Gibson 1957 Les Paul Custom

It's a Gibson LP --- hasn't changed since time immemorial...

Good, but $$$$$$

Not as good as you'd expect for 3k -- not nearly as good as PRS or some other luthiers.

Shows wear quickly, but some players desire this.

Yea, right.

I don't intend to alientate any particular luthier, so I won't give my name -- but I will tell my story. Short version: get an Epiphone Les Paul Custom instead, replace the pickups with a high output bridge and mellow potted neck, and you'll have a pro-quality working guitar for under 1k. Long version -- I'm from Texas, been playing since '76, have owned dozens of big name guitars, and now own two Epi LP customs (my "A" guitar and a backup), and that's it. When I was a little more popular a few years back, the Nashville guys (prior to their corp. reorganization) noted I played an GLPC on tour, and invited me to their Nashville offices -- where I was treated like just another schlep who wanted a free guitar every year. Players of my era have been so brainwashed by Gibson's 70's marketing (giving Jimmy Page, Peter Frampton & Ace Frehley guitars, among others) that we're still hung up on the name, just as people get hung up on Coke, Polo, BMW and Starbucks. The same guys who will buy their giant screen TV made in Korea from Sams, will poo-poo an Epi LPC because it's not made in Nashville by guys who couldn't get a UAW job at the Murfreesboro Nissan plant.

Same as below, this is a followup post to my original one.

Sounds great. See Action/Fit/Finish.

After the first year (which was awesome - best guitar I ever owned), after having to send it to CShop again, they sent it back with poor intonation and a new nut that would "ping" even on .009s.

I had some trouble with this guitar. Had the neck repaired and got it back in great condition, but the guitar wasn't holding it's tuning like it used to. A few months later a small hairline cracks appeared on the neck. See Customer Support below.

After getting the small cracks (apparently only in the finish) a local "A" grade Service Center told me to take it straight to Gibson again. I've had service center personell tell me a few times from different centers that they dislike doing warranty work because Gibson makes it hard for them to payout to the center for their work. This may explain them pawning me off back to Gibson without even a casual care.

Gibson returned the guitar to me saying they shaved the neck and the cracks were only in the finish (how could I know after the initial repair/scare?), they refinished the neck and put a new nut on it apparently. This is where I got pissed. The damn thing was intonated poor as hell and the nut was way too narrow for .009s (I play on .010s). Beautiful guitar, awesome sound, great attention to details, but this is the last straw... too much crap for a "premium" guitar. Give me USAs anyday. No more CShops for me. Now I have to setup the guitar ($100 + $40 first shipback and + $40 for second ship back). Awesome catch 22 with the old service centers! Motivate them better to help us here and avoid UPS purgatory!

Nice polite people, but apparently there's no money in repairs (loss prevention at this stage?)... returning customers appear to be no concern.

2001 '57 reissue Les Paul Custom. Made in USA. All mahogany (top and back). 2 volume/2 tone controls, 3 way switch. Mine is a 2 humbucker version w/ '57 classics. Ebony fretboard. Stopbar/Tune-O-matic bridge with Grover tuners. Neck is nice and thick. Came with Custom shop case, cable, and documents.

I give it a 10 here, but what other features could you possibly cram onto a guitar?! Maybe a Floyd Rose and built in effects - or some sort of death ray, but that's not for me - I want a classic guitar with controls for each p'up :)

The all mahogany is a nice difference from other LPs. It's a little more "round", a little less bright... but only slightly.

I play atomic age blues (Howlin' Wolf, Elmore James, Chuck Berry, etc) none of the SRV copycat stuff!!!... there's just too many white guys with strats playing fast texas blues!! I also play classic rock, and good old fashioned rock and roll (AC/DC, Johnny Thunders, Rolling Stones, theCult). I use this in a HardRock/Metal side project as well.

I use only tube amps, mainly a Peavey Classic 50 4x10", but I also use a 2x12" version and a Fender Blues Junior. Used it on a Vox Cambridge 30, and a 50w 2channel and a 100w one channel Marshall JCM800 (wished I hadn't sold them!). I use NO EFFECTS AT ALL.

In the Blues Jr. this guy really shines. Alot of mid with a raunchy LinkWray quality if desired (kind of open vowel "wah" type of mid - good stuff!). The pickups aren't very hot like the Burstbucker 3, but I like them this way. Sensitive to subtleties, good overdriven sound. The clean is warm and not too jangly, compresses well when volume moves up.

