a little better than I expected. If it were stolen I would feel sorry for the guy. If it were lost, I probably wouldn't go out of my way to look for it - I wouldn't buy another one. Now there is something different about mine than on the website. Out of the box mine had a chrome Gibson headstock sticker, obviously factory applied on it with signature series in big gold letters and the truss rod cover has LP on it. None of the others I have seen has this, so I guess someone just decided to dress this one up a bit before they stuck it in the box. It cost me 100 bucks, plus about $60 for the upgrading. I can't bitch about it and it sounds really good now through that little peavey tube amp and ZOOM G2. So I will give this thing a 6 overall.

This guitar can be good or really bad. I agree with both negative and positive reviews. How bout that !! The neck isnt bad its just the fret job that messes it up. I love the body and pickups are allright. Features the one peice bridge set up that Ive gotten used to and kinda like it now.

Sounds really good on open chords and for running through some good distortion. I love the lead sound up high. Of course that was after I sand papered the frets. lol more on that later

There is no set up. In fact I believe those chinamen are over there laughing at us stupid americans every time one of these leaves the assembly line. And I believe they purposly raise the action as high as they can get it and leave the ends of the frets sharp to cut OUR rockin american fingers. Anywho, After lowering the action and tuning it I realized the strings are made of horse hair or something because the 3rd string broke even before I had any seriuos tension. I laughed in a spooky im gonna killem kinda way. After buying some earny ball super slinkys it helped considrably but it would sound good till you get to a certain point and then buzz because some frets are to high. I ended up getting an even block of wood and sand paper because raising the action wont help. I sanded down from the 12th fret up and actually took away the buzzing. Now I kinda like this guitar and its definately worth the price I paid. Lotsa work though.

Seeems like it will last but the neck is 2 pieces of wood glued together LOL

tHIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE AN EDUCATIONAL GUITAR BUT iF YOUR A BEGGINER STAY FAR AWAY FROM IT, ID RECCOMMEND TO EXPERIENCED GUITAR PLAYERS WHO KNOW HOW TO SAND FRETS LOL ITS WORTH AT LEAST A HUNDRED FOR THIS KILLER LIL BODY. I WILL EVENTUALLY GET A GOOD NECK. KEEP IN MIND MY RATING IS DETERMINED BY WHAT YOU GET FOR WHAT YOU SPEND. FOR UNDER 150.00 YOU WONT FIND A BETTER DEAL. JUST HOPE YOU GET LUKY AND GET A GOOD NECK. OTHERWISE BE PREPARED TO SAND IF YOU DONT WANT ANY BUZZING. ITS WORTH IT THOUGH.

/For the price it's an interesting investment. It is a Gibson but for entry level-education and, hence, the lower price. What do they sacrifice? It would seem to be quality control as the other reviews show. I took a good look at several of these and all had flaws in the neck in particular. The one I bought is pretty good overall however and, with some adjustments, sounds pretty good. These were advertised in a discount store flyer and I couldn't resist having a look. As for the technical info, that's all described in other spots on the review page. I will say the pick ups are very quiet humbuckers as noted on the promotion for the guitar.

It doesn't sound as fantastic as an expensive guitar but it does sound pretty good. Different amps and compression will augment the sound and bring out dynamics. The treble pick up is pretty good and sounds great through a true tube amp. Overall it isn't a bright sounding guitar but compares well with a telecaster from Mexico - has sort of a tele/ricky sound actually on the treble pick up. Definitely has a tone to it but is it the tone you'd like to have? That's pretty subjective! I played it for several hours and had song ideas coming out so it certainly is credible. It wasn't a noisy guitar especially compared to the tele. I actually find it easier to play than the tele.

Noticed loose screws et al as described by some other reviewers. The action is adjustable but the screws were quite difficult to turn as was the truss rod. Once given a bit of muscle though, all of these came into adjustment. I do not play lead and did notice some buzzing on my adjustment when my lead player tried it out. I would have to readjust things for him. He did get some good lead licks out of it. The frets are not cut that well but I do not experience the "cut hands" some people talk about. I suspect again it is the variety of quality on these items from the factory. You really need to check them out in batches rather than assuming one is like all the rest. The machine heads do seem a bit weak and holding tune is going to be a bit of an issue - use heavier strings and it helps. I have four very expensive Gibson acoustics and they also go out of tune with lighter strings. A lot of this depends on how much you bend the strings or intensify your playing. I would have preferred better machine heads but the price makes that an issue (as in using better ones from the factory). The finish etc is quite nice and it is not a light weight guitar so it seems they did go for something better than cheap wood. I was also unable to take this thing out of its box, so I feel lucky to have gotten something that appears to be in better shape than some of the reviewers have found. I did compare guitars in the boxes and found most had bad or poorly set necks as seen through the clear packaging. The one I grabbed looked just fine and proved to be so once out of the box. (But how silly not to let you open it up in the store? This was a risky impulse purchase to be sure.)

