Gibson '57 Les Paul Historic Reissue

FIRSTLY THIS IS THE SECOND GIBSON I HAVE TAKEN DELIVERY OF,THE FIRST WAS DODGY,I WILL GO INTO THIS LATER.
THE GUITAR IS A CUSTOM ART HISTORIC 57 GOLD TOP
EVERYTHING IS AS STANDARD.....
CAME WITH FITTED CASE AND A NEAT LITTLE BAG OF EXTRAS,CLOTH,LEAD,PIC'S ETC...

ITS THE FIRST GIBSON THAT I HAVE EVER OWNED(BEEN PLAYING SOME 30 YEARS)
SO I NEW I WOULD HAVE TO ADAPT MY STYLE A BIT AS I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A 'FENDER STRAT' FAN,OWNING QUITE A FEW OVER THE YEARS.
THE GOLD TOP WAS TOTALLY DIFFERENT FROM MY STRAT.A STOCKIER FEEL(SHORT AND COMPACT ALMOST).
THE ACTION WAS A BIT HIGHER THAN I EXPECTED BUT SLIGHT ADJUSTMENT CORRECTED THIS
THROUGH A MARSHALL 1974 SUPERLEAD(PRE MASTER VOLUME)CLEAN TONE'S WHERE TYPICAL GIBSON,BUT OVERDRIVEN THE GUITAR FAILED TOO IMPRESS
THROUGH A FENDER PRINCETON CHORUS THE CLEAN SOUNDS AGAIN WHERE TYPICAL GIBSON,BUT AGAIN THE OVERDRIVEN SOUND FAILED TO IMPRESS ALTHOUGH AT LOW VOLUME WAS QUITE ACCEPTABLE

AS STATED EARLIER THIS REVIEW IS ABOUT THE SECOND GOLDTOP I RECIEVED THE FIRST WAS RETURNED AS THE NUT HAD BEEN BADLY CUT CAUSING A REALLY BAD BUZ ON THE 'A'STRING ONLY.
THE SECOND, THE ACTION WAS A BIT HIGH AND A SLIGHT ADJUSTMENT WAS ALL THAT WAS REQUIRED.
PICKUPS ADJUSTED OK
THE FINISH IS AWFUL WHILE FIRST IMPRESSIONS FLATTER TO DECIEVE ON CLOSER INSPECTION THERE ARE SMALL HAIRS IN THE LAQUER,THE LAQUER HAS SPLIT AROUND EACH SCREW HOLDING THE PICKUP SURROUNDS DOWN(ONE SPLIT EXTENDS TO THE BINDING)
THE TUNNING PEGS DONT TUNE IN PROPERLY IE...THEY STOP WORKING INTERMITANTLY AS YOU TIGHTEN THE STRINGS(VERY POOR).
THE CASE HANDLE WAS SPLIT AND THE LINNING IS VERY BADLY FITTED.
OVERALL I THINK THE GUITARS PRESENTATION IS VERY POOR

CANT COMMENT ON LIVE PLAYING OR GENERAL DURABILITY AS I HAVE ONLY HAD THE GUITAR SINCE END OF OCT 20005 EVERYTHING LOOKS GOOD FROM A LONGEVITY VEIWPOINT BUT I EXPECT THE FINISH WILL ONLY GET WORSE.

CONTACTED GIBSON ABOUT CRACKING THEY PALMED ME OFF TO ROSSETTI THE UK IMPORTERS,WHO IN TURN ALSO DIDNT WANT TO KNOW
ON INSPECTION OF THE WARRANTY THAT COMES WITH THE GUITAR GIBSON GO INTO GREAT LENGTHS ABOUT HOW GOOD THEY ARE AND HOW LONG IT HAS TAKEN THEM TO PERFECT THEIR ART OF GUITAR BUILDING AND FINISHING(LOAD OF CRAP)ON THE NEXT PAGE THEY TELL YOU HOW THE WARRANTY DOESN'T COVER WHAT SEEMS TO ME TO BE 90% OF THE GUITARS FEATURES.BASICALLY IT COVERS THE FACT ITS MADE OF WOOD.
THE FINISH HAS CRACKED BECAUSE PILOT HOLES ARE INCORRECTLY POSITIONED AND BADLY DRILLED,NO OTHER REASON.

