Gibson 57 Black Beauty Re-issue

Mine is a 2001 model.It is the 3 pickup version and is completly stock.Others have done a fine job describing the construction of this guitar so I wont bother repeating.

This guitar is a rocker.Having the 3 pickups gives it a vast aray of sounds.My biggest influences are Jimmy Page,Ronnie Montrose,Alvin Lee,Stevie Marriot and Ted Nugent.So I like Big chords, Big sound and lots of crunch.This guitar get it.The electronics are silent as they should be.I play mostly through a 70's vintage Peavey Duece with black widows and this is a match made in rock and roll heaven.

The set up from the factory was perfect,intonation great and action just right.I honestly cant find a single flaw in this guitar, it is just the finest workmanship I have seen.

Brand new guitar so cant say much about durability except Les Pauls are legendary for a reason.Built like a tank(and as heavy).

I bought mine from a store that was closing.It was mayhem as musicians scampered to get unbeleivable deals.The salesman was unable to find its original case and paperwork, so he substituted a gibson historic case and gave me a blank warranty card.I e-mailed Gibson to inquire about any paperwork that was missing and they responded in hours congratulating me on my purchase and offering to send paperwork and a nut wrench.I am a happy customer and more Gibsons are in my future.

I have been playing for 25+ years.And own a 79 american Tele,77 Ibanez pf300 and several acoustics.If this guitar was stolen,I too would track the thief to the ends of the earth and if that didnt work I would definetly buy another one.I really feel like I got an awsome deal on this ax and would have paid substantually more of needed.I have wanted one of these since I was 13 and just kept making excuses why I didnt "need" it.

This is a 2001, 1957 Black Beauty reissue (2 pickup version) which has arrived a little over 4 months after I ordered it. Worth every minute of the wait. It is the all mahogany body and neck / ebony fretboard / PAF equipped Custom that I fell in love with ever since I first played one in 1999. It came with the Historic black case, accessory pouch with all kinds of vintage paperwork, polishing cloth, Certificate of Authenticity, and the funkiest looking cable (circa 1950's) I've ever seen. The guitar was flawless except for some minor shipping marks which I believe can be polished out easily.

I bought this guitar mainly to cover all the various styles of music that I play. (Rock, Pop, "Experimental". I use a Fender Hot Rod Deville 2x12 with some Boss chorus and digital delay units, and this LP is so clear and quiet, that the effects boxes sound better than ever. The guitar delivers a bright, chimy treble and a solid thunderous bass. Of course the tone and volume controls can be adjusted to almost an infinite number of different subtle sounds. I think Gibson ships the Historic series with .009 gauge strings, but I am having the instrument set up for .011s for tuning and playing stability. Sometimes the high E string will jump the track if bent too much. The .011 should take care of that.

The action and playability were perfect right out of the box. The pickups were adjusted right on the money.I could not ask for more.

This guitar is a workhorse, and although I do expect the gold hardware to age and lose some plating, I do not mind. i fully expect that this LP will improve with age, as all Gibsons do. The strap buttons need to be converted to Strap Loks just for safety. I would not do a gig without a backup, no matter what guitar we're talking about!

Never had to deal with them.

I have been playing guitar for over 30 years, and always had a place in my heart for the Les Paul Custom. But now I can finally afford one. I have owned other Gibson LPs but this one is in another zone altogether. If you can possibly spend the extra few hundred on a Historic model, go for it. It is definitely worth it.

This guitar was bought new in 1991, a 1957 Gibson Les Paul Black Beauty Reissue 2 Pickup model. It has the '57 Classic pickups, screen printed serial number, solid mahogany body, Grover pickups, ebony fretboard, yellow binding and small vol/tone knobs. Without a doubt the BEST guitar I've owned. I paid $2200 Australian dollars for it from Guitar World in Sydney. The action is extremely good and the neck is very fast, albeit thin. Compared to current Gibson Les Pauls, the guitar is chalk and cheese, in terms of sound and finish. The neck pickup is very warm, (think intensely overdriven Gary Moore) and the treble pickup is very bright and crunchy (think ealry Jimmy Page). I played through a Musicman HD130 and a Marshall JCM800 when I first bought it, now I play through Line 6. The guitar finish has lasted extremely well, even though the gold finish has worn off in places and the binding has picked up colour off my clothing from sweat. I have now put the Les Paul away for an investment and now play a Korina bodied Gibson Flying V that has Dimarzio Classic PAF's. The sound from that guitar is more current for that late Yardbirds/early Led Zeppelin sound (on the Modern Class A setting on my LIne 6).