Can't say yet how this will hold up. I suspect that the guitar will take some abuse but all of the parts are not top of the line so it would not surprise me if problems develop if and when it gets to some "heavy lifting". I plan to use this for occasional electric songs in the band (moving off my acoustic once in a while). Remains to be seen how it holds up.

Bought in Canada from a discount supplier so I suspect even the warranty is void sine I am not in the US. Most guitar stores would be able to repair problems and I don't think they would laugh at you for having it. Most stores do sell entry level guitars and this could appear as a newer type novelty guitar to those who have not seen them. None-the-less, everything works now and could be repaired should anything fail - just not by Gibson factory I assume

I started late on acoustic guitars back in 1998, but have dabbled with electrics. I own an early 70's Ricky (someone before me modified it to have one Gibson and one Ricky toaster pick up) I don't like it much. I also own a telecaster made in Mexico and it does not hold tune very well at all but does give the tele sound quite well. I also don't find much pleasure in playing this one. The other guitars are high end Gibson acoustics and are fantastic of course. I am also quite "effects pedal mad" and have worked long and hard to get my acoustics to accommodate the sounds and tone I want. I've achieved this but running the electrics through it all is a new ballgame. (Reference if you care for more, my web site at http://whiners.awardspace.com and the gear/"band in a box page")

To wrap this review up, it is true you get what you pay for!!! This signature guitar is a neat little novelty item for me that may do the trick on a couple of songs where I am playing rhythm in the band. If you are getting into playing it's probably OK as an entry thing and has some Gibson street cred. But you should have someone who can adjust settings do it for the guitar. Otherwise, you may be frustrated with intonation out of whack forever. If you are a regular player and want something better - you won't get it with this guitar. You do get what you pay for - I don't think anyone should expect a 4 thousand dollar sound out of a 149 dollar instrument. I am pleasantly surprised that it works at all actually!

Finish: Sunburst.
Body style: Les Paul.
Bridge style: wrap-around LP junior tailpiece.
Tuners: Don't know.
Fretboard: Rosewood.
How many frets: 22.
Top: Archtop maple.
Controls: 3-way switch, 2 tone, 2 volume.
Pickup configuration: H/H
Make and model of pickups: I never looked.
Active or Passive electronics: Pretty sure they are passive.
Body wood: Maple.
Neck wood: Maple.

This guitar sounds pretty good for my style: hard rock/metal. i've used it with small solid-state amps, half-tube amps, and tube amps. it's not perfect though. but it's ALWAYS pulled through for me despite the times i thought this guitar could not do it. it's got a deep-ish sound to me, but it may be considered somewhat mid-toned. the guitar seems to mold to whatever sound i want when i adjust the amp. i never touch the volume or tone knobs on the guitar because i like full sound, i just go to the amp for that. but that's just my style. i like this guitar's sound, i'm not really dissatisfied with it to be honest.

i gotta say the factory could have done a better job at making this guitar, but i think they made it as cheaply as possible to keep it low priced.

when i first got it, the action was fine. but then i gauged my strings up without making other adjustments and de-stringed it. when i tried to restring it, the action was incredibly low and even with adjustments, i could not get my settings back. i replaced the nut eventually with a bone one, instead of the black plastic one it comes with.

the binding is kinda sucky, but it doesn't bother me that much. my guitar was my properly bookmatched but it still hasn't even seemed to matter at all. the pickups were in fine adjustment when i first got it, although i did raise the treble humbucker up a bit. my only real complaint is the neck. it was poorly made. i'm going to replace the neck on this guitar with a Warmoth neck.

this guitar is tough. the only thing you need to worry about is piercing the finish and body. someone has dented the front of mine before. it's because underneath is SOFT MAPLE. someone reviewed this guitar and said it had a plywood body. it's an ALL MAPLE GUITAR. i've worked with wood and i've worked with professionals in wood.

