Gibson Les Paul Gothic

Features have been covered, this one is factory stock...

Sounds like a Les Paul. This is not like the mahogany topped cheap studios they are putting out. It actually has a maple cap. BIG difference in sound. I like the pickups, very high output and the same ones they put in just about every lower end USA Gibson. I have a 1960 Classic I like a little better, little more woody tone but this one stays in tune a lot better for some reason. Could be the Grovers, I don't know for sure.

This one has a nice factory setup. My Classic was a DISASTER out of the factory. The nut was cut HORRIBLY!!! How does that happen? Anyway, my luthier sets them up how I like them and this one came just like I like them! I have to say the fret ends are a bit rough, most new Gibsons (LOWER END ONES) are like that and if you don't like getting your hands cut up have a good tech roll the edges for you. It is worth it, equals about 10 years of playing. Finish is funky, kind of a flat color and the more it is handled/played the glossier it gets! Weird but cool, ALL BLACK!! Kind of grows on you but it just needs SOMETHING that isn't black on it. Another issue some people have is that it has no position markers on the board. They are on the side, and I had no problem finding my way around it. Hmm...

Seems solid, tree-trunk neck(make sure you have played a 50's neck Gibbo before you buy one) that is really nice in your hand. Put on strap locks and off you go. Nice and light, loses a pound and a half or more from a regular LP. The only gripe I have is the loss of body mass makes it just a tad neck heavy if you play it low. Not bad but not perfectly balanced either. You kind of find the neck heading south on you. Otherwise a very nice guitar.

Don't know about this. I have an interesting story about their customer service from my brother. He is a bassist in the Twin Cities. He ordered a lower end Gibson 5-string bass from the factory. Had some wiring issues with the active pickups that just couldn't get straightened out. After getting it back from the factory for the second time with the problem STILL unfixed the guy on the other end of the phone line told him he should 'buy something else'. Really, the guy actually said that!! My brother got the guys name and sent a letter to the company President. The guy calls him and says, 'send me the bass back, we'll cover the shipping and we will send you out a brand new, nicer replacement'. A few weeks later he gets the bass, with a nice letter from the Gibson President!! Turns out they sent him a custom shop Les Paul bass, five stringer with a AAAAA top on it. Bartolini custom pickups installed, absolutely killer sunburst finish. Ebony board, MOP inlays, the full treatment. They had made the guitar for LES PAULS BASSIST!!! They had sent him one to match a Standard they made for Les and he didn't like it so he sent it back. THEY GAVE HIM THIS BASS THAT COST 10 GRAND TO REPLACE HIS $1200 ONE!!! Wow, pays to be persistent. That is pretty good customer service.

Anyway, I digress. This guitar is a great value and can be had for around $650 on ebay. Don't think they are available any more, so maybe someone will decide these are the new thing and they will go up in value... or not. I like the lighter weight, and the tradeoff for the tone is minimal at worst. The sound is pretty much classic Les Paul. Gotta love it.

Body: Carved maple top, mahogany back
Neck/Profile: Mahogany, 1959 rounded Les Paul
Bridge/Tailpiece: Tune-o-matic/Stopbar
Hardware: Black chrome
Controls: Two volume and tone, three-way switch

The original Pickups were Rhythm: 490R Alnico magnet humbucker and Treble: 498T Alnico magnet humbucker. I have to say these pickups did sound great. But I just had EMGs 81/85 installed on my Charvel Model 5 and the sound was amazing. So I then opted to do the same with the les paul. What a mistake! I'm not sure what the problem is, but its not a good match, not enough low end as compared to the Charvel.

I have an Epiphone Les Paul with a Seymour Duncan SH-14 Custom 5 pickup Zebra in the bridge position and a Seymour Duncan Distortion SH-6n in the neck position, and this has a heck of a lot more low end than the Les Paul with the EMGs, so needless to say I'm not too happy at all with the Gibson at this time. So I'm not sure if the problem is with the actual Gibson guitar itself (the wood) or would switching the pickups help with the sound in the Gibson. If you were to listen to both guitars with out looking at them, the Epiphone would have the edge over the Gibson. Sad to say.

Either way the EMGs are coming out and at least the orginal pickups are going back in.

So far the Charvel Model 5 with the EMGs is the best sounding guitar of the bunch that I have.

Action is great, just had to lower the strings, set the intonation and its all good and easy to play.

The finsih does look really good. Gotta like the Gothic look on these guitars.