In the Peaveys the '57 is equally awesome. Nice sustain. Good neck mass, as well as body mass. Very dense solid mahogany. The heavy neck and body, as well as long neck tenon, adds a great deal in the sustain department. The pickups are not a boring "dad's pickup" sound, but they are not super slaytanic metal sustainiac machines. They can smolder and scream or be soft, smooth, and jazzy. Pots are very responsive. I like both p'ups on sometimes with the neck on about 6-8 on the knob, nice and weighty tone for lead work this way. Neck p'up is velvetty smooth, bridge is at times nice and raw, brittle, crunchy, heavy, thick... all depending on your amp, settings, and taste.

I like this guitar best because it is distinct, but very moldable. You can get the most out of your amp and create your desired sounds pretty easily. I've used it to record a great deal, and it is a main stage guitar live. It just straight out rocks.

The factory setup was great!

The only problem I had was the 2001 models came with .009s. The nut is grooved for .009s (and a little too small on the G string at that - it can't be 100% perfect I guess), but this thing rocks with .010s. The more current models have .010s, and even more historically accurate specs (small stuff though, like the bumblebee capacitors, thin plastic switch washer/jack plate, burstbucker pickups... small stuff).

The last problem I found was as the wood settled the ebony fretboard warped slightly causing the neck to bow back a bit. The heavy neck mass helped keep the ebony at bay, but ebony is a bit harder than mahogany and won. This resulted in a truss rod that couldn't be loosened or "relieved". The problem seemed to be limited to 2001 models (only ebony fretboards and due to the fret slots being cut too narrow or something like this), and resolved in later reissues (2002-current) once Gibson CustomShop discovered it. So I don't really blame Gibson :)

Also has the G-string curse occasionally. I attribute 95% of this to the nut slot being a little too narrow, the other 5% to it being a typical characteristic on the scale of neck (although even my Fenders seem to have this problem from time to time). This is where the G string has issues staying/getting in tune at times. This is a non-issue now. Got it set for .010s and the string doesn't meet with friction through the nut slot.

Finish looks nice. The nitro-cellulose outer coat is supposed to let the wood breathe ("...it breathes? it's alive!!"). Supposed to be better than polyura-something gloss.

Alot of people dislike fat necks so they can all shred ultra fast... the neck aids sustain and plays very easily if you play often. Maybe it's too thick for some because they're used to shaking their pencils in the shower. It's a blast to bend notes on and resonates notes well... the neck is one main reason why I bought it.

This guitar is a tank. Heavy as hell. I had a problem keeping it tuned in the case... I think the neck support pushed on relieved neck tension when inside the case. I set it on it's side and this seemed to fix it (was in tune for weeks on end!), but it could've been the wood issue I described above (the wood settling and fighting each other's tension).

Swapped out the strap buttons for straplocks, just in case.

I've used this guitar through entire shows, without any hitches. But only a dumbass plays without a backup! If I had to play without a backup though, I would choose this one to do it with. It is a very dependable guitar! A+ in my book!!!

Very solid and durable... I accidentally jammed the headstock into the ceiling once, and was about to cry - expecting the headstock to shear off from the neck (a common casualty with all LesPauls). It slammed into a light fixture and all that happened was a headstock chip (on the back corner of the headstock). This guy could survive alot of things. If I had to fight off legions of zombies, I could swing this at 'em all day.

The above mentioned trussrod/neck problem... I shipped it back to the CustomShop almost 2 years after the thing was made, and they fixed it! Gave it some sort of heat treatment - spa vacation. Helped it set right I guess.

I called them and they were very nice! Southern gentlemen (and women). Makes me want to move to Nashville and work for them.

Fast turnaround too. Work order received Monday, shipped to me on Wednesday.

I've been playing for around ten years or so (I don't remember when I started!).

I own:
-Gibson ES-135
-Gibson LesPaul Jr.
-Epiphone '58 Explorer
-2 Fender Telecasters
-a crappy Fender Squire Strat (awesome value guitars!)
-Jackson RR5 Randy Rhoads copy V (ivory w/ pinstripes)
-Ibanez AR200 Les Paul copy double cutaway.
and some acoustics and a dobro.

This is the king of my collection. It is used on more recordings than any of my other guitars (ES-135, LP Jr., and the Teles are a close second). Some day I'll add a '57 Goldtop or '59 flamed top to the collection... Gibson CustomShop Historic reissues are the most crafted instruments I've ever played.

