Gibson '58 Les Paul VOS

Wow where to start. 58' VOS. It Feels Old. It does not play, sound, feel, or even look like a Fakey Relic job, this guitar it just has that look. THe neck is fantastic, the frets are perfect, the binding job is amazing, gibson really really did a fantastic job on this vos 58 Reissue. tulip tuners, bumble bee cap, gold knobs. Its authentic.

Its cheap too, if this had the slightest bit of flame it would be $3000-5000 depending on the flame quality. If you can look past the flame appeal and just look at it for Function and vintage charm you will love it till the end my friends.

Standard les paul hardware / electronics line up -.
2 burst buckers, 2 vol, 2 tone, 3 way, hard tail, tunomatic bridge.

cant beat the classic.

WOW. Can you say Pure led zeppelin, allman brothers, pure as hell classic sound. It screams with Every danm amp I've plugged it into, even my stupid little headset korg ax thing I use for playing at night sounds good with this guitar. Its really Mind boggling why gibson doesnt put this hardware / electronics package in every LP guitar. Its quiet too. I have a few "telemundo" amps that pick up "telemundo" and this guitar doesnt do that.

Solid bridge pickup , usually gibson bridge pickups to me sound muddy not the case here. what ever they did they fixed it.

Perfect setup. Frets are amazing. Pickups are good.
I dont like the vintage height rings there a bit annoying when palm muting but you can adapt to that easily.

The nitro finish - smells, feels, looks old.
has that "Candy" smell :)

Come on its a Gibson LP, if you can break it then you are truly a special person.

Its gibson. I've called them 1 time, My question was answered in 40 minutes. At least the Hold music was good.

Look- 50+ year old design. Its solid, if you have $2240 get one.
I'm enamored with this guitar, i have 1 other 59' LP and this by FAR is a Nicer neck, its lighter weight and really will give you a unique stage look, its not a LP Standard that Guitar Centre has 90 of hanging on a wall . I've been playin for about 15 years, I've played 100's if not 1000's of guitars in my experience this is in my TOP 5 of axes of all time.

1 real 59 LP
2 62 SG LP
3 57 Strat
4 59? ES-175
5 this Vos.

I purchased this a few weeks ago, so it's a 2006 model. It's made by the Custom Shop by Gibson USA. It has a boatload of original vintage features: Tulip keys, CTS pots, bumblebee caps, 50's fat rounded neck profile, ABR bridge, Burstbuckers 1 and 2, etc. The finish on mine is washed cherry burst and the hardware comes stressed, so the whole model has the "aged" look. This model has a plain top but it does have some horizontal figuring. You can see the grain come through the paint throughout the whole neck and body. Real nice! It comes with a 50's style plush lined case, and tons of (unnecessary) documents; plus a Custom built certificate, a cord and care kit.

It sounds absolutely great. I play 60's, 70's and 80' rock. I use it with a modified Bassman top and Mojo bottom loaded with 2 Celestions. It is a very powerful, but smooth sounding guitar thanks to the Burstbuckers. For my tastes, I had to lower the bridge pup a bit because I like a smooth thick LP balanced sound-I like playing Allman stuff a lot. The knobs and switch are quiet. Without plugging it in, mine sounds very musical and sustains beautifully. Plugged in, it sounds complex and full and easily gets the LP sounds you're looking for, across all ranges and styles. It definately rocks! The pups are very distinctive and growl when you ask them too, yet, are also silky smooth too. I love them. The fat neck was important to me as I can't stand the thin necks on most other Gibsons. I'm certain any pro player would love this axe too. This guitar sounds good with my pedals although its' a bit powerful for my Fulltone OCD.

The action was set up nicely from the factory. The dealer I bought it from in Tennessee messed around with it a bit before he sent it to me, and I eventually adjusted it to my own liking. At all times, the intonation remained exact and low chords sound excellent and in tune. The dealer also said he adjusted the neck slightly to provide relief, before he sent it to me. Upon my own inspection, the neck seemed fine. You can tell that extra care was taken at the factory to ensure the intonation and fit and finish would be as good as possible. Not perfect, but easily the best LP I have ever owned or played. As I said before, this guitar has the aged look. I know a lot of players out there will think I'm retarded but I think the whole aged look-relic thing, especially with Fenders, is generally, well, retarded and a laughable ripoff, from the manufacturers standpoint. If I'm buying the axe brand new and laying down 3 grand, I prefer a shiny new untouched guitar, thanks, and I'll be the one to distress it. I'd also prefer if the guitar came with a new platic molded case too. The guitar looks like an authentic '58 and has the vintage vibe. Why did I buy it then? Read on.

I don't play out, just at home. After about a month or so it's still solid and seems to be getting easier to play. I use Black Diamond strings(10's)on my guitars. They always sound clear and last a long time. I'm sure the guitar would easily stand the rigors of the road, if you are so inclined. The tulip keys hold the strings in tune pretty well to my surprise. The rest of the guitar and finish seems like it will hold up well, but I do have a nick on it already, so like any other guitar, you have to be careful. Hell, the hardware is already rusted and aged anyway, right? Yes, I would use it on a gig if I had to but believe me when I say I would not let it out of my sight for a freakin' minute. I would probably keep this one at home due to the expensive value of it, and used something cheaper for regular gigging.

I haven't had the need to contact Gibson, so I can't say. I'm not happy with the dealer I bought it from but I love the guitar. The dealer I used shipped it poorly-he wrapped the Gibson box with a thin outer cardboard-paper layer and sent it on its' way. It arrived a bit ripped up. The guitar was fine, though. The Gibson box he used was from another guitar-real tacky and I was truly shocked about the lack of attention that they supposedly promised. The case had a strap hanging out of it too. Would probably purchase from Musicians' Friend the next time, for overall peace of mind. The guitar has a lifetime MFRs warranty, I think.

I have been playing over 30 years, semi-professionally, as I have played in a few bands over the years. At this time, I just play for self-satisfaction at home. I also have a homemade SRV Strat ( I had to sell all of my other axes to help pay for this LP ! ) If this guitar was stolen, I would cry. I bought this guitar for some very specific reasons: 1) The fat neck 2) The Burstbuckers, specifically, I prefer the 1 and 2 models which this guitar has. Gibson puts them in the '59 VOS too. The value of this model, while very expensive, seemed evident to me which is why I bought it. The price on this model is much lower than the '59 VOS which is very similar save for the figured top and bigger frets. I was tempted to order a new custom Carvin or get a nice new McCarty PRS or a new Gibson Custom Shop 336 at this price ( sigh!) but for the type of feel and (especially) sound that I wanted, it had to be this model, and I am happy to report that I was not dissappointed. It's worth the money! I just felt those other brands would not ultimately deliver the sound I was looking for.