From the short amount of time that I've had this guitar, it seems reliable. With the right pickups to get that exact sound, it would be one of the main guitars that I use to play.

No Opinion

I've been playing over 20 years, my friends and I jam weekly, so anytime changing guitars and one of them is not up to par, we can all notice it really fast.

Other Gear
Mesa Boogie Single Rect-o-verb Head with 4x12 Carvin Cabinets (top and bottom). Trace Elliot Tramp Tube, Charvel Model 5, Epiphone Les Paul Standard and a Kramer Focus 6000.

If it was lost or stolen I would get something else, either go for the top Gibson Les Paul (no more studio versions) or an ESP Eclipse 2.

I love the features. Usa made.

This is a metal axe. I have owned a prs, i do own a Jakson and now this. This kicks ass. I play death and black metal. This was made for it, and it sound heavier then my jackson (japan made). Lp works great for metal, bands like In Flames, Gorgoroth, Windir, Enslaved, Sentenced and so on uses lp's. I have never played a better guitar, and i probably never will, this is the only one for me.

All good!

I think its pretty durable.

Im a happy man. Im soon going to run this guitar with a ENGL fireball.

Since the specs are listed by other I won't repeat them. Not sure of year model. Standard les paul features. The finish is okay, nothing great it would look cooler in like a gloss black like a schecter.

I bought it used and the previous owner swapped the pickups out with an emg 81/85 set. I play mostly metal/hard rock. I play it through a Marshall 100vr with a Marshall 1960 4 x 12 cab. The guitar sounds very crunchy with a nice low end on the bridge p/u. I like the sterileness of the emg pickups because it fits my amp settings perfectly. This guitar can make pretty much the same sound as a lp standard. The sound is different than my Jackson that I play.....but it is still a good sound. I haven't played too many les pauls but the sound doesn't totally blow me away.

Had no problems with fit and finish.

The strap buttons are horrible.....I am sure you could play live with this guitar constantly.

never dealt with them.

I have been playing for 8 years. I own a Jackson DR-3 with emg 81's, an Ibanez AX7221(which sucks), a schecter c5 (which sucks), and a hamer eclipse. I have a boss mt-2, a boss phaser, crybaby pedal, and a danelectro delay. If I lost it, I would probably buy another one, but I would also maybe look for something a little better.

'2000 Gothic LP
per Gibson'sweb site:
Body
Carved Maple Top, Mahogany Back
Neck/Profile
Mahogany, 1959 Rounded Les Paul
Fingerboard/Inlay
Ebony, 22 frets, Moon-and-Star Inlay at 12th Fret
Scale/Nut Width
243/4"/1 11/16"
Bridge/Tailpiece
Tune-O-Matic/Stopbar
Hardware
Black Chrome
Pickups
Rhythm: 490R Alnico Magnet Humbucker
Treble: 498T Alnico Magnet Humbucker
Controls
Two Volume and Tone, Three-Way Switch

I play hard rock and metal, great sound outta the 'pups.
The neck is an absolute LOG. It's huge! It's a '59 LP profile so if you like a big neck, this is for you!(Hey it was Randy Rhoads' favorite neck and that guy could play a little-LOL.)
I run her through either a Mesa Boogie Studio 22 or a Crate GFX 212 for death metal sounds.
Typical creamy Les Paul sounds on clean amp settings, nice heavy Distortion with gobbs of sustain for paint peeling metal..
I like the typical barrage of tone possibilities from all Les Pauls.. this low budget version is no exception..

I bought her used and it was set up horrible(Not Gibson's fought, it was the ass-clown who originally owned it who never heard of a set-up.
I'm a guitar tech so it plays amazing like all my guitars do when I get done with them.
I'm noticing some paint cracks and clear-coat checking as well.. Dissapointing for a 4 year old guitar and Gibson should do better.

Gibson's are generlly built like tanks.. They haven't been around for over 50 years cus they are junk.. It's a frickin Les Paul for God's sake!-Nuff said..

See above remarks for the lousy finsh.. I'm 36 years old so the whole "Gothic" look obviously wasn't made to target my demographic of guitar player. However, If you buff the body with some polishing compound it buffs out to a real nice black gloss so it doesn't look so cheesy..

What Moron would ever gig without a back-up?

Gibson is very friendly and they try to help best they can.. Problem is they aren't the most guitar-educated fellows on the planet- considering they work for one of the largest guitar companies on the palnet.

