Gibson '60 Les Paul Classic

Is a 2007 USA made Gibson Les Paul Classic in Ebony Finish.

Not much to say other than its standard Les Paul features...is practically a Les Paul Standard, without the PAF pups. The pickups are the Same pickups used in Explorer model, creating a much hotter, harsher sound. Can still back off and do some nice blues and vintage rock.

Only a seven for the Standard LP features...nothing outta the ordinary.

I play Hard Rock and Metal mainly, but dabble in the Jazz and Alternative fields, this Guitar holds up superbly well with all of these especially the metal (the pups seem to be the main contributor here).

My Chain is basic, but i'm working to get that Brand Spanking new 100w Head sometime soon. So Guitar > Dunlop ZW-45 Crybaby Wah > Zoom G1 > Roland Cube 30. My dirties come from the Zoom where im using a boogie rectifier sound, which is complimented by the LP.

Hate my setup...love my guitar.

Only thing i'm going to change is the knobs i like speed knobs, possibly the Neck Pickup to a PAF, and maybe the machine heads...sacrilege i know...i like locking tuners

Action was set up well, havent had to do anything...(yet). I'm going to raise my Neck pup a bit (to get a brighter sound)
No flaws, quality instrument everything works perfectly.

Guitar is a work horse, havent had a chance to gig it yet cos ive been pretty crook but it will withstand a beating from me (after all its a Gibson) Hardware seems great, little worried about the tuners...i've heard stories. Finish is nitro-cellulose, which apparently can be touched up and repaired very easily, so that seems great.

STRAP LOCKS ARE A NECESSITY TO ANY GUITAR, ESPECIALLY A GIBSON!
As soon as i bought this guitar, i bought a set of strap locks, I've heard so many stories of dudes dropping their babies and loosing headstocks and breaking necks SO TAKE NO CHANCES!

I would use it without out a backup...but i use my other guitar (which is shockingly shocking) as my Drop C guitar, so thats kinda my backup.

Haven't had to deal with them

Warranty is one year i think.

Been playing for nearly 7 years, since i was 10. All the other gear has been noted above.

If it were stolen, i'd probably cry, because it is my baby and its just a fantastic guitar, and yes, once i had the money...i'd get another one.

This was compared to a few Ibanez's an explorer, jim root tele, and mainly an LP studio...none of them cut it...they just didnt have the presence i found in the LP...only the JR Tele and Explorer came close

My guitar was made in 2008. It has the typical features one would find on a Les Paul. The 22-fret rosewood fingerboard looks quite pretty -it could pass for Brazilian. My guitar is a quite plain sunburst maple top (I'm not into the heavy flame thing). The mahogany on the back is finished with a medium stain. It shows off the grain and it looks fabulous (My last LP's back was fire-engine red!). I like the slight aged, vintage look of the tuners, inlay and binding. See the 'Sound' section of my comments concerning the pickups.

I don't like these stock pickups. Generally speaking, I am not impressed with hot pickups. I play mostly jazz and I plan to replace these with '57 humbuckers. In my opinion, because '57's aren't as hot, I feel more nuanced playing is possible, The player's own tone comes through. I know some people would say this isn't a jazz guitar -maybe Les Paul would disagree. The 496/500 configuration sounds cheap to me. Burstbuckers may have historical significance to Gibson and certain players. They just sound like mistakes that shouldn't have never left the Gibson plant.

I usually take all my guitars to a tech to have them looked over and set up. Since these came with .10's, I definitely wanted to have .11's in the set up. This guitar was on the Guitar Center's showroom floor, so I can't necessarily blame Gibson for the less than stellar original set up. However, I have not been impressed with Gibson's quality control for some time.

This guitar is dependable, solidly built. However, as I previously mentioned Gibson needs to re-think quality control and pickup configurations.

Customer support begins when an instrument leaves the factory. If the quality isn't good, then you, the consumer, aren't being 'supported.' Gibson is quite lackadaisical about it's status in the guitar world. I recently purchased an ES-175 from one of their largest dealers and it was shameful. Ibanez's budget hollowbodies could beat an new ES-175 any day of the week. But, I digress.

The raunchy pickups and Gibson's lack of commitment to insuring that their dealers display, care for, and set up their product to higher standards forces me to give this instrument an overall rating of a 7. Gibson could be a little more cognizant of the customer's individual needs. I purchased this guitar for half of it's original sticker price. I would have never considered purchasing it for $ 3000. Gibson has also jacked up its current prices. I guess it hasn't heard about that recession thingy that's been in the news lately.

2003 lightburst les paul classic, single cutaway. stock 500T pickup in the bridge and 498R in the neck. no features out of the ordinary from a regular les paul

The guitar is great for almost anything; rock, jazz, metal, country

lovely thick tone from the neck pickup, but there's significant feedback from the bridge pickup on moderate to high gain settings. I tried adjusting the pots, pickup depth and action, but i wasn't able to cure the feedback. I noticed a bit less feedback when I turned down the tone and volume knob. Eventually I swapped it out for a different pickup a year after i got it.

the pickup selector switch came loose from the factory, so instead of it moving up and down, its almost left and right. I dont mind it though, its easy to fix by tightening the switch

very very durable guitar... Once I caught my friend's mentally challenged younger brother standing on the guitar when it was in its case. It was face down and he was standing atop the body. He weighed around 110lbs. Opened it up, no problem at all. I've gigged with this guitar dozens of times and it never goes out of tune

I bought this guitar brand new in 2003. It's my dream guitar and probably the last guitar i'll need or want to buy

Mine is a 2005 model in Bullion Gold. Standard Gibson LP accomodations:
Mahogany back and neck
Carved maple top
Rosewood Fingerboard with aged Trapizoid inlays (really look good with the gold top)
Standard Klunson tuners with green keystone knobs
Nickel hardware
Pick guard that has "1960" stamped into it with gold lettering
Abalone "Gibson" inlay in head stock
2 Volume, 2 Tone controls and 3-way switch
2 of the most miserable excusess for humbucker pickups I have ever heard (498R and 500T Hot Ceramics, more on these later)
Summary: This is a Plain-top LP Standard with really cheep ($40 ea.) pickups.

I/my band play a lot of old Neil Young, AC/DC,...well, old rock. My standard sound setup is (insert 1 of 12 guitars here)-X2 Digital Wireless-Boss ME20-(insert 1 of 8 amps here). Lately I have been using a stock Fender Blues JR. with a Webber Beam-blocker strapped in front of the speaker. Sounds like a LP should. The Hot Ceramic pickups have a full and rich sound that is corrupted by a constant piericing treble signal that leaves your ears ringing at any volume after about 20 minuets of practice. (My friends at the studio asked me to leave this guitar at home for practice) I also found that among the some 8 amplifiers that I have, only the Marshall was able to tame the raging signal that emmits from this guitar. The answer to my dreams came true when I decided to put some covered '57 Classic PAFs in it, Now this guitar is welcome in the studio any time. In my mind, this is the true "Classic" sound of a LP HB guitar. I like it better than my LP Standard with Burstbucker Pros in it. This has become my main axe in just the last few months due to this and other modifications. (See AF&F section) Rating would be 7 with the OEM supplied Pickups.

Well, I can say that the factory setup was dissapointing at best. The action was nominal/high leaving the guitar with a stiff feel to the strings, but the kicker was that this is one of two (out of five) Les Pauls that I have purchased new that the nut was not only cut too high but the bass strings and treble strings looked like they were cut by 2 different people at 2 different times. The Bass side was way high and the treble side was lower but not low enough. I know this is Gibsons fault because I watched the salesman at Guitar Center open the box. Well back home out come the files and feeler-guages and after adjustments to the nut, action, setting the neck straight and then adding back just a touch of bow, perfect! I usually do my own setups so I don't mind a higher cut nut (in fact I prefer it). Took me about 1-1/2 hours. Replaced the truss-rod cover stamped with "Classic" with a blank one as the guitar already says "Les Paul Classic" on the headstock it's self (just seemed a little redundant (again)). The finish is good but there is some orange-peel on the side of the headstock and a line in the binding at the first fret. Probably should have been sent back but it quickly became mine and I wouldn't part with it. Plus this way I KNOW it's mine. Also added strap locks (ALWAYS add strap locks on a LP style guitar).

Pfffff,,,It's a Gibson. Lifetime warranty, just don't let it fall on the headstock. This 10Lb. guitar will outlast me and I expect to be playing well into my later 90s. I just enjoy playing that much. The nickle hardware will age with a nice patina and the Nitro finish should last also. Strap buttons were solid but as with all LP style guitars the button on the upper bout is poorly placed so strap locks are a must. Depending on the type of gig, I would use this guitar without a backup. At the studio I proved I can select and replace a broken string in about a minuet.

While replacing the pickups I slightly over torqued one of the mounting ring screws a created a hair-line crack. I went to GC and pickuped a cream trim ring and when I got home I found that the shade didn't match the rings already on the guitar. After some research I found that Gibson only has 2 replacement ring types available, black and cream. I e-mailed Gibson support with my findings asking how I might find a trim ring to match. They got back to me in 2 days and I think that is entirely acceptable. Bravo! Oh, you want to know what they told me? Basically the tech told me that the shading can vary greatly from batch to batch and my best bet was to take my guitar or the old part to a store that has a few of them to match up. So, when gibson says "Cream", that shade of cream may run from ivory to coffee & cream.

Ok, got my first guitar at the tender age of 9 and went right into it so I've been playing for 41 years now. After my adjustments I just love the feel and sound of this guitar, as I stated it has now become my main axe for practice and recording. As for other gear in my stable: GIBSON - LP Standard, LP Classic, LP Vintage Mahogany, LP Special HB(GC verson with mini trapizoids and klunsons), ES-335 Dot Flame Top (Vintage Natural). EPIPHONE - Dot Delux, Ally Cat. Fender - 72 Tele Thinline reissue (MIJ), late 70s or early 80s Tele Standard (Ser. no. removed?). Rickenbacker - 330 natural. If lost or stolen I would try to replace it with a used one but I wouldn't count on finding one, especally a gold one.

Gibson Les Paul Classic 60',Tobacco sunburst, bought new in 2008.
Features as previous reviews (60's slim neck, 22 frets, Ceramic burstbuckers etc)
Came with a gibson hard case.
Pretty straightforward, no extras exactly. But I wasn't looking for that anyway so I give it a 9.

Being "new" to Gibsons (been a Tele-player for years&years)I might not be able to make a really good comparison to other Gibsons.
The burstbuckers are obviously hotter than a lot of other pup's, and I can agree that when "full on" you get a great full, warm tone with bite,lots of sustain and a bit of sparkle at the top, but it seems to be somewhat trickier to set a good clean sound.
I might change pup's to see if I can sort that out. The lead tone and crunch rythm is great though and what I've been looking for.
I play rock, blues, some jazz, alternative and reggae.I play through a MXR comp, Morley Wha, Ibanez Flanger, Magicboy Vibe, Lovepedal Eternity, Demonizer, T-Rex Replica into a 70's SFTR(pre-master.
As I said, been playing a Tele Custom '72 (with xtra middle pup), love a lot of the tones there but could never get that fat,warm sound.
I give it a 9 despite the slight problem with a clean sound.

The guitar played like a dream direct from the store! They might have done some adjustments but I haven't needed to do anything since I walked out of the shop.
I really love the slim neck and the feel of the guitar, that's what mainly keept me from other LP's and Strats previously.
All hardware in excellent shape. So its a 10, rating the playability I would give it 11.

Seems to be solid enough, first few months didn't keep the tuning that well but for some reason that hasn't been a problem since.
No other issues really.
LP's and other glued on-necks are obviously at risk of breaking easily but thats a general thing.
I would always play with a backup for broken strings, and such but not that I don't trust the guitar.

Haven't had to deal with them

Been playing for 35 years on an amatuer level(at some points a little more serious than that). Been looking a long time for a Gibson type of guitar and sound, but haven't really had the money until now.
Tried quite a few LP copies, a Vintage 70's LP Deluxe,some new LP Standards, but the lesser weight and the slim neck on the LP Classic made all the difference. For now it is almost perfect, though I might change the pup's at some point to have a look-see. Not that familiar with all the ins and outs about Gibson. They are pricey and some reviewers seem to have picked up bad copies which you really shouldn't expect given the price tags. Not mine though.
If I lost it I would definitely buy a new one or cough up the money for something like a Johan Gustavsson or some other botique guitar.

2001 LP classic , 22 frets ,AA flamey maple top ,2 burstbucker pro pups. ABr1 tune o matic bridge , Honey burst finish, nickel hardware.

Jazz, top 40, rock, fusion.Fender deluxe reverb, Yamaha DG60-112, quiet pups.Rich full and bright sound.I like it a lot.

I adjusted the neck relief , string height , and PUPS height , plays like butta.Vey flamey book matched top. all bridge neck and tailpiece aligmnet spot on.

Will last 50 years , with only wear being frets.Totally dependable.

N/A

40 years playing, If lost I'd replace it with a standard.It's an LP has everything I need.

2003 Gibson Les Paul '60 Classic with a Honey Burst finish, very mild flame. Main difference between this and a Standard is the pickups. The Ceramic Magnet pickups are quite a bit hotter than the pickups on the Les Paul Standard, which is great for heavy, distorted leads but can be a little over-the-top for some. The 60's Slim-taper neck is very comfortable for my hands. Great Gibson USA hard case. Typical Gibson.

Suits my playing style fine. I play 70's blues-based rock, Allman Bros, Clapton, etc. although I tend to crank it up a bit more than most. The pickups are a little hot, I'm thinking about putting a set of 57 Classics in it. I play through a Boogie MkIII, usually just straight to the amp with no effects. Sounds awesome. I also play it through a Line 6 Flextone III when I want a little variety. When I got it, I immediately put covers on the pickups (I hate the look of naked humbuckers) and had a hard time with squealing on the bridge pickup, until I played with the lead wire shielding a bit.

As with most Les Pauls, the action as it came from the factory sucked. I really don't understand Gibson's theory on this; I have never played a new Gibson with good action. I knew I wanted a Les Paul, so when I finally saved the money for one I started looking - I haunted every guitar store in town for nearly a year and a half - and just could not find one that spoke to me. Then I went to the Dallas Guitar Show and found this one. It played better than most, sounded great, and had a beautifully understated flame on a honeyburst finish. The price was right ($1400), so I bought it thinking that I could tweak the action to my liking after I got it home. No such luck. I'm one of those guys who likes the action ridiculously low, but I just couldn't get it low enough without it fretting out past the 12th fret. I'm pretty good with getting the playability of a guitar just right (I've been playing for over 30 years), so this was a big problem for me. Then, a local music store got a PLEK machine. I paid $150 for a PLEK job and the difference was amazing. I understand that Gibson now PLEKs all of their Custom Shop guitars before shipping them. Best investment I ever made. Now it's hard to put it down. Understand that I'm giving this rating for the guitar before the PLEK job, that's why it gets a 7 instead of a 10.

It's a Gibson Les Paul, fer cryin' out loud.

n/a

Been playing 30+ years, wish I still had all the gear I bought and sold back in the day, I could retire in style. I've pared my collection down to a Standard Strat, the Les Paul, a BC Rich Eagle, a PRS CE22 and my great old '78 Yairi DY85. For amps I use a Line 6 Flextone III and an old Boogie MkIII. I guess my only gripe with the Paul is that it's on the heavy side (9.4 lbs.). I've had to go through so much to make this guitar play the way I want that I probably wouldn't replace it if it got lost or stolen; I'd just shoot the culprit and go buy a PRS McCarty.

1960 Les Paul Gold Top Classic,22 frets,rosewood fretboard,aged trapizoid inlays,green key tuners,solid maple top,mahogany neck & body,tune-o-matic bridge,stop bar tailpiece,3 way toggle.498&500t pups,[i have seymour 59 neck&custom bridge in mine]smaller vintage style headstock w/mother of pearl inlay,60's slim taper neck, nitro cellulose finish,nice simulated reptile skin hardshell case.

I play mostly rock/hard rock&classic rock this is by far the finest "instrument" i've ever owned,people who slam this guitar must have gotten a used one damaged or something,got 10 guitars Ibanez,Jacksons,80's Peavey Vandenberg's mostly shredder type axes,got blessed last Christmas and bought a Gibson Les Paul!the highly imatated but never duplicated!!!i've had two SG's and they were O.K.but something about when you pick up this 9.3lbs mass of mahagony&maple and the TONE & SUSTAIN!!!off the charts it's very thick rich chunky tone thru my 100watt head my other guitars just don't stack up against my Gold Top i've waited 24 years for this axe.

Mine is a 2005 model made in Nashville,bought it from Mike's shop down the street, action,fit and finish were all excellent no issues,guitar is flawless also no issues thats why i dont understand some of the other reviews,this isn't a Les Paul Custom but if your not happy with a $3000.00 guitar chances are you won't be happy with a $10,000 one either,Gibson Quality control is top notch.

The strap buttons from the factory were very small and with a ten pound guitar it only takes one crash and your done so i highly recomend a set of straplocks,would absolutly gig without backup but i always have more than one axe anyway,i have had this guitar six months and reliability is great...no issues....and i'm not just saying this i'm very critical of gear but how can you knock something thats JUST SO GOOD!!!!

Haven't dealt with Gibson so can't say.

If i lost this guitar it would be like a death in the family and would be hard to deal with,like i said im 44 and been around and im sure ther are "bad"Gibsons out there like anything else but i sure got a gem,i didn't even know they made a "Les Paul Classic" when i bought this guitar but it couldn't have woked out any better with the speed of the 60'sneck vintage features and that FAT, CHUNKY,TONE.Do yourself and get one......it's not a Zakk Bullseye guitar bt it's not suppose to be...Gibson there is no substitute.

Gibson Les Paul Classic 2005 Gold top,maple top mahogany neck&body
498&500t pups,dont like the pick-ups,too fuzzy/spongy for me,have duncan 59 neck&custom bridge soots me well,nitro-cellulose finish
The Gold Top is done very well guitar is solid and a good buy,60's
slim taper neck is very comfortable anyone who wouldn't like a $3000.00 guitar probably wouldn't like a $10'000.00 either

This guitar tone wise is by far the fattest,chunkyist sounding guitar
i have[10 in all] and by far the Finest Musical Instrument i have.I run a 100watt stack and my favorite go to axe is my Gibson Les Paul
Gold Top.

Action,fit and Finish were great from the shop,two little shop dings
only i know thier there,love the 60's neck as i have to wrangle the 50's style,guitar has vibe and attitude all day long the often imatated but never duplicated Gibson Les Paul...the only thing left
for me to get is a Les Paul Custom!!!

No words necessary!!!

Gibson's Top Flight.

Very pleased with this guitar its not a $400.00 epiphone made in China this is the REAL DEAL....I'll take this guitar over any other!

2000 model. Original sunburst. 60's Slim Taper Neck. Ceramic magnet Humbuckers. Aged Trapezoid Inlays. Stop Tailpiece and Gibson Green Tulip Tuners. 1960 Inscribed on pickguard. 22 frets made in USA. This is a basic Les Paul design so its not exactly packed with 'features' but then again it's not meant to be.

This LP is designed for Hard Rock and people who love Les Paul sounds but cant get their head around those thick chunky ( 50's style ) necks. It packs more of a wollop than your Standard LP ( I own both ) in terms of the gain you can get from the ceramic pickups. After using this regularly I found when I went back to the Standard LP it seemed to have a much more vintage sound than this 1960 classic. I run it straight into a Marshall TSL 3 channel head and 1960 cabinet with chorus phase delay and wah added and its sounds like a monster. Pure AC/DC on steroids. It still mantains that distinctive Gibson sound but with added agression and cut/attack in the sound. The only draw back is that all this output doesn't lend itself to clean guitar sounds. You can search all you want but if you want a Les Paul to Produce really pure clean sounds then DONT get this one. It is built for riffs and solos!!!

Ok a word of warning here. Play a lot of these guitars and inspect them thoroughly. I say this because although I absolutely love this guitar there it came new with a couple of odd flaws. Firstly one of the tuning keys is not in line with the others and sits at a weird angle to the other 2 on the same side. Something you wouldnt expect from a 3 grand and up American made guitar. Having said that I am a fan of the tradtional colours available on this model and they are a very pretty guitar. The Action was more than exceptable on this one straight from the factory ( I did play a few ) but I recommend having your local guitar guru lower it a touch. Or.. have a crack at it yourself its quite easy on these LP's!!

Ok here I can speak with glowing terms about this axe. I have played almost 500 gigs with this guitar. The parts are all still original right down to the output jack, bridge saddles. volume and tone pots and all the things that wear out with time on Les Pauls. This guitar is an absolute road worthy iron horse of a guitar. Mine has endured litres of sweat, dust, cigarette smoke, the odd stray drink, traveled hundreds of km's, been dropped and that was just on the way to the gig!! NO seriously I am astounded at the punishment this guitar has withstood and not once has it EVER let me down!!! Touch wood. I have used this guitar many times without a backup guitar on hand. It sounds so good that all other guitars have benn on light duties since it joined the family. There is always room for improvement and I like to be hard with these reviews so I'll give 9 here but really this guitar could easily be a 10 in this category

Never dealt with Gibson

Ive been playing guitar for 26 years. My 4 main guitars are Gibson Explorer, Gibson Les paul Standard. Fender American Deluxe Straocaster and this 1960 classic.. plus a stack other cheapies. Now.. this all comes down to taste but I personally wouldn't trade my 1960 for anything and it eats all of the above guitars for breakfast. Again this all depends on what you need your guitar to do but for me this is one of the best player's Les Pauls going around. The taper neck really is a dream to play and combined with the ceramic humbuckers is my favourite feature of this axe. The older it gets the cooler it looks too as the finish becomes dull and worn. If your looking at buying one of these then plug one into a marshall in your local Gibson dealer and try wiping the smile off your face!!! Also mine was very loud when unplugged which for me has always been a sign of a decent piece of wood with good resonant properties!! Be wise though and play a lot of them till you find the one that stands out. They do differ slightly from one individual guitar to the next as I discovered. Again I have to stress that I have been very hard with my marks out of ten for each category in an attempt to be realistic. On the whole this guitar is an absolute winner and the best kept secret of all Les Pauls.

This paul has a killer lightburst finish. The bridge pickup is a 500T and the neck pickup is a 496R. It has the slim taper 60's neck that is lightning fast. It has the gibson green key tuners and it stays in tune very well. It is a new 2007 made in the USA !!!!!

This axe is like all Les Pauls, you can play anything you damn well please and it sounds fantistic. I play it through a Fender Frontman 212R (who say's a gibson don't sound great plugged into a Fender amp) Why anyone would change the pickups in this guitar is beyond me. This baby screams rock & roll and it takes care of buisness.

This is the first new guitar I've ever purchased that did not need to be set up at all!! Whoever put this thing together was obviously concerned about quality. The action is low and fast. The 60's slim taper neck is top notch. The finish is flawless.

EXCELLENT !!!!!!

Haven't had to contact gibson.

I've been playing for 30 years and this is one of the best Les Pauls I have ever put my hands on. I play classic rock, hard rock, 70's and 80's metal and blues. This guitar is a tone monster from hell !!!

2007 Goldtop model for specifics look at Gison.com

Sounds good through My Boogie Recto and ADA preamp. I actually like the clarity of the ceramics and roll off a bit of highs if it starts to sound shrill, or just turn the mic slightly off axis on the cab.

Completely horrible! They had 3 there...I picked the best one. It had 2 spots where the clear coat had built up as it was drying which I had to buff out. the whole thing had orange peel on it. The fret board was never smoothed out. The intonation wasn't close. I had to refile the nut as the D string was set visibly lower than any of the other strings. I also refiled the bridge saddles as they weren't even close to the correct radius. I bought this guitar to replace my 94 Goldtop classic that I sold to buy my PRS. I should have just bought an early 90s off ebay.