Neck pickup is warm and can be intensely overdriven without losing definition. The treble pickup is crunchy but still has a dark feel about it.

The guitar was very well set up and delivered. I have looked after it extremely well and apart from some of the gold plating wearing off, and colour soak into the binding from sweaty clothes, it has an aged look about it which is above the standard of a guitar that is now 10 years old.

The only problem has been a treble/rhythm knob which ahs a habit of coming loose.

I haven't had any cause to deal with Gibson or the importer. The standard of guitar made by Gibson in 1991 was fantastic. Not so sure of the current batch of guitars.

I've been playing since I was 8, have owned in excess of 20 guitars, and this is the best. It is so good it is now locked away as an investment and I'm playing a Korina bodied Gibson Flying V with Dimarzio Classic PAF's. It is the second best guitar I've owned. The Les Paul however, is beyond peer. If I could only buy another Les Paul '57 reissue now for the same price I bought it back in 1991.

my lp beauty is a 1997 which i got used in canada for $2300. it is the 2 pickup version with 22 frets, gold hardware,2 volume,2 tone controls,great sounding 57 classic pickups.it also has the baseball neck that i really love.beautiful black with the fastest ebony fretboard i have played.

the neck pickup is very warm, great when i play clean.the bridge is a little to bright for my taste to as which i will change that pickup for a seymour duncan 59 pickup(did this to my 62 sg reissue which i still have 14 years now). i play through a mesa boogie dc5 into a marshall 412 cab.

This is a beutiful axe, but we must face it: a Les Paul is somewhat restricted in terms of versatility. I think its a versatility / personality trade off. This guitar has lots of personality, but you don't get any modern facility such as a fast neck, good access to higher frets, a single-coil-like clean sound, tremolo, coil-taps, etc.

The 7 is achieved thanks to the following excellent features:
(I) MATERIALS: Ebony fingerboard; mother-of-pearl inlays; one piece mahogany body; action; Groover tuners; Beutiful hard-case
(II) SOUND: Excelent singing sustain in most neck positions even with the treble pickup on; Good jazz-like darker tones using the tone knob
(III) LOOK: In my oppinion Les-Paul is the most beutiful design ever, and this guitar stands as one of the most good looking Les-Pauls

I play basically rock. This guitar fits perfectly this stile, thanks to its tone and sustain. The output level high, but not as high as those found in other Les-Pauls, which is good because you have less noise and "microfony". I have owned other AAA guitars such as a Custom-Shop Fender, a PRS artist and a Jackson Soloist USA, and the black-beuty beated them all because of its singing tone and look.
Compared to another Les-Paul custom I owned, this one sounds different and better - more sustain, not as high output level and noise.

10 for action, 10 for fit, 6 for finish
Action - I have never played a lower action axe than a Les-Paul, thanks to its shorter scale and angled neck. This one is even sharper, thanks to the excellent fret work.
Fit - This guitar came totally fit from the factory. Perfect truss rod adjustment, action, intonation, etc.
Finish - I understand this guitar was hand-made in most every step of manufactuting. But it came with many minor flaws such as: lots of marks of filler in the neck binding; lack of painting on the headstock edges; the fingerboard is made of a VERY LOW grade ebony (it has visible brown veneers)

Reliability - 10
Durability - 5
I think one can't put aside the fact that Gibsons usually come with very sensitive finishes that wear out fast. This is even worse when it comes to gold hardware and nitro-celulose lacqueur. It doesn't mean these are poor options, though. It is the opposite. These are top tier sensitive finishes that require maximum care.
If the owner doesn't care if the gold hardware wears out and the lacqueur cracks and gets oppaque, than its OK. But if you are the kind of guy who gets pissed when you find a new almost invisible scratch caused by your jeans, you must be ready to have a lot of head aches (such as being afraid to let your friend try the guitar, spend hours cleaning the guitar, use only soft clothes even on live performances, etc)