I'vebeen playing for almost 20 years
I'd give it a 7 overall.
It was a cheap way to buy a Les Paul.. If you want a Les Paul for it's palyability and sound, then all the low budget studio series are just fine. Don't get caught up in paying for exotic tops and expensive frills that really do not effect what the guitar is meant to do: play and sound well..
I hate the cheasy finish, I hate the lack of fret markers.
I love the sound, playabilty and the ebony board..
I have bought/trades/sold well over 600 guitars.. I have played them all..As for Les Pauls, I have owned 4 studios, a Jimmy Page signature, an early 70's custom, a classic and 3 or 4 japanese law-suit Les Pauls. At any range, most Gibsons are very consistant players. Your ear might like different pickups for different tones but most people are either strat players or LP players. They all play like Les Pauls at any price range.

It basically sounds and plays like a Les Paul should. I hate the lack of fret markers, the plain looks leave a little to be desired and a 4 year old guitar should not have laquer checking and paint cracks already.

This is a 2001, Les Paul Studio Gothic. See the other reviews for all of the details. 2 humbuckering pickups (490 and 498) Maple top and Mahogany body and neck. Typical Les Paul. This had a small headstock crack. Professional repaired. You can see the hair line, just under Mr. Gibson, but you can not feel it. I got it with a gig bag.

I play a varity of music (blues, rock, jazz). It's a Les Paul and you can use it for any style of music. Very rich sound out of the humbuckers. I am a Gibson freak, so I really like this one.

The set up was by a professional luther who fixed the crack. I put on a set of new strings and have only had to make a slight tuning. The grovers are great. The pickups are adjusted fine (not to close and not to far. The finish seems like it will last. A very good satin Black finish w/ the black hardware.

I believe this guitar will hold up to anything. The name a lone stands for quality. But always take a back up if you gig.

Customer support has been great in the past. They have been helpfully to me prior to and after each purchase. I have a steady inside person I email to get any infor or help I need.

I have been playing for over 35 years and own other makes and models of guitars, amps and gear. I would buy another Gothic Les Paul. This might be a little hard, Gibson has discontinued making these Gothic guitars. I am looking forward to finding an SG Gothic model to match.

I dont have this guitar but I thought I would point out to all of the people getting pissed about 'ebony' fretboards- please read this article and do some research:

http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Articles/Guitars_Wood_And_Tone/

Some ebony woods do in fact have brown streaks. It's still ebony kids... so be happy with your kicks and rock on. Don't let any whiners rain on your parade ;)

Gibson Les Paul Studio Gothic, I believe some of the other reviews sum up the standard body features. The Gothics have a great weight to them not Les Paul Custom heavy but not PRS light to me this guitar is a good go between. At a great price... Set neck gives great tone/sustain to the tune-o-matic bridge and grover tuners 14:1 ratio on the "stock" guitar in addition to the Gibson Hum. pickups. The Gothics come with a Gibson hardshell case. The ebony fret board with the moon and star inla is awesome!

Guitar sounds good very full rich low end. Also have a rih full tone from the neck position very full.The distorted sound of the guitar is best described as consistent...very even and brutal if you choose... no complaints in that department Gibson has made another great sounding guitar....that Les Paul sound is alive and well in this piece. The original Gibson pickups were sufficient but I enjoy the EMG 81/85 set so I swapped out the gibsons for those and changed the pickup rings to black metal rings. I also changed the tuners to a grover with a 18:1 rather than the stock 14:1....I also added a TONE PROS bridge system and the guitar is a solid...loud...well heard guitar.

I bought my Gothic used there was a small chip in the paint and and a small paint scratch on the back nothing to bare wood or visible from the front. A few issues I should metion about this guitar that may help others! When I recived the guitar I had a problem with low E slipping both off the fretboard and the bridge....What I have done to cure this issue is first I replaced the entire bridge to the TONE PROS system (not completly needed to fix the slipping though) I do suggest this system it is very nice for the money, then replaced the "bridge slots" with a graphite set that cost around $20.- very much improved...as for the sting -fretboard I used a heavy string to cure my problem (ernie ball 7 string set drop the 10 gauge) that is my quick fix for that. So I am rating this a 6 before and a 9 after fix

I do believe that this guitar will be able to hold in a live situation and come out on top--although i have not played out with it yet. The satin black finish is beautiful but holding over the long run I am unsure about ....as I have had it now for only a few months and it seems fragile and easy to wear( I had a small problem on the back already with the finish but no problems on the front finish).....If you plan on standing with this guitar change the strap buttons for sure....I believe after the upgrades this guitar stands a whole lot better.