I am very disappointed with Gibson's current line. Upon further examination I noticed that the body is made from two pieces!! I'm sorry i though I bought a Gibson not an Epiphone! Wait...it gets worse! I have a 90 standard as well and in going back and forth between the two trying to find out why it is that the new guitar sounds like a toy acoustically, I noticed that the 07 is very light. I weighed them, the 07 is 3 lbs lighter! I then looked it up on line...and it seems that all the 07 pauls are now "weight relieved" except for the customs and reissues that is. I have bought my last Gibson product.

I have the honey burst type from 2000. you know the rest

this guitar is a screamer which is what I bought it for. I've looked for a les paul to suit me for about three years and this is it. Just remove the 1960 pickguard and away we go. The pick-ups a very hot and with a wah notched I can get a lovely zappa scronk sound if I desire or all the allman bros/ fleetwood mac/zz top stuff by using different amps and settings.

Well this is why it took me years to find MINE. I have not found much consistency in this arena and I could talk my brother into sell me either of his pauls. once I put some heavier strings on and did a set-up I reaped the rewards. so usually these are trouble (I have two friends looking for les paul and we haven't found any keepers after five months (and we live in chicagoland so we have played lots)

A drunken friend ripped the strap button off but otherwise I've been fine. that repair was annoying but not hard to do.

this is one of MY regulars and it is not allowed out of my studio.

This a 1960 Les Paul Classic in heritage cherry with the 496 & 500T ceramic pickups. This guitar has a mahogany body/neck with a plain carved maple top. Other features include tune-o-matic bridge and Gibson Deluxe tuners. Guitar comes complete with Gibson case.

As with the majority of les Pauls, it's all passive electronics with 2 volme and 2 tone knobs plus a three way pickup selector switch.

For my musical style, I play in a female fronted rock covers band. We play everyhting from GNR to Pink to Green Day to Sheryl Crowe to Led Zep so I need something that is flexible and covers most bases somewhere between the blues and rock spectrum.

I'm currently using this guitar through a Hughes and Kettner Switchblade Combo and also use a Boss chromatic tuner, Morley power wah and Guyatone noise gate so it's a fairly uncomplicated rig as the H&K is so flexible and has built in effects plus comes with a MIDI floorboard.

I won't sit here and tell you how it's great for Jazz, country etc as this is not the style of music that I play and I've got no intention of trying so can't comment on that side of things. However, the style of music that I play, it is absolutely spot on and more then versatile enough.

Down the years, I owned probably about 30 different guitars from Gibson, Fender, Tokai, Greco, Jackson, Charvel, Kramer, Yamaha and this has got to be my alltime favourite and this is definately a complete keeper so nobody else will ever get their hands on it.

One thing that amazes me about this guitar is the amount of clarity it has both clean and particularly distorted. No matter how much distortion I throw at this guitar (right up to gain setting 10 on the Ultra Channel of my H&K - basically an over the top dual rectifier), this guitar retains it's clarity all of the time and each note is very, very clear and doesn't get fuzzy or lost in the mix.

The bridge pickup is very hot and has a very dirty overdrive so it's great for rock and roll but again retains all of the note clarity whereas the neck pickup has a a very thick singing voice and is great for a lot of my solos (a la Slash).

This guitar is absolutely faultless in the sound department and whilst I know that tone is highly subjective, based on the reviews I sometimes read here, I am sure some of the reviewers are absolutely clueless (I am sure I saw someone talking about running it through their 50 watt tranny amp) and wouldn't know a good tone if it bit them in the backside or even have any clue how to extract the sound they want out of their amps! This guitars sound is pretty much in the name , 'Les Paul Classic' and it does have a classic Les Paul sound for Rock and Blues.

The factory setup was suprisingly spot on as with most guitar factories, you hear nightmare stories of setups being miles off etc even on the most expensive of guitars. As a guitarist, I know what a precious bunch we are and as we spend such huge amounts of money we expect it's been lovingly cared for and treated like it's the only guitar in the factory. The fact is, it's made in a factory by people who probably hate the sight of guitars, have to set up 100's of guitars a day and get paid a pittance so it always makes me laugh when people get upset if it's not 100% to their liking. There will always be mistakes and the worker might not quite care as much as we do unsuprisingly.

I guess I got lucky on the one that I picked on setup, however, if I was picky on the finish, mine does have the very smallest amount of run in the lacquer right at the very where the neck meets the body and the bridge seems to have a very small amount of tarnishing which I am sure would polish out if I was bothered.

Apart from that, one can only stand back and admire the rest of quality workmanship as it is a very well put together guitar.

Well, it's a Gibson so I suspect that this will last a lifetime provided that it is well cared for. The nitro cellulose that Gibson use can be reapplid (by a professional of course) without the need for refinishing the guitar so no issues there and hardware is not that expensive so again can be replaced if required.

The strap buttons are so small it's ridiculous, however, the very first thing I did was to replace them with straplocks as it's a very heavy guitar and would undoubtedly crack if dropped. A small additional investment always pays dividends when you've just made such a large investment.

I am sure that I could 100% depend on this guitar, however, I always gig with a backup as there's nothing worse then seeing bands who don't and then the whole audience has to sit there and watch while the guitarist is changing a string. How very dull for them and how very poorly it reflects on you/the band.

Never had to deal with Gibson before although I think you get a years warranty.

I previously owned a Les Paul studio for 8 years and never had a single issue, so hopefully I will never need to contact Gibson.

I've been playing for about 15 years and currently also have a 1980 Greco Les Paul standard and a Tokai LS48. As before, I've owned about 30 guitars over the years I've been playing including Custom Shop guitars and sound wise this stands head and shoulders above them all.

When I bought this guitar, I tried lots of different Gibson's including a Les Paul Studio Plus, 2 different Les Paul standard's, a Les Paul Standard Faded, a Les Paul classic antique, and finally 3 Les Paul Cassics. In my opinion, the Classic was the best sounding of all of them and although all of the classics sounded close, this was the best sounding of them all and hence why I choose this one.

Whilst I would have loved my particular guitar to have had a flamed maple top I made my purchase where it count's with my EARS and not my eyes. This heritage cherry was the best sounding of all the ones I tried. It's still a beautiful guitar and heritage cherry is one of my favourite Les Paul colours so I'm not disappointed it would have just been a nice to have. Could have bought a fireburst classic with flamed top for a bit more but this sounded better so it was a no brainer.

If this guitar was stolen there would be murders if I ever caught the culprit but I would undoubtedly go out again and buy another one.

A 2001 LP Classic purchased new from shop in 2003. Honeyburst, nicely grained plain maple top and mahogany body--can't tell if it's a one piece or two piece body--I can't clearly see any seam and the grain pattern just might be from the same piece of wood. Mahogany 60s "slim taper" neck with rosewood board and either yellowed or puke-green tinted inlays depending on light. Kluson style 'green button' tuners. "Screamin' hot" ceramic humbuckers. Pretty much a Les Paul Standard with some mods. I would prefer different p-ups, inlays and tuners.

I don't like the stock pickups--too sterile and piercing to me. So I swapped them out for some Duncan Antiquities-->It now sounds FANTASTIC. A very 'vintage' tone-base which can deliver Jazz, Country, Rock-a-billy, Blues, R&B, Rock and Hard Rock very well, even metal with the right pedals. Unplugged, the guitar has gobs of lively resonance from the headstock to the body, projects well, and sustains great. No fret buzz and great action. I run it through the usual line-up of pedals:OD, DIST, Wah, Chorus, Delay, etc and it takes these extremely well.(For OD I use a $12.00 Arion Tubulator which has the same chip as a TS9, but has a flatter, more transparent EQ--i.e. not as much of a mid-range hump. Works great with any guitar I put through it-Strat or LP--For Distortion I use a Marshall Guvnor 2-which converts almost any amp into a Marshall grind machine--LP + Marshall=Classic). I run it through different amps-mostly small tube combos from the 60s through today and also through a mid-80s JC 120--sounds really good with all of them.
It sounds the best and has the most natural fit though with a '63-'65 Epiphone Galaxy all tube combo with a 1x10 Lil' Buddy Hemp Cone in it--That amp and this guitar just seem to complement each other--from clean to grind, they show off eachother's range, with tight and round bass, just the right amount of mids and sparkly and chimey highs--mmm,mmm,goood! and all of this with no tone control on the amp!--everything beside volume, reverb and tremolo controlled by the guitar--How cool is that?! Anyway, after the pickup swap I'd give this a 10 because it has exactly the type of tone I want from a Les Paul. But I'm gonna ding it some points for the stock pups because I don't like them and I really question their place on an ostensibly '60s 'reissue'.

Let's put it this way--I got the guitar from the shop for $1180.00. It hadn't sold and I think it was because the thing had fret buzz in it that adjusting neck relief and bridge height couldn't take away. Still, it felt to me like a keeper. The shop's guitar tech redressed the frets and recut the nut with awesome results! No fret buzz, excellent playability and great resonance like I said above. He did the finishing work on the guitar that should have been done at the factory--it's a ten now, but it SHOULD NEVER HAVE LEFT THE FACTORY LIKE THAT! PERIOD! But I'm pretty much a happy camper now. I did put strap locks on it immediately to replace the dinky things Gibson put on and I'm gonna swap out the tuners because they really don't keep the guitar in tune that well--especially the g string. Because of the way it came from the factory, I'm gonna ding them pretty good.

I can depend on everything on this guitar now except the tuners. I usually have a back up when playing live because strings break and stuff happens. Being a Gibson you HAVE TO WATCH THE NECK/HEADSTOCK! Don't drop that puppy or drive it into the ceiling!

Been playing many, many moons. I love this guitar, it's great, it has needed some mods--but stuff like pups are a matter of taste, some guys love the stock ones--not me. The tuner issue should be addressed by Gibson--they should put better ones on these. The inlays are also a matter of taste--I don't care for them. But really, I've loved this guitar since it was set up right. I would probably look for the best quality/best deal on a used Les Paul if I needed to--I would love a Custom -- real pearl inlay, ebony fretboard and the cool split diamond inlay on the headstock. I would NEVER pay the kind of money they're asking now for these '60 Classics--$2000.00 bucks??!! Are you NUTS?!?! I bought mine the year Gibson decided to raise the price twice--in the spring-summer they went from +/- $1399.00 to $1649.00 street price; and to cash in on the Christmas season they raised that to $1999.00--frickin' thieving bastards at Gibson anyway!!! I have to take all the above into consideration and give the guitar a 7, but since I love it so much now (9, one point off for the inlays and tuners), I'll give it an 8.

Cherryburst reissue with the 496 & 500T pups. Bought for very littel money, reworked it on the bench, resold it - but warned the buyer what he was getting. Nice grain and burst colors, but very a bssic solid body guitar. Heavy. Slinm neck feels nice at first but hard to finish a set without cramps.

Brittle, one-trick pups that no one would buy stand alone. A change of pups is a huge improvement. "Classic?" What, cheap ceramic pups are classic what? Classic rip-off.

I think Gibson owners have cornered the market on denial. Signature and historic Gibbys are one thing, but these revamped production models are pure buyer beware. Their owners lke to argue they own some uniquely voiced instrument and they are expert at coaxing great sounds out of them. Per crap. They could have done better for 20% of the money. This model is a poor design and poorly built.

Simply terrible. In this category the guitar was not as good as Agiles & SXs I've played; the fretwork, nutwork, and neck set showed little or no QC. A dog to play, humpy board, heavy, spent a day on the bench getting it to the point I could sell it with a stright face.

If you haven't bought one as yet, shop around. There are many older LPs out there and plenty of decent clones that will blow the doors of this model. I rant thinking about the young players who are counting pennies and don't know better and get saddled to one of these p.o.s. Gibson shoiuld know better, there's no excuse for this guitar, and calling it a classic is rediculous.

35 year toured player, who's gone through a music store of gear - and loved pretty much every minute of it.

1993 Classic Plus-Top in Heritage Cherry Sunburst.

Extremely light - 7 pounds.

Has an unusually nice woody resonance with good attack.
Stays in tune. Bridge pickup will need to be changed, bought it used.

Overall extremely pretty with book-matched evenly flamed western maple top, trans red back. 'Burst edge is red with no fading.
Fairly decent detail work, few little things got overlooked but overall quite rocking.
Obviously made with super light mahogany that would nowadays go into something far more expensive like an R9.
Light weight provides excellent sound and comfort for a Les Paul. Plays really easily.
Cool Nickel plate hardware has attractive patina.
Slim mahogany neck will flex a bit if you pull on the neck much while playing, which was a bug of mine as a Strat player. A slim mahog neck needs more rigidity.
However set up with .011 strings this light mahogany guitar with maple cap sparkles while keeping a warm sound, which is why I bought the instrument after it attracted me.

I would be careful of knocking any Les Paul headstock. And good mahogany will indent at the slightest little ding. Nothing unusual about that.

Told me the model designation.
No issues.

This guitar feels extremely good, like an old American guitar, and has real sonic character. It's a stunner, not the most extravagant top but it does have the Vintage appeal. I really wish it had a fatter neck but I won't regret owning it and it always makes me play music.
It's a player, not a sterile showpiece for a lawyer to put up in his office.
Seek out an 1990-1993 model for best build quality and materials, under nine pounds. Later production tends to be disappointing. And never buy before playing any Les Paul, they're so inconsistent.

This is a 2005 Les Paul Classic Gold Top made in the USA.
22 frets
It has an AA maple top painted traditional Gibson Gold Top gold.
It has a 3 way selector switch, 2 volume control knobs and 2 tone control knobs.
It has the 496r and the 500t. These are presently (as far as I know) the hottest passive pickups that Gibson put in their guitars. *Be Aware* if you don't have an amp that can handle these pickups you will probably thiink that their clean sound is terrible, but I will try to stick to the features and reserve my opinions for the overall rating at the end.
The body is mahogany and maple while the neck is mahogany and rosewood with yellowed "Perloid" fretboard inlays. Whatver the hell "Pearloid" is
Since this is a 60's style Les Paul, it has the Tune-O-Matic and the 60's thinner neck.
The frets are typical of the newer Gibsons in that the are high frets that kinda give you almost a scalloped feel, but more on that later.
It came with a Gibson hard shell case with kind of a reptile design molded into it for its texture.
It comes with a pick-guard that has "1960 embossed on it. Hmmph. Fortunatly, mine also came with a plain pick-guard also which I promptly installed and put away the other. The truss rod cover has "Classic" on it it and it also says Les Paul Classic printed on the head stock and has "Gibson" inlaid at the top. A bit redundant on the "Classic" for me so as for the features I will give it a nine. I also wish that it had the split Diamond design on the headstock that I am used to seeing, but oh well.

For me, I gre up loving a wide range of music. Punk and Bluegrass/Country have been very near and dear to me, so a guitar that can really punch the crunch is important, but if it can't play clean, well, that would suck. This can handle it all, but know this: these pickups are HOT. You will need to be somwhat learned in your sounds to get the clean tones out of this. If you have a solid state amp that is 50 watts or less, you are going to have troubles with the clean sounds. If you use a tube amp 50 watts or more ( and this is the minimum I would recommend) You should be able to get them.
This guitar will take some work to get the brites balanced to a warm fat sound. At first i was surprised and even a little concerned. But after using it with my stronger amps I was very very pleased. True to the Les Paul tradition, you can get the widest range of sound styles from this guitar, but if you play a lot of jazz or other fat warm clean sounds this may not be your best best as your only guitar.

The factory set up was pretty damn sweet. Playing it unplugged there was some buzzing, but it didn't really come through in the amp. Keep in mind this: the bridge saddle is straighter than the nut. If you have a Gibson approved luthier set it up and file the saddles, you will be very pleased. I tend to have a heavy right hand from all of my acoustic playing. And if you tend to have a heavy squeezing left hand you will have to have it set up for that or it will get pitchy. The frets are high and if you can control your left hand then you will be able to make this puppy sing.
There were no issues with the finish. Of course i wish that it had the binding on both the front AND back, but hey, what the hell. The finish is flawless. Gibson told me that the maple under the gold paint is a very high quality but since it is a Gold Top, I will have to take their word for it. The binding is thin in the inside of the cutaway showing the maple veneer on top. Intersting. But I am glad for that for some reason.

This is a solid guitar. No noise. It must weigh 8 pounds! as soon as you pick it up you know the feel and weight as a true Les Paul. It is a tank and I love it. I have to give this a 9 only because I havent had it for very long.

Ahh...now this is it isn't it? Gibson lovers have come to know that we can count on them to treat every one of us like we were Page or Slash or whoever. And they do. This is not nearly my first Gibson and they have never let me down, yet I have hardly need to call them. (But that didn't stop me. I wanted to know who made it, where when and everthing that they could tell me. In spite of my seemingly boring questions, they were there all the way)

Ok. Here is what i have to say. I have been playing since I was a child. I have made 4 albums in spit of music never being my full time career. For 15 years i have been palying a 69 Les Paul Gold Top ( that, by the way, has since been painted Lime Green Sunburst) which is not my guitar but belongs to a close friend that i have jammed with and recorded with for all of these albums. Using Mesa Boogie, Ampeg, Music Man, Marshall, Crate and Vox amps. My acoustic Gibson J-185, and my friends Rickenbacher electric have been wonderful. Over the years we have owned and used a number of instrument but my personal preference is Gibson. While this is not thet same guitar as the 69 Les Paul, it is every ounce as wonderful. The pickups on this Les Paul will definately throw some of you off. I have read other reviews not liking this guitar. I can only say that they have either received a bad by chance or they don't know how to adjust their sound. These hot pickups can be a challange for the less experienced for sure, especially if you are used to the traditional Les Pauls. Also the high frets can throw one off as well. To me the plus is that if you ever need them shaved down you have more to work with and less chance of needing a refretting down the road. But they are a bit more sensative. You may have learn to finess your fret hand, but hey, thats a good thing. Over all i love this guitar. After years of playing Les Pauls, one may be a bit thrown at first by some of these features, but in my opinion they add to the overall perfomance of this guitar. The neck is beautiful with the slighteset twist (which is completely normal and even a good thing.) It holds tune like a Les paul should. Forever it seems. The tones are even and beautiful. My old Modulus SPI custom 5 string has a graphite neck and is like one big sweet spot. This guitar is similar in that aspect. Once you get you sound figured out, for instance heavy distortion vs less vs clean vs kinda clean, you will know your knob settings. Setting them as you play woith afford you wonderful even sounds. This is not your grandfather or fathers Les Paul. Using a p.o.s amp will give you a p.o.s sound. If you are one of those that have purchased this and are not happy, i recommend that you take it to music stores and try different amps, make sure that you have had it set up to your playing style and if you still arent happy , call Gibson. Tis is a guitar i will pass on to my son or daughter when i pass on. It is built to last and last and sound like no other. I will give it a 9mostly because i really wish they had put the split diamond on the headstock instead of the "Les Paul Classic" decal under the finish on the headstock because any lettering on a guitar like this should be inlaid and because I have no idea what Pearloid is. But I'm finiky

2004 gold top 1960 re-issue. Regular gibson tuners, naked black pickups, hardshell case. I took off the pickguard and plasstic thing around the PU selector switch. It looks better, I think.

It sounded pretty good, but I replaced PUs with EMGs. They're brighter
and seem to have more definition thru my usual suspect Marshall TSL 100 combo. It doesn't seem to have as much sustain as it should. I mean, it's a GIBSON.....

Basically it plays like a brick. I don't know if this is because I am spoiled by my '78 Black Beauty (which is one of the best playing and sounding guitars I have ever seen, and this is always agreed by anyone who is fortunate enough to play it) or what, but I expected much, much better. The Gibson authorized repair service in my area said he didn't think the neck was any good. Sent back to Gibson, they claimed "It meets specs" Which it undoubtedly did....maybe they should change their specs because a barn board would meet those kind of specs. The frets are made of railroad track AND it needed a fret job upon purchase!!! It still needs one. One didn't help it. For an expensive 'quality' Gibson this plays terribly. The factory setup was laughable, but I bought it anyhow, thinking "It's a Gibson, I can set this up all nice-nice no problem" Well think again. I think Gibsons mass market approach has really hurt their quality. (My brother's new SG Standard had essentially the same problem. It's great now, but it took a lot to fix it.) The Gold Top's finish is very, very good and it is built very well except for this BS with the frets/neck. I play it anyway, maybe it will make my fingers even stronger....

You could probably run this over with a car, like most LPs. I dunno about the hardware, I changed all of it, except the green key tuners. I decided I like them and it stays in tune OK. Which reminds me I couldn't get the intonation quite right with the original bridge so I got a Tone Pros. No more problem. The strap buttons were, as a matter of course, replaced with Jim Dunlop Straploks (R). I can't believe everyone doesn't do that. As stated above the finish is outstanding....but I don't play the finish :) I don't hesitate to take this one to shows and leave the others home. I am not the slightest bit worried that it will break.

Gibson was friendly and willing to pay shipping. They did look at it and re-set it up, but in my opinion they should have replaced it. Period.

Overall, I guess if I didn't own the '78 Black Beauty I would think it was a great guitar. But having owned sevral Les Pauls that were absolutely outstanding, I expected a lot more from this one than I got. I do not think it was worth the 1500 dollars and I would happily pay as much for a used older Les Paul and actually get my money's worth. It is a good guitar, but not 1500 dollars good.

the only accurate 1960 reproduction on this guitar is the neck.
the 1960 lp has nickel pu covers, it did not have a cheesy "1960" writen on the pick guard and it didnt say classic on the truss cover.
no big deal.
i went with the gold top and changed the pick guard.

not an accurate reproduction however,i bought this guitar with my ears like any self respecting musician should.
this guitar sounds great anyone who says it doesnt is an idiot, this is not an opinion this is a fact. if you say this axe is not good for ANY style of music, you don't know what your doing and you dont understand tone and how to achieve it. sorry but maybe you guys should take up the flute.

this guitar was fine from the factory, but it needs 10's and then an intonation tune up. the finish "gold top" was quite nice.
i could do without the greenish tint on the inlay but i've gotten used to it and kind of like it now. other than that, i cant find anything wrong with it.

in twenty five years ive never had a problem with a new guitar, just call me lucky.

never dealt with them, but they would fix you up, its a gibson.

ive been playing for twenty five yrs, mostly blues rock.
if this guitar were lost i dont know if i would buy another one.
its not that i dont like it, its just that there are so many guitars out there i would check something els out probably.
so many guitars so little time.
get one you wont be disapointed!!

I think the problem here is some of the reviews are talking about different guitars. I'm talking about the 1960 Reissue Les Paul, it has 1960 engraved in the pickguard, slim taper neck. Gibson seems to have put out a few gutars with similar names, makes my think they'd like to confuse the buyer. Mine was a dog. Cherryburst, standard LP set-up with ceramic pups. The "features" haven't improved in 50 years, it's hard to offer much of a score.

Simply terrible. I have heard $250 China electrics that sound much better. I bought mine without plugging in, big stupid mistake. Very harsh pups, unbalanced, useless for anything but metal, weak sustain. The ceramic pups are to blame, but the body didn't resonate well at all..

Solidly built, good hardware, but terrible quality control. Frets we not dressed properly, jagged ends, finish problems around the heel. The slim taper neck is very annoying. One pot had friction problems. Cherryburst was very nice, but it didn't make up for the nonplayability of the fretboard.

Everything was very solid. No issues.

Long tine player, plenty of expensive gear. I was foolish to buy this sight unseen, too trusting in the Gibson quality name - remembering the brand from the orange label days. Playability simply wasn't there, it was a crime to release this guitar. Broke-even on resale, which has been a strong argument for buying Gibsons, assuming this continues. All I can say is be sure you get some quality playtime on your new or used Gibson before you put you money down, they've been putting out some clunkers.

