Gibson Les Paul Junior

Mine is a 1987, I bought it about 10 years ago for $350. The 1987 has a stop tailpiece with a tune-o-matic bridge, making this an unpopular reissue until the last couple of years, now the demand is high due to it's ability to stay in tune better than the wrap around bridge. Just had it appraised and it came in at about $1,200.00 These models are a good investment. I've got the single cut away burgandy, don't have the original case. This guitar does not look 21 years old. I gig with it regularly and am rather rough on guitars and this is showing little to no wear, very well built. Has the P90 dog ear, the best p/u ever made IMO (I've got P90 soap bars in my LP Special and I don't like them nearly as much). It has just a volume knob and a tone knob making it as simple as can be, tone control is excellent for fattening the tone.

I play punk, alt-country and cowpunk and along with my 1990 GLP it's all I need, clean it has a nice touch of crunch which can be softened with the volume knob, and over driven it's close to perfect. I run it through a mid-ninties re-issue Ampeg Reverberocket with a couple of old Danolectro overdrive pedals and it sounds full. I do get a bit of 60 cycle hum in buildings with lousy power but it's not anything I can't live with.

I did have to get the frets deburred when I got it (10 years after it was made) cost a whole $40 bucks to do and I'm guessing it is also why this guitar came so cheap. Action is great, being a dog ear P90 there really isn't a whole lot of pick up adjustment, The finish is fine, the translucent burgundy looks good, it's a stained piece of mohagany it looks as good as it's going to for that wood.

I've been gigging with this guitar for over 10 years and have abused it on stage and it's a tank. Never had an electrical problem, never had a screw come loose anywhere on the body, never had it cut out. Just a damn solid guitar

I've dealt with Gibson before and there is a cool family vibe you get with certain people there, they like to hear about their guitars, none of the info that I've bugged them about was probably very high on their priority list but they got back to me very timely regardless. Not a bad thing to say about them.

I've been playing for over 20 years and been in working bands for at least the last 15. I have about 17 guitars (a mix of electrics, acoustics and one bass)and 4 of them are Gibsons. Their stuff is solid, it is annoying when you have to get frets deburred on a 10 year old guitar or a new on (had the same problem on a new 2002 Flying V)but they are still worth the money and the quality is there. I'll never get rid of my Gibsons and especially my Jr. If it got stolen I would be heart broken and would try to find another '87. Gibson should think about re-issueing this guitar because my friends who have Jr's with the wrap around bridge all have tried to trade with me, the tuning is very good.

Features? I think these are being overlooked with all the 1's people have been leaving. I had a 2006 single cut model and it had a '60's slim taper neck and a compensated tail-piece with a full gloss sunburst finish. These have a mahogany set neck with a mahogany body and the wood grain is of course visible on the front of the guitar. It's got a genuine Gibson EVERYTHING! with good resonant wood and for the money it's a great axe.

No neck pickup depth sound available so it isn't a very good clean sounding guitar compared to my ES333 with AlNiCo II Pro in the neck. The most fun sound is really to play it through an overdriven valve amp. In this case it's basically noise and more noise with humming coming out of the amp until you start to play and it's covered up a bit. I would describe the P90 tone as being not as sharp edged as a humbucker tone. The bass and treble response is not as present like it is with a humbucker and so the mids stand out front more. It's a softer sound that really reaches out and honks loudly at you with a lot of presence and 'thereness' to the sound. It's a nice alternative sound to other humbucking Gibson's but still very much within the Gibson tonal pallet.

My amps are a Ceriatone JCM800HW 2204, and an Epiphone Valve Junior that I have modded. If interested I made a web page about it.

http://members.optusnet.com.au/eyes.only/vj_mods_3/vj.htm

Awesome finish and fit. I read these Gibson in the 80's were slack at that time stories. I've never bought a Gibson older than 1998 and basically the quality of every Gibson I've owned or own has been top notch. A LP Standard DC Plus, ES-333, LP Special Faded single cut, a '98 LP DC Special full gloss binding, 2001 Les Paul Junior Special Plus, an ES137 Premium, this LP Junior, and another ES333. All of these have the '60's slim taper neck which is my favorite.