I don't have enough experience with Gibson's customer service

A Les-Paul is a must-have axe if you play rock. Even famous stratocaster players carry one or two Les-Pauls on their sets. Don't expect to find this tone on any other guitar, even comparing it to other Les-Pauls! Its simply impossible to match the all-mahogany body and neck tone and sustain. If you want sustain and creamy tone, go for it.
However, there are some downs to be considered:
* There are many better finished guitars around. Although made by Gibson's custom shop, this guitar doesn't match PRS, Tom Anderson and even Fender custom shop's standards of craftmanship and wood grade.
* Unless you play only very distorted tones, you will will always miss a more cristal and cleaner sound.
* My guitar came with many less-than-perfect finishes and a lower grade ebony fingerboard. This is unnacceptable from a custom shop instrument.
* Don't buy it if you want maximum output and distortion. Instead, go for a standard or classic Les-Paul

This is a player's dream guitar, for the sound and the construction. Bought it at the gibson award winnning and really amazing Guitar Showcase store in San Jose for $2,250. 2000 custom shop les paul historic re-issue of the 1957 model. You can tell a custom shop from the regular USA shop by the pickups(custom shop uses '57s while USA shop use 490R and 498T alnico magnets) and the binding( yellow black yellow VS white). In addition, the custom shop is one solid piece of mahogany for the body while the usa shop is made of three front pieces and three back pieces. This totally affects the sound and sustain. The construction is also totally different cause in the custom shop you have, say, 4 people working on it but in the USA shop you have thousands. The quality control in the custom shop is near perfect. So, if for an extra couple of hundred bucks you can get a custom shop rather than a usa factory, it's definately worth it because they are night and day. Believe me, I went through this whole escapade of buying a regular custom and then finding the re-issue. I don;t have to tell you about the features cause I'm sure you already know.

This guitar sounds great. One word: sustain. The tone on it is amazing. I personally prefer the rhythm pickup because it sounds rich for all chords and solos. But if you want that extra kick on your solo, the treble pickup is great. I use the guitar with a mesa boogie tremoverb 4X12 and a line6 pod w/floorboard. Becaue of this guitar, I have gotten into chorus and reverb effects, because the guitar accentuates them so well. If you play a note and leave the guitar standing on the stand for 2 weeks, the note will still ring inside the wood if you put your ear to it. I used to play metal and now I play jazz-rock, and the guitar has the best metal sound and the best jazz chords, no question.

If I was to get picky, I could find a few things to talk about. First, gibson has the imminent g-string problem. I have found it on each gibson I have ever owned(gibson sonex custom 180, gibson les paul standard, gibson les paul custom usa factory, gibson sg custom). It is very simple...the first fret on the g-string is sharp. Now we all know that the e major chord is the most popular chord for guitar, and the g sharp sounds sharp. I had the bridge retuned to a different string gauge and put on a really thick g string. It was much better, but I am so picky about perfect tuning that I still hear it a little. For $150, I can get the problem internally fixed at my repair shop but then the gibson warranty will not be valid anymore. Oh well, that's what you get when you buy the perfect instrument. The black finish attracts so much dust that I go crazy trying to polish the guitar every 3 days. The back of the neck gets very sticky, eventhough I wash my hands before and after playing the instrument. The pickups too get dirty..I guess I'm just a neat freak. Either way, the finish was flawless. I made sure it was perfect in every sense. The bridge was tuned well to a 9 gauge. Everything was great nevertheless. I HAVEN'T TALKED ABOUT PLAYABILITY YET. Perfect!!! the guitar has amazing speed and feel. The high e is a bit too bendy but that's not a problem for I could just put a thicker one on. the ebony on this one is the best I've seen,...but it needs caring to stay in its best condition. To take care of it one must change strings frequently or at least once every 3 weeks. I hate doing that because I don't break strings for up to 3 years at a time. They're too thick to break.

This guitar is the live guitar...I have had sex with it on stage in the sense that I have taken advatage of everything it has to offer. The gold hardware wears off naturally....the part of the guitar where i rest my arm just below my elbow seems to wear out or get cloudy and white, mayube it's my dead skin cells rubbin against it or maybe it's the finish wearing off. It is no big deal. This guitar is a workshorse once you get over it presiousness.

They were pretty good and informative. But the wait is too fucking long. I wanted to get a les paul ultima and they said i had to wait a year. But after getting the re-issue, I can't decide whether I should go for teh ultima or stay with this one. Anyway, the customer service is good.

This guitar has its own aura. It is special in its inperfections and exquisite in its perfections. Definately the main performing and recording guitar. This guitar not only has balls, it also has soul and volnurable emotion that's expressed in the tone. Keeping it clean can be a bitch and extra percautions must be taken to fix the g-string, but those are minute obstacles. This guitar is definately cut out for the jazz player who loves metal or the indie pop-rocker who loves funk.