6o's classic,22 fret honeyburst with the 496 and 500 pick-ups,factory tuners and completely stock

i play everything from 50's to modern,this is the easist best sounding guitar i have ever owned,you judge a electric guitar by the way it sounds dry{without a amp}it sounds deep rich,a full range of sounds.when people said this guitar is not what its cracked up to be,change your strings,change your tubes if you play a tube amp,this guitar has the hottest passive pick-ups gibson offers,if you used to play'in Paf style,you will need to dail this guitar in,this guitar rocks,i play thru a modded 120 blue voodoo{still cheaper and better sounding than a boogie or Marshall}and a sovtek Mig 100,every sound from cream,bb king,ACDC,nugent,aerosmith,and Guns and Roses it does it all,one guitar

i got guitar used,so it was set-up pretty nice,but i still tweak to my personel taste,i used ernie ball slinky strings{10's}workmanship top notch

a battle axe,just look at slash Joe Perry,brad whitford etc you get the point,tour proven,road ready,only thing i did is put straploks on it,stays in tune,a true workhorse

never had problem,gibson always friendly,find out everything i need to know,great website too

been playing the guitar since 1973,like any guitar you should play it before you buy it,no two trees are alike,no two guitars are alike,if it does'nt feel right,don't buy it,i played alot of gibsons les pauls,you must find the one thats for you,you will know it when you pick it up,if it was stolen,the hunt would be on to replace it without a doubt,this is a all around guitar,you spend a bit to get it,but well worth the price in the long run

Okay so I finally bought a Gibson Les Paul..!! Its a Classic 1960s re-issue and I love it.
I bought it used but in excellent condition. If the guy at the music store didn't tell me it was used I never would have guessed.
All the technical information on this guitar is posted on the Gibson website at:

http://www.gibson.com/Products/GibsonElectric/Gibson%20Electric%20Guitars/LesPaul/Classic/

It is a tad heavy but it's a Gibson Les Paul..so what were you expecting..?

The sound is just awesome..!! The neck pickup generates enough bottom end and the brigde is bright and sparkley....but not in the manner of Strat sparkle. I play blues and classic rock (including originals in the same genre) and this baby suits be just fine. In my opinion you could comfortably use this guitar for almost any genre and style (except maybe tuned down to infinity, "might as well play bass" nu-metal)

I bought mine used but it was a beautiful setup. Perfect playability and intonation NO FRET BUZZ...!!! The pickups were also setup just great.

This guitar is built tough. Since I got it I have not touched any of my other guitars. I have used it at practice and a couple of gigs without carrying a backup. However if you are a professional musician (unlike myself) then you would know better to carry a backup guitar and strings no matter what you use..!!

Never had to deal with Gibson.

I have been playing for about 3 years now. I run my guitar via a home made pedal board (after being inspired by Zakk Wylde's pedalboard) which has a BOSS TU2 Tuner, CS3 Compression Sustainer, CH1 Chorus,MT2 Metal Zone, DS1 Distortion, Ibanez DE7 Delay, MXR EVH90 Phase unit and a Cry Baby wah (not in that particular order)

I love the feel and the tone of the Classic. I have an Epiphone Les Paul (with Seymour Duncan in the bridge (PAF) and neck(Screamin Demon))and a Mexican Strat (Seymour Duncan JB Jrs in the neck and bridge (the centre pickup is stock single coil)but this baby rocks..!!

If I lost this guitar I would buy another one immediately or a Gibson Standard Les Paul.

See all the above

Sorry for my english,,im from Quebec...I just buy mine that is tobacco sunburst..I have read all your reviews before buying it,,,i had the choice beetween a standart or classic model but i have always dream about a tobacco and there was no tobacco in stock in the standard when i did my choice. I was afraid about all the reviews that said that the pickups on the classic was too heavy,,because i m more into rock and blues rock and have always got what i need with my 1996 us standart strat with a sh-4 Jeff beck pickup. Now let me tell you something,,,the pickups are not too heavy att all,,it have a beautiful warm sound. I love to play on the neck position even in my rythme,,,and that classic give me all the tone,,the brightness of a strat when using in the neck position,,im talking about a rock sound,,,but with a clein too. I drive it with a subway rocket mesa-boogie 20 watts and 2-12 marshall..I take the same setting than my strat but put the drive a little down frome 8 to 6,,thats all. I have had many many guitars in my 25 years of playing,,strat,,yamaha,,ibanez,,kramer,,jackson,,name it,,i had it,,i also had a sg usa gibson an a black beauty usa LP..The classic is certainly the best buy i have done in my life..(with my strat).Go for it without hesitation.

Im a dealer,,so i had receive it,,open it myself and that beautiful peice was at 440 in a perfect pitch...The neck pickups was was lower thatn the bridge but when i d plug it,,the sound was balanced beetween the two. Thats a beautifull guitar,,the small neck is perfect for those who like to play with a start,,it is bigger a bit but will fit your hands perfectly.

I had receive it last friday and play with it live the same day,,,it stay tuned for the 2 hours show even if it was the original strings.
Put a strap lock and play with it all your life.

Perfect too..Im talking about Yorkville,,,Kent Bunkoff,,one of a seller,,,give me good feed-back about that guit and beetween the Lp model before i choose that one,,i ask it rush,,,and received it 2 days after. Fantastic support.,,,,I love my strat,,,but i cant give the same 10 support for Fende

If you are serious about your playing,,,,in all kind of music,,,you need a us strat and that king,,a classic 1960 LP usa..You ll be able to play anything from country,,jazz,,blues,,rock...with one or other.
Use a tube amp and find one with the right clein and overdrive inside.
I think that all LP model would be grate to play,,its a personal choice,,my classic fit me more than the others.

Finally I got my fist Gibson after been falling in love with for 10 years. It is a very nice handcraft. Made in USA in 1999. I bought the used one, but there is no dings, dents or scratches. Look Like a brandnew. Comes with original hardacse.

Stock pick ups are 496R and 500T which is better than I thought and this is what I expected for long time.

I sold my PGM500CA for buying this. I really love the colr and sound. This is a real thing that I have every play.

Something that I do not like is a Pickguard with an engraved 1960 ! Then removed it already, other thing is the weight ! it is too heavy. I have been playing Ibanez and fender all my life.. It is a big different

I bought this guitar from eBay without trying, but when I got it and try with my Line 6 Spider II... It sounds great, it is better than any Ibanez that I have ever had. This is waht I wanted. You will not disappoint with the sounds. Screaming and full of tone.

Clean sound is very sweet and distortion is very heavy !

I really like its sound

Original setting from the seller is very bad, but I reset up and it is perfecly guitar now.

The finishing is very good ( should be because I paid more than $ 1000 for that ) Mine is Cherry Sunburst. Color is very beautiful.

My opinion I will not carry it on the stage over 30 minutes, because it is too heavy for me. I use it for playing Blues and rock from 80's

Not so good for my main music I love, like dream Theater, Korn, Mr. Big e.g.

They are great. I emailed them one for asking about serial number. They got back to me within 24 hours. Better than others that I have ever contacted to.

This Gibson is very good for everybody. If you are a guitar player, you should have one for your collection. Their sound is unique.

I am very happy with Gibson quality ( even it is too expensive )

made in the USA, hot pu's being the main difference to the actual classic models. good thing it has the 60's neck, easier to play than the original LP neck.

OK it's a rock guitar. I only play at home through a Micro cube, but with the amp modelling I'm not limited to any specific rock style. I guess you can play folk music with this, just find the right sounds. For crystal clear bright clean sounds get a Strat.

Well built, the action was set pretty well, for 10-46 strings guess.

It's a Gibson. It's an LP. It'll outlive us all if not abused. Put straplocks on it!

I've been playing for almost 30 years, and this is the best guitar I've owned. Hope I'll never loose it, 1400 euros was pretty steep for me! But that's how good this guitar is, I was willing to pay that much tho' there'd been more affordable quality guitars for me.
My other guitars are a Start (US neck, jap copy body) and Dano U2.

2001 Cherry sunburst, green tuners 496 and 500 pickups, this guitar is well worth the $1250.00 US I paid, I had a brand new 1987 Les Paul standard it is almost identical, nice sound stays in tune really well(unlike other reviews)have the same pickups in my 76 reissue explorer they sound a bit brighter in the classic, just lowr the pickups and that solves this issue

I play classic to current rock and it covers all the sounds i need. I play through a Marshall DSL 2000 50W/ 1960A 4X12 cabthis thing sreams for all the other reviews that knock this guitar , you have to know how to adjust your tone on the guitar and amp.and you can really get some nice tone.

Finish was fine the 1960 logo did not make a differance in my sound, nor did the classic logo on the truss rod cover, it is a reissue 30 years from now these will be the pieces that will be looked at for authenticy.

I drooped it on the tuners and it still stays in tune all the time

Never needed to call them it is a gibson

been playing over 20 years had many gibsons and this one is just as good. compared it to a standard which was $500.00 more only differance was the neck,and the hot pickups, which can be tamed if you know what you are doing, if it were stolen I would look for a Classic Plus with the flametop finish Also own a 52 reissue Tele, 1990 76 reissue Explorer tobacco sunburst

This is a 1985 Les Paul Classic, Cherry Sunburst, 22 frets etc. The finish is perfect, and the previous owner broke it in for me and treated it well. The neck is fast and the sound is incredible.

This has the black face 500 and 496 or whatever Gibson pickups. They actually sound better than my chrome face paf's on my Explorer or my Tony Iommi's I put in my Ibanez. I use it through a THD Univalve or a POD for recording. This guitar is so sweet, I have a toothache!

Like I said it was used, and it was all set-up and broken in for me. Everything is mint and perfect.

I think this guitar could just about withstand anything, it is just about twenty years old but looks like new.

Never contacted them, "No Opinion".

Been playing 30 years, this is my first Les Paul, now I can be Jimmy Page right? I love this guitar, I almost don't want to take it out of the house. If it were stolen, I would have to hunt down the thief and do something bad to him/her.

2000 Cherry Sunburst.
I purchased this off E-Bay on a whim.

It sounds like I guess it is supposed to. This is the first Les Paul
I have ever owned. I am getting into a Jazz mode and this suits me just fine.

The action is low and fast. Feels great. The finish is beautiful. There are no flaws that I can see. The only thing I don't like is the color of the finger board inlays. They are kind of a funky greenish pearl. Oh, I didn't find it necessary to have the "Classic" emblem on the headstock twice. I did not care for "1960" on the pick-guard....I replaced it with a stock pick-guard. Also, I am gonna put chrome pick-up covers over the open pickp-ups..........I like that look better.

Everything seems quite durable and I feel that it was built very solid.

I did call Gibson on a couple of matters. They were just some simple questions, but I found them very pleasent and helpful.

Considering the great deal I got on this, and the over all quality, I highly recommend this guitar to anyone interested in a Les Paul.

I always wanted a Gibson Les Paul with that incredible Heritage Cherry Sunburst Finish and every day I see this wonderful guitar I know it was the right choise.

The Les Paul Classic is a great guitar to play rock music and I really love the sound of this guitar. I never expected this guitar to fit for jazz music, I wanted a rock guitar, and that's what it is - a wonderful instrument to play rock music.

It was set up fine, stays in tune and, like stated above, it looks absolutly wonderful - the finish looks so good, that this guitar would be a nice piece of art in any place, even if you don't play.

Everything is fine

No need so far

Beside this guitar I play a Gibson Les Paul 1954 Oxblood J.B. and a Patrick Eggle Berlin Pro and the Les Paul Classic just adds pefectly to these instruments.
You can not compare this guitar to the 1954 Oxblood Reissue, which is a much more valuable instrument, but the Oxblood does not cover the specific sound of the Les Paul Classic, which is just perfect for playing rock music like Gun's and Roses - I would buy it again.

2003 Model purchased from Musicians Friend as a blem, although I could find no blemishes anywhere. Black with white, more of a cream, All plastic has a slightly aged cream color. I would give it a 10 if not for the gold 1960 on the pickgaurd and truss rod plate.

Has all the full, fat and edgy tone you would expect. I am the former owner of a Les Paul Studio that this blows away. The studio was thin and tinny. Pickups are hot and can carry a full spectrum of tone, highs are clear and cutting, mid tones are full and lower frequencies are gnarly.

Setup was perfect, low no string buzz and frets feal great. Finish where neck meets body had soe contamintion, like it was shot with a little moisture in the paint. Small very hard to notice, but a quality contol issue. Maybe this was the blemish that retailer had found on guitar. Kudos to Musicians Friend for their quality control.

Solid quality. Will last for a hundred years with proper maintenance. No backup needed !

dont need them, guitar has no reason to call Gibson.

Playing for nearly 30 years, ive been around the block a few times. Played pro in Europe for 5 years. I dont understand the bad reviews on this guitar. I play it through a Fender The Twin and can produce all the sounds that you expect from this guitar. If I cant get the tone it is because it requires my Strat or All American II.

1999 Goldtop Classic LP.Immediately changed the pickups to 57's and this guitar will play anything .Regular Kluson tuners,amber knobs,SLIM TAPER NECK-which is a major reason I bought this beauty plus the reissue Goldtop has so much class in the classic.Really well finished and sings like a byrd.It's a Les Paul what can you say?
Don't need a lot of feautures because this babe will sing till the cows come home!

I got rid of the toneless 496 and 500 pickups and put 57's in it and this thing just started to reel off jazz,blues ,country and rock riffs like it was waiting to be released for years.Whatever style you play it comes out full and rich sounding.

Well set up and the Goldtop finish is perfect-I'm going to dread the day I put the first scratch on it.It plays so fast and smooth there is no fatique other than having to stand for long periods of time because you just don't want to stop gigging.

Build well and the hardware is beautiful.this guitar is rock solid and I don't see any issues .Okay the original strap button screws are too large for the Schaller Locking system but it still gets a 10 here.

It has a set neck and the sustain is awesome with the mahogany neck and body plus the arched maple top.It is a clasy looking and sounding instrument and I can't see getting anything else that would compare with this beaute.I played PRSs,Gretschs,Guilds and own a Fender ash Tele which I totally cherish and equals the LP but it's like comparing apples and oranges so why bother.

In an update to my last post, I replaced the shitty Klusons with Grover rotomatics in nickel. They make the klusons look and feel like a bad headache. The gear ratio is exceptional. with the Rotomatics. The only thing is that the headstock had to be "reamed out". DO NOT HAVE ANYONE DRILL, MAKE SURE THEY USE A REAMER. it is a circular, rotating utensil used to carve out the holes. DRILLING WILL TEAR THE ENDS OF THE HOLES. MAKE SURE YOUR SHOP DOES THIS. I also sanded the pickguard. it saved me 25 dollars and the hassle of having companies like Classic Ax (which were very nice people)from having to make a new one. I sanded it down with a very fine 600 or 1000 grade sanding paper, then a 0000 steel wool. which almost made the gashes completely disapear. Then used a Gibson high gloss polish to get smooth everything else down using a little elbow grease and a rag. I also replaced the truss rod with a blank one. Now this Gibson Les Paul looks like a real classic. Minus age damage.

2004 Gibson Les Paul Classic. 22 frets, two exposed humbuckers, a 490 on the neck, and a 500 on the bridge. I've always wanted a Gibson, never had the money, (I'm 22). But thanks to AmericanMusicalSupply.com I'm doing the E-Z payment plan. Anyways, the Setup is standard for Gibson. Tune-o-matic bridge. Gbisno Delux plastic tuners. Which need to be replaced with grovers or something. Hopefully some Kidney Bean silver tuners like Pages custom. The fucking thing says Classic on the little decoration piece on the head, which is pointless. Also the pickguard says 1960, like it needs to say. It's a fucking re-issue, why put the 1960 on it? The aged inlays are yellowish-greenish and are taking a little getting used to. I dont like the switch piece, they are trying to age all the plastic, but the switch piece is a nasty yellow. All this must go. I bought mine in a light burst. Was nowhere near the lightness of the pictures all over the internet. But it was a good thing, I love the finish and tint. The other finishes are too dark for my blood. And the Light burst was closest to the vintage burst of the 50's. I'm also going to put a new neck pickup with a closed plate later on down the road. But everything on this is F@#$ing Gibson. I think these are the best guitars on the market. And you will pay to own one. I'm rating this at a 9 3/4 b/c I have to replace the small shit. But overall. The guitar is one of the most beautiful things I have ever laid my eyes on. The Free Gibson Case saved me about 125.00. And is a great.

Sound is great. If you are looking to play Rock, Blues or Hard Rock, then this is the sound for you. I'd still like to replace the neck pickup to a Seymour Duncan or something. I like the Tone Slash gets out of his guitar. but the stock are really nice too. I just want my own sound selection.

Everything was set up fine. the Pickups only needed some adjustment to get the correct tone that I desire. The damn thing even came with .10 guage string setup. Saved me some time to adjust that myself. But I don't really care for the Gibson re-issue strings. I use Ernie Balls. They are a lot less tense and tough.

It's a Les Paul made by the best in the world. This is no Fender. Everything will last. the strap buttons are a little smaller compared to my Epi Les Paul standard. I always have a backup just in case.

Gibson was awsome when I delt with them. They replaced my Humbucker in my G-1275 within a week. And the repair was all free. I love this company to death.

I love this hot Piece of art. The case is wonderful. A combination lock, so no more keys. a silk liner. Everything is beautiful.

Made in the USA 1999
Pickups:496R Pickup in the Neck, 500T in the Bridge
Slim Taper Neck
Kluson-style tuners
Tune-o-matic bridge
My guitar is the honey burst finish
Aged inlays
Nice quality Case

This is a reasonbly versatile guitar. It's good for classic and modern rock as well as blues and jazz. It is also passable for metal because of the slim, fast neck.
The positives points of the sound are good low end growl, and ease of playing.
The negatives are the so-so tuners make it difficult to stay in tune and the lack of high end sound. I think for the money you should get better tuners.

Setup is a matter of taste (high or low, string gauge). The guitar has a time tested bridge design and the pickups are easy to adjust. The frets were perfect (Gibson does a great job on their necks). The switch, volume and tone pots were all well done.

The Classic has been a pretty durable guitar for the 4+ years I've owned it. No extraordinary wear or tear anywhere. The finish is pretty good and has not begun to wear yet. I don't think it came with strap locks, and any guitar in this price range should.

Gibson customer support people are terrific. They've been helpful whenever I've called. However, there is one big problem they must fix. After having some warranty work done Gibson shipped my guitar back without requiring a signature. Since I was not home, an expensive guitar sat on my porch in a giant Gibson box. It's a no brainer to require a signature.

Overall this is a good guitar. I thought it was the equal of the LP Standard when I bought the guitar. I think the tuners could be better, but they're not terrible. If lost I wouldn't run to the store to replace it. It's a nice guitar, but not a great value.

I don't have this guitar but I am just commenting on the guitar, I've seen people rate it bad, now listen,

If you play mostly metal, then obviously the guitar isn't right for you, don't go saying that the guitar is shit, and again, if you play metal, why would you buy a Les Paul?

it's HANDMADE, so it won't be perfect every time, that's why you LOOK at the whole guitar before buying it, "oh no! the inlay is crooked, what bad quality!" That's why you take a look to make sure the one you're buying is perfectly set up, you don't just go into the store and say "that's the one, here's the money, good bye".

USA Made Les Paul Classic 1960, year 2000 made....It has all features like a Les Paul should have. Mine one is in Heritage Cherry Sunburst (too bright though...). Honestly I bought it because I liked the look of it. My uncle got a Korean knock off Legend Les Paul with bolt on neck...I had been mugging around with it for ages before I decided to go for a real thing. I got it as a second hand but in an immaculate condition. I'll list the con as following:
1. I hate a pick guard. It's written 1960 in gold ...yeah....in gold...(also applied to the trustrod cover) how can it be a classic if it has something like that??......I dunno
2. The Jack Plate is a f#@king plastic! I don't know if the real 60's have plastic jack plate but this is a jack ass for ?60,000 guitar. With this money you could buy a brand new Japanese bike in Thailand...(well obviously I went for a guitar).
3. I still think the finish is a little bit too bright.
4. And what about those strap locks?
5. Those Humbuckers. I didn't say it is not good but I just don't like it.

I put SD 59' in and this baby sings like an angels. I've played a friend's LP Studio...it screams. Well Scream and Sing....I like them both but I'll stick with a classic becuase of the sustain.....yeah I mean the sustain is obviously different. I am pretending to be Mr Page and me and my mates think I can get away with that. I am in to it more and more everyday.

Flawless. Yes Flawless for this baby. Before I bought this one I had tried the Gary Moore. The craftmanship of the latter is a state- of -pice-of-crap.
Unbelieveably terrified me! Man I dunno....maybe others will be much better (same as the classic). Gibson Quality control sucks big time. I mean it. After 2 years I still see that guitar on the shop's wall...sad but true. I personally think those guys at Gibson factory listen too much still got the blue.

I guess it will last forever. very well put together.

Im a Thai dude who has been hooked with a Les Paul for all of my life since I was a little kid. It'd been 17 years...yes 17 years... before I got hold of a real thing. All my mates say I'm stupid...spending the big money for a guitar but I'm happy with my purchase. Honestly...very dissapointed with Gibson QC. It sucks big time!

Bought it in 2000.
Black & Tan.
Slim-taper neck
Hot-ceramic pickups
Looks great! Feels solid as a rock as a Les Paul should.
Juat add a metal jack plate to it and you're ready for the road!

I love it! Simply. Sound is big, full and heavy on my VHT Pitbull. Sound is sweet/bluesy on my '67 Bassman. Sound is sharp and clean on my Vox 15R practice mini-stack.

I play it thru:
A/B, MXR 10band eq, MXR SupaComp, Vox Wah, MXR Phase 90, Maxon AD-900 Analog Delay, Option 5 Rotation --> VHT! Then I juice all over myself ;)

Rock, alt, jazz, blues, classical...whatever. This guitar is a blessing. Every spot is a sweet spot.

You can man-handle it or be sensitive...it just wants to be played!

There are so many cool guitars at this price but this beauty has everything I could need.

I gig with this all the freakin' time! Have a great time doing it!

Haven't dealt with support...but
I would ignore any review that gave this guitar less than 7's.

Especially if they don't own it.

That means you --> Anonymous at 09/21/2003 20:05

I haven't played every type of guitar in the world so I have to give it a '9' but I can honestly say that if you want a great guitar that can play almost anything with great tone & sustain...get this.

2001 Les Paul Classic. Heritage cherry sunburst. Standard Les Paul features.

No complaints here, I actually like the sound from the stock pups. I've beeen thinking of replacing them with '57 classics but I've changed my mind.

Heres the problem area! Set-up was terrible, poor intonation, fretbuzz, rough edges on the high and matchstick-like frets, uneven fretboard, with dents, dings and dongs. Binding round the fretboard was a joke, very sharp edges and uneven cut. Orange-peel lacquer on bass side of neck and... I could go on forever!

It needed sanding and new jumbo-frets and a lot of work to get a decent fretboard, now it plays ok.

Everything except the finish is solid and good, it will last.

Never needed to.

I've been playing for 25 years and I am really dissapointed with this axe. I wouldn't keeep it if it wasn't that I have put so much money into getting it playable. Plus the fact that the US dollar have gone down so much that a new one cost about 70% of this goofer.

I had a Epiphone Les Paul Standard earlier, and guess what? That was a much better guitar in every aspect, playability, sound and finish. But I had to have a Gibson and sold it away. My loss...

This Classic is a 92 or so.It has the les paul "model" decal on the head, not "classic" as later ones have. It has the thicker cutaway binding like a standard laike a later one. The finish is amber, top is very flamey, but it's a "flitch-match" top the halves aren't from the same place. It is pretty sweet looking neverthe less. when i got it, it was stock. As it is one of my primary live guitars it has been modded quite a bit over the years.Tuners are now Grover Rotomatics in Nickel and I swapped the crap nut for real bone when i had the so-so frets dressed.The neck is the thin 60's style-nice shape to play IMHO. I am getting the hideous snot green inlays replaced with real MOP inlays when i get it refretted in the next couple months( Iv'e worn the factory frets out-they were pretty durable, it took me 10 years!)