If it got stolen I'd kill the thief, if I lost it I'd kill myself. Either way, I'd replace it with another '57 Custom or a '57Goldtop or '59flametop.

People bitch about the price (it is expensive as hell), but if you are serious about music, why not get a serious guitar? It is well worth every penny! My best and favorite instrument. I refuse to ever complain about the price.

People also bitch about the weight. The weight is a byproduct of the sustain and tonal characteristics of the wood and construction, so no complaints here again. Go into battle with a solid weapon, not some bolted together conveyor belt toy. Grow some back muscles and quit crying. It is too awesome to not use, sound and feel.

I can't give it an overall rating of 10 due to some minor issues, but this is my best guitar. Well worth the price.

Mine is a 2001 Black Beauty 2 PAF edition. Made in the US of A. Mahogany top on top of a mahogany frame (two pieces total without neck). Two Gibson '57s. Ebony fretboard, 22 frets. Gold hardware, vintage tuners, nice and thick neck for more tone. Case came with polish cloth, certificate, picks and a cable.

AWESOME! very thick juicy Les Paul tone. I use it with a Line 6 Spider 210 and it is very nice with some bite on treble. I play mostly Metallica and Osbourne. Some Hendrix and Led Zeppelin with modern metal music.

The action was set too high at the store for me, strings were way too light. The thing looks so cool with vintage binding and all. A little heavy though. Makes me cry when scratched.

I never played it live. I know the gold would fade (makes it look aged). Nitro-cellulose will wear and I use a strap lock strap, so no problem. I always use a backup when playing because sometimes the strings aren't as reliable as the guitar.

The warranty is pretty good, but Guitar Center is extremely good at helping me.

I've been playing for 5 years, (14 years of age here). I own an Epiphone Les Paul standard, if it were lost, I am not sure if my dad will buy me another. I love its sound and playability, especially the fatass neck. I hate how I cry so much when it gets scratched. I wish that the guitar was lighter though, only 5 foot 9 here. Kinda expensive.

1992 Custom Shop Historic '57 Black Beauty (2 Pick-up Model) Made in America. A point of clarification. Some think that because the Guitar has a solid mahogany top and bottom that they both comprise a single piece of mahogany. Not so. The top is solid mahogany (1 piece) and the body is ANOTHER piece of solid mahigany (1 piece) each. Also 1 piece mahogany neck nitro cell lacquer finish in black, ebony fingerboard, nice medium small fret wire (fretless wonder size)gold grover tuners, '57 Classic Humbuckers, standard stop tail piece, standard 3 way pickup selector. The neck has an interesting profile, more "C" shaped than a '60 Slim taper, yet smaller than a killer '59 round club profile. Very comfortable with enough meat to ensure good Les Paul fat-tone. Standard ho-hum Canadian case. A nice classic black case would be a nice touch as compared to this funky orange colored thang with the out-dated Gibson USA logo. Really.

I play rock, blues, mostly, some jazz. I play this guitar most of the time straight into the amp, with overdrive too. This guitar has such a sweet resonant sound through everything it sounds very good. My amps include '59 Fender Tweed Deluxe, '64 Blackface Deluxe Reverb, '66 Blackface Super Reverb, and '71 Marshall JMP 100 watt half stack w/4-12" Celestion Rola 25 watt cab, and a killer fawn colored Mesa Boogie Mark I 100 watts with oxblood grill and JBL. Yikes! I have some great effects I run through sometimes MXR Phase 90, MXR Flanger, TS-808 Tube Screamer, Teese RMC-3, Boss DM-2 Delay, Boss CE-2 Chorus, Boss SD-1 Overdrive, Jeckyll & Hyde Overdrive. I won't deny it my shit is good, but this Les Paul is my only real electric I have aside from a Kramer Nightswan which nary makes out of the closet these days. As for the guitar's sound: Full, with bite on the treble side and a smooth full midrange and crunchy but not overpowering bottom with good crisp low E. Let's face it most Les Pauls are dead when it comes to the low E string. Do yourself a favor, pick one with a lively low E, you'll forever be glad you did. It's well worth it. I can feel the guitars fullness through the neck. It's dramatic. Unplugged a open G chord gives good "krrranggg" if you know what I mean. Each pickup position is very distinct and a excellent representation of what each position ideally should sound like. The bridge position is bright, with bite and crunch, but smooth at the same time. Middle position has a nice twang with clarity on top yet smooth on the bottom; the neck position is full, authoritative, yet also has nice bite on top and very very smooth. All positions exhibit magnificent dynamics with regard to amp settings, pick attack, volume and tone settings on the guitar. The vol and tone knobs are very usable whether playing Fender clean or Marshall distorted. For me, this guitar covers a lot of ground. I tweak amp and guitar settings more than a lot of people because I don't mind spending time to make an amp sound as good as I like to hear. Consequently, this Les Paul can go from a smooth Jim Hall type jazzy sound, a biting stinging (like a tele) sound or a thick classic rock (Gibbons-like) sound all with no problem. It's plenty for me to work with for sure. I've been playing for about 25 years. I've A-B'd this guitar with a $10,000.00., Max '59 Sunburst (made with Gibson '59 era wood stock) which was once owned by Slash and I preferred the feel and sound of my guitar. My Les Paul is the best Les Paul I have ever played overall. I've played many others that had qualitys that were excellent, but overall mine does it for me. By the way, when I first got it I took out the '57 Classic pickups and installed Duncan Alnico Pro IIs because a friend had them in his Goldtop and they sounded pretty good. They sounded like shit. I hated them in my guitar and replaced them back to the '57s. I will never swap them out again unless these pickups break. I just think this guitar likes those 57s regardless of what else is out there. They are definitely good enough for me.