the hardware shouldn't be a problem. if you adjust the wraparound bridge a lot, you'll find the big turning screws dent easily with a screwdriver. although i don't know if you would care enough to replace those.

the finish lasts long. if the finish wore off on yours, then you play too hard or you don't play right.

in my honest opinion, for strap buttons, it really depends on your strap. if you have a loose-fits-all strap, you need schaller straplocks.

i would use it on a gig without a backup only if i had to. otherwise i'd have a backup for every guitar, even my expensive ones.

i tried to get the nut repaired but the guy who tried to repair it wasn't that good.

i've never gotten a warranty on this thing or even thought about it.

i own an Epiphone Les Paul Studio, Epiphone Ea-255 Casino Semi-hollowbody, Memphis strat copy (project guitar for fun), and an Esteban acoustic (first acoustic for home playing). still looking for a great gig amp.

if i lost this guitar or is was stolen, i would not buy it again because i would want my original one.

i wouldn't say i love this guitar. i just like it. i guess my favorite feature would be the pickups.

i compared it to my LP studio, Telecaster deluxe, Ibanez Mikro, and various other guitars in guitar shops. the only differences between it and the LP studio are slight tonal differences and quality. the Telecaster deluxe has tonal difference. and the GB sustains more than the Ibanez Mikro.

i wish this guitar already had what i'm adding to it. like the new neck and black pickguard, etc. there's nothing really wrong with this guitar except for the neck's quality. that's all i have to say about that.

It looks like a Les Paul until you get close. Similar to the Epiphone Les Paul Junior, but cost me $50 more.

What kills this is the fact that they put a maple neck on this one. Maple necks are for Fenders, Ibanezes, and Jacksons, among other brands. The Epiphone uses a "mahogany" neck (I doubt it at that price) but it sounds like mahogany and not this trebly maple neck crud. Even worse, it's bolted instead of set. Bolt necks are for Fenders (at least those work with bolt neck).

Wraparound bridge, mystery wood body, one pickup, and just a volume and tone knob.

The sound acoustically is very dull, with a grating edge. Must be the combination of toneless body and maple neck.

Plugged into the Fender Champion 600, it sounds cold and ratty. Loud, but toneless. Tries to sound like a Fender and a Gibson

Neck wobbles like a madman. Wraparound bridge only gives high action that can only go up. Frets and nut miscut.

Not worthy of playing live. Frets are loosening. Neck is wobbling out. Straps always fall off.

I'm returning this to get a Telecaster with the money. Seems you have to pay thru the nose if you want a real Gibson. As my budget is $1000 for just the guitar, now I can get a Fender Highway 1 Telecaster (or if I stretch it, an American Standard).

Chinese LP single-cut "Junior-to-'Senior'" Tealburst! 22 fret bolt-on Maple neck, Rosewood fingerboard, Ash?body! NOT plywood.
Your guitar is not like mine, I added a neck P-90, changed the tone knob to a 2nd volume, added a pickup switch, and wired it so the middle position is phased.

the seedy underbelly: the tuners SUCK. the frets had to be re-dressed immediatly. made in China=possible neck hump in future (god forbid). wrap around stop bridge tailpiece is kinda stupid, but think of all THE RESONANCE! perhaps I shall add a bigsby instead... ...the neck feels kinda wacky...

The stock pup was rad, great high end, just searing. I replaced it anyway with a high output Carvin. That with the P-90 is a very "rich/full sound"... I play mostly post punk, and the current set up suits me fine, though I may revert to the original bridge pickup. Sounds great through my tube Ampeg. Though two pickups and a switch might have been confusing to Johnny Thunders, but it suits me fine, and I still only have two knobs! leave the tone alone!

This was a Chinese factory mail order guitar, made of flaws upon flaws.

This is a good guitar for a maniac, especially one who knows how to fix what they break.
If I had to play without a backup, I would not be nervous.

HAHAHAHAHA!
WARRANTY OVER.
It came with a five year warranty, which is nice if you have to make them replace the neck...

Played for 10 years, other guitars: Aria SG, Epi SG, Lotus Metal Tele.
If this guitar were stolen, I'd track the sucker down and settle the score.
I wish I could afford a Bigsby.