I play hard rock in an original band(no covers).I use this and a similarly equipped SG 61 reissue for live work. These two axes hit a vox wha, pro co rat,echo plex and a noise gate into a 50 watt 1974 Marshall JMP 2x12 combo. Gives me all the tones and power I need.I replaced the caps with sprague orange drops,and shielded the control and toggle cavities.Pickups were bright and harsh, so I put in a Zebra coil Duncan JB in the trble slot, and an Antiquity in rhythm. Sounds AWESOME now. A bonus is the original ceramic pickups went into a haggard black heritage V reissue I own and improved its tubby, flabby tone immensely. This axe and the SG with the same electronis setup are very versatile-I adjust my controls a lot to suit the song as i play.I think folks who feel gibsons are one trick ponies probably run 'em flat out at all times(not a bad sound, just there is a lot in them tonally if you experiment.

Set up was poor-frets were dull and poorly finished,truss needed adjustment, just throw the stock nut away!Nickel hardware is tarnished, but hell-it looks cool with that aged antiquity! This guitar was bought used by me-the previous owner literally bought it and played the hell out of it for 2 years then sold it to me.To be fair I use a 11-52 set of strings and most all my guitars have needed the aforementioned fixes to suit what I need in a guitar.Fit and finish weren't great but just about average for an assembly line Les Paul-The Amber finish has taken wear well-but I was gigging for 6 months at a lick for many years so it looks like a 50's axe-a modern day relic, I guess! since the pickups wear and tarnish made it look old. I put on a regular LP creme pickguard,and a plain truss cover. It looks like a whooped 58 from 10 feet away! hehe!

Has held up ok, i feel. The skinny neck and steep head angle have always made me really cutious about keeping it on stands and in the case. No mishaps yet, though. I put on Schaller straplocs also, to reduce any risk of dropping it-I do this to all stage axes, but haven't done it to my vitage guitars that never see the road. I feel this axe could be gigged with with no backup, as I have played shows without switching guitars quite a few times. The SG is the backup-I use it sometimes just for a change, but the paul never is unreliable.Oh yea, I put a metal jackplate on as the old plastic one cracked.

Never dealt with em,most my stuff I get used.

I've been playing for over 20 years and own 4 Les Pauls, and SG, Firebird and Korina V as far as Gibson electrics. I bought this for stage use very cheaply. The mods I have done have taken place over the last 10 or so years. This guitar has the power, tone and looks that helps my rep as a good guitar player. It looks hot under the lights and delivers all the sounds I need-I prefer my stage guitars to be tough and this one has held up OK with proper care. If it were lost or stolen, i would probably just buy a Historic 57 goldtop as they are more eqipped as I like. The Classic took a lot of mods to get to this stage.This little Gibson LP has seen lotsa wild hard rockin nights and can handle many more! Nothing out-of-this world, just a mid line gibson paul doing what it was made to do! It don't blow me away like my vintage 69 Custom or my 54 goldtop, but hey,I feel thats a different league of instruments, being from the "golden age" of guitars-In another 20 years this one may be just as good.

Howdy folks, I play r&b, r&r, Delta & Chicago Blues, plus anything with a beat that gets the HIP SHAKIN', FOOT STOMPIN',THANG GOIN' ON....Here's the deal; If your Les Paul feels "too heavy" Then you just ain't cut out to play a Les Paul. If you can't handle a 10 pound guitar, then you sure as the devil can't handle a HIP SHAKIN' WOMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!! OWWW Bump on up against me baby!!!

It sounds like the neighbor lady when her husbands gone off to work.

She falls under my fingers just right....just like the neighbor lady (while he's gone off to work!)

All B/S Aside; This Les Paul will play for a long time. 'nuff said.

Totally Brainless customer support

I've been playing long enough to pay for your sisters abortion.
I own whips, chains, and other fun stuff.
I wish I'd asked about parking validation.
If it were stolen or lost...NO I WOULDN"T BUY IT BACK. I'D KILL THE MOTHERFUCKER WHO STOLE IT AND THEN calmly take my stuff back.
I Love it because it's my guitar.
She plays just right and we get along just fine.

'60 LP Classic Heritage Cherry burst. Bought used on EBAY. Ceramic magnet humbuckers and all the other regular LP features. Mine is a couple years old and does not have the horrible green tinted tuners and inlays. Instead, mine are vintage looking but not green. Cream pick guard with "1960" on it. IF you look hard for a used one you can find one that isn't quite so garish as the new ones.

As many have mentioned the pickups are very loud and harsh. I was looking for a classic thick LP tone, instead I couldn't tell any difference between this and my Ibanez S470. I finally changed the pickups to Lindy Fralin PAF humbuckers. NOW it's a Les Paul! What a difference. It sings and has such a warm complex tone. If you play metal the original pickups are fine, otherwise you are better off changing them for more variety. I score it a 7 with originals, 10 now.

This is where this guitar is every bit as good as the standard. I spent a few extra dollars when I had the pickups installed and had it properly set up. It plays like a dream. The neck is fast and the guitar just has such a solid feel.

So far so good, but it is very heavy to me. My other guitars a Strat and the Ibanez are much lighter. But, they don't sound like this either.

Have never had to deal wih Gibson so far.

I am 41 and have been playing since I was 13. I have always been a strat fan but have always wanted a Les Paul. I knew from these reviews that it needed different pickups for the blues and rock sounds I wanted. Now that I changed I love it!

I had a 2002 Gibson Les Paul Classic, heritage cherry sunburst! This was pretty cool!

This guitar sounded great! I used it in the studio and played out with it live once! It was great for rocknroll! I just never got into the toggle switch where it's located! I usually use the bridge pickup and have the neck pickup turned off! but the way I play, I rock out hard and I usually hit the toggle and turn off the bridge pickup! That's the thing that sucks about Les Pauls! Other than that, it's a beautiful fawkin' guitar!!!

It was set up pretty good!

This is a heavy guitar and probably one I've wanted for years because I've seen them for years and didn't have any money! I guess I was in the right place at the right time! Very lucky! Great sustain! Kinda reminded me of my first Les paul which was a studio! But twice the price! I actually wish I still had this guitar, well actually both guitars! Oh well!

I've been playin' for almost 14 years! I play a 1990 Hall of fame Gibson Les Paul Junior TV yellow double cutaway through a Mesa Boogie f-50 1/12 combo!

American made 2003 Gibson Les Paul Classic Goldtop. Mahogany body with carved, bound maple top, 22 fret bound mahogany neck, rosewood fingerboard, Two Gibson ceramic magnet humbuckers (496R, 500T), two volume and two tone controls with tophat knobs, threeway pickup selector, nickel ABR bridge and classic tuners, thin 60's style neck, aged inlays, black hardcase.

I play just about anything from blues to metal and this guitar can do it all!. I run it through a Marshall JCM900 100w with a 1960a cab and it can deliver deep, clean tones right through to full on distortion. The pickups really drive the tubes and the Marshall just laps it up. saying that, I've also run the guitar through a 30w Marshall transistor amp and the results weren't so great. This guitar needs a tube amp to get the best out of it, hence the 9/10 rating.

The guitar was set-up fine when I got it and my Tech said that he'd done nothing to it so all credit to the Gibson boys. The finish is perfect and I can honestly say that there isn't a single fault on it

It's a Les Paul... these things will survive just about anything. Just be careful with the headstock! Strap locks are worth a thought if your the energetic type. If I had to, I'd gig this one without a backup, but I tend to always have a second guitar around in case of string breaks.

I've never had call to use them. Lifetime warranty (though this is doesn't necessarily apply in the UK!!)

This is one fine guitar. I've been playing since 1980 and have amassed a modest collection but this guitar is the centrepiece without a doubt. I also own a Gibson Les Paul Studio, Gibson Explorer, Fender American Std Strat, Fender Semi-Acoustic and an old Hohner Les Paul copy (my first guitar!). Amp-wise, I'm a Marshall guy, with a JCM900 100W plus 1960a cab, Marshall 30w and an AS50R. The only pedals I use are a Crybaby and a Boss DD3. The LP Classic basically gives me everything I need so i can't see me needing to buy anything else for quite a while.

2001 classic cherry burst with stock pickups

i play all kinds of music. i run a mesa triple rectifier three channel, aleseis quadraverb, marshall 9005 stereo tube power amp, marshall 1960 a cab, marshall 1960 b cab (vintage 30's)i use the 9005 to power the b cab for stereo effects.quiet as hell! sounds like freight train but the ceramic pickups are just too sterile. heres where the dilema starts, i also bought a gibson les paul gary moore signature the same day i bought the classic. the gary sounds FAT AS HELL! like Leslie West after a buffet! just kidding love that guy. solution bought gibson burts buckr 2 + 3 STERILE NO MORE. i love my classic more than any other guitar i have ever owned!!!! 29 to be exact. vintage gibsons and fenders, charvel san dimas, old usa deans to name a few. a few of my friends own les pauls and they all wish they had it. sometimes people get lucky when they buy a guitar, i feel i hit the lotto every time i pick my classic.

no guitar is perfect, this one was nice from the factory. set up by store tech awesome. stays in tune, even with extreme bends, finish was excellent

IT'S A FREAKIN' LES PAUL!!!!!
PUT THE STRAPLOCKS ON AND LOOSE YOUR MIND!!!

never a problem

been playing 25 years, said what i use in the sound section, plus a custom strat w/ floyd rose, emg 85, s, sa, and a warmoth soloist i am currently building. if it were stolen i would put a gun to my head for being so stupid! seriously overall, with the ceramics a 7 with the burstbuckers a 10!!! this is a players dream plays like butter, tones to die for, in classic les paul style

2001 honeyburst. Bought it "new" from a dealer who'd had it hanging on the wall for quite a while - thus, the great deal. Has the hot ceramic humbuckers and "aged" plastic inlays which can look o.k. or vomit-stained depending on the light. Old style kluson type tuners. Slim-taper neck. Other than that, a Les paul Standard for all practical purposes. They could ditch the ceramic pups(I like alnico) and plastic inlays(I like pearl - but then I would've had to have
paid about $800 more).

Great primary tone!!!--gobs of sustain and resonance throughout the neck, headstock and body. I run it into a Hiwatt DC40 Bulldog(4xEl84) sometimes straight, sometimes through an fx processor. Also through two Roland amps - JC120 or BC60, Sounds best through the Hiwatt(can't beat tubes).
The pickups are adequate for the styles I play - a hodge-podge of blues, rock, hard rock, pop and mellow stuff. They work best for hard rock or metal. The main problems are they're kind of sterile sounding, have scooped mids and are too bright. I'm a tweaker and I've done the whole thing: pickup and pole height adjustments, tone and volume knob adjusyment etc. What has made me decide to change to alnico pickups is checking out my friend's 1978 Les Paul Standard with original pickups - the tone was there and I didn't have to dick around with tweaking this and that, when I plugged it into my Hiwatt, leaving the settings where I had them set for the Classic, his Standard nailed the sound I had been looking for all along! Like I said, the pickups are adequate - but I didn't buy a Les Paul for adequate - so...OUT they go! I'll probably try Antiquities or Fralin's.
With the right pickups and amp(s), a Les Paul can cover a ton of styles from Jazz to Metal with everything in between - this one, stock, is great for hard rock to metal - but o.k. for anything else.

Once the tech at the shop I bought from did a fret dress and nut cut - it was great! That should speak enough for itself. Other than that, the "bookmatching"(they don't technically book match this model) is pretty darn close, the finish is very nice, the tuners stay in tune extremely well. Electronics work great etc.

You need to take care of your stuff.

Been playing 20+ years. Have this, a Strat and a Taylor. I've always wanted a Les Paul - ever since, as a wee lad, I saw and heard my big brother's Humble Pie - "Rockin' the Fillmore" album. If something happened to this one, I wouldn't wait quite as long to get another. I would shop around and try for the best quality, cheapest Les Paul I could find (New or used). You have to play as many as you can though. The Classics seened to be the most consistent in quality
especially compared to the Standards, which had a lot of dogs among them. A custom would be my dream guitar,(love Ebony and Pearl). But new ones are about twice what I paid and they aren't twice the guitar.
I love the sustain, playability and vibe of my Les Paul. I dislike the pickups and the plastic inlays on the Classic, but it really is a solid instrument so it gets and 8

2000 - Les Paul Classic - GOLD TOP!
Usual Les features, 2x tone 2x volume knobs and PUP selector (3 way).
Lovely slim neck, and I've got big hands, but this seems to fit nicer than my White Custom, and I never thought I'd EVER say that.
GOld Top Finish, what else can ya say, Cool As F**k!!
496R Pup in Neck and 500T Ceramic in Bridge.

This is where I get a little confused reading these reviews. This is a 1960 Re-Issue, basically a specialised model of Les Paul. If you buy this guitar surely you would buy it for the slightly harsher sounding higher output PUP's, not buy this expecting to get the sound of a Standard or Custom with Stock PUP's in!!! I don't really think that's rocket science. I bought this as an alternative to my Custom which has a "FAT" Seymour '59 in the neck, my Classic is the same as Craddock from Ocean Colour Scene plays and that's the sound I wanted, glassy, pronounced high end, switch to mid or neck and it calms down nicely to a mellow less driven purr. Also sounds great clean, you can coax loads of different sounds out of it because of the 500T being so powerful, it gives a nice variation with a flick of the PUP selector. I play mine through either my Orange AD30TC or my Sound City 50+ with 4x12" Cab. My style is 'Brit' sound Indie, I use a mix of clean and O/D and quite a bit of Delay and Wah, plenty of arpeggios and chords and a good amount of lead lines too. What do I sound like? Mmmmm, a mix of OCS, Led Zep, Coldplay and Haven etc, this is the BEST sound I've ever had, my Custom has it's place but this is my No1. And did I mention, it looks so damn COOL!

BOught my S/H and it was set up great for me, I will be sending it to my tech for a Pro Set up and may have the action lowered very very slightly, but that wuld be picky to moan about. Others have also moaned about the hardware beng "over aged", well, it's about rightly aged for a 1960 guitar, so if you want it to look newer, buy a new one

It's slightly lighter than my Custom which is nice, but as with most Les paul's it's built to last, I can't see myself ever having a problem with it.

Never actually had a problem with a Gibson so far, but I have heard mixed stories, so I can only mark this based on those

As I said, this is a great guitar if it's what you want! If you don't want the distinct sound of the PUP's go and buy a different model, what's the point in buying a 60's Classic and turning it into a Standard, save the extra cash and go buy what you want, it's not much more. Try one before you buy and start winging, thats why Guitar Shops have little rooms down the back with amps in!!

This is a great guitar, that looks, sounds and is made v v well. Can't fault it

2003 22 fet piece of art

let me start of by saying i play 80s metal, none of this new drop d massive distortion crap that is so popular these days. i have been playing for 25+ years and have owned just about every guitar amp combo on the planet and i use this guitar run into a boss ge-7 eq straight into my 86 marshall jcm 800 and there is no better sounding rig in the universe! this guitar is not for newer "players" that want to set in their bedroom and sound like a pro playing thru a line 6 piece of junk. i get all the distortion i need and it is a clean sound not like a active super dist. p.u. strapped to a log. this is a pro guitar for a pro player.

i picked it up at the music store , took it to practice and played it like i had been playing on it for years. the guitar practically plays its self. a true pleasure to play.

its a gibson, nuff said, will last a life time if taken care of.

never had to deal with them so cant really say.

like i said this is for a player that knows what tone is and what a real guitar should feel like. it will not cover mistakes, it will not make you sound better that you are, but it will bring out the best in you. if it was stolen i would spend the rest of my life hunting the bastard down then take pleasure in slowly torturing them to death!

My experience was very similar to Ken's (below). Same guitar, same price, same deal, same shipping experience, and I bought the guitar for pretty much the same reasons at right about the same time from the same place (zZounds). I think this is a GREAT guitar. I also have a 2001 Studio and a 2000 American Deluxe Fat Strat, and the 2003 Classic is by far the best of these three. You can see, feel, and hear how well made the Classic is. However, I think it should come with locking tuners and PU covers. The hardware should be as great as the neck and the body.

Not a wide variety of available sounds, but if you want that thick Les Paul tone, the Classic has it. I don't know if you like the LP Studio sound (I do), but side by side the Classic is clearer and rounder (and louder) than the Studio. I love all three of my guitars, but the Classic is in a different class.

The neck is incredible. Great fret-work. Very smooth and playable. The action is low, but not buzzy. Good setup right out of the box. No flaws. It stays in tune.

The Classic is a very solidly built guitar. I don't know if it will be as tough and reliable as my Stratocaster (the Studio isn't), but the Classic isn't fragile at all.

I highly recommend this guitar. I also highly recommend zZounds.com. I don't work for them and I don't know anyone who does. I don't buy or sell things on Ebay, so I have no interest in helping guitar prices rise. I'd really prefer guitar prices to fall. From my point of view, it's very hard to pay more than a grand for a guitar. However, the Classic is worth it. It really is.

Borrowed, not bought, Cherryburst. Slim-taper, ceramic pickups and all the rest discussed below. Looks and feels fine, though LP's are not comfortable guitars, take it or leave it - you're back in the sixtys .

Well I think it sounds pretty terrible, and my Marshall, Rivera & Fenders are pretty good tube amps - thank you. This guitar was a mistake - what Gibson's trying to copy is beyond me. I would never gig with this thing, how mono-tone! It has no sweet spot. Well, to each his own.

OK, nothing great. There are so many cool guitars at this price point it's hard to get excited by one more trick LP

I would ignore any review that gave this guitar`10s, I think they're trying to pump the score for eBay. I you like this guitar, great, but if you looking and undecided you really should play the field a little before you put your money down. I think most serious guitarist would say there are much better ways to spend your money.

2003, 1960 Les Paul Classic Gold Top (Bullion Gold) with Hardshell Case, purchased online from zZounds.com for $1499 with a subsequent $200 price match reduction. Total paid was $1299 including shipping!

Two high-output 496R and 500T ceramic humbuckers, vintage tuners with pearl buttons, greenish-tint anvil fretboard inlays, amber tophat tone & volume knobs, '60s slim taper mahogany set neck with rosewood fingerboard and medium-jumbo frets. Bullion Gold finish on carved maple top on a mahogany body. Back, sides and rear of neck and body are light-stained.

A very pleasing buying experience from zZounds.com! Guitar and case were shipped in a sealed, factory-fresh Gibson cardboard box which was inside a zZounds-packed cardboard box. No outward dents or scuffs on the box! Both UPS and zZounds are to be commended for quick and pleasing service. Ever notice how sometimes when you receive shipped items the box looks like hell and you wonder if someone along the way opened it? With this shipment, everything was perfect!

I play Blues, Rock 'n Roll, and Country Rock through a Peavey Delta Blues 1 x 15" combo tube amp. My new Les Paul Classic can sound clean and warm or nasty and dirty depending where you set the tone and volume controls on the guitar and amp. Frankly, I don't see what the negative comments are about regarding the 496R and 500T ceramic humbuckers on this guitar. My feeling is that Les Pauls, in general, and this guitar, in particular, with its ceramic-based humbuckers MUST be used through a reasonably good-quality tube amplifier. Why would anybody use anything but a tube amplifier with a Les Paul? The Peavey Delta Blues 1 x 15" is the best tube amp you can buy for the money ($425 to $490) and is representative of a good starting point to consider for an amp to use with this Les Paul or any other model Les Paul. The 15" speaker lets the lows, midrange, and highs of the Les Paul Classic sound out whether you're playing clean or dirty.

If you feel the output of the ceramic-based humbuckers is overloading your amp input, just turn the guitar volume controls back a bit. The Peavey Delta Blues has a good amount of input headroom to keep things clean, and then of course it also has the overdrive channel if you want to get real dirty.

I wouldn't hesitate to use this guitar for most kinds of music. It has the tonal versatility to adapt to almost anything.

I love the gold finish on this guitar! I've always wanted a Les Paul Goldtop and now I have one at a fraction of the cost of an original 1950s/1960s model!

My guitar came from Gibson reasonably well setup. The guitar fit and finish are FLAWLESS! Now that I've had the guitar for two weeks and decided it's a keeper, I will adjust the bass side of the Tune-O-Matic bridge down a half to a full turn. Also, I will bring the bass side of of the 496R pickup up about a turn on the screw. Also, I'll change the strings to Elixer 1046E Nanoweb. The only negative comment I have about this guitar is the Gibson Brite Wire strings that came on this guitar exhibited a bit of shredding of the D-string wrap wire above the nut. I've read other comments about Gibson-installed strings not being in the best of shape when getting a new guitar. These widespread comments are, apparently, with merit. If the strings were in excellent shape, I would have given the guitar a 10. Of course, every guitarist changes the strings on a new guitar soon after receiving their axe so this is kind of a moot point.

Along with my Les Paul Classic, I ordered a set of Schaller Strap Locks. I feel these are a necessity as the Gibson-installed strap buttons are a bit small for peace-of-mind playing.

The guitar is quite heavy, about 9 pounds, and seems very solid and well-built. With a little tender-loving care, I'm sure it'll stand up to the rigors of home and club use. All hardware is solid and electrical components are smooth and noise-free. If you're a hard-working, gigging musician, you may consider changing the old-style Kluson tuners to something more rugged.

The finish is nitro-cellulose lacquer and seems fairly thick so I think this guitar will last as long as any quality guitar out there.

I've had other Les Pauls over the years but this Les Paul Classic is my first in almost 20 years. I've never dealt with Gibson, so I don't know how well their service is. I've heard some good and bad things about them, and I suppose, like most companies, a great deal of a customer's perception of a company's support depends on who happens to pick up the phone when you call.

I've been playing for about 40 years and had many guitars, both electric and acoustic of all major brands. Currently, along with my new Les Paul Classic, I own a Martin HD-28 acoustic, a Takamine J-15E acoustic/electric jazz arch top, and a Fender Squier Stratocaster. My amp is a Peavey Delta Blues 1 x 15" combo tube amp.

If this guitar were lost or stolen, I would rush to get another. Simply put, with this guitar selling for anywhere from $1299 to $1679 depending on finish color and dealer, there is no excuse not to purchase a Les Paul Classic! Why go for an Epiphone Elitist Series Les Paul when you can have the real thing for as little as $250 more? Why buy a Les Paul Standard for $2000 when the Les Paul Classic is quality-wise a Les Paul Standard? The only real difference is the Les Paul Standard has Alnico 5 based humbuckers and lacks a pick guard. If you really prefer the sound of the alnico 5 based humbuckers, you can buy them for about $80 a piece and swap-out the ceramic humbuckers that come with the Les Paul Classic.

To summarize, if you're looking for the sound, looks, and feel of a real Les Paul at a bargain price, buy a Les Paul Classic! You'll be very pleased!

bought brand new in 91. i have two black customs as well, an 84 and an 88.and a 78 deluxe. the classic has the thin wide neck that only a 1960 lp has. not the round fat 59 neck like on the standard and customs.it has a maple top, but not figured. this was the way these guitars were supposed to come. very very few real 1960 lp's have a highly figured top. mine looks very authentic.the newer versions have classic written in where it says les paul model on the head stock. i removed the pickguard and put in a blank truss rod cover . this also said classic on it.

nothing sounds as good as a les paul.NOTHING. its the guitar all others are compared to,and aspire to be like.however. when i got this guitar it didnt sound as good as my other les pauls. so i didnt play it as much. after about five or six years, it really came around. now it sounds better than all my other guitars.(i have 12)it takes a guitar a few years to become itself,as the wood ages, and nerons or molecules whatever, become placed .scientific? yeah well its true. thats why a 59 les paul sounds the way it does. years of playing and vibrating. at first i changed the pick ups for some seymour duncans. a jb and a jazz neck. but i have since put back in the originals. they sound great.the neck on this guitar is what i really love.thin and wide. the other lp's feel like a baseball bat.

fit and finish is typical gibson . good but not great.the frets still needed a decent dressing, which is pretty sad for a brand new instrument of this value.

12 years of heavy club and studio use. this thing is built to take it. mines a little beat up, but i dont baby my guitars. its a work horse, i make my living playing guitar.its had two fret dressings, just from so much use. other then that no problems .

never called em.

been playing for over 20 years. i use a rack set up.typical 80's style. marshall JMP-1 preamp, ADA MP-1 preamp, el-84 power amp, quadraverb, intellifex, 4x12 cab with green back 25 watt celestions. midi controller.i love this guitar ,its been a real good friend over the years, i couldnt imagine not having it. these are the guitars that ya can leave to your son when ya die( not like leavin a jackson or an ibanez behind). the Gibson will increase in value and get better with age.if it was stolen i would hunt down the prick that stole it and rip his head off.you can get one of these les pauls for quite a bit less than a regular standard and way less than a custom. its a real deal when ya start pricing LP's.im gonna be get a new one in the next a couple of months.