IF I LOST THE GUITAR,STOLEN OR OTHERWISE,I WOULD CERTAINLY NOT REPLACE IT.I WOULDNT BUY ANOTHER GIBSON FULLSTOP!
COMPARED TO MY STRAT IT IS A VERY DIFFERENT BEAST, DIFFERS IN SOUND AND FEEL,IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE TO HAVE GOT A GIBSON THAT WAS UP TO THE MARK,NEXT TIME I WILL STICK TO MY FENDERS OR IF A HUMBUCKER SOUNDING GUITAR IS REQUIRED A PAUL REED SMITH

The bottom line is ... this guitar suxs. The tulip tuners won't keep the guitar in tune for more 30 minutes of solid playing (less if you like to make bends a lot). The finish on my was sloppy, and a little drop of lacquer or glue was dried on the fretboard near the 14th fret, which I could never get off. The rosewood used for the fretboard is of subpar quality and doesn't retain moisture well, so be sure to buy a bottle of lemon oil. And this wouldn't be a thorough review without mentioning that the handle broke off of my case within the first week of owning it.

I used the guitar a lot for recording and performing in a jazz ensemble. The only time that the guitar sounded good was with distortion. It had the typical thick, crunchy Les Paul sound. Clean, however, it sounded terrible, and it always had a muddy sound when playing chords, which of course didn't work well for playing jazz voicings. I found myself only grabbing the guitar for distorted solos when recording and then setting it aside all other times. If you can afford to spend two grand for a solo-only guitar, then it might be fine for you, but if you're like me and want more from your instruments, then this guitar couldn't be a worse choice.

Like I said before, the finish was sloppy. The fretboard needed a dressing as soon as it arrived new! The binding on the neck also cracked within 2-3 years, and the chrome hardware was the worst I've seen when it came to tarnishing.

This guitar is fragile and does not age well. As previously mentioned, my case handle broke, the binding cracked, and the truss rod is unreliable and has to be adjusted frequently. Sad to say, the only thing professional about this guitar is the pricetag.

I tried to get my case handle fixed but couldn't get Gibson to cover it under the warranty because it was considered "normal wear." Since when does "normal wear" occur in the first week of ownership?
I also inquired about having the binding repaired and the lacquer/glue drop shaved off the fretboard, and Gibson wouldn't do either one (the binding was classified as "normal wear," and the sloppy resin on the fretboard was not considered a defect).

My guitar might have been a lemon because it had been returned immediately by a customer who bought it before me, and every person who played it seemed to think that it was the worst Les Paul they'd ever played. Nevertheless, if one were to assume arguendo that it was a lemon, that would just show that Gibson doesn't monitor the quality of the individual instruments being shipped out well. The worst part of that point is that it means that you could have the same experience, and trust me, it's not a good experience. You would do better to buy either a Carvin California Carved Top or a Quicksilver - the quality is far more consistent with those guitars.

Brand new 2005, all stock, darkback 57 Historic Goldtop Les Paul Reissue. If you are reading this review you probably know the features and it seems a bit strange to rate a guitar on features. Some have many, some have few. It depends on what you're looking for. It would be downright silly to give the guitar a low grade because it has fewer features. It wouldn't be a 57 reissue if it had a bunch of bells and whistles.

If you know anything about Gibsons, or guitars in general, you know each one is a little different, even if they are the same model. Well, this particular one is very special, a featherweight 8.0 lbs of pure tone and playability. It has all the classic features of a Les Paul and does the Paul thing better than any guitar I've played so I'll give it a 10.

Great for Blues, Blues Rock, Metal, Jazz, even some Funk. I use it with a Fender Deluxe Reverb Reissue or a Traynor YCV20. I use Tonebone Classic and Hot British pedals and a Vox Valvetone mostly, sometimes a Dunlop Classic Wah. But this guitar does really well right into the amp played clean. Pauls aren't supposed to excel at that, but this one does.

It has a powerful, punchy Paul sound, but none of the midrange honk you can get with a dull, blunt Paul. Very lively and articulate for a bucker guitar. This one is very resonate and harmonic. Amazing bridge pickup sounds and the neck is sweet too. My last Paul was also a Histroic 57, but wasn't as toneful as this one. (Again, each individual guitar is different.) On my other Paul, I had to change pups to Seymour Duncan Antiquities to get the sound I was looking for. On this particlar axe, I'm afraid to change pups because it sounds so flawless stock.

Perfectly set up from the factory, but I restrung her with 11s and set her up myself. The only flaw I can see is some finish sinking in by the heel of the neck on the darkback. Everything is dead on, including the frets. I'll give it a 9 for that small finish sinking. But it is a truly breathtaking guitar to look at. Gibson is doing great with the gold on the Reissue 57s these days. There's a fansastic neck on this puppy, nice thick 50s style, but not too much like a baseball bat.

