Gibson '57 Aged Les Paul Goldtop Reissue

What I've gotten is a 2002, 57 RI, custom authentic.
Yes, it has a difference between normal 57 RIs and it cost afew hundred bucks more. The finish is slightly less bright than an average goldtop and the chrome parts are aged including the burstbuckers.
The headstock is also aged to a certain extend you could tell.
It should come along with a cert of authenticity, a Gibson custom shop Jack and some small accessories like polish cloth, Gibson picks and things like that.

This guitar makes my life cannot live without. The beauty of this guitar is not only of its finish but also its vintage sound. Comparing to my LP standard and classic, it differs so much even with duncan pickups on both my LPs. There are some stuff I would like to elaborate on the sound, but you just gotta try it out before I spoil the fun. You need a good amp to maximise the sound of the guitar, eg MESA, Bogner, Marshall, Soldano, Cornford ..etc

Its Gold. needless to say =)
When i bought it, it was pre-owned for less than afew months before I took new ownership of it.
The previous owner must've took very good care of it. Everything is in its place.

I haven't been banging the guitar on anything lately, my only fumble was that while changing the strap pin to a locking one, I mis-cued my screwdriver and it poked on th wood causing a small depression into the wood. My heart sank totally.
I would bring this guitar to a gig and I wouldn't have another backup unless I'm a performer whereby I need more than 1 guitar to interchange. AND, this guitar will only appear when the crowd is at its max.

never needed them

Because its pre-owned, I gotten at a price which I wouldn't wanna mention. I guess its really worth its bucks and I've been jamming with the Goldtop even though I've got afew other Les Paul lying around. Somehow they don't amuse me anymore than the Goldtop. If its stolen, I wonder how on earth it could unless its being destroyed by flood or fire. Even so, I'll get myself another one, preferably Goldtops made in the 1990s, not the classic or standard but a pre-historic one.

The difference between this new model for 2002 and the regular '57 LP standard reissue, is that it has aged parts and Burstbucker pickups.

I am comparing this guitar to my other Les Pauls which include a '57 Black Beauty, '58 Authentic reissue, 1959 reissue, 1960 reissue (the real one), 1976 LP Standard, and a 1996 LP Classic Plus.
This guitar blows them all away. The burstbuckers are it! But my '58 reissue has burstbuckers as well and this guitar out does it. This means I "just happened" to get a good guitar (finally) where the wood is good and the electronics are great and it all just came together. I could dump all my other LP's and be happy with this one...and that's saying a lot.
I play rock and blues with it through a 50watt Marshall head with a 4x12 cab and Hughes/Kettner tube driver. I also used it through a Fender stereo amp with a Digitech 2112.
The sound is crisp and powerful on the bridge pickup and thick/creamy on the neck pickup (you can get Clapton's Crossroads lead tone on this).
What is really odd is the amount of sustain. It's noticeably huge. I spent hours comparing it to the other LP's and this '57 put them to shame. I am truly astonished. One word of caution though is that with burstbuckers on Marshalls some have trouble with the neck pickup sounding muddy on the lower notes....so you have to lower the pickup just enough to clean it up or adjust tone on the amp.

This guitar was set up with 10 guage strings. Normally I use 11 guage but I kept the 10's on because I didnt need to thicken up the tone on this one. The gold top itself is not aged, but the hardware is. I love NOT having to be careful with it or having to polish it for possible future sale like other reissues. Keep in mind though that I love this guitar, even though I don't like gold tops. When I was playing electric guitar in the '70's ..a simple LP standard with a gold top was what we called the "no-color" guitar. They were cheaper than a black, wine or white one etc. It's what the beginners bought who couldnt afford a REAL les paul. It was just too embarrassing to have. It's hilarious that the younger players arent aware of this stigma. HOwever, with a 1957 reissue, its a natural part of the historic nuance..so I'm getting used to it I guess.
The neck is just like the 1959 reissue..thick but comfortable enough.

Everything is solid on this guitar.

Gibson's customer service sucks. They're lazy and/or uninformed half the time.

Ive been playing a long time. I use Les pauls for melodic rock and blues instrumentals, and strats for neoclassic shred or blues. I cant shred that well on this '57 LP but I didnt buy for that. It has range for all sorts of rock or blues...chords or lead...doesnt matter. It kicks ass!
Ohhh...by the way...the new 1959 reissues for 2002 also have burstbuckers...but it costs twice as much. Don't but the '59 because it will lose 20 to 25% of its value in 2003. If you want the sound..this '57 Authentic reissue is the one to get.

2000 Custom Shop Aged '57 Les Paul Gold Top with aged Bigsby tremolo. It came with everything you would expect, plus the Bigsby.

This guitar has that incredible Les Paul tone. Not a shredder's guitar, just classic blues and rock and roll. The tone is rich and full. I currently own seven Les Paul guitars, each different type. This is the closest to the tone of the original Les Paul that we all know and love.

The set up is perfect as is, which I did not expect. The whole guitar is aged well by Tom Murphy, even the Bigsby. I picked it up at a guitar show where there were plenty of authentic 50s Gold Tops to compare it to, and this was dead on in its appearance.

I expect this guitar to stand up to anything. I own three original 50s Les Pauls, and they are fantastic. This should hold up equally as well. One benefit to the aged finish is that it's already beat, so you don't have to worry about putting the first scratch. I feel sorry for all you guys with perfect '58 and '59 reissues. You must not have kids.

My only dealings with Gibson have been positive. They have provided information about my other old Gibsons when asked, and they did their best to help me repair my first Les Paul when it was horribly disfigured. They were backed up, so I took it elsewhere, but they were still helpful.

I have been playing for 10 years and I currently own 12 guitars - 9 are Gibsons, of which 7 are Les Pauls, ranging in age from 1954 to 2000. If I could have only one Gibson with humbuckers, this would be it. I would still keep my Juniors, but this guitar is perfect for everything else you would need a humbucker to play. Plus, it's unique. I am not going to see very many of these around.

Standard Les Paul features. However, the aging adds a visual vibe. The gold is right (not that shiny, artificial color they often use nowadays). I don't know how they do it but I have owned old goldtops and they have recreate the look at a fraction of the price. I rate it a 10 not because there are tons of features, but because I like the features (aging) so much.

Les Paul is Les Paul. If you're reading this you know what I mean. I love the sound and you get it here. No surprises.

Intentional cosmet flaws, but set up to play. Feels comfortable from the get-go.

Short of slamming it to the ground, this Les Paul, like all Les Pauls, is nearly indestructable. The finish is worn and I am actually hoping to wear it more, gradually over time as I play it.

Hopefully I will never know with this guitar. I have dealt with Gibson in the past and when the truss rod began to crack the neck, they renecked the guitar for me so I have every confidence in them. My rating is based on past performance.

I love it. I set it in the room next to me when I am not playing it just to look at it. If you play Les Pauls, you know that you can't settle for anything less. This one has the sound and the feel but the VIBE is incredible. I compare it favorably to the real 1957 I had and sold because I didn't think that it was $20,000 better than the recent Gibson custom offerings. I am not a victim of snob appeal but do love the feel and look of old guitars but never appreciated any difference in sound. I have the best of both worlds at a fraction of the price here. I initially scoffed at the whole "relic" movement but I am now a convert.