2003 model heritage cherry sunburst
standaqrd gibson set up 2 humbuckers 4 knobs yada yada yada.....

I have read several of these reviews and i keep hearing the same thing my ibanez is better it sounds like crap through my amp etc... First off a les paul is well a les paul it is probably the best all around guitar save for drop tuning death shread stuff. However; in its element which is hooked up to a all tube amp and the gain settings are set for something reasonable this and all les pauls will sing like an angel. It was not meant to be a dimbag darrel shred machine. and yes there are guitars that do that sound much better and if that is your sound by all means more power to you and look at those guitars that do that well. The les paul is and always will be all about tone and sustain. There is probably not a ibanez, jackson, bc rich alive that can compete with a les paul in that catagory just plugged into an amp with no effects , no processors, no active pickups, just an amp and cord.

its a les paul its been rocking and gigging for more than 40 years its reputation stands alone

limited lifetime warranty, gibson has always been great to me and everyone else i have ever met.

I am not knocking all the other players out there who hated this guitar. It just may not have been the right guitar for their style of music. I have been playing now for over 25 years, I play everything from classic rock (which this guitar was made for), blues, country, eighites metal( for which i use an early eighties Bc rich custom shop warlock loaded with semour duncan screamin deamons) Martin d-45 accoustic, carvin x100a tube amp, laney Aor Tube head, marshall JMP 50 watt head, ampeg and marshall cabniets. 1987 custom shop stratocaster (loaded with semour duncan little 59's and JB jr's) for getting that classic cream, lynyrd skynyrd, allman brothers, zztop, kiss, nugent,sabbath, tone you got to have a gibson and tubes.

Ok being a bit of a sucker for Les Pauls I've got hold of a LP Classic and it goes with my other two LPs (a Special and a Standard). I read some of the reviews on this database before making my mind up. Yes I thought the comments on the pick-ups were like picking on the nits a bit! However, I digress. A lightburst with a great finish. It's a tad ligher than my Standard. Of course the p.u.s have a bit of gain, but it's a useful contrast to the LP Standard. Overall, a good guitar. Some have suggested that the Classic needs the '57 p.u.s that are on the Historic series, I'd point out that the price goes with that improvement and I think that the price is right and if you really want to buy a retro, and yet be up to date get a pre-2002 LP.

There are a lot of things to like about the Classic. The sound is rock and my particular one has enough sustain for me to go and have a pee and come back! Even on a clean setting on the amp it bites. I have set-up on my amp EQ so that I get a subtle variety of sounds from the selctor switch choices. I have to admit it would have been better to have had the covers, but more down to the fact that they would give an authentic feel in the retro dept. I may decide to get them covered later.

When I got this guitar I got home and found the selector switch was a bit loose, no problem just tighten it up. The maple top looks fantastic and has a few dark spots I assume are filler, they just add to that aged 'been around' look. The action is spot on for me, then again I have yet to fit my choice of strings (Ernie Ball Hybrids) and that will change the action a bit. Overall the tuners, pick-ups, neck and finish are good.

Like any guitar if you play hard, it's going to suffer. I have fitted Schaller strap locks, as I always do, on all my guitars. I bought it because I didn't like the idea of a new LP with burstbuckers (I'm not Gary Moore), I wanted a retro. It is also an investment as LPs slowly gain value, plus I want to leave something behind for my daughter. But other than that it will be used for studio and live work. In regards to the finish it will wear away slowly and unless you go for that fresh out of the bag everytime look a working guitar is for me.

I have only ever contacted Gibson to check serial numbers on my guitar and they always get back the next day, which is nice.

Taking the building angle, yeah I'd try and save this guitar, if not the LP Standard, if I can't save anything no worries they are insured! If it got nicked then I pray the thing loses it's voice until I get it back. If I had a choice (who can say anything different) I'd get an Historic, but a small budget means getting the same again, no problem. My rather humble collection of guitars and my modest set-up means that I am happy and no longer in need of going guitar shopping anymore. As for my choice, it's a Classic in finish, but with a modernish sound. I have read people moaning about fret dressing this, pick-ups that, and nit, nit, nits the other c'mon guys it's not a Standard and it's not an Historic, it's compromise, but a bloody good one. If you want something a bit different and cannot afford either the Standard or Historic then the Classic is a good choice.

Les Paul Classic. Originally purchased used in 1993 in immaculate mint condition. Date stamped inside of body under the p/u dates her at 1991, but serial # dates her as being one of the first 500 made in 1990! It says Les Paul Model on the headstock and not 'classic'. The only place Classic appears is on the pick-guard (now removed) and on the truss-rod cover - which is written is THIN gold script instead of the heavy gold now used. Standard Les Paul layout with 2 humbuckers, 2 tone, 2 volume controls, three-way switch. Nothing out of the ordinary for a Paul. Originally came with the standard '60 classic 490 and 500 series ceramic pickups - more on that later. Finish is non-flamed top with cream-binding, in tobacco-burst finish. Wished it could have been a nice flame-top, but it was used and I wasn't complaining about the cheap price tag. Housed in the classic pimping-pink-plush Gibson case. Originally came with standard strap buttons but out of necessity I replaced them with strap-locks which SHOULD be standard equipment on high-dollar guitars like this. Go ahead and drop your $200 Mexican strat, but most people get pissed off when the strap slips off their $1000-plus Gibson!

Originally I purchased this guitar in my lust for a Les Paul and found that the ceramic p/u's were nicely suited for the high-gain, harmonic-laden, alt-punk-grunge type of music I was playing back in 93'. But as my music taste moved to more classic rock and my tonal palate matured I realized that the original p/u's were just not giving me the full Les Paul sound I was looking for. Especially the 500T bridge p/u that sounded distinctively nasally and prevented me from getting a truely clean and smooth sound from ANY amp I tried. I eventually got fed up and switched over to a set of genuine Gibosn 57 Classic PAF's, mounting a 57 Classic in the neck position and a 57 Plus in the bridge. Ever since then my Les Paul has turned into my Pearly Gates of all my guitars (13 and growing). Everything you read about the 60' Les Paul Classic stock p/u's is true (they suck!) - DUMP THEM and put a set of Antiquity's or Classic PAF's in to replace the ceramic crap that's in there. The sound NOW is full-bodied and resonant and just SINGS. The overall tone of the guitar rich and vibrant thanks to the lighter-than-usual weight at 8.25 lbs, making the whole guitar just resonate with every chord. This is how a truely great instrument should be. So if I were to rate her I'd say out-of-the-box she was a 7 but now with the PAF's she's an 11! That might be a good marketing tool for Gibson, you never know. So I'll have to rate this a 9 simply because it didn't originally come that way.

When originally purchased in '93 she was a pristine example of the top-notch quality that Gibson put out. The finish can only be described as "Fine Furniture", not a music instrument, with a finish you dive into!. Just beautiful. And now, especially after 10 years of bars, gigs, partys, rehearsals, recording and jam sessions the finish has worn to a beautiful, truely-vintage look that compliments the yellowed bindings and p/u rings, making the guitar look like a real 40 year old relic. The frets are dressed nicely and the binding is smooth and even over the entire body and neck. The action is absolutely butter with a set of 9's on her and playes like a dream. Originally a gorgeous 10 she's only improved with her vintage vibe.

Electronically the hardware has performed flawlessly over 10 years of hard abuse and wear and tear. Even the three-way toggle switch is still amazingly tight despite years of slamming the switch back and forth quickly for on/off tremolo effects. The pots are smooth and have remained crackle-free all it's life. I'm very impressed with the quality of parts that Gibson has used. The neck however has suffered the not-to-uncommon problem of head stock breakage when it fell off a stand in a studio back in 96. After a beautiful repair job done by Elderly Instruments in Lansing, MI, the head stock has performed better than usual and has stayed strong and true. So for Electronics and hardware I'll say a 10 but as far as neck strength goes, Fender blows this one out of the water. Don't bang into ANYTHING with her and watch that headstock!! The case that all nice gibsons come in is nice but it's not exactly something that's road-worthy. The leather-wrapped handle has come undone and there have been lots of other chips and nicks taken out of it in the past years. I wouldn't change the case, just for original-vintage sake, but if I ever went on the road again I would get a nice thick road case instead. the frets have held up beautifully and have never needed any work.

Never used. Still have the original hang-tags and warranty card!

I have been playing guitar for 14 years in several working bands, playing two nights a week now for the past 8 years. I've gone through alot of gear, some good, some bad and feel that my setup has finally reached a nice stage where I have my perfect sound and setup with a guitar I'll take to my grave. Of my 13 other guitars, ranging from American Strat's, Tele's, Kramers', ESP, Ibanez, Dano's, Washburns... this is my Pearly Gates of my herd. My amps range from Fender M-80, Ampeg VL 1002, Crate, a vintage 55 Gibson Les Paul amp, and now to a Line 6 Flextone2. If I had a fire at my house this is one thing I'd take with me out the door and save. If I had to replace it, I would definately look for another one of the same vintage (early 90's) since I do NOT like the newer models. The binding on some of the newer classics are un-even, the guitars weight almost 2 lbs more in some cases, and the price has gotten outrageous for one. I would definately get one used through a dealer and replace the pickups again with PAFs'. Used Classic Reissue's are very resonably priced and I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one. I have compared it to many new Les Pauls - from classic to standard to historic series and I have to admit that the early 90's series is on par with the BEST that Gibson ever made. As a testiment to this is the staff at Guitar Center drools over this baby whenever I bring her in for something. Everyone raves about how light and resonate it is and how easy the action plays and the tone! Everytime I see one on Ebay I bid... Simply put... skip the Historic and get an older (early 90's) Classic and put the money you save into a better set of pickups - sell the old ones on Ebay for extra cash. So dispite the extra cash for new p/u's it's still an incredible value.

LesPaul dold top 1-60 re-issue. Made in 1994. It has 500T and 496R pups, although they were changed, too harsh for my taste. Maple top, Mahogony body and neck, Rosewood figerboard, 22 frets. Nice guitar very solid accoustic sound.

I play Blues - Rock, and it siuts me just fine. I play through a modified Traynor YSR-1. I only use a little delay, and a wah wah. Has a nice sweet and creamy sound now that I changed the pickups

I always change the factory set-up to suit my playing style. The finish is perfect, and for 9 years old, it's mint. The only thing I didn't like about the guitar was the 500T pup. I tried the Burstbucker 3, still not acceptable. I finally installed "The Filmore Set" pups made by Jim Wagner of Wagner Custom Rewinds.

It has Nickel hardware, and it's wearing nicely. I use Dunlop locking strap buttons, because I don't feel like dropping it. I always use a back up because the strings aren't guarenteed :)

Never had a problem. I take it in to my friend who is a guitar Tech for an ocasional set-up.

I have been playing for 38 years, I also own a 1963 Firebird Reverse re-issue, Traynor/Plexi 50 watt head, with a 2X12 cabinet with Celestion G12T-75 speakers. I also have a couple of pieces of firewood that I made :)I just love the look of the LesPaul guitar, especially the gold top. It now has Wagner Custon Rewind "Filmore Pickups" Nothing sound better that these ups!

Well my guitar has the 496 and 500t humbuckers, comes in an ebony finish with its case.

I have 5 years playing electric guitar and 10 playing classical and let me tell you that this guitar is the worst shit around for playing powermetal, neoclassical metal or anything that requires that smooth and powerfull overdrive for leads,in my opinion.
I think this guitar would work out pretty well for british rock or hard rock also for blues and jazz.
In this moment I own an Ibanez s470dx and let me tell you its fucking amazing, if you play things like rhapsody, stratovarius, yngwie, cacophony, man thats the guitar you need.

The frets are small(that suck), the rosewood fretboard has a poor finish for being a guitar of 1600 bucks, the fucking paint on the neck sucks its better without it as zakk wylde les paul also its pretty heavy.

If you would like to have one in perfect conditions you will get nuts, this thing scratches almost with every move you made.
By the other side its body is solid as a rock.
I give it a 10 because is solid but its paint its really delicate.

I sell the fucking thing in 1500 bucks almost new and buy myself an ibanez s470dx the better guitar you can have.

2002, USA made les paul classic 1960. FIRST OFF the dealer intsalled strap locks for free. If you buy a les paul...Get strap locks end of story. Honey burst colour, 'artificially aged' inlays and binding is different, but it is a new guitar. It is only the colour which personally, I like it because it is not too bright. It looks very mellow. However I can see how some people would feel like they are buying a pair of 'pre-broken in jeans' and not like it. The neck is a matter of opinion, it is slimmer than the typical LP standard. Myself, playing on SG's for so long leads me to prefer this slim neck. This feature was my primary motivation for choosing the classic over a standard. The ceramic 496R / 500T pickup combo is very nice. It has a warmer more mellow sound than a LP standard, but again this is only my opinion. Install whatever pickups you want in it, that's the beauty, you are not limited. In my opinion it is a great sounding piece of work whith these pickups. Now....We all know about the Gibson dual system right? Volume / tone for each pick up. Three way selection: Rythm, trebble or both. Fortunately it has become the standard now to wire the volume for the centre selection (both) in series. If you recall older models with the pickup selector knob set in the middle (both pickups) would require the movement of both volume knobs to turn down your gain from both pickups which is a pain in the ass. No longer as now you can adjust either volume knob as a sort of master when receiving from both pickups, a well needed modification. I play it through a marshall avt 150h and a 2x12 cab. I tried it through a mesa boogie and a marshal avt in the shop....Mesa sounded really nice.....Oh, and I nearly forgot, a black on black case? No more pink on brown? Fabulous!

Rich, distinct and warm. All Les Pauls are as a rule very versitile. The ceramic pickups give a very deep bottom, maybe too much for some, but set up with 10 - 52 strings I really like it. The sustain is unmatched. This is a guitar that was conceived before distortion was used and its cleans are deep to brilliant depending on which pickups you draw from. Distorted the ceramic pickups shine. Really thick, you have to hear it. Enough said. From blues to classical to raw detuned metal. This guitar excells in all aspects.

Factory set up? Who the hell cares? I hope if you are spending 2G+ on a guitar that you can at least set it up to your likings. The finish is lovely. Hand buffed nitro cellulose. Thick, but very consistent. Some may not like the buildup on the neck which tends to get sticky if you do not wipe it down now and again. From the factory as far as condition goes, it was tip top. No flaws to be found. The nut looked good, the binding was smooth and the finish was even. Just a note, even though a shop carries gibson, they may very well be factory seconds. Always buy from an authorized dealer. When I did my set up, I tightened the truss rod about 1/8 of a turn to compensate for the heavier strings and I got a very low action with no buzz - anywhere. Everything is wired tight and true.

The Les Paul guitar has withstood live playing since longer than I have. I do not play live much these days, but I will say this: Dependable, durable and solid. You get guys on here that say things like: "Well I jumped on it and it broke," It is a beautifully finished precision piece of equipment and it should be treated as such. Taken on tour, under 'normal' conditions I will say that you should have no worries.

I have owned 3 gibsons prior to my LP Classic. Never needed them. I know the guy at the store where I bought it deals direct and promised me the world if anything ever went wrong, but fortunately I cannot say that I have ever had any problems and have never had to deal with anyone at gibson for help. All in all N/A

I have been playing for the better part of 13 years. It would be replaced if stolen. I compared it to a LP Standard prior to purchace, this was my only other consideration. I own a fender cheapy 112 amp, a marshall avt150h played through a celestion 2 x 12 custom cab, a 2000 sg standard, a taylor 415 jumbo, a liscombe custom made electric and a roland dr rythm 770 drum machine as well as a cry baby wah, and a digitech effects board. Overall this guitar shines within my collection.

I am submitting this review to tell everybody who has this guitar that they need to change the pickups... those high output ceramics are horrible and really drag the guitar down. More on this below... but as for features a couple comments are:

- Mine has a really nice chevron flame top... almost as if this was a mistake at the factory... all the other ones I've seen had real plain tops.

- Unlike some other reviewers, I tend to like the little gold "1960" logo tastefully inserted on the pickguard... I think it adds a bit of class and speciallness

- I do think that Gibson went overboard with the dye used to make the tuners and the fretboard inlays look vintage... the tuners are almost green and the fretboard inlays are also a bit overdone in the discoloration department... don't know why they wouldn't take the care to get this right.

Like others I am mystified why they give this guitar a historic 1960-style look and then outfit it with these horrible modern high-gain trebly ceramic pick-ups. I had this guitar for almost 2 years now and loved the look of it, but could never get excited about the sound... it just didn't seem to produce the classic Les Paul sound I was looking for no matter what amp I used. This week I swapped out the pick-ups for a pair of Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates PUPS and the difference was night and day for the better! The original pick-ups are very high output and yield a very nasal, modern, sound that might work well for the Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier crowd but is definitely worlds away from any kind of "classic" Les Paul sound. If you want your guitar to sound like Joe Satriani's Ibanez, then by all means leave it stock, but if you are after vintage PAF-type classic rock-style Les Paul tones, (i.e. Allman Bros, ZZ Top, Zep, Creem, etc), then you need to replace those guys.

The guitar played atrocious off the shelf with wicked high action; the clerk at the store said the guitar just came in a few days prior and hadn't been set up yet. Gibson makes a big deal about including a card in the case which shows that the guitar was inspected and verified to be set-up to factory specifications before shipment... but look at the specs they use... outrageously high action compared to how these guitars are mormally set up by most players. Anyway, this is easily rectified and it plays great once adjusted.

I think they sent me a "Congratulations/Welcome" letter when I mailed in the warranty registration... that was a nice touch... shows they are at least trying to be customer oriented to some degree.

Just wish I would have changed the pick-ups sooner.

I have two of these guitars - one is a '94 in cinammon burst with a Plus top and gold hardware, the other a 2000 Premium in Trans Amber. Both were purchased on-line, sight unseen (yeah, I know......). Typical factory Les Paul features - nothing new here, but if you're looking for more bells & whistles, you're probably not gonna buy a traditional LP, anyway. Both guitars have the slim-taper 1960 neck profile, which I prefer, even though my hands are pretty big.

Both guitars sound great to my ears. The pickups are definitely hot (but not overly harsh, as some reviewers have stated), but if you're looking for a more traditional LP sound, you'd probably be better off with a Standard or Custom. I play through a Line 6 Flextone II, so you can get an idea what the guitar sounds like through many different makes of amp. These guitars are fine for metal, blues-rock, alt, etc.

The 2000 was brand-new (NOS) when I got it, and the set-up was just ok. When I restrung it with .10's, it needed to be tweaked a bit, anyway. The top on this guitar is absolutely awesome - lots of flame! The finish is flawless - no sags or orange peel, and the frets were well polished and free from shap edges, etc.. On the other hand, the '94 was used, so it had some buckle rash and other miscellaneous scratches. Plus, the fretboard wasn't finished very well, and was somewhat rough and uneven in places. This wasn't from playing - it was certainly like this from the factory. The gold hardware also shows the typical discoloration from use.

A lot of folks downgrade Gibsons because of the headstock angle and tendency for it to break. Hey, just be more careful with the thing! It's not a Fender!!

People are still playing LP's from the '50's, so I'd expect these guitars to hold up just as well. They'll only get better with age.

I haven't had to deal with Gibson at all.

I've been playing for 30 years. If the 2000 was stolen or lost, I'd be pissed! It's easily the best guitar I've ever played or owned, so if something happened to it, I'd try to find another just like it. The '94 I'm going to sell - the neck isn't as nice, and I don't really need two LP's of the same model. I also play a '50's Telecaster reissue with Texas Special pickups.

2002 lp classic in light burst (used to be called tangerine burst) wont bore you with other specs its a les paul for christ sakes! i do like the slim neck (have small hands)

i love the sound of this guitar it made me dust off my zeppelin cds and rock out!!! i am playing through two fender tone master 412 cabs loaded with celestion vintage 30's(awsome cabs better than marshall or boogie) a mesa boogie stereo 2x50 power amp a mesa boogie formula preamp (love it) and a rocktron multivalve tube effects processer the only pedal i use is a dunlop crybaby 535, i use monster cables to hook everthing up with 1000 series(they do make a difference) who said racks are dead!!! the classic lps pickups are very quite i love the sound of the 500t it just ozzes jimmy page!! the neck pickup gets a great santana dickie betts sound very phat!! wish it had nickle covers on the pick ups but no huge deal

the guitar was set up great from the factory i did almost no tweaking on the setup (lowered the pickups just a hair) the top looked great it had a very unique pattern in the maple like a topagraphical map! (although i did pickthrough dozens of lp classics at guitar sinner before they got putout on the retail floor ) ever thing was clean and tight as far as hard ware goes. no over spray or finish blems looked great the light burst is such a cool color not as gauty looking as the cherry sunburst on the standards

the only thing i did to this guitar is put schaller strap locks on it as i do with all of my electrics. i belive when you buy a guitar you should keep it factory as possible so i left the 1960 logo pickguard and classic truss rod cover. nuff said
depend on it ? hell yaa

the folks at gibson have always ben great to me ( i went throug a product training seminar with them in the mid nineties) if you get a chance go check out the factory in memphis or nashvill(where the grand old oprey used to be. you can even walk upto the window and watch them make em

have ben playing over 20 years and have owned more guitars than i can count! i have sold guitars for many retailors over the years and always come back to les pauls and strats, they stand the test of time! i have owned plenty of les pauls standards, customs, all mahogany custom shop and the light burst classic is my favorite of them all. for those of you who complain about the clean sound who cares!if i want clean i will play my fender custom shop classic strat! why did i choose this one ? becuse it spoke to me without me even plugging it in!!!!!! wholly molly
like i said before i wish it had nickle pickup covers on it !!!!!
one passing note i would like to share. as someone who has ben in the guitar retail business for a number of years try to find a guitar at a locally owned music store! yes their are still smaller stores that are gibson dealers and can give you a good price and way better customer service than the cold corporate megastores i.e. (guitar center) smaller stores will tend to get the better made les pauls in than guitar center becsue the smaller stores will get in 2 or 3 at a time and go over them with a fine tooth comb!!! guitar center will get 5 or 6 hundred at their distribution center and could care less what the looked like or how they were set up!!! ( yes i have worked for guitar center several times and it has always been a miserable experience ! although i have never minded getting all my equipment at or below dealer cost before i told them to kiss my ass) but i am rambling! o and buy the way gibson has changed the lp case from brown and pink to black lizard with black lineing if you want you can also get the memphis gibson case feel free to email me

Just bought it three months ago, 2002 model made in the USA. Mine
like all les paul classics has the hotter 500T and496R pickups.
Also has the 1960 slim taper neck,which is more comfortable for me
than the 1950 style fatter neck of the Les Paul Standard. Has all
of the usual Les Paul features.

The sound when I bought it was really harsh until I lowered the pickups down to get my desired sound. I play straight into a marshall
DSL 50 watt Head with a Celestion loaded Marshall 4x12 cabinet. The
sound of this Guitar and this amp together is pure Classic Rock.
Just back the volume down for some sweet AC/DC sounding tones.
Then roll the volume up to 10 for your solos,this Guitar has a ton
of sustain.I get a really nice warm vintage tone from the neck
pickup, for some sweet sounding leads. If you bought or are buying
a Les paul classic and you are thinking of changing out the pickups,
try adjusting the stock ones away from the strings, you might save
some money and achieve the tone your looking for.