The good news is, the neck is straight as shit! As straight and hard as you want, thus the action and playability is perfect. Very low, smooth, effortless, and indeed fretless wonder caliber. While the pain is good the binding work is clearly second-rate. You can run your nail along the edge and feel where the edge of the binding is uneven with the guitar body in some areas and more even in others. Overall I don't care because the guitar sounds great. I know some people hate that and I don;t blame them one bit. For the money its unacceptable. Hamer guitars costing 1/4 of what the Les Paul does have much better binding work from guitar to guitar. The inlay on the headstock and fretboard is first-rate though. All electronics work perfect. No scratchy pots, no missaligned pickups (I hate that) the nut is perfect and I like the material like a synthetic bone, very nice in my opinion. No pops crakles, sputters of any kind. Very quiet. Again the wood quality is very good. Nice resonant lively wood in this guitar. Nice medium light weight too. No swiss cheese drilling in this one (like Standard model Les Pauls) thank you. In my opinion drilling holes in the body will make a difference, do make a difference, and phsysically SHOULD make a difference. I think the un-drilled body has better resonance.

A sturdy well made guitar, but I know the headstock will snap like a kiln-dried twig if I'm stupid enough to lean it up against something because I'm too lazy to put it back in its case. My feeling is with a Les Paul if you aint playing it, put it back in its case. Otherwise, its only a matter of time when either you or some other dildo knocks it over and snaps the headstock. It'll never feel the same or be the same after that. The neck is mounted nicely to the body and the body as solid as hell. I don't use strap locks. That's my version of living dangerously. However, I like to think I have control of my guitar when I have to. I have to rely on this guitar its the only one I play nowadays. I sold everything else. I'm lookin for something else that captures my interest like this LP.

I hear many bad things about Gibson's customer support. In my brief conversations with their reps they are more interested in sucking up to dealers than pleasing individual consumers. On the other hand I know friends who have gotten good results after complaining about one thing or another.

If this were lost or stole I would definitely look for something comparable. I'd be pissed but what else you gonna do - right? I love this guitar because its a good all around electric guitar. In truth I hate most of the Les Pauls I play year in year out. Because so many have tone flaws that are unacceptable to me whether its the notorious DEAD low E string, or dead spots in high traffic playing areas, or just plain dead wood that you know will not improve over time, or over-finished guitars, this thick polyester finish junk is horrible. In my estimation this is a world class guitar, easily a fine example of what a good Les Paul Custom should sound and feellike and it plays like a dream. I'm extremely comfortable wherever I play it. I looked for a solid year and a half before finding this one. I previously hated the Les Paul Custom style Les Paul because I thought it was too gaudy. But when a friend asked me to cjeck it out I knew immediately that it sounded like one in a thousand to me. Interstingly, I once traded it for a Tobacco-Burst Standard that was also a great guitar, but the minute I got home I knew I traded away the best guitar I'll ever own. To pay for me foolishness I offered the buyer $200 to undo the deal. You can be certain it won't happen again.