This is a response on my earlier review. It seems thhat this wonderful websight gets some serious attention. The previous review made it to the President of Gibsons, desk, who had it fixed, and sent back with a Custom shop T-shirt, Air frieght for free. I applaud Gibson for listening to us here at Harmony Central, and doing the right thing. I understand that they cannot just fix every single guitar out there free of charge, but I am glad that they finally held up to the true "GIBSON" way of things.
Lets face it Gibsons are one of the holy grails of the guitar world. ANd we all know they are expensive. WHen people pay that kind of money it is kind of an unwritten rule that we should get the same level back. I have never picked up a Gibson I hated.

The Custom shop did a nice job. They warned me before hand that you would be able to se the repair close up, and it could be wetsanded out after everything cures. I know this to be true as Nitrocellulose Laquer is funny to work with too much and it cracks. too little and you can see through it, it shrinks.

ITs A PAUL

It is important to give credit where it is due. The guitar was really gone over and it was better than new. They even replaced the strings with the Flatwounds that my dad plays. I never had a doubt that the Gibson Craftsmen (or WOMEN) were world class. Kudos for really taking the time to set it up, and put on the right type of strings.

This guitar will withstand anything but SAM ASH. I really think that something happened at the store they were really quick to as if they almost knew the guitar, try to get us to let them repair it. Remeber that my Stepmom boughtit, and I kinda feel maybe they took advantage of her.

In all fairness the guys I talked to were real nice, and even though I kinda slipped throught the cracks, I was always able to easily contact them. Specifically RAME ESKRIDGE, AND SHAWN NICHOLSON. I think that they had their hands tied with policy, but thanks to this websight it was repaired.

It is great to know that the posting here was read by the president. Literally the nexst day Rame called and said that my posting made itall the way to the president, and we would have the guitar within 5 days no charge. It is admirable for them to reverse themselves. This doesnt mean that I am advocating putting every little problem here, but be honest, you are being heard by top BRASS. ALSO THANK YOU TO ALL OF MY FRIENDS HERE THAT RESPONDED TO ME PERSONALLY WITH ADVICE AND SIMILAR EXPERIENCE< YOU HELPED ME MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

This is an open letter to those who are out there, interested in a Gibson, or who have had similar experiences. Last Christmas my dad recieved a Brand New 57 Les Paul Custom Re-issue. The price was $2700.00. Last July my Dad noticed while playing live that it would not stay in tune. Guess what the headstock Cracked.(typical Gibson Problem). Well heres where the journey begins. We took it back to sam Ash on a Saturday. We were told that the guitar was definetly defective, as it was obvious it had never been dropped.( It was spotless not a nick or scratch). The guy at Sam ash told me that Gibson is notorious for using its lower grade woods on Black Guitars, and this is a common problem. They took the guitar and promised it would go out on Monday. Wednesday came and It was still there, They claimed Gibson never got back to them. So taking matters in my own hands we got the guitar and called Gibson Directly. In fairness at first they were very nice. Rame Eskirdge was the reps name, and he said send it in as fast as you can, and well get it fixed.

Tha saga begins....
$150.00 Next day air to Gibson, and three days later we were told, although the guitar looks as if it was never dropped or mishandled,it also looks as if the guitar was fine when it originally left Gibson, and probobally developed a hairline crack during its initial shipment.
Therefore it will cost $350.00 dollars and take 2 months to repair. Reluctantly we said fine, because we wanted this guitar back.
The Saga continues....

Yesterday I finally got in touch with the custom shop, WHO after six weeks has not even picked the guitar up.

This is what I was told, They are behind, and it may take 6 to eight months to complete. If the headstock could be repaired with epoxy it would cost $350.00. If they feel it needs a new neck it will cost $1200.00. SHAME ON YOU GIBSON>>>>>>>>>>>>>

You guys tell me I can buy a new standard for $1200.00 dollars, and I am sure that we can find some luthiers on this website that will do a better job for less money.

Gibson quality has gone down hill... Guitar center will not carry Gibson, and in talking with several local music shops, this is common, and most dread dealing with Gibson.

I would urge all of you reading this to E-mail your comments to me, or you similar experiences, so that I could forward them to Gibson.
When you pay that kind of money We as guitarists expect perfection. My $600.00 dollar Samick beats this Gibson...

The COMPANY SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF ITSELF