I think they are reliable depending on usage. If you play it and bend notes a lot the frets will wear out. If you don't break over a patrons head then it will last for decades. Look at antique violins, they are way older than the first 1930's electrics and plenty of them have survived. Of course some are restored to varying degrees but my point is obviously treat it well and it's going to last. Gibson's don't sit flat backed on the floor so you need to be careful not to drop them on there headstock's.

I actually asked a question last week and got a good reply in a few days. I think that's pretty good considering the amount of email they must get.

Good guitar. I have owned many guitars from different manufactures and for me Gibson's are the best guitars for feel and tone. Only a Gibson is good enough!

The overall finish of the guitar is ok, for a lower priced Gibson it's not too bad but could've been better. I had to replace the bridge with a tone-pros as the original was leaning forward causing the studs to move, not good!
The tuners are real old school which I love, the neck is like a baseball bat which again is cool. The gig bag is pretty good, it came with Gibson gumpf and a truss-rod wrench.
I replaced the stock P90 as i felt it didn't have much definition I put a Seymour Duncan Antiquity 50s P90 in and that is a belter!

The sound is great, it really suits what I do which is mainly rhythm work and delivers a fat traditional guitar sound where all strings can be heard.
The great thing about Juniors is how many tones you can get just by turning the volume back a notch or two.
Overall i love the sound.

The action wasn't too bad, could've of been better - could've been worse. The nut had been cut really well, the frets aren't all level which creates some buzzing but it's only a guitar after all!!
The intonation is a pig to get perfect but I've got it as close as I can.

I can depend on this guitar, the hardware will eventually wear but that's only natural if you actually play it not look at it!
No need for a back up guitar this bad boy is the one.

I haven't needed to have it repaired, touch wood, but I know how to do most repairs myself.

I have been playing guitar for 13 years and own a number of Gibsons and Fenders and the Les Paul Junior is definitly one of my favourites! I have a Gibson SG so it's nice to have another guitar with a completely different sound and feel.
I love the feel, look, and sound. That's all ya need!!

don't need no stinkin features if you know how to play your guitar. finish started to haze after first sweaty gig, right where your forearm rests. probably can be buffed out though. i love the slab of solid mahogany. replaced bridge with tone pro model. huge difference in sustain. tuners changed to locking grovers. no routing to do in case you revert to original. straplocks added for safety. perfect neck for me usa made about 2000-2001, 22 frets. haven't touched tone control in 5 years.replaced p-90 right away with p-100. could NOT stand noise with hi gain marshall amp. might try a semour duncan stack for improvement, but till mr. duncan offers a stack with optional dogear cover, i refuse to pay price of $170 for a $75 pickup, otherwise i love his products.

favorite quote: "that guitar howls and growls". it does everything my 55,56,57,59 les paul juniors did, including sustain, just not with vintage price. i play classic rock. this is my MAIN guitar. not much could replace it. bought it in Dallas as Mars Music was closing. $650 with gigbag. get a hardshell case for protection. even us weekend musicians need to protect from perils of the truck

all guitars need personal setup after purchase. routing was necesary for p-100, no big deal. fret tangs were dressed for comfort. action is incredible with 10's

tough Gibson. i depend on it to pay some of my bills. it will deliver for many more years. told my wife to bury me with it

any large corp. service stinks imho

playing 41 years. list of equipment endless. currently have 18 watt marshall, 1965 original deluxe reverb my friend GAVE me,,dsl2000 marshall half stack, solid state marshall 1985 5010 master reverb that i would stack up against any small amp. truly tube like sound that cleans up with volume control on my junior. great for sm gigs.
i'll always play a junior. emailed gibson to ask them to reissue a double cutaway in cherry at similar $750 price point for us guys that don't have 2k for a vos model. we'll see if they can do it. skip the way expensive les pauls and buy this guitar. with a few mods it can't be beat by anything on the market today that i came across.

