Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul Standard

bought second hand, probably made in the 90's by looking on the serial,custom shop logo at the back of the headstock, flamed top cherry red, the first i've ever seen, trapezoid inlays, bindings etc, that's a les paul, you know the shape of it. it's got 2 zebra bucks, probably PAF reissues, and the body is heavier than a regular les paul standard.

being playing rock for years, so this one's a must have. the sound is warmer than regular les paul, actually it's so warm it can get you out of a cold!

what can i say, beautiful guitar, even in this condition(very used).

this guitar toured a lot, i changed the tuners cause one was broken after a shock with a bass!! the finish is good enough to last of course. strap buttons are too small, my guitar fell many times, fortunately i catched it before it touched the ground. you can depend on it as long as you can carry it on your shoulder!! you can use it without any backup, no pb.

second hand so no customer support

i don't use this guitar anymore on stage, the beast is too heavy and too fragile; the famous gibson flaw between neck and headstock!! i got fearful about this part of the guitar so i've never played hard on it. but i reckon it's a must have and for recordings, it's the fat rock sound by excellence.

Its a Les Paul, what more can I say? They are all pretty basic and made pretty much the same way as the older ones, and they all still kick ass.

Sound is good, however I changed my pickups, and put in some P94's instead of the humbuckers. I play through Marshalls, Soldano's, and older Fender amps, and like the beefy sound of soap bar pick-ups. I have a 55 LP Junior, w/ 1 soap bar, and loved the sound so much, i wanted to make my custom shop (silver glitter) sound similar, only w/ 2 pick-ups for sound versatility.

Action is cool. Finish is cooler.
I changed the saddles and nut, and use Graph Tech parts. This made a big change and huge improvement in the bending of the notes. Although i have always liked the tune o matic bridge, the saddles kept breaking strings, so I switched over to the String Savers from Graph Tech. The combo, Saddles and nut, provide smoother tuning, as well as smoother more consitent even bends. A little intonation, and now my guitar is never out of tune.
The finish is great. I saw Steve Jones (Sex Pistols) on Letterman one night (and although i always wanted this guitar) and he had a blue glitter LP Standard, and decided to track one down. I liked the old Gretch Jet look like Billy Zoom used to use in X. and since I changed out the pickup to P94's, this guitar now looks like a cross between a Gretsch Jet, and LP. The sound and look is exactly what I have been looking for. The crazy compliments I get after a gig is fuuny, and wierd. More compliments on the axe, than my band (well sort of) oh well. Thats half the battle, gotta look cool too I guess!?

I have yet to see an LP that isnt rock solid. This guitar makes you feel like you are actully playing something, unlike light weight Fenders (Yes, I like Fenders too, but LP's just give you.....something extra, besides weight!)
i changed out the strap buttons and use strap locks. If yu move around allot, I suggest getting them, especially for such a heavy guitar.
Now if I had to, I would use this guitar without a back up. Normally I would not, but since I changed the saddles and nut, I would trust it if I had too.

I have yet to deal with Gibson. I do all of my own electronic work, so there is no need to ever call them.

I own piles of stuff. Mostly vintage, and botique and vintage amps. Also a 16 track Adat studio.
I would buy it again, if I had to.
Thats about it. Almost all LP's kick butt, and it's amazing what the price range is. Ive seen em as low as 600 for a good LP Custom, and as high as........ well lets say, way too much!
Later.

1997 Made at the Gibson Custom Shop. Standard Les Paul controls. Custom Shop Gibson Humbuckers (coils exposed). Beautiful Heritage Cherry Sunburst Finish, almost Tea like in color, only had her out in public three times since aquiring her and everytime jaws hit the floor. Grover Tuners Tune-O-Matic Bridge Inclued hardshell case

Blues, Alt.Country Play through a Matchless DC/30 and Matchless RV-1 Reverb Tank, only pedal is a Matchless Hotbox. Pickups are completely silient at all settings. This thing is amazing, I have owned several Gibson Les Pauls in my life, and I can not get over what a difference the Custom Shop makes. I am looking forward to growing old with this ax, as I am sure it will only sound better with age.

Fooled with the action a little bit to get it the way I like it. Pickups were adjusted just fine. Top is bookmatched beautifully. There is not a flaw on this guitar. Binding is clean, frets highly polished, inlays are perfect (no extra glue or filler).

I have only owned the Guitar 2 months, but I would feel very safe gigging without a backup (if I didn't love my Telecaster so much). Finish and hardware are built to last (you get what you pay for).

Lifetime warranty

I think the Guitar lists for 3600.00 about the same as a Factory Les Paul Custom. I have owned a Les Paul Custom and it was no where near the guitar this is. I think this was a limited run, and I could not find any info about it on Gibson's Web page. Guitar Center was basically closing out the stock they had which is why I was able to get it for 1699. If you can find one I strongly recommend taking it for a test drive.