Made in America
22 Frets
Solid Mahogany top
2 Classic 57 humbucking pickups, 3 way switch
Mahogany top and body
Ebony finish
w/ Hard Case

Rock and Roll/Blues
Punk/Metal
This guitar rocks. Feeds back fantstically also.

Just like a 57... fat baseball bat-like neck. This could double as a serious weapon. No flaws whatsoever. The most beautifull guitar I've ever bought. You have to hold it in yer grubby paws to appreciate the beauty. The low E string was dented severely, making a dead buzz at the 8th fret, changed strings and BAM - fixed.

If you pick hard (or with a heavy pick) they warn about "string buzz", they suggest raising the action. They know exactly what they are talking about - it worked. Now I can rock the paint off of the walls. The sustain is extremely good. This model is different than any other LPs, sound and feel.

I would suggest replacing the string with a tad lighter gauge (slightly less sustain with the lighter... but you already get a ton to spare).

The neck is like a louiseville baseball bat (a turn off at first), but this is built to be like the classic 57, so you should expect a fat neck (no slim taper 59 neck here). I could (but wouldn't) throw it down the stairs, retune, and kick out some more jams with this beast. I've seen the gold wear off on these things after a few years, but who cares? It just adds to the vintage character.

A mean workhorse.

No dealings with support yet, but the life time warranty and documentation leads me to believe that they are serious about customer support.

I run this thing through a Peavey classic 50 all tube 50w amp. It sounds gruesome. Intimidating and feirce. Beautiful clean or dirty. Lead or rhythm. Jazz, blues, rock, or even metal (not the first choice for metal, but still possible).

If someone stole this from me, I would spend my whole life finding the rat-bastard... then I would kill the jerk. Until I found it, I would buy another (these things pickup emotional value very rapidly and nothing could replace a lost son, but I'd sell my firstborn for my 57 LP).

Damn expensive, but well worth the cost, no negative points at all for the price-rape going on here still.

This is an original Black Beauty with 3 original PAF's. The fretboard has 22 small flat frets. The body is one piece of mahogany with a mahogany neck glued on. The fretboard is ebony. There is a three position toggle switch with the middle position being a combination of the lead and middle pickups wired out of phase. The tuners appear to be Klusons, although they look very different then the ones sold today. The back of these tuners have deep ribbes in the metal. The neck is wide and fat, and the binding is on the entire guitar. The case in not original. The features are outstanding considering the year this instrument was made. The design has withstood the test of time.

This guitar sounds like a Les Paul. Regardless of the amp you use it is unmistakable. I enjoy blues, bluegrass, country, rock, psychadelic, funk, reggae, jazz and classical. It plays all styles well. The one piece mahogany body gives this a deep tone. I like mahogany guitars such as the old Les Paul SG's. Compared to other Les Pauls with maple caps, this guitar has a beefier bottom end and has a great deal of natural sustain. Maple top Les Pauls have more bite. The differences are suttle, but an experienced Les Paul player could tell. The guitar is not noisy at all, which is amazing considering how old the electronics are (43 years and still going). The out of phase middle/lead pick up setting is unusual. It has a thin nasal sound to it. The lead and rythm pick up settings sound similar to a standard. The rythm pick up is the loudest and sustains the best.

This guitar is so old I can not imagine how the original factory set up was. The guitar is called the fretless wonder and it's not like any other fretted instrument I've seen. The action is as low as you can go without buzzing. It gives you the effect of playing a violin. No effort is expended pusing down on the strings. The tuners are worn , so I replaced them with gold grovers, which I believeGibson usen on these models beginning in 1959.

This guitar is tough. Something needs to be said about an instrument that is this old and plays great. The neck is not warped and there is no fret buzz anywhere. The binding is still very white. It needs some oil on the pots, but that's about it.

I would like to send this instrument off to Gibsons custom shop when it needs a refret. To me this instrument is apiece of history and all work should be supervised by people who have experience making the '57 reissues. They no longer make tuners that are cosmetically similar to the originals. It would be nice to have them reissued.

I've been playing guitar for ten years and have owned this instrument since 1995. At that time it seemed as if there were many original Les Pauls on the market. Now, I don't see many vintage Les Pauls for sale. If you like Les Pauls then you owe it to yourself to play an original, at least once. Why pay loads of money for a historic reissue, when you can have the real McCoy for less. Many of these instruments can be reconditioned and will have much more sentimental attachment than a new instrument would have. And trust me, these instruments were built well.