Purchased brand new from Merchant City Music, Glasgow, UK. According to the store, this model is exclusive to this store, and is part of a batch specially ordered from Gibson directly, so is not on their current product range.

Gloss finish, single cut '54 style. Brown to black sunburst, 1 dog ear P90, Wraparound bridge, button-style tuners. I vol, 1 tone, dot markers.

Very basic and raw, just as it should be.

Through a decent amp (I use an Ashdown), perfect on clean settings for blues / ska. Sounds great with a touch of reverb - massive variations can be had from the one tone control.

On a dirty channel, the P90 absolutely howls. Great for punk or blues-rock. Lots of feedback at your disposal

Guitar was set up perfectly (bought personally from dealer). Low action, no fret buzz, all frets perfectly finished on the un-bound neck (a massive difference from my 2002 faded SG which needed to go straight in for a set up and file job on the fret tangs).

Only flaw I can find is that the edges on the single ply pick guard are a little sharp - will probably wear in given time though. The strap buttons are also absolutely miniscule, and should be replaced immediately

Gloss finish on the guitar body is superb - like glass. Paint finish on the sides of the headstock is a little thick in my opinion though

No doubts that this guitar will stand up to abuse (just the usual worries about the headstock cracking if the guitar falls)

Strap buttons are being replaced ASAP, as they are tiny and the strap breaks loose at every opportunity.

With strap locks this could be used without a back-up, after all, there's very little on the guitar to start with, so very little to go wrong!

Given the finish and the service at purchase from the retailer, I doubt that there will be any problems. Unsure of their UK distributor though, as on my other Gibson (an SG) I had to source a replacement pick guard from the USA, as price and delvery time from UK distributor was excessive

Well, there aren't many features on a Junior! But, if you have one and love it, then who cares. One P-90, volume and tone. Oe thing kinda peeved me, though. I was considering an Epiphone Junior, but it had a non-adjustable bridge. A cheapo preset thing! Besides the bolt on neck on the Epi, I figured the electronics and pickups would be cheaper too. But, for about 100 bucks, I considered buying the Epi and swaping out the electronics. Instead, I paid a bunch more and got the Gibson. It had the same old cheapo pre-set bridge! What the F#$@!?! For $600 more, it couldnt get a decent bridge!

After the disappointment of the bridge (I know, get over it), the tone was what I was after. Its fantastic through my vintage Fender amps. (Bassman, Twin). Great smooth break up and enough sustain for me. The Clean tone is no Strat, but the Junior has a deeper character. Perfect for the Blues and Roots Rock I play. I do get a little amp buzz, but its not a bad ground. If I move around it goes away. Right now, this is my gigging axe. I'm still looking for the perfect guitar, and this one is close.

The set up was surprisingly good. Intonation was perfect on 3 of 6 strings, which is pretty good with that funky bridge. The strings were probably set up average. I'd like the strings at the higher frets a tad bit lower. One very surprising thing is a hand print in the finish! Its a perfect print of the side of a hand. Its under the top coat of finish, so there is no rubbing it out. Very disappointing for a Gibson. I believe guitars are unique, and have their own personalities, so I didn't return it.

The Junior seems rock solid and nothing has broken. I always take a backup, so that is not a problem. So far, no premature broken strings. The finish seems substantial. No problems yet.

I never havce had to get it fixed. I've never had to deal with Gibson. But, from other reviewers, I figure I don't want to.

I've been playing for 35 years and have mostly been a Fender player. The last few years, I've experimented with humbuckers, trying to get a fuller sound. The Junior is a good compromise, with its fuller richer sound. I have a Tele and an Epi Sheraton and AlleyKat. The Tele has overwound pickups, but none can match the sound of the Junior. Itsnot overly neck heavy and very comfortable to play. I would say the sound is fabulous, the features are minimal and the fit and finish is average to good.

Standard production line Les Paul Junior. An exclusive to Merchant City Music. Made in 2005, according to the serial number. A bit odd, the Gibson site says their guitars have 8 digit serial numbers, whereas mine has 9. Oh well. It's got 22 frets, two controls, volume and tone. The knobs were black, didn't like that, they're now gold. The guitar is "vintage sunburst". Basically looks like a burnt egg. Vintage-tastic!