The action when I first bought the Guitar was a little higher than
I like so I adjusted the bridge down. This created some fret buzz
and upon a visual inspection of the neck I noticied it had an
excessive amount of relief or a (DOWNWARD BOW) to it. I took the
Guitar back to were I bought it and they put about one full turn
of ajustment in the truss rod to correct the problem.Now the Guitars
action and playability is second to none. My Les pauls finish is
the Vintage or Tobbaco colored sunburst and is beautiful. The only
thing at all I noticed as far as an imperfection was a little bit
of orange peel or over spray were the neck joins the body. It isnt
noticable unless you are really looking hard.
PS. If your Guitar needs the above ajustment I would advise that
you let a Proffessional do it. Its a very easy adjustment to make
but you can go to far a (SNAP THE TRUSS ROD)then you are screwed.
Besides most quality Guitar repair places have Insurance in case something like that would happen.

I have used this Guitar for several gigs now without as much as breaking a string. It seems to be made very well (ITS A GIBSON).
I did put strap locks on it the same day I took it home, Why take
a chance with an awesome Guitar like this? I wouldent do any gig
without a backup or second Guitar. Having to stop in the middle
of a set to change a string isnt very professional.

I Haven't dealt with Gibson for any matters. I did as I stated
before take the Guitar in for a truss rod adjustment from the
store that I bought it from. They didnt charge me anything to
adjust it. Very proffesional and helpful staff at Sam Ash Music
In Columbus ohio. (Thanks)....

I Have been playing for 25 years, I've owned several different Guitars
In fact I still have a 1979 Gibson (The Paul) that I bought new. It still plays as good today as the day I bought it. It was $468 dollars
back then with the hardshell case and I have been watching them sell
on eBay for between $500-$600. I know Gibson Guitars Have really went up in price over the past ten or so years but i still believe they
are a good investment.

everybody reading i'm sure already knows what features this guitar has,but i will say that mine has a honeyburst finish and i purchased it in 2000. as far as features go , the average les paul is pretty simple, straight forward.and in a live situation thats a good thing!!!i love the slim neck. i have a strat ultra also which has a slim neck ,too. so they are not miles apart when i switch them on stage. big plus!!!!!

the reason that i liked it in the first place were the pickups,mega gain and quiet. and if you want to clean it up just roll off the volume. you don't have to be a rocket scienist to figure that out. i have a triple x head with the5150 cab loaded with vintage 30's. you're not going to find a better hard rock sound, period!!!!!

i have never had to have it set up ,even when i bought it. if there is one thing that i don't like is the nickel hardware.it corrodes immediately, i swear. no matter how much you clean it. i wish they would have just used chrome.the finish on mie is flawless. if it wasn't i would not have purchased it.the toggle did come loose once.big deal. i just took the backplate off and tightened it up.

very dependable guitar !!!! solid as a rock. never goes out of tune.

i've never had a problem with it so as far as getting it repaired, i couldn't comment. i have called them though and they were very friendly.

i've been playing 26 years and i've been teaching for 13. i gig 2 to 3 times a week for 15 years and i will tell you that you will love this guitar.i probably have owned one of every kind of guitar throughout the years and i can say honestly that now i'm content. no need to look any further

My girlfriend bought me this 1960 Les Paul Classic, black with cream binding, pickguard etc. What a girlfriend! It was purchased new in September 2001 for about $1500.

This guitar was perfect in every way, I couldn't recommend it any more highly. Beautiful guitar! The slim taper neck is wonderful, I much prefer it to other LP necks. The pickups are the 496 and 500 variety. I did change out the pickguard from the '1960' to a plain one just out of personal preference. It's weight is the same as most Les Paul's I've played, a little on the heavy side which I like. The overall workmanship and materials are immaculate.

It has everything a person should expect from a Gibson Les Paul as far as options. If you expect something else, then you are foolish to be looking for it in a Gibson Les Paul.

This guitar tunes perfectly, is solid and has plenty of sustain. All controls work perfectly and the slim taper neck is great. In my opinion the 500 and 496 pickups are made to rock and are somewhat hotter than my normal preference - if you play rock though, this has what you need. These pickups are 'meatier' than is typical on a Les Paul; there is a significant boost in the lower and upper midrange which means this guitar really cuts through the mix. The sound is well balanced accross the strings though, and the bass is still there, as opposed to what some here have complained - you just have to be smart enough to compensate for it with your amp EQ if like a bass heavy sound.

I would not recommend these pickups if you are a jazz player, but then again I have never seen that many jazz players using a LP. This is a good guitar for classic rock, indie rock, punk or even metal.

Perfect in all aspects. Immaculate.

Solid - I've had it 1 1/2 years and no problems.

Never needed it.

Great guitar, I am really lucky to own it. If you want a strat, then dont be a moron - go buy a strat! If you play music that is not well suited for a Les Paul, then buy something else instead of coming here and complaining about it later! If you are going to pay $1500 for a guitar, then don't do it through the mail - try it first instead of risking it. Those are my recommendations after reading some of the downright stupid comments on here about this guitar.

I have played guitar for 16 years and have played a wide variety of guitars and amps. This one is quality.

1995 AAA flametop Cherryburst, used, with custom electronics. A Seymour Duncun '59 er in the neck and a Seymour Duncun Alnico II in the bridge with a pop-up phase and pop-up coil splitter in the bridge volume and tone controls(sweet!). Jus' likes Jimmy Page!.
I had a fret honing and set up by my guitar tech. Like Butter.

I play all styles and with the coil splitter it mimics a decent strat sound. I use a stereo rig. G-Tar to Boss GT6 to 2 Carvin Belair stacks(left and right channel)for a vey phat sound. I like everything about this guitar. It is very "Les Paul".

One of the most beautiful cherryburst's I've ever seen. I had to remove the pick guard right away. The fret honing and set up were done to my tastes and style. Action very low, and you don't buy a LP "Classic" unless you like a slim taper neck. So,...

Of course, it's a Les Paul

NA

25 yrs playin'. If it were stolen I'd never find one just like it. i do have 3 other LP's, but none as purty or versatile

All noted elsewhere. Mine is the light-burst finish.2000 model. I will repeat this again; look one over before you buy it. I love the finish on mine but have seen some real disasters out there. No bell or whistles, but I went shopping for a Les paul didn't I?

sounds like a les paul. take long dissertations about electronics arcana and with a grain of salt. There are too many style, amp, room, etc combinations out there for any of that to be truly objective. the 496r-500t p.u.'s are the same as the old jimmy page model. good enough for him, good enough for me. Also, the volume and tone knobs are there for a reason and you don't HAVE TO play wide open all the time. this guitar responds well to subtle variations in tone. Its a Les Paul, remember? I love the tones, everything from country to thrash. very adaptable but be willing to learn to use controls.

there are a couple of points where the binding is not perfectly level to the wood on the cutaway. lets take it as a sign of hand crafting. the wood is high quality and very nicely figured. I looked at a LOT of les pauls while shopping and felt some of the classics were "2nd tier" quality (ugly grain wood, finish flubs, etc). I am very pleased with this guitar but I was very careful in selecting it. down market (under $2ooo) gibson's can be inconsistant so buy the GUITAR that speaks to you not the product #. My one complaint is the new style binding which caps the frets and is not correct for a reissue. nevermind that its good binding, i'm a stickler for this sort of thing

built like a brick. no, really. except the headstock, you can't kill a les paul. the hardware is moisture sensitive and such but if you just paid this much for a guitar you should be on top of this sort of thing.

very friendly, patient with silly questions and will send material if asked

I saw it on vacation and had it shipped, aplusguitars is amazing. this is my 5th and final Les paul. But that shows you should start with comfort and sound and work backwards to brand name and model. I've been playing for 19 years and could not be happier with this lp but there is no such thing as a perfect guitar, just perfect for you. having said that, check out the lp classic, they are a joy

2001 Les Paul Classic Goldtop...it's a Les Paul. Simple. Thin profile neck is a player preference. Personally speaking, I like the slim-taper neck. It amazes me to read other reviews where you guys say that the neck sucks! WHY DID YOU BUY THE GUITAR WITHOUT PLAYING IT?

Great sounding guitar through my Bogner & Fender Prosonic amps. Backing off the volume cleans up the tone nicely without losing quality of tone. Rich, lush chords. This guitar sings in the bridge position with the right amount of gain and open chording. This is NOT a jazz guitar. It can deliver a slightly overdriven (clean -starting to break-up) sound to a full-on Cult / Goo Goo Dolls type crunch. This guitar won't make a crappy amp sing. Paired with a great amp like the Bogner Shiva, it wails. Again, play this guitar BEFORE you buy it.

Beautifully set up. Goldtop finish is killer, though I don't think you can still get that option. Too bad.

So far, so good. No problems. I always use backups, more for human factors than mechanical breakdowns. Have been playing LP's for 25+ years and never had a failure.

No experience here.

Been playing for 27 years...would buy another one (used goldtop)to replace. I use Bogner & Fender amps. Also play a LP Standard, LP Junior, Amer DLX Strat, Texas Spcl Strat, Tele w/ Lindy Fralin pickups. Dunlop 535 wah-MXR Distortion+-Maxon OD-808-Boss Delay-Boss Chorus-Boss Flanger-Boos Octive-MXR Phase 90. Lots of gear and no current band. Murphy's Law!
This and the LP Junior are my favorite guitars to reach for.
Play it BEFORE you buy it. It's not rocket science.

1992 Les Paul Classic- Standard LP features with a really skinny neck and a Honeyburst finish. NOTE- If you want a one that feels like a Gibson should buy an early one. It should say "Les Paul Model" on the headstock not "Les Paul Classic" (I'm not talking about the truss rod cover). They seem to have gotten really bad later on they just don't feel like American guitars anymore. I give a ten in this category because if you don't dig the features you shouldn't have purchased it in the first place (Thought I find the "1960" on the pickgaurd cheapens the look of the guiatar).

The pickups could not sound more harsh. They lacked any kind of depth and the guitar was useless playing a clean channel. They sound as if you left a wah pedal on in the up postion all the time. I don't know why poeple think this model is good for metal. I always thought a good metal tone included at least some low end. I guess if you like Death go for it.

The guitar was flawless in it's construction (Like I said you have to get the ones made before Kurt shot himself).

It is as solid as any other Les Paul I've ever played. The only trouble is the special considerations you have to make with Gibson Les Pauls. You have to always keep the headstock out of harm's way and use the right strap or you'll be sorry. All though I love Les Pauls tremendously I feel that they are not very durable in that you always have handle them as if you were handling a baby.

I bought that piece used so I called to find out the year it was made and they answered everything I asked. I didn't have to hold for too long which was pretty cool.

I have been playing for 11 years this guitar was my fourth Les Paul. It was a compulsive buy. The neck is way thinner than any other Les Paul you'll play and for me that was reason I got rid of it but hey that's my problem. The pickups are horrible and there is no excuse for that. Not in an instrument that costs over $1000. In referance to the newer models. I think this guiar should have Epiphone on the headstocks. Shame on Gibson.

this is a 2002 Les paul classic, it has your standard les paul options. This has been listed above many times

the sound of this guitar is heavy metal in nature. It screams through a mesa boogie, and through a peavey triple x. It is much more modern metal sounding than atypical Les Paul. The clean tones? Give me a break here it absolutley falls on its face. Sure you can roll the volume back a little on the guitar and warm it up slightly, but it still sounds very generic, not like the older pauls. Trust my judgement here i have played for 15 years and know all the tricks for warming up your sound and so on, if you want a metal tone this is it. so I give it a six due to lack of versitility, however i do love its metal tones, But 1500 bucks? more about this later

man oh man, how I wanted this guitar to rule. Now when buying a Gibson one thinks about the extra money spent for a American made, hand made throughly crafted guitar. Now, I have a USA handmade Fender $900, and a handmade USA Washburn $600. This les paul side by side does not even compare to my other guitars. get this there was FRET GLUE still on the neck. The routing around the frets WERE IRREGULAR AND OFF CENTER AND HAD NOT BEEN SOOMTHED!!!!!! THE 7TH FRET INLAY WAS CROOKED!!!!!!!! the rosewood finger board appears to be high quality wood with very even grain, YEAH RIGHT, from 20 feet away. The grain on the fret board is irregular, and from the the 17th fret on it is downright terrible, IT HAS A GRAIN BLEMISH THAT RUN VERTICAL TO THE GUITAR AND COMPLETLEY BUBBLES OF THE NECK!!!!! This is supposed to be a handmade high quality guitar!!!!! Let me clearify my other guitars absolutley do not have any of these problems. One may ask if I am being picky. YES I AM!! they claim part of the price is for the extra craftsmanship of the guitar. If this were a 600-750 dollar guitar I would overlook these little things. One would expect this in a mass produced overseas guitar. Oh yeah, I forgot the poor finish on the E A D ecdge of the headstock.
This whole thing does bum me out. I really wanted the guitar to be something that reflected a little extra work by the luthier. But it fall far, far short here, Like I said for 750 this would be a wonderful instrument.
I am giving it a low score because for the price this guitar is not reflective of its craftsmanship. Although, let me add the action was pretty good and the tone pretty good for metal. And I will say it agian, it would be good for a 750 dollar guitar.

built like a tank.

never dealt with them

okay, wow, well I say stay away from this one. I have played a few very fine Les Paul Standards. this classioc is NOT WORTH its price.
This sucker is going back, and i will begin my search anew in hopes of doing better next time. Trust me i wanted to fall in love with this guitar, it just shocked me this thing was so poorly made.

1990 Les Paul Classic all gold...thin binding in cutaway.
2 490R humbuckers, everythinh else standard LP fittings.

Great sounding once you get rid of the crappy 490R pickups..I went with Di Marzio virtual paf's

Bought it used but it was spotless..Rare all gold finish

Built to rock..better than a baseball bat on jerks in the audiance.
oops..cant forget the infamous Gibson headstock angle..will break if looked at wrong.

always done right by me.

Outside of the lousy pick ups..its a great guitar

look at the other reviews, same ol stuff

here's where the big division lies, the die hard paul fans who are used to the standard sound think this guitar sound too shrill on the highs, no very "meaty" in their opinions. the fender fans think this guitar overpriced. who is this guitar for? this is probably one of the most versatile guitars out there, and i have played many, many electrics in my life. the sound is hotter and somewhat higher than a standard paul, thats a given. the notes are far more articulated when fingerpicked or during any arpeggios, but there is none of that horrible low end boom that makes the notes sound muddled, like on a lot of double humbucker setups. the tone is clean, defined and the sustain, contrary to many paul fans, is quite strong. you can play a clean note and leave this bad boy to ring for a good long while, far longer than any fender will ever hold a note, and i have many fenders in my collection. it has a rich, full, BALANCED, sound, note the caps on balanced. it will take the distortion you dish at it and ask for more. it can take most any effect and turn it into music, as a good guitar should. the variety in this guitar surprised me. i figured it would only serve me for classic rock sound, zep, some sabbath, who, etc, but the versatility in the three pu modes is astounding. the treble has a gorgeous ring and clarity without giving you that annoying high end eardrum burn that shouldn't be there when playing clean, much like a 72 custome tele without the shrillness. the middle and low end settings, well its a paul, thats this guitar's forte. the pickups a hotter than a standard pauls so be forewarned, rolloff on the tone unless you have a strong enough amp to handle its power, i run mine through a vox ac30 top boost with greenbacks, and well, the freakin amp can hardly handle the heavy sound, but then again i have to change out my tubes. has great natural overdrive if the tone and volumes are all the way up.

my guitar is the honeburst finish, very gorgeous. now i don't know if sam ash or gibson set up my paul, but kudos. finally i got a guitar home from a shop and i didn't have to do any major intonation or set up, can't say as much for fenders 3ft gap between strings and fretboard height. the guitar does not conatin any flaws that i am aware of. and the case it comes really lets you know you are buying a quality instrument. now the action, i prefer the slimer neck over the 50's fatter neck, easier on the hands and the guitar doesn't suffer any noticable amount on the sustain. unless you're going to hook it up to a wave measuring device to measure out the sustain its not as noticable as many people would have you believe. all in all this guitars action is made for those who are more comfortable with a slimer neck for their playing needs. overall great craftsmanship

its built like a freakin tank, i will never know how the fudge anyone could break such a guitar onstage, purposely and not break a hole in the floor. solid. but as they always say "never gig w/o a backup." that would be plain crazy.

never dealt with'em. lifetime limited warranty though

i have been playing for 10+ years and own all sorts of fender guitars, teles, reissue teles, strats, duo-sonics (yes duo-sonics...) and i have always though myself a fender man for their value and versatility. how wrong i was. this guitar provides me all the versatility and sound i have been looking for in an electric, and when unplugged most of the sound i look for in an acoustic. this guitar is worth the price, because instead of shelling out your money to get a tele, for your bluegrass, country, light blues sound, and a strat for your rocking high end modern rock, blues sound, you can eliminate the middle men and get the real deal. a guitar that will surprise and please most any fender fanatic looking for that classic rock, brit-rock, blues, even folky-country sound. this guitar will not disappoint. if it were stolen, well you better hope i don't find you... this guitar has turned me into a gibson fan fully, instead of the fairweather fan. if you want to discover the truth for yourself, test one out, see the light.

2000 model lp classic...I won't bore you with what it looks like.

sounds like an epiphone...I played it through my mesa triaxis/simul 290...lacks sustain..I assume that it is hollow...My les paul artist has 2/3rds the body and weighs twice as much.

action was too high..big deal

I've been playing for 20 years...Love les pauls..After playing this piece of toneless crap..Have lost faith in gibson. I'll keep buying 22 yr+ old pauls.

OK here it goes, this guitar was made in the usa (duh), 22 frets, solid maple top, solid mahogany body with binding on the body and fretbord. It has 496R and 500T pickups. Mine is in honeyburst colour but only on the top, the rest of the colour is a deep rich mahogany. Everyone knows the rest of the specs on a les paul so I'm not going to explain(look at the other reviews or gibson's web sight)

My style is punk.....NOT!!!!!!! These little punks on here buy this guitar and expect to sound like Tom DeLongue, well guess what, this guitar does not sound like crap so you punk-rock wannabes can't sound like any of those fakes! Ahhh, All ranting aside, this guitar sounds great! My real music style is of corse Classic Rock (Led Zep, CCR, Who, and Skynyrd), don't get me wrong- I dig black sabbath but I'm not much on screwing goats for satan, or whatever (sorry ozzy). I cant' give this cataglory less than a 10, it is the richest most versitile guitar I've ever picked up. If the pickups are too hot for you, there's these little things called tone knobs- you turn them and they cut down the hotness, thats to the left.

I don't know how this thing was set up from the factory, I had my pal at Music Outlet in Tennessee set it up (I live in ohio, an 8 hour drive to pick up this guitar was extemely worth it). Need less to say it was set up great, the guy said he didn't have to do much to fix it. I looked over the guitar for hours trying to find flaws, the only thing I found was a small file mark on the bottom side of the fretboard binding near the headstock. Other than the file mark, there's been no problems.

If this guitar was 18 years old it could enlist in the army and fight for its country in ww3.....and it would survive. This thing is built like a tank. Aside from the usual gibson headstock curse there's nothing that could hold it back. But because of the headstock it gets and 8.

My guru in tennessee said if anything ever happens just send it to him and he'll fix it or send me a new one. LIFETIME WARRANTEE. I've heard people say Gibson support sucks and I've heard people say they're the best. I guess it depends on who you get ahold of inside of gibson that determines how good your support is. Other that that, I have no idea.

I've been playing for about 5 years now. I'm not like these people who get on here and say they're the next Jimmy Page, or hendrix. I know I can play guitar but I leave my final verdict to my listeners. I have this thing insured so if it were stolen I (or insurance rather) would buy a new one. I chose this one because of the sound and look and....well it's a gibson, there's nothing like a gibson. I've played fenders, rickenbackers, etc. And the only thing that comes remotely close to this guitar is another gibson. I'm not putting down fender or rickenbacker, it's just I've always been a gibson man, and I always will be. What can I say, this is the best guitar U've ever owned, and it will outlive me the way I take care of it(which you must). Great guitar.

les paul classic,2002(?),goldtop (very classy), bound slim taper neck
mahogany neck/body maple top. straightforward passive electronics...2 volume$ 2 tone controls. h/h config. 22 frets...did i forget something? oh,kluson tuners(which i'm not crazy about, although they have worked extremely well, they look too flimsy)496r and 500t pickups and a lush hardshell case that looks like they made a drape for the guitar out of victorias secret panties (man, i love opening my case!)to protect the fretboard.does this have tons of features? only the essentials.

this really suits my musical style.which is everything. i can go from a delay ridden, super fast shredding run on the rythym p/u and still hear everything with clarity,flick to a clean setting, and it nails jimmy page stairway to heaven without even trying. great for blues ( maybe not stratty super clean clapton blues, but more gritty, dirty, muddy(whew! i need a shower!)semi-distorted tones where you need some blubber.this thing loves high gain,mid gain and is surprisingly sweet in clean applications.not tubby ( unless you dial it in that way)yet not single-coil-ish. somewhere in between.i use this with my digitech gsp2101 pre,carvin tube 100 power amp and 2 vintage 30 cabs. i thought this setup was a little too metal oriented before with my other guitar( carvin dc 127. also a sweet guitar, but i think this actually really smokes it. ) but i find it brings out the latent vintage wannabe sound in this rig( and many,many more). dislikes? well, i think the closest thing to a dislike i have is i wish it had coil taps and 24 frets, but that is just quibbling.it probably would lose some of it's simple, beautiful appeal if it DID have these on it.
can i give it a 9 1/2?( in my book bo derek was only a 9 1/2...)

killer action.this guitar plays smoother than my carvin ( tung oiled mahogany neck). i did have some concern when i recieved it.i looked at this guitar from a side angle and the pickups and bridge seemed to lack symetry. i was very concerned because it played wonderfully, but something looked very wrong. well, i hopped in my car, hauled ass to guitar center, and compared the setup of other les pauls. the bridge concerns me. it has one side radically higher than the other( this is on the tailpiece of the tune-o-matic, and the actual bridge is also kind of off centered...)well, there were plenty of les pauls that looked the same.but if anyone out there could shed some light on the subject this ignoramus would be greatly indebted... the paint is killer. i haen't found any real flaws with the paint or binding, and the fretwork is very clean. pickups are dead quiet.i will base my rating on how it actually plays, and just consider the other stuff neurosis...

yes to everything except gigging without a backup.i'm allergic to looking that stupid.the finish looks great and thick. the only concern i have is putting dings in the body because of aesthetics...not because it couldn't take it.

no clue. lifetime warranty.

been playing 18 years ( damn i'm getting old) owned ibanez, kramer,fender, gibson,carvin. i love this guitar for it's rich vibe and great neck and ultra fat pickups.i would buy it again in a heartbeat.i will probably look at getting another used as a backup and just keep these 2 guitars.( i don't want to scratch this one up. it is almost too pretty to play...almost. and they are discontinuing the goldtop classics) they totally fulfill my musical needs.

i got the classic 1960 gold top. always wanted one and its great. i usually like the bigger 58/59 style necks, but the slimmed down style neck sounds and plays really well. has that awesome les paul sound, like it should.

i use mine mostly for blues, southern rock and classic rock and this guitar NEVER lets me down. just the classic MARSHALL les paul combo is and will always be brilliant. this guitar is awesome. as soon as you plug it in and feel the resonance in the body before even turning on the amp... you know its serious. i keep reading well these p ups dont sound like ones from the 60 s...... blah. like anything else these are NEW pick ups in the guit. any pickup thats been played for 40 years IS GOING TO sound diffrent like anything else. try plugging a vintage head into a new cabnet and watch all the sound go away too. these are great pick ups and well suited to this guit. can get a brilliant classic rock singing sustain or some good modern crunch outta these babies.
lets face it... its a paul. a one trick pony. and anybody who complains thats its not versitile... well the guit is over there head. if you love the sound, its a great axe

my guitar was set up extremely well. still plays like a dream. you have to think if someones expecting you to drop 2000 on a guit, it should play and sound like a dream. only thing that was ever wrong with it was there was a small ding in the binding, and was filled with super glue. besides that flawless. no dimples or sanding marks anywhere. the bridge is also set up extremely well. i ve probley broke under 10 ish strings in 5 years with this baby.

i ve been playing this guit on countless gigs over the last 5 years. never had a single problem with it. i even own nice pauls than this one, but somehow this became my favorite. i ve dropped it a few times and its a tank. still solid as a rock. i have used it on a gig before with no back up and only broke a string once live.i feel secure with this guit.

never had a single problem with this guit.

after playing for over 14 years and playing many fine pauls along the way, i can say this is a great guit. its definatly become my signiture sound and feels great. if it was stolen... i dunno. i would NEED another one. i dont feel right playing others guits anymore. just dont have the sound.
like i said before. lets face it. this isnt a do it all 18 sound guitar. but it does have variations on its sound. and if you like pauls, get one. this guitar has the tone. but playit first. every paul sounds diffrent a little bit and your really looking for the one that suits you the most. i wouldnt trade this guit for any save a 59 re issue, but those cost 3 or 4 X the price. have no fear buying this guit. just remeber anyones review that say i dont like the sound.... doesnt really like the paul sound, they just want something that looks cool. unless of course they really did get a dog. i wish anyone who compared a 60 classic to an epi be forced to play an epi forever. i ve owned epis and the 60 classic just destroys it.