I'll give it a 9 because of the finish sinking at the heel, however.

Yes, the guitar is solid. Again, some of the questions on this HC form are silly and don't apply to a reissue. Yes, the finish is thin and will wear off with lots of playing, but THAT'S THE POINT. It's a reissue, so it's finished in nitro and will get that lovely wear over time. Like many players, I much prefer nitro to the poly plastic over many guitars today.

Still, one problem I intially had is the darkback is not period correct. It's not the chocolate color it would have been in the 50s. It's actually pitch black. But this grew on me quickly and now I'm in love with the way the black back is the same color as the headstock and offsets with the beautiful gold of the top. Gotta give it a 10 here.

Lifetime warranty. I've only called Gibson a few times for other guitars, and both times they were very helpeful.

I've been playing about four years now. I also own a Gibson acoustic, a Songbird Deluxe, which is just amazing. I own three Fender Stratocasters, which is the type of electric guitar I play the most. However, this Goldtop is such a killer in everyway that I doubt any others Gibson electrics will make me stray from her. It's one of the best Les Pauls I've ever played, and good Pauls are often in a league of their own. It has it in every category, tone, lightweight, looks, fantastic neck and great fretwork. Not all Pauls are perfect, but when you find the right one for you, you gotta hang on to it.

2004 57' reissue Gold Top
Maple top
light mahogany body
2 volume 2 tone
3 way switch
2 burst bucker hb's
Tune O Matic and Stop bar tail piece
early gibson neck - thicker than th 59 or 60
Rosewood fret board
medium jumbo frets
Gibson Historic (steal me) reissue case

I play rock and blues/rock - nothing really clean, I like an edge and this guitar works fine. I use an 18 watt handwired Marshall Clone 1x12 combo, a Matchless DC30 and a vox tonelabSE pedal board into a Peavey classic 50/50 tube power amp (into either a 1x12 or 2x12 cabinet). The guitar is very lively, not dark with a nice vingage vibe and tone - the pickups are low output humbuckers (PAF style) the ohm out at 7.5K for the neck and 8.3K for the bridge and sound excellent for rock or blues.

When buying a Gibson you really need to look around and check as many out as possible - Gibson does put out some crap, I looked at over a dozen reissues until I found this one, no binding problems, no finish orange peel, no corroded frets. This guitar came with nicely polished and crowned frets (bends are smooth and easy), the body had no scratches of finish discolorations, the binding was even all the way around the body, the inlays had no filler, no pinging when tuning strings, no scrape marks on the binding. Many of the other 57's I looked at had issues with one or more of the problems I've mentioned. Another thing - they pretty much all sound a little different also, this guitar weighs in at 9.3lbs and is very resonant, some of the guitars I looked at were very light (low 8lbs range) and were dogs - no sustain, some weighed in the 10+ lbs range and were very dark sounding. Check around before you buy!! Buy from a dealer who checks each guitar out before hanging it on the wall (that wouldn't be Guitar Center) and screens out the lemons. I'm giving the guitar a little lower score only because I had to drive a couple hundred miles over two weeks to find the right guitar - I played some major crap before I found the right store selling the right guitar.

The guitar should outlive me and make a fine family heirloom, I hope I play it enough to give it a nice worn look! Everything on the guitar is solid - even the tuners and I really don't like the tulip style tuners - but so far they're working fine and the guitar stays in tune really well. I always have another guitar when I play (G&L Legacy Deluxe) so in the event something did happen I'm covered.

Haven't had to use them so I can't comment.

I've been in bands for over 20 years - years ago it was serious business, now it's for the fun of playing. I've wanted a 57' reissue since they were first introduced in 94' but didn't want to spend the money - I've gone through several wanna be Les Paul models and I decided to just do it and get the real thing, I'm happy I made the decision. This guitar fits me perfectly, I love the way it plays, sounds, feels, smells, looks - I couldn't ask for anything more. I fought going to the dark side and buying a Gibson for many years, they cost too much, the quality sucks, they don't make em like they used to...... okay some of that arguement is true but Gibson is still making some very fine guitars and this guitar is one of them, I had to shop around but it paid off. The only other guitar I compared the 57' to was the 59' reissue, many of them sounded almost identical some were a little sweeter - a little more resonant but not twice the money better - your can't beat the pricing on these guitars. I own a G&L Legacy Deluxe (mentioned above) and a Clapton Strat, I pretty much have all bases covered. Would I buy one again - hopefully I'll have this one till I die but in the event it's stolen yes I would buy another without hesitation.