It weighs 7lbs 8oz, which I assume is good for a Junior. No idea though. Feels light to me.

1 P90 pickup. It's all you need! If you can't do it with singlecoils, you shouldn't do it at all, as my mother used to say. It has nitro laquer, which is nice. Smells fruity!

The tuners are ugly, but they work nicely. May change them if I get bored. One thing that bothers me about this guitar is it was listed on the site where I got it as having a fat ol' '50s neck, but it's actually got a '60s one. Bah. Not a big issue, but a bit annoying.

It included a PLUSH gigbag and a bag of nice accessories, which was unexpected. A lovely cable was included, and a nice strap.

I'll give this 8 for the neck issue, but it's got all you really need. If you want shitloads of extras go somewhere else.

The suits my musical style down to the ground, baby. I like big, fat, ballsy rock tones, for use in many many many varitions of rock, and punk as well. I use a Roland Microcube and a nice new Vox AC30CC. In the Microcube it sounds best with the tone on around 7, it's horribly bright on 10. Sounds kinda like a tele on horrible mode in the 'cube. In the AC30 it's a different kettle of fish. It's FAT and it's got more balls than a football factory. EXACTLY what I was looking for. It also twangs if you play it right, which is nice. It can do surf as well, if you dial it in. This gets a 10 right away.

One limiting thing is the lack of neck pickup. I wouldn't have bought this guitar if it did have one, but a good neck pickup gets things the bridge can't. However, while I'm playing it, I frankly don't care. Suprisingly versatile, as well.

Guitar was set up perfectly by Merchant City Music in Glasgow. Intonation flawless, as far as I can tell, and the action was medium, which is what I like. I don't shred, yesee, I like to sound good. Thinking about it, you probably could shred on this guitar, but the upper fret access ain't too hot.

It came with 10s, that's whats on it at the moment, but I'll go up to 11s when I get some. The local shop were out of stock.

Pretty flawless finish as well. Pretty ugly neck glue joint when looking down on it while playing, but I don't care. The Nitro is fantastic. Never owned Nitro before, and it feels great, but is worth it for the smell alone!

This guitar would easily withstand playing live. Probably take a backup anyway, nice having lots of guitars to use. The hardware is solid as well. The wraparound bridge is compesnated for the strings and is solid as a rock. Finish is solid too. It's currently mark-less. I've dropped this twice from standing so far, and there's not a scratch.

Strap buttons are solid, might put straplocks on it though just for the hell of it. I'd depend on this guitar.

Never had to deal with Gibson.

I've been playing for about a year and a half. I also own a Gretsch G3150 Streamliner, made in Korea. This is my first Gibson, and it's fantastic. I'd buy another Gibson, despite all the rubbish I hear talked about the Quality Control issues.

If it were stolen, I would rub the theif's testicles between two coarse bricks. Then, assuming I never got it back, I'd buy another. I'd be tempted to try out the Custom Shop models as they've got the thicker neck and I like that sort of thing.

I love its tone and pretty flawless playability. I dislike the neck, but hey, I live with it. I compared it to no other guitars, just ordered it online. Glad I did. I was eyeing up a Les Paul Junior for ages, and when they were aviable online I ordered without hesitation, no mucking around. I think I got a good one, not sure. They may all be this good!

So, yeah. If you're reading this you're probably wanting a Les Paul Junior. For goodness sake buy one. If you're in the US, MF have an Exclusive on them, if you're in the UK, www.guitarstrings.co.uk have an exclusive on them. They're affordable, stripped down rockers that sound fantabulous. And they say "Gibson" on the headstock if you get off on that. You really can't go wrong with this guitar.

Mine is a 1986 in the classic 2 tone gold/brown. I was happy to find an older model as the new Jr's I've seen have 2 or 3 piece bodies and are pained black on the neck and back. Mine is clearly a one piece slab mohagany body. You can see the grain of the wood thru the laquer on the un-painted back and neck of the guitar.