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I have been playing for a few years, Having this guitar is great, I love the look and would suggest them to any Gibson or Les Paul style fan. They are a discontinued model and are hard to find. I love everything about the guitar after I did my own personal upgrades...I was a little uneasy about the finish but it is what it sounds like that counts! Just a note to anyone looking for one or a very similar model...look into a ESP LTD Kelly Hayes it has the black satin finish and looks very much like the Gibson Gothc .....Hope that helps!

Not sure of the year, I bought it at Mars Music (yup) in 2000. This guitar has your standard Les Paul Studio features. The pickups are 490R and 498T. The neck is a '59 rounded Les Paul, which is my personal favorite b/c it's fast but still beefy. For cosmetics, the matte black finish, black hardware and lack of fret markers give it a dark no-nonsense look, which is what first appealed to me. Plus as an added bonus there's a spooky picture of Orville Gibson on the back of the headstock. Cool. When I first bought this guitar I thought it was thick and heavy, which it is compared to many guitars. But compared to my Les Paul Customs it feels like a Parker Fly. The Grover tuners are amazing-- this guitar stays in tune better then any I've ever owned. As do most Gibson's, it came with the hard case.

I use this guitar primarilly as my backup for the cover band I'm in. My setup is -- Guitar -> Boss Tuner -> CryBaby 535Q -> DigiTech 2120 -> Marshall EL34 50/50 -> Marshall 1960A Cab. We play everything from Audioslave to Michael Jackson to G-n-R to System of a Down to Zeppelin....You get the point. For this, the Gothic is great b/c it's very versatile. I can get a full, warm rythm sound or a cutting, kick-ass lead sound or a tight crunchy distortion depending on the switch position and the settings on my digitech. The cleans are good too, warm and bluesy in the rythym position or bright and cutting in the treble position. A lot of sound guys are amazed by the tone I can get from it, and while my $3000 Customs have more of a classic Les Paul greatness to them, this one kicks in it's own way. Maybe a little more 'metal' sounding, but still full and impressive. For the price it's incredible. Warning: as with many Les Paul's, EVERY ONE, even the same model, IS DIFFERENT. Be sure to play a few before buying. I have a friend with a Gothic and he hates it.

When I bought the guitar it needed a setup. I don't know if this was Gibson's fault or the store's. After this it was great. Fast action on this style neck. The matte finish is cool, but it wore fast, especially b/c I play live 5-6 nights a week and tend to be a little crazy on stage. It also nicks and scratches easier. There is a little bit of glue showing where the neck meets the body, which I didn't like but put up with since this was the best sounding of the ones that I played. Another complaint I have is that the screws on the hardware are non-painted metal and have corroded over time.

This guitar, as are most Gibson's, is a workhorse. As I said, the finish wears a little, but I put my guitars through the ringer while performing live and this one stands up. Always stays in tune. It's been dropped before and stayed in intonation. Good electronics. Very dependable. I did change to straplocks, which I think is a must. I actually use this as my backup now, but the only reason you would need a backup is in case you break a string.

Never had to deal with them.

I've been playing for almost 10 years now, and now am up to 5-6 gigs a week. I have 9 guitars. This was my first Gibson and now I'm never looking back. I have since bought 2 Customs but I still rock out on this one often. It looks cool, plays easy and sounds great. I've compared it to many other studios and it kills them. The one problem I've heard about with the Goth series is inconsistency from guitar to guitar, but I lucked out I guess and found a great one. If it was stolen, and I could find another good one, I would definately buy it again.

2000 model made in the USA
Les Paul studio specs except the finish and the 12th fret inlay.
490 series pickups. black satin finish. Tune-O-Matic bridge,grover tuners with a SKB Gibson flight case.

This guitar flat out kicks ass. we play everything from metal to wanker shit and it does the job great. I use my Ampeg VL1002 1/2 stack and it sounds killer. next to my wolfgang, this guitar is the shit!

the guitar was perfect when i purchased it!

every thing seems to be solid on this guitar (with one exception.. the small strap buttons). which will be replaced with strap locks.this guitar is plenty good enough to gig without a back up although you would be stupid not to have one in case of string breakage.

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been playing for 17 years I own a peavey wolfgang std. fender strat, gibson les paul black beauty (show piece)I have always wanted a nice les paul that I could gig full time with.. and now I have it!