What I need from a Les Paul is something better than an Ibanez with EMG pick-ups. This "classic" mahogany heavy-weight looks like a Les Paul, and sure is priced like a Les Paul, but it plays like an imported shreader. Perfect for ceramic pickup shreading through your Mesa. Standard 40 year old LP features but the tapered neck. Hey, let's put cheap pick-ups on a Les Paul, thin-up the neck, and charge $800 more for it !!! This is no Jimmy Page signature, believe me.

Exceptional cut-through the mix on high gain lead riff work. Like a ninja sword. Unfortunately, mediocre for almost all other styles and uses. This guitar, stock, is a below average performer for blues, jazz, rock, brit - and forget about country. It is the antithesis of a strat. I think it deserves a poor score because what it does really well or guitars can do even better at a fraction of the cost.

Excellent finish and materials, Gibson quality. The factory set is porr, but most players will adjust to suit anyway.

I expect it will last 40+ years. I would not gig any guitar without straplocks.

Started touring in the 70s, have owned, still own, many fine Gibsons. Have come to favor Fenders for their versatility - so that's my bias. This guitar will get used regularly once I change out these pick-ups. If I had it to do again, I probably wouldn't.

What do you need from a Les Paul? When I play a Les Paul, I just want it to be a solid kick-ass guitar and the Classic is just that. It sounds great, it feels great...what more do you need?

It sounds killer distorted, especially throug a Mesa. The pickups are hot so if you have a Marshall (<--crap), then you won't get much "clean" out of it. But on a good amp like a Matchless or Mesa the clean is outstanding! Even the bridge pickup. Speaking of which, the bridge position isn't overly bright. It's such a breath of fresh air to come from a Strat to the Les Paul Classic. Strat bridge pickups are too bright.

The action was perfect. The finish was perfect. The overall condidtion of the guitar was great! Though I am a performer so it does have some minor dings.

It's a Les Paul. Gibson invented durability.

Anyone who doesn't like this guitar needs his head checked. Come on, there's too many people out there that just want to bash on nice instruments to be different. Gimme a break! No strat can compare to a real Gibson (i'm not really a fan of the Les Paul Studio). We all know that God is in heaven right now playing a 56 Goldtop on a Matchless amp right? Anyway, this guitar is an unbelieveable instrument. The Slim Taper neck is so much more comfortable to play than the standard neck. Great Value!

This is just an update to the last review by Scott. I have to issue a correction. I stated that the neck pu is an Alnico II type, but it is actually a ceramic. Duh, I guess I didn't do all of my homework on this guitar.

But that really freaks me, because I think it sounds as good as an Alnico II. And when I heard the sustain and tone coming from this neck pu played clean, I just assumed it wasn't ceramic.

So both pus are ceramic. Damn surprizing, because they sound better than any ceramics I ever heard, and I've never heard any ceramics that sound worth a sh*t when played clean. I guess I just never heard them in the right guitar!

2001, 1960 reissue, usual features, tobacco sunburst.

Pretty damn good sounding guitar. Of course it sounds great on any pu selection when distorted (like a good Paul should), but what really caught me by surprize was how good it sounds clean. I really love Alnico II humbuckers and the neck is one, which I expected would sound good (it does). The bridge pu is what threw me for a loop because it's a ceramic pu, which I usually hate for clean sounds. This bridge pu really sounds great played clean! And when combined the two pus sound really sweet together. Distorted or clean, this is really a kickin' axe. Now die-hard Standard players may not exaxctly go for this guitar, because it is brighter than a Standard. But it still has the same great sustain of a Standard. And it is actually more versitile because it has bite. Chords are not muddy like on a lot of Standards, you can strum this guitar and really hear a good separation of notes. Another thing that's great is that the bass string does not overpower the rest; it's balanced. That goes for the rest of the strings, too. This is especially obvious when the guitar is finger-picked. I really hate it when (on many set neck humbucker guitars) I am picking merrily along and then I hit the low E string and it sounds like a cannon! This guitar doesn't do that. It puts me at ease knowing I don't have to put extra effort into damping that damn E string every time I come to it. I can just let it ring, and it sounds a hell of a lot better when I don't have to mute it if I don't want to. Now, I've raved about the sound of this axe, but I have no doubt it could sound better with a good set of Duncans. But not much better, and not enough to make me want to tear it down and replace them. It sounds beautiful as is, and that's how it'll stay.

Here's the only thing in this category I don't like about this guitar: the finish. It's definitely a stunning looking guitar, but in plenty of spots the finish looks thin. And it doesn't look like the wood was filled well enough before the finish went on. In many places you can see pitting which is the tell-tale sign of inadequate filling of the wood. But on the plus side this is better than too much finish which really looks sucky and is a tone robber to boot. And you really can't see it unless you look at the guitar in a strong light, like sunlight. That's how I saw it when I first got it. The room I played it had big windows that really let in the sunlight.

As far as setup is concerned (and this is always one of the things that makes or breaks a guitar with me) it is dead on perfect. And I don't mean just the height of the strings, but the condition of the neck. This is one of the most perfect necks I have ever seen. The frets are near perfection and when you sight down the neck you don't see any hills or valleys; just strait neck. And another great thing about this neck is that the relief is the same on both E strings. I nearly pissed in my pants when I found such a great setup on such a great sounding guitar! Those two things don't happen very often on the same guitar.

In the fit department it's perfect, no complaints. Everything is well put together and there are no obvious mismatches. I looked very carefully. It's great.

So because of the finish problems I have to rate this overall category an 8. If the finish was better, it would be a 10.

Every one knows the reliability of the Les Paul, so I'll just skip the rating on this one.

No idea.

Born in 1960, like the guitars this was reissued from (no, that has nothing to do with my ratings!) I love this guitar despite the finish irritations. Everything else about it is fabulous. The two most important things with me are always how it sounds and how it plays. This axe absolutely kills in these two most important areas. It is to me the definition of a great guitar.

Oh, here's a word for anyone considering buying any guitar sight unseen like online or mail order: DON'T! Guitars are very inconsistent by nature, and you almost always have to try out many to find a good one. Even in guitars of the exact same make and model, there will be some good and some bad. Even guitars made from the very same tree will be different. Don't be tempted to give your hard earned cash to some company just because he can beat your walk-in dealer's price. Now-a-days many walk-in dealers are very price competitive with mail order and on-line retailer. Take this guitar I bought. I paid $1500 for it, and Musician's Friend (that's a laugh!) is selling it for $1650. And I get real service with my walk-in dealer, not some phone jockey who wants my cash and my goodbye. The thing is, these on-line and mail order companies are selling junk to the masses, and who can blame them? If a person is willing to buy a guitar without seeing and playing it first he obviously doesn't know enough about guitars to know the difference between a good guitar and a dog. So they will sell you all the dogs you ask for.

Do yourself a favor and check out the real thing. If you spend a little time and effort you can find a great axe at your walk-in dealer. Don't take chances with your dough.

OK, 'nuff preachin'. This is a great guitar, no doubt. If I lost it I would have to be crazy to not look for another.

60's Re-Issue, Cherry-Burst. Slim-Taper neck and hot pick-ups. Otherwise looks like your standard LP with "1960" stenciled on the pickguard.

You better find out before buying if you'll like these pick-ups. I wish I did. They don't provide the sound you might expect from a Les Paul. To me, it's shrill and ugly. This guitar sonically has little in common with the old LP I had. No thanks.

Likewise, the slim taper isn't any fun. I think it reduces the sustain of the guitar and cramps your playing. I have medium to large hands. Didn't realize it would be so pronounced, it changed the vibe of the guitar. Set up poorly, but I can't say if that's Gibson fault or the prior owner. From what I read don't expect much from Gibson's plant these days.

Built solid, no doubts.

Don't buy this quitar sight unseen like I did. The neck and pick-ups are a rude awakening. For my particular style and fretboard needs this guitar flat out sucks. Sold it asap. Don't think it's going to be like one of those vintage LP's you played, it's something different. Worst purchase I've ever made.

2000 Les Paul Classic. Kluson style tuners ABR-1 Bridge, Stop-Tail, made of nickle. True to the orig. Les Pauls. Carved maple top, mahogany body and neck rosewood board. Thin 1960 profile neck. Faster than 58,59,. Doesnt bother my forarm as the 58,59s do. Passive electronics 496n-500t ceramic put right up for sale humbuckers. Aged cheap plastic inlays. Although they seem to differ in age appearance from one guitar to the next.

I play Chicago Blues. I bought the guitar for the neck and true to vintage hardware as opposed to the standard Les Paul. I also knew the pick-ups would be re-placed asap. I play through a Fender 65 Twin Reverb Re-Issue, 4x10 Hot rod DeVille, Carvin 2x12 Bel-Air. I use a RT66 Visual Sound OD, Vox Wah. The Twin is my clean sound, The DeVille is my dirty. The Carvin I just purchased still evaluating. Anyway I changed the pick-ups to Duncan Seth Lovers, The guitar now sounds absolutly incredible. Other might prefer original 490,498,Gibsons. Duncan 59s for there clarity, Peary Gates, 57 Classics, All of them are very good pick-ups. I've heard many trash the 490r Gibson pu. I guess they also believe B.B. King doesnt sound good? He plays 490s front and rear. But for me the Seths just sounded more versitile.

The guitar was flawless when purchased. But I have seen some awfull guitars made by Gibson. I played every single Les Paul out there. And at least tweny Classics before I chose this one. And I originally wanted Honeyburst. The Cherry Sunburst I chose was because of its near perfect build. Be aware when shopping the craftmanship varies. I seen a Honeyburst with the tuner holes drilled crooked.

I believe the Les Paul is very sound guitar. Can it stand being dropped? I can't say. But it is very heavy, so if it were to land on the headstock I'm sure you would have a problem. If this is a big concern, Go with a Strat, they are very durable and much cheaper to replace.

Gibson has beeb helpfull in every way. They are all about playing music. I once owned a DC Studio LP. They recommended a adjustable stop-bridge to correct intonation problems. The bridge they recommended wasn't made by Gibson. Try that with PRS.

I started taking lessons in 1966 at the age of ten. I also own Hamer Custom Artist, PRS CE22, Both flametops. ES-335 Blueshawk, SG Gothic which I tricked out. Three lonestar strats.[I like them]. And last but not least a AS-80 Ibanaz, don,t have the cash for 335? Its a super guitar, And as far as the Super 58 PUs. I don't plan on changing them. Must tell ya something. Stolen or lost? Its a tough call. I really really really like the neck. Going for as low as 900.00 used, in mint shape! Ya, I'd probly go used though.

For features see the other reviews

This guitar has the best sound of any I have ever played. It is rich and full of tone. Never at any time thin or fraile. It makes even crap amps sound good. Basically this guitar sounds wonderful to me.

When I purchased the guitar the store I bought it from put new strings on it and setup the action and intonation. After a while the bridge saddles developed spurs which would cut through the strings but that was easily fixed by filing the down the saddles. The guitar stays in tune remarkably well.

The only problems I have had with the guitar other than the spurs was the toggle switch that wears out a lot. Mostly due to my playing style. And the tuning keys. The tuning keys are diecast and tend to break or wear out very easily. Gibson used these keys to make the instrument look more vintage but they are the most unreliable part of the instrument.

Never delt with Gibson directly

This guitar is perfect for me. I would never sell it and if it were stolen I would be at such a loss. As you should know every guitar is different and I doubt that I would ever find one exactly like this one. It is a great guitar but I think it's a little overpriced.

All the feature are listed in detail throughout the other reviews...

Compared to a Les Paul Standard (which I also own), the Classic sounds much brighter and in my opinion less weighty. Notes sound thinner and tend to have more bite; which I like. I do think that the Standard is the better sounding guitar between the two, but I bought the Classic this time for the slim taper neck. I think for someone like myself with smaller hands, this is the best Gibson neck style out there.

I have seen some really shoddy work on Les Pauls lately, especially considering the price range they are in. On a lot of Classics I looked at, you could visibly see flaws in the neck binding and drill holes around the Pearloid inlays. I chose one that had none of these flaws; it cost me more but I would rather pay a little more money than live with inexcusable flaws on an instrument. Frets were good, action was good (I had to reintonate due to putting on 11s). Only flaw that I found was a buzzing on the low E string (mentioned in another review) that started after about one week - not audible through a guitar amp, but annoying enough. I fixed this by filing the nut - problem resolved, but still kinda ridiculous for a guitar in this price range.

I have had various Les Pauls and they are all die hard; should last for a long long time. I am going to install strap locks as the guitar is heavy and the strap buttons are very small. I learned the hard way with a Les Paul in the past. I never gig without a backup no matter what guitar I am playing.

Gibson has always treated me right despite other reviews I have read. I can get through in a decent amount of time, and they are always helpful. Lifetime limited warranty. I have taken my Gibsons in many times and never had any problems unlike other guitar brands I have owned.

This is an overall great guitar with great features. Rock solid guitar with standard features and a good sound. I would replace the guitar if stolen, and I would recommend the slim taper neck to anyone with smaller hands.

Most features were covered in all the other reviews so I won't cover the basics again . I do feel that since they do put four conductor pu's in they should have coil tapping with push pull pots considering the price of the guitar. But I bought it knowing it did'nt so I can't complain too loudly.

I agree with some of the other reviews this is a Rock guitar due to the pickups. If it was coil tapped as mentioned above it would probably lend it self to other styles more. I tend to rip the pickups out of all my guitars and replace them with duncans or dimarzios and put in coil taps.

The low e string slot on the nut was hardly cut the string kept popping off the neck I had them fix this at the store before I bought the guitar. The binding was peeling away from the neck on the top side buy the neck pickup end,(it was never glued properly more likely). I also had this fixed before I purchased the guitar.

Here lies my main complaint so far and will have to wait to see how it gets resolved. I noticed after I bought the guitar that I would get some buzz from the bridge every now and then depending on the note hit (resonance ?). it took a little longer to notice that some of the saddles do no not stay in position. I had the guitar for about a week and have adjusted the intonatin 3 times due to the g and b string saddles shifting. So right now I can't really use the guitar to play out. On a modern bridge each screw goes through the bridge then through the saddle an into the bridge again on the classics the screw just lays in a slot in the front end and a wire loosely lies across the top the all screws to keep them in. What a bad design. I realize that this is kind of a reissue except for the pickups as mentioned in other reviews, but it seems to me this is one place they could have put in the more updated part. Its kind of like putting out a pinto again (not that anyone would) and including to exploding gas tanks.

I called support about my bridge problem and they told me I have to take the guitar to an authorized repair center. over 2 hours away). or take the guitar back to the store where I bought it and have them replace the whole guitar?. In my opinion any store that is authorized to sell gibson guitars and has a qualified repair person (which for this problem is just about anyone) should be able to take care of this problem. or they should just send me a new bridge. This is not a cheap guitar and I should not have to go through too much difficulty to get this problem fixed. But then again I'm dealing with a large corporation. so we will have to wait and see how this turns out. The store I bought the guitar from is going to see if they can get better results.

Mine was made in October of 2000 in Nashville. Bought it in April of 2001. The finish is a Transparent Amber with a subtle amount of flame. I took the standard pickguard off to display the finish. I'm not crazy about 'bursts but i did want a transparent color to show the grain. Change the strap buttons, they're way too small.

This thing screams. I have a 30-watt Fender Deluxe 112 and I love the fat heavy tone i can get out of it. I personally like the pickups, although my buddy says they're too sensitive.

I did some minor tweaking with the bridge when I got it home, but I do that all the time. No visible flaws, mine has a real pretty knothole in the mahogany on the back that looks like an eye! The binding on the neck is so cool. no fret edges that cut!!!

If and when I gig with this thing, it will not leave my sight!! The tuning keys are something i'm keeping an eye on, they haven't given me a problem yet, but the 1960 kluson-style keys on it might be the first thing i replace next (already put straplocks on it). Plus, Its a Gibson, lifetime warranty.

I dealt with Gibson once, to find out my guitar's birthday. They were able to tell me it shipped on Oct 23 2000, all it took was a phone call.
I tried to buy it at Sam Ash, oye---don't get me started about them!!

I've been playing since i was 14, now it took till i was 32 to get my ultimate guitar. There's a lot of corporate guitar company bashing going on, but i always wanted a Les Paul. I love this thing.

2001, USA. Standard LP features.

Sounded full, rich. Played on clean / crunch.

I don't know if the guitar was actually all that new... It was being sold as new by the shop, but the jack plate was cracked, the frets were in need of a serious redressing, and the finish was less than great. The neck was nice, but the pickup switch was beginning to get loose. Other than that, pretty nice.

Heavy as lead, tough. Was really surprised at the poor finish.

NONE

For #2600, (dollar almost matches pound, so $2400), I was very unimpressed. I'd put this on a par with the Epi Les Paul Custom.

2001 model made in USA. 22 fret, 2 piece carved maple top, mahogany 1 piece back and one piece ultra fast mohogany 1960 slim taper neck. 2 volume, 2 tone, 2 Gibson Ceramic humbuckers (496R, 500T), beautiful amber finish, tune o matic bridge, vintage tuners, aged hardware and aged abalone inlays, standard gibson scale.

This is one of the most beautiful guitars I have ever seen. Mine is in one of the rarer colors for the classic, transparent amber with an impeccable finish. Then 1960 slim taper neck is one of the most playable and critically acclaimed necks on any guitar. Every detail about this guitar is top notch, the inlays are rifle straight, and everything is set up very well. Nice frets, not too big, but with enough metal for some good sustain and easy bends. Plays like a dream. I give it a 9 only because it is a simple set up, no strange tremelos, coil taps, midboosts, active eq's etc.

When I first plugged this in, I unplugged my standard strat and didn't change any amplifier settings in my Marshall. This thing doubled the volume and added a huge amount more overdrive. The tone is thick like a les paul should be, with a lot of low end and midrange but still having some serious bite. The ceramic pickups are seriously hot. They are not vintage sounding as one might expect from a 1960 "reissue". Instead they are extremely hot, even overloading my clean channel. Back off the volume to 8 though and you get a glistening clean sound from the bridge and a buttery rhythm from the neck. The pickups are beautiful for both distortion and clean tones although you may need to back the volume off for your clean channel. The pickups pull out a lot of harmonics and I can get a good controlled feedback (not microphonic) from the amp. Basically this guitar makes your amp scream. These are not old vintage tones you might get from old PAF pickups, these things can give you some serious gain. They are not so harsh as duncan distortion pickups though and are pretty flexible. This guitar sounds great for classic rock/rock/hard rock/metal/progressive rock which is mainly what I play. I can't say it's a shredder's guitar but it does the high gain thing with ease. It can also do the overdriven classic tones of Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd.

The action on this guitar is very low without any buzz. Like I said before this guitar is a player's dream. The neck is absolutely beautiful with just the right amount of depth. String bends and vibrato almost happen by themselves. The neck encourages you to play fast and try tricky trills.
The top of the guitar is a very gorgeous maple. It is not flamed but it does have very good color and grain. In a way i like it more than flames because it gives a really nice classic vintage look. Like an old Jimmy Page Paul stripped of the cherry sunburst and donned with a beautiful amber finish. Although Gibson sometimes gets criticised for this, all the hardware and everything appear to be top quality. It stays in tune very well even through heat changes. Everything is tight and solid.

A les paul is built like a tank. The neck is solid joined and if you have ever held one you know the neck is not going anywhere. Some people hate the weight but I love it. It keeps the neck solidly in place even if your fingers are moving all about. Everything hardwarewise is top notch. It will last for as long as you take care of it, these things are still around from the 1950's and I think they make them just as good now if not better.

Never used them yet.

I got a steal on this. It still had the new stickers on it but I got it online. It has never been played and yet it cost $1145 as opposed to about $1600 anywhere else. I still don't know why it was so cheap. I have been playing for about 6 years straight and I play live often. I have been using the Standard Strat I've had for 4 years and finally had the money to upgrade to my dream guitar. I compared to everything: parker fly, sg, PRS, Brian Moore, etc. But the deal was impossible to pass up and the 1960 neck action, and fat les paul tone made this guitar stand out from the rest. The only guitar with a better action was the Parker Fly Deluxe, but I didn't like the tone or body style as much. Too light. I wish it had pickup covers but they are easy to put on. A beautiful guitar in every category: looks, playability/feel, reliability, and tone. It is expensive, but if you find a deal don't pass it up.

2001 Model, standard carved maple top on mahogany, 2 volume 2 Tone controls and 3-Way toggle. The Classic uses 496-R and 500-T pickups with ceramic magnets. Slim-tapered neck set with a Rosewood fingerboard. Bla, Bla, Bla you know the rest.

L O U D. Definitely not a standard LP. Much closer to a SG than a mellower LP. I am a novice player although I've owned numerous guitars over the last 30 years. I have rather small hands and have always favored Strats because of the neck size. The Classic gives me a smooth comfortable neck that really fits my hands with some of the crunch of the SG sound. Since I only play for my own enjoyment I use it with a Fender Blues Jr. This combination allows me to get both a classic mid 60's British Blues sound ala Fleetwood Mac to a AC/DC Metal slam.

I was fortunate to find one in Ebony, which I was told, was a Mars exclusive. To me Strats need to be Sunburst, SG's Red and LP's Black. I think that the bridge needs some adjusting, I think its a bit to high and I'll have the dealer make some setup changes after I become more use to it. I know that the aged/greenish inlays on the neck are part of the Classic look but I find them incredibly ugly. The Classic comes without Pickup covers but I would prefer them because I leave my guitars on stands and feel that covers would prevent dust from getting into the coils. I probably land up having the dealer install a set when I bring it in for adjustments. The rosewood fingerboard is very smooth with a very nice feel.

Like all LP's, a very solidly built guitar. Since I don't travel with guitars this area is best left upto someone else.

Lifetime warranty for original owner. Never dealt with them so I can't judge.

Like previously stated I've played on and off over 30 years, but I'm a novice. I currently own a 1998 SG Standard, 1997 Strat, Martin D-16RGT, Alvarez PD-80 12 string, mid 60's Guild and the LP Classic. I find that the guitar is a nice cross between the sound of the SG and the playability of the Strat. Given the price difference between this model and the LP Standards and Customs I believe that it offers extraordinary value for the dollar.

2001 made-in-USA w/ Heritage Cherry Sunburst top. Other reviews cover the features, but my particular Paul has the engraved pickguard removed and no straplocks. My favorite tone is a cross between Clapton/Bluesbreakers and Slash, so the pickups, tone, volume, etc., are perfect for what I want

As mentioned, I stick mainly to the blues with jaunts into jazz, funk, pop, and rock. I use it with a Peavey Rage 158 tube-simulator practice amp and occasionally stick in a Boss flanger. I use both clean and distorted channels. I really love the bell-like tone of the clean setting with amp volume at 2-3, guitar volume at 9 on each p/up, and tone at 8 on each p/up. Distortion settings vary on the amp, but here's where the rhythm/treble toggle switch comes into playa lot. I like the treble (bridge humbucker only) position best. Some past reviewers don't think you can get a lot of variety given the features, but I find it's quite versatile.