My 86 Jr also has Mini Grover tuners (factory original) which I greatly prefer to the white plastic tuners which often break. Lastly, it has a tune-o-matic bridge as opposed to the wrap around single piece bridge. All stock.

The result of all this is a guitar that has the best sustain I've ever heard (even compared to my old 1996 Les Paul Standard, and any SG I've ever owned). The tune-o-matic allows for proper intonation.

Typical one P-90 p/u, set neck.

Simplicity at its best!

It has that big, chunky, earthy Les Paul sound and rings out for 'days'. Overdriven it is a screamer. P-90 hum can be loud when overdriven, but I don't notice the hum when rocking.

Fit and finish are superb. Better than what I've seen on newer entry level Gibsons. Compares to today's Custom Shop models.

No problems and it's 20 years old.

Never needed it.

Been playing for about 15 years, owned many, many cool guitars. And yet I've settled on this simple beast, and a P Bass reissue for my bass needs. Would definately buy another Jr. just like it. Definately, definately would recommend these 1980's Juniors for the great build quality and superior tuners, bridge and slab body. Would love an original 50's model but would never spend $5,000 to $10,000 on a guitar.

This is an '04 Les Paul Jr. A 22-fret, single-cut American Beauty! One single coil, dog-ear P-90 mounted on a slab of sweet mahogany. No switches... just a tone knob and a volume knob. Simplicity Baby!!!!!! If you're lookin' for features... go somewheres else!This

This baby can really kick blues, rock and country. That P-90 mounted by the bridge gives it a bright, nasty tone that breaks up nicely on any decent tube amplifier. I like to drive it through a black-face Bandmaster, silver-face Vibrolux, and best of all... a '59 tweed Champ! It takes on a different character for each amp but with its own rudeness. I originally bought it for slide use only, but have found myself playin' it normal since I bought it.

Set up perfectly. I bought it used at the Dallas International Guitar Show (the baddest of them all). Who knows how it was originally set up... it's pretty bad-ass, now. I had intended to raise the action and put monster-heavy strings on it for slide use, but am really digging the way it feels. This thing looks incredible! It's got a deep, dark mahogany burst finish. The P-90 is black and the pickguard is single ply black beauty. Both of these, along with the finish, give it a warm but mysterious look that I love.

It's a Gibson. What do you think?

I never had to deal with Gibson, but I'm sure they're nice folks.

I've been playing for about 20 years. I'm 32 years old... so I guess I've been at it most of my life and have owned, and still own, several guitars and amplifiers. I've always considered myself a "Fender Man", but this beauty has really got me! I still love my old Fenders but can definitely see myself adding to my Gibson collection. I know a guitar "has it" if it makes me play more than before. Because of this little baby, even my callouses have callouses! Yee Haw!!!

Its main feature is its lack of features. Gibsons analogy to the Esquire.

The sound is just incredible. This is my 3rd Junior and it truly lives up to its name. It growls, screams, spits and genrally kicks ass. I play it through a 66 Deluxe Reverb and don't use any effects with it. It would be a sin to cover up that primitive sound. The volume control has a nice taper to it and when you roll it back you don't lose high frequencies. The strange thing about this guitar is that I actally use the tone control,

It came strung with 10's and I usually use 10's on Gibsons but it felt a little stiff. I changed over to 9's and it really loosened things up. I wanted to do deep stretches on the first 3 frets (i,e. Leslie West) and the 9's accomodate that nicely. It intonates well (as good a non-adjustible bridge gets). Don't be tempted to replace the stop bar bridge because I am positive that is what gives this thing its great sound. I have a 54 Goldtop reissue that is set up the same way and it plays itself. The finish is very nice, not too heavily lacquered. The action is medium low and is perfect for me. No buzzes or fretting out.

A nuclear bomb would not hurt this thing.

F**K Gibson. They are just another corporation just like Enron or Tyco.

Been playing 43 years. I have a bunch of guitars and amps and I still play out at least 10 times per year. If it was stolen I would definately get another.