I am writing his review primaritly for the benefit of anyone moving from a fender style guitar to a Gibson. This is what I did when I bought my 57 Historic Reissue.

For that reason I am not going to dwell on features. These are very well set out below and on the Gibson Custom Shop website. That said, they have done a remnarkable job of recreating a NOS guitar any for that they should be praised indeed.

So, features? Well it's a Lep paul so I give it a...

Subjective, subjective, subjective. Okay so this is how I SUBJECTIVELY hear this model (note I have the new model with Burstbuckers 1 & 2):

Neck (BBucker1)
Jazz lead and chord melody is there and so is T-Bone Walker. Both delivered with some of the warmth of an L5 archtop.
Gary Moore Still Got the Blues is there along with early Clapton (incl. woman tone).

Bridge (BBucker2)
More early Clapton, more Moore (?!) and plenty of Billy Gibbons. Nice.

Neck and Bridge
This is not out of phase a'la Peter Green, though it is my favourite position.
This is the setting of Kings. Namely: BB King, Albert King and, of course, Freddie King. Great stuff.

With my strat/tele, I pretty much ran everything at 10 for lead and then turned down for chords. This vintage (esque) Les Paul is more challenging. Run any volume at 10 and it is too compressed, too mushy and too quiet(?!). Run the volume levels between 5 & 8. The idea is to cause the amp to break up if you hit the string hard but remain clean if you stroke them softly (just like they did in the old days). Now that is quite magical.

whenever I used to hear a Les Paul I didn't see what all the fuss was about and felt a fender sound was better. If you have ever felt the same way, try this: Play the Fender and enjoy. Then try the Les Paul (uninsprired? possibly yes). Now try the Fender again. It doesn't sound quite as good as last time does it! Now try the Les Paul again (like it this time...oh yes!). Boom. You are converted.

So. Subjectively I give the sound a...

You keep hearing people moaning about Gibson workmanship. Do me a favour. This is better made than my D'Angelico. It is amazing.

The Goldtop is just sublime. It smacks of the 50s but looks very modern even today. Depending on when you are in relation to the guitar the colour changes from yellow and firey to dark gold leaf. Gorgeous.

Set up was perfect right out of the case...no kidding!

It is very solid and I assume reliable, but I have only had it a few months so I will pass on a rating.

I wouldn't even try the boys in the US. However, the dealer that sold it is a gibson fanatic (Richard). He'll solve anything that might crop up. So my rating is for www.petercooks.co.uk

At the end of the day, the 57 is EXACTLY the same as a 59 save for the colour (which is gold!) and the neck (which is wider!) and yet it costs nearly half the price!?!?

Do yourself a favour and invest in something your great grandson will one day treasure when you are gone. Buy a 57 Historic Reissue.

NOTE: Fender guys, I recommend you remove (unscrew 2 screws) the scratchplate from the guitar. It makes it much easier for ex.tele/strat players to play.

This is a 2004 Historic goldtop. No flames here. It's a US made Gibson, basic singlecut LP. The pickups are gibson's Burstbucker 1 (neck) and 2 (bridge). These pickups can be nasal but not on this guitar. They are warm but clear and get get the highs if you need them as well as deep chunk, both with a bite.

Bridge style is vintange ABR-1 (I think) tune-o-matic. Tuning keys are vintage tulip style.

The guitar is a typical single cutaway LP with a full solid mahogany body and maple top, mahogany neck. the neck is beefy (57 style) which may take some players awhile to get used to. I like the fat neck and feel it improves the tone and sustain.

The fretsare very small and vintage but play very fast and smooth and are easy to bend strings on despite being smaler.

Superb. Much better than my old Les Paul Classic. The guitar has a lot of power but can be quite sweet but also can chunck -a -chunk away Jazz tones are available. The tone / volume controls work well. You can get a lot of variety on the tones but burstbuckers are bit less "creamy" sounding than some humbuckers. They make up for this with good clarity and bite. It's a pretty rich sounding guitar but never muddy. Nice natural sustain.

It was set up surprisingly well. Only have made minor pickup adjustments (slight lowering but that's typical for Gibsons).

There are a few finish flaws but they are minor.

The goldtop is beautiful and the caramel back is nice.

Seems solid to me.

I've been playing a long time but I'm relatively new to LPS's. I've demoed quite a few and this is among the best. I'd pick it over most R9s.

Its sounds fine through my fender and tone king amps and rocks with a good pedal - phenomenal sounding with a great pedal.

Definitely would want to replace this baby if I lost her.

This Historic just feels like higher quality than most LP's I've tried