I got a great deal, but I also shopped around and found a Paul with no noticeable flaws. Set up at an authorized Gibson dealer. Frets and action perfect from day one of trying it out. The bridge p/up is set a little high out of the cavity. If it gives me trouble I'll get it looked at, but the bass response in that pickup is excellent because of it. Top, sides (particularly around binding), back all well-matched. Bridge routed correctly. Controls evenly installed and aren't loose.

I don't intend to use this as a live animal often, but I would always bring a backup. It will last and last, but care will (and must) be taken with the headstock -- i.e., when setting it against a wall, etc. Just bought it a few days ago, so don't know about the finish in the long run, but have also owned a Gibby LP Studio, so I know that if you give it some TLC, it will last and hold up to the job. If I decide down the road to commit the Classic to a lot of road use, I will end up upgrading to straplocks, but the tuners will stay, they're fine. Very dependable, just pickup and crunch or scream away.

This is very hit or miss, from what I've read and what I've experienced. With the LP I used to own, I had a couple questions that were answered promptly and honestly. I haven't used it with this guitar yet, so I can't judge in this category.

I've been playing two years, and this is my/my parents' gift to me after recently completing college. I've owned a lot of different guitars, including a few Fenders and Fender amps, but I use this with a Lotus Tele copy and a Washburn D-11 acoustic, and the Peavey mentioned above. There's nothing I wished I would have asked. I talked down the sales clerk more than $400 and am entitled to free setups and checkups for the life of the instrument. I will never lose this baby, but if it were stolen, I would not hesitate to shop around and buy another of the same year and model.

The things I like the most are the selling points of this model: hot 496R/500T p/ups, slim-taper neck, lower price point than a LP Standard, etc. There's nothing at this point that I don't like about it. My favorite feature is the neck -- the rosewood feels less treated than other rosewood necks I've played, particularly on acoustics. The Classic's neck is just so smooth and playable, much more so than a Standard.

I compared it to Fender Teles and Strats, Hamers, Washburn electrics, and Gibby LPs and SGs. I chose this because of the appreciating investment, neck, pickups, look, and vibe. Sometimes I wish it had a tremolo, but that would also really mess with the intonation. Next to the Gary Moore LP and Gibson Studio DCs (and Standard DCs), the Classic is one of the best deals for cost and workmanship that Gibson currently produces.

This guitar is typical Les Paul. The guitar is well made, but I agree with some of the complaints made about it. First off, I don't understand why they are marketing these "Classic" guitars with hot pick-ups in it. A 1960 Les Paul reissue should come fitted with '57 Classic humbuckers. I realize they don't sell this guitar as a reissue, but they don't even have look of an old Les Paul. Not only do I like the look of pick-up covers, but they have a practical purpose as well. They help to keep sweat, dust, and dirt out of the coils. I also wish they would do the body trim the same way they did it in the 50's. If you don't know what I mean, take a look at the new Les Pauls vs. the Historic Reissues. Around the cutaway you'll notice the trim on older Les Pauls follows the contour of the guitar. This can't be that expensive, and it really does look better.

After all of my complaints, you'd think I hated this guitar. I actually do like it, but I just wish they would make it more like a "Classic" Les Paul.

Again the pick-ups are too hot for me. They distort too easy. If I play this guitar through my Prescription Electronics Vibe-Unit, it overloads the unit and always causes distortion. This doesn't happen to any of my other humbucking guitars. In my opinion, distortion is easy to add, but hard to take away. These pick-ups make my clean strumming sound like I'm trying to be in some modern alternative band, like Blink 182 or whatever crap the music industry is pushing on the youth these days. The beauty of a Les Paul is that it can be gentle and beautiful one minute and the next it can growl and scream. The harmonics on this thing prevent you from getting a truely clean sound, unless you are playing at low volume.

If you want a grunge/alternative sound, this guitar is set up for you. If you want jazz, blues, bluegrass, classic rock, etc..., think about some new pick-ups.

What I absolutely hate about this guitar is the fact that you can see drill holes around the fingerboard inlays. They fill these small holes in with puddy. Their higher end guitars are not built this way.

The neck is as straight as an arrow. The frets are not perfect, but I do like the feel of them. The top is plain, but there are no flaws in the wood and it is matched well. I once read in a Les Paul collectors book that attractive tops (flame, quilt, etc..) are a combination of diseased wood and a special cut. It said that although these tops look nice, there is a difference in wood density which does not necessarily enhance the transference of string vibration through the guitar. If anyone has information that contradicts this, please e-mail me.

I play guitars lovingly, so it doesn't get much abuse. It seems solid all around. I have one with a honeyburst finish and it is beautiful.

I have not yet recieved any attention from Gibson. I wanted to send my old '57 Black Beauty to the Custom Shop for an overhaul, but they don't seem to care. I thought they would be interested to see an original and fix it up with loving care. They don't care, they couldn't even send some fret wire that matches up with the original.

If anybody at Gibson reads this and cares, this is a summary: 1) do not put unecessary holes in the rosewood when putting in the inlays, 2) bind all guitar bodies the way you do on the Historic guitars, and 3) use '57 Classic humbuckers and keep the covers. If I were to need a new Les Paul, I would probably buy a '57 Historic Goldtop and adjust to the difference in neck shape. Maybe I would try to find a used '60 Historic.

woweeee i've got right here in my hands a Gibson Les Paul 1960 Re-issue Classic in Honeyburst. It was made in the good year of 2000. Standard Les Paul features (2 vol, 2 tone, 3-way switch) except that these have open coil hums (496R ceramic mag, and a 500T ceramic mag). It's got a mahogany back with a mahogany set in neck. Maple carved top, rosewood fingerboard. 1960 slim-taper neck....cam with a hardshell case

this thing can sound pretty full!!! of course...it's a les paul. depending on what kind of amp you're using it can sound anywhere from very thin and twangy to super fat. i like this all around but i like my DC Standard better

from the factory, this guitar was set-up so so. i had to set it up by myself to get it to my taste. i do that ith all guitars though, just like everyone should. the bridge was routed pretty well for a mass produced guitar and all around it was pretty nice.

yeah, well....i gig with back-ups ALL the time.....but i wouldn't if i didn't have to. this things a tank, IT'S A LES PAUL.

overall, this guitar is pretty nice. i bought it for the color...it's just a standard with better pickups basically. i'm a les paul player, so uhhh...all of you that don't know what i mean about les pauls, go pick one up and play it. you'll know.

Carved maple honeyburst top with mahogany back. 496R and 500T Humbucker Pickups, 3 way switch, two volume and two tone controls, tune-o-matic bridge, Mahogany 1960 slim taper neck with rosewood fingerboard, trapezoid inlays. Made in U.S in June 2000.

This guitar really suits my needs. The pickups are loud and the guitar
does good in hard rock. Using with a fender 8 watt practice amp, but
I have to keep the volume down on the guitar or it overloads/over distorts the amp. I have a 50 watt Marshall on the way.(needed a better amp for this guitar.) I play this Les Paul through a Dan Electro Cool Cat Chorus and it sounds great. Also use a flanger, and can duplicate sounds of early Rush songs. I like the warm sound with the switch in the rhythm position and also the bright sounds with the switch in the treble position. I had a hard time (almost impossible)
getting harmonics on the 5th fret, but discovered if I pick close to the bridge pickup, the harmonics at the 5th fret come out loud and clear.

I was dissapointed with the way the guitar was set-up from the factory and I had to adjust the truss rod and action to get it to where I like it, but then again it may just be a matter of individual preference. I changed the stings from Les Paul Signature 9s to Regular Les Paul 10s, and was happy with the sound of the new strings.
No flaws noted in the finish and is outstanding.

This Les Paul is built very durable and hardware is perfect. It is
a heavy guitar and I would recommend strap guards with it.
I can depend on this guitar and I would use it at a gig without a backup. Finish is tough and seems like it will last.

Came with a life time warranty for the original owner only.
I've never had to get it repaired so n/a.
Dealer was very helpful with questions I had.

I have been playing about 2 years. If it were stolen, I would buy it again, although I am curious about PRS guitars. I also own a Fender Strat. I like both guitars, but I play the Les Paul more. I like the humbucker pickups compared to the single coils on the strat, which are at times too noisy. I how the neck on this guitar allows easy playing and movement over the fingerboard. One thing I dont like is the location of the input for the guitar which seems to put pressure on the cord jack when you set it down. I havent broken a connection on a cord yet, but I think that day is coming. Also, it is a heavy guitar and I wish it was a little lighter. When shopping for a new guitar, I compared it to the PRS guitars and decided on the Gibson Les Paul because of its history and the price was reasonable.
I would have gone with a PRS but they are just so darn expensive.
Also, the availability of PRS are up to 8 months, and I wanted a guitar-now! I wish that the Les Paul had a tremola bar, so that I could use it on some leads, but I have to rely on other techniques to get a vibrato type sound. Overall Im very happy with this guitar and I think it was an outstanding buy and would recommend this guitar!

2000 model, purchased in early February of 2000. Mine was the 1960 Re-Issue with slim-taper neck, 22 frets on rosewood fingerboard, mahogany body with maple front, aged trapezoid inlays, open 496R and 500T humbucking pickups, Cherryburst finish. Tune-O-Matic bridge with stop tailpiece, you know the drill on this model...

Classic Les Paul sound. Rock and Roll forever out of this. Loud pickups, not as much variety as some of my other guitars, but what it does it does well.

The guitar was perfect for me out of the box. I eventually raised the neck pickup about 1/16 of an inch to match the volume better between the two PUs, but other than that I have not had to make any adjustments other than typical adjustments tat you do when changeing strings. Finish is excellent, just what you would expect on an instrument of this price range.

I have dragged this guitar around a bit (I do not play professionally, I do get together with friends occasionally and have used this at company parties on stage). I am not afraid to bring this anywhere, and do not expect any problems. I have never brought a backup when expecting to use this one except if I needed another sound that this one would not make.

Never used 'em. Never had call to.

I've been playing since 1965, but took an almost 10 year break while the kids were small. I bought this when I wanted to start playing again but did not want to spend the even higher price tag for a standard LP. I like the sound and looks of the guitar even though it has a plain (not figured) front. I might be tempted to replace it with a fancier face if it were no longer here. But I also wish it had more lightness, I might be tempted to replace it with an Epiphone LP ES to take some of the strain off my sholder and back. (I was in an auto accident a couple of years ago and my ribs get sore after some time lugging a 9+ pound guitar around.)

Mine was the 1960 Re-Issue with slim-taper neck, 22 frets on rosewood fingerboard/mahogany body, aged trapezoid inlays, open 496R and 500T humbucking pickups, Cherryburst - probably 1998 manufacture. Sold it when I ran out of patience that it would magically become a decent guitar.

Feature are straightforward, basic, but for a guitar that lists for $4000 or so I'd expect a good deal more. I guess re-issue means you pay an additional $1500 for some gold lettering on the pickguard.

I found the sound of these particluar humbucking pks to be the worst of any quality guitar I've played. They seem to be wound for screaming past full stacks and to my ear a harsh and one-dimensional. I think I play a range of styles and was only comfortable with these pick-ups when thrashing. IMHO, they don't push effects well because they're monochromatic - no character. What is hear is more effect than guitar sound. Tried it through three different amps, under performed in all of them.

The Gibson set-up was embarassing - If you think the company actually cares. I would say they have unskilled labor on the tailend of their assembly line. I completely redid everything, including the strings. The intonation and neck set was way off. However, the finish was really great, very few flaws - but I would expect this from one of their top of the line guitars, so big congratulations.

I hated the neck, far too skinny to the point of being limiting. The frets weren't crowned at all - machined stamped flat. Finally, it's heavy and the shape is uncomfortable.

Built like a tank, never had a doubt it would outlive many other guitars. Don't know why you'd need a back-up unless you wanted to bring a good sounding and comfortable guitar along just for the heck of it.

N/A, except warranty is not transferable ( I think I'm correct) which says to me Gibson's warranty is on initial quality only.

Don't make the same mistake I made, play the guts out of this guitar before you buy it. I was lucky I sold it at a slight gain, but only because it was like new and this guitar still has a certain cache. I think it's flat out obsolete, and the hot pickups are like putting a ruanchy teddy on your grandma.

Compared to Gibson ES-335/345, P-90s, P-100s, Strats, Ricks and EB Axis, even an Epi acoustic, the last guitar of the bunch I'd like to be stuck on an island with is an LP Classic. I think there are $300 foreign made solid bodies that can outperform and outsound this $4000 monster in every way - but perhaps longevity. My apologies to all Les Paul lovers out there - live long and prosper.

2000 Model, made in U.S.A., 22 Frets, Carved maple top on mahogany, 2 volume 2 Tone controls( Neck & Bridge Pickups ),3-Way toggle switch:Treble(Bridge),Rhythm(Neck)all wired for standard humbucking operation. Twin humbucker configuration: Gibson 496-R Neck and 500-T Bridge. Both passive pickups equipped with ceramic magnets. One piece Mahogany neck set to a mahogany body, bound les paul single cut-away style body. Classic nickel tune-o-matic/stop bar bridge and tailpiece. Vintage style gibson deluxe tuners found on old les pauls and some standard models. 1960 slim taper LP neck ( The fastest les paul neck ever made ),scale lenght 24 34", nut width 1.6875", bound rosewood fingerboard with "aged" trapezoid inlays. It came with a nice Gibson USA les paul case with silk internal cover. It also included a truss rod tool. The guitar is strung with a set of Gibson Les Paul signature series pure nickel wrap strings .09-.46 custom gauge which is the string gauge i use with all my electrics. Straight out of the box, my paul was setup perfect for my preference. It was tuned half a step lower from standard when i got it and that's exactly how i tune all my guitars. I have tuned to Eb since i started playing 15 Yrs. ago.

This guitar is perfect for ROCK !!! which is mainly my style. This guitar really ROCKS ! I just love it. The fastest les paul neck i've ever played. Very smooth fingerboard, not dry at all( straight out of the box.)I have over 25 pedals new and vintage but i like playing it with the Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive set for boost: Level up, drive down and the Boss BD-2 Blues Driver set at normal overdrive use: Level at 10 O'clock,Tone at 9 O'clock and Gain at 2 O'clock. I add a little bit of delay from my Boss DD-5 set for reverb-like delays and the sound i get is like RUSH's "working man" song. I nailed it!!! I play thru a Marshall JCM2000 DSL100 head ( set on clean channel if i'm using Overdrive effects pedals ) and a Marshall JCM900 4100 both with Marshall 1960A 4x12 cabinets with celestion 30's switching via whirlwind a/b box. I also use a VOX AC30 Top Boost reissue for clean sounds but when i got the Marshall JCM2000,i can't believe how the clean channel sounds like! It's so clean that you won't believe it's a Marshall. On high gain settings, let me just give you this warning as Carl Bell of FUEL said it:"Know what the roar of a les paul through a marshall can do to your gonadtropic zone--That's your balls,buddy. It can pump you up and make you sterile at the same time. And all the while making you smile". I also play blues and classic rock and a little jazz and this guitar is just perfect. In my entire musical experience, the gibson les paul is the best sounding humbucker equipped guitar i have ever played. And the PRS? It's not what it's all cracked up to be( I own 2 PRS, Custom 22 & McArthy ) Tonal versatility? Yes, but the warmth,roundness,fatness and the creamy super sustain of a les paul is still unmatched by any other humbucker equipped guitar up to this day!!! The tone is just beautiful. It's the ultimate ROCK GUITAR and it's the standard by which all humbucker guitars are judged! Period!!!

Straight out of the box,i picked it up,opened the nice case tuned it a little bit (the G & B strings are slightly flat ),started playing some scales,some licks. Sounds great and i haven't even plugged it in yet! Setups are perfect for my taste out of the box!Awesome. The guitar is just perfect. I mean PERFECT. Beautiful Honey Burst. The top has a bit more arched than a standard. I own 2 LP standards '81 and a mid-seventies. Cherry sunburst and a tobacco burst. The pickups are HOT! Specially the 500T in the bridge. This is so far the loudest, hottest pickups from gibson. Well, of course they have the Tony Iommi model now which is off the scale!!! My Gibson SG Standard is equipped the Tony Iommi Signature Pickups.

The guitar is pretty solid! It's built for HEAVY ROCKING!! Although i wouldn't use it on a gig without replacing the strap buttons with a locking type. It's just too tiny.Unless you get the gibson safety strap which is spacially made for these strap buttons. Watch out!you could lose a very expensive chunk of wood. I would definitely use it without a backup. The only reason why guitar players bring a bunch of guitars for backup, is string breaks. No one would bring a guitar that will fall apart in the middle of a song.

One of the best sounding, best playing, great looking guitar i've ever played. It's the original and still the best Rock 'N Roll guitar ever made. The Gibson Les Paul.

Year 2000 Tobacco burst finish, very nice looking indeed. Nicely aged tuners that I find work quite well and the aged trapezoid inlays are also very nice to look at. The wood on this guitar is simply gorgeous as the finish is right on and the back of the neck shows the gradations in the would from a speckled goldish color to a deep, deep brown. the neck is perfect for me as I don't possess very large hands and looked specifically for a 1960 Classic as its neck is a bit smaller and plays fast. The guitar is a perfect fit for me and I have all but stopped playing my only other guitar, a 1987 Schecter that I bought new and have played since 1987 and love too. But this Gibson 1960 Classic guitar plays very, very nicely and allows for smoother chord work and excellent lead with picks and finger picking styles too. Everytime I play it the tuning holds better, and i get further away from using the Schecter. My son is using that guitar now as it is infinitely more playable than his danelectro. I put pickup covers on mine to both improve the cosmetics (my opinion) and to protect the pickups which are the 500T and 496R. The neck position plays very bluesy, not as warm as i though it might be at first, however what Ive learned is to dial back the treble just a hair and it does exactly what i want and more. Very versatile pickup there. If i need more attack, i open the treble on the neck pickup all the way. very touch sensitive. Oh, I should mention that I play through my brand new Dr. Z Maz Jr. 18 and a finer amp you will not aquire as it affords a wide variety of tone rich with harmonics and all volumes, and if you want to hear what powerchords are supposed to sound like, combine the treble pickup with the maz cranked and you will hear the sound you have always been looking for. Pete Townshend indeed. I waited 4 months or more for this amp. different amps with there own good tone, maybe, but better sounding, better craftsmanship? doubtful. but thats another review. Comes with plush Gibson Hard Shell Case.

Superb. Not hugely versatile, it does exactly what very good Les Paul should do. Better then many Les Pauls being produced today.

Under the saddle a little workmanship issue where the "bridge height wheel" is. there is a little insert or missing piece of wood. not even visible.

Ive been carrying it around tons. and yes, its getting scratched a bit, so what. im not a collector, i play it. My only gripe is a little crack formed in the input jack plastic molding that surrounds the jack.

Comes with a warranty, one year maybe? i bought if used 2 months after it waw purchased brand new and had hardly been out of the case.

I have been playing for 20 years. the last 5 in a serious way.

Mine is a honeyburst Les Paul Classic (not the Classic Plus, which has fancier maple). It is a beautiful single cutaway mahogany body with maple cap and a mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard. It is a standard Les Paul configuration (3-way pickup toggle switch and 2 volume, 2 tone controls that you can't blend). Pickups are 2 ceramic magnet humbuckers made by Gibson (500T? 496R?). It has a vintage ABR bridge (not tune-o-matic). Standard Gibson 24-3/4 scale neck. The neck is thinner than a regular Les Paul per 1960 specs and is amazingly comfortable for both lead and chord playing. The guitar cam with a plush case and neck tension rod wrench. Gibson sent me a letter indicating you have a lifetime warranty. Don't know the brand of tuners used but they are a vintage-style plastic, not metal. Aged greenish trapezoid inlays in the neck. My maple top is not figured but is very attractive up close. Standard Carved Les Paul top. Like a prior reviewer I found this guitar less bright than the Les Paul Standard, but since I own single coil guitars I wanted something with more mid-range and warmth and this guitar does that tone well.

The tone (at least at reasonable volumes) is classic Les Paul (think Allman Brothers), but perhaps a tad darker and warmer - much warmer than a Les Paul Standard, but still with some bright high ends depending on your picking style. This is not a guitar that "sparkles" on the high end, but it has enough to satisfy me - even playing through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe which is an amp with more bass/midrange voicing and less high-end than most Fender amps. If I had only one guitar, I might go with the Les Paul Standard or a Guild Bluesbird for a wider range of tone, but I was looking for a jazzier, darker tone and this guitar does that extremely well. A great blues guitar that you can play some quite jazz on as well.

The pickups were a little hot for my liking so I adjusted them downward a bit from the strings to avoid a distortion - other players might like that however. I was looking for more of a blues/jazz tone. This minor adjustment seemed to do the trick.

It was set up well, but with light gauge strings (0.09s) I haven't found any flaws, but I'm not a perfectionist. The pickup selector is a little loose - don't know why. See note above regarding adjustment of the pickups.

It looks solid.

No experience.

I've been playing for over 30 yeras. I would probably buy this guitar again if it were lost or stolen.

I love the warm tone and the neck - very playable - and one of the best guitar necks I've seen.

It is a darker and warmer - toned guitar than a Les Paul Standard or a Guild Bluesbird. However you could easily change this with a swap of pickups as this is essential a Les Paul Standard with different pickups and a slightly thinner neck.

My Les Paul was made in '99. It has a beautiful honeyburst finish with a mahogony neck and aged trapezoid inlays. It has two humbucking Gibson pickups and a three-way toggle switch. When I bought the guitar I was actually going to get a Les Paul Standard but I played te Classic and the neck was thinner and the guitar was more playable. It also had a lot more chunk and was a little less expensive than the Standard.

This guitar sounds great. I play modern dirt rock with a mix of good ol' blues rock and it suits the style perfectly. I play it through a Marshall JCM 2000 DSL 100 head and 1960 4x12 cab. For effects I use and Alesis Q20. I have never had a problem with feedback, in fact it is the quietest guitar that I have ever played. The guitar doesn't have a great variety of souds. Its either crunchy treble or a rich warm tone. My only complaint is that it is difficult to get a bright, clean, springy tone.

Everything on the guitar is adequite as far as action and fit go. The pickups are adjusted exactly how I want them. However, one of the frets needs a little filing. The finish is beautiful. The peice of wood used for the top of my guitar is great piece and I am very happy with the cosmetics of my guitar.

This guitar is very dependable in my opinion. I've only had it for about a year but it seems that it will last a good while. I am a little nervous about the plastic around the input jack because it seems a little fragile. Also, I have already had to buy two new toggle switch caps.

I am not very sureon the specifics of the warranty but I know there was one. I've never had to get it repaired though so I am hoping a warranty won't be neccessary.

I have been playing for about 8 years and I only have one other electric guitar which is an Ibanez Jem 555. I play the Gibson much more and I am completely satisfied with the guitar. If it was stolen I would most definately buy a new one. For the type ofmusic I play it is the perfect guitar and has the perfect sound. The only thing I wixh it had is a single coil middle pickup.

New in 2000. All original. Beautiful honey finish. Properly equipped classic features, this is not a toy guitar.

I diagree with Randy, what did he buy for $800? For $1500 I got that great Les Paul sound that I wanted. I use Marshall JCM800 Lead Series Combo with 2-12" celestions and Marshall Power Brake. What could be better?

The neck is narrow and the action is extremely fast. I absolutely love it. I have played an SG since 1975, a Studio LP since 1977, and a US Standard Strat since 1987. I can not imagine a better electric. It was adjusted by a tech at Sam Ash that knew what he was doing. I may change the tuners but do not want to screw new holes in it. I use Schaller tuners on my other Gibsons.

The 1960 Classic is a real deal Gibson Les Paul and not like some of the lesser quality mass productions that Gibson is putting their name on.

I never had to deal with the factory. I would not let just any body work on it.

Playing since 1968. If it disappeared I would have to replace it. I don't think you can get any better for this price. The originals are in the 5 figure range.