Gibson Les Paul Standard

2008 gibson les paul standard/heritage cherry sunburst finish/ burst bucker pro pick ups/weight relived body/aaa flame maple top/ tone pros bridge and tail piece/locking grover tunners/24 3/4 scale /hardshell case and pick gaurd/manu.for guitar has 4 vol/tone pots and 3 way switch.

i play mostly 50's - 2009 rock /country/pop/hard rock/ a bit o everything/ the amp i use is a peavy 212 renowed amp with 450 watts/ no noise at all from the pickups just smoth tone and sound.the sound is bright but warm sounds just like a paf pickup but a bit hotter really full tone well rounded.i can get any tone out of this guitar with no prob at all she can be quite and she can get a bad a@@ growl to her.if you cant get this guitar to get your tone than maybe it is your fault.this guitar is built to to it all.

this guitar is the best i have ever seen /played/owned the fit and finish are amazing . the top has so much flame and it is so wow. the set up was amazing although not to my style but verey well setup no fret buzz no tinks on the frets.just an amazing fit and finish no probs at all.not a one at all just the best and most clean guitar iv had the joy of seeing.the gibson factory was just amazing with this guitar it was perfect.

i have not had it long but it feels like with a lil tlc it will last forever. it feels so soild and well built i must say i feel if you take proper care it will out last you.( dont be a moron and treat your guitar like a one night stand a lil tlc goes a long way)

i have talked with gibson guitars at 1800-444-2766 about my guitar and they are great to deal with it takes no time to get the info you want and need. they are verey smart and a joy to talk to i love it.

overall this guitar kills any epi/prs/fender it gets way more tone and looks so much better. this guitar is so amazing and a joy to own and play it is the BEST guitar i have ever played hands down and iv played all the above guitars and this one kills them all. this guitar after a good setup plays like a champ.and if it was stolen id hurt someone this guitar is the best i have ever played.and yes if i could afford it i would have not a second thought of getting another one.

Some of the reviewers were talking about the "acoustic sound" of the new, chambered Standard. But, it can come only from a guitar has a hole on its body (Hollow body, Semi-Hollow body, Acoustic guitars, etc ...) Acoustic sound cannot come from this guitar since it has not the hole (F-hole S-hole , or any hole) on it.
Well, although the sound - comes from this guitar - is different from the old Standards' sound for sure. Who likes what? that is very individual and one would say it is a great guitar, meanwhile the other one would say it is a crap.
What is for sure - it should not be called solid body guitar, since some kilos of wood was carved and chambered out of it. It is empty inside. So, it has a different sound, a different body and only its shape and the hardware what shows Les Paul feature by definition.
All the adds about this guitar starts with the sentence that it is not easy to develop a legend but we could do it ... and so on.
But there is no development on this guitar. Putting a strap lock on it is not for sure. Pek-ing the neck ... well, today I have tried two Plak-ed necked Standards at the local music store - both with that high action that playing a chord was a serious effort so, I would not consider it neither as an improvement. Chambered body? They did it, because many people were complaining about the weight of the Les Paul. But it is not improvement - it is only a solved complain by changing something. Were the typical Les Paul issues treated? No. You can still struggle with the tuning, still cannot reach the upper region of the frets, because of the old cutaway shape. Most likely, the the headstock can break off the neck as easey as it did before ... The last time there was improvement put in place on the Les Paul guitars happened mostly in the 50's and 60's. The Burstbuckers are from that time, the knobs and toggle switch also, the hardware (tailpeace, bridge, machine heads) also from that time and even the main colors are coming from that period (HCS, GT, EB, so on ...)
Let's put it on this way ... this guitar resembles the original Les Paul Standard guitars in its shape and color. It was upgraded with strap lock, Plek-ed neck, and a lock for the Jack plug. It has not solid body anymore, but chambered and has different tonal features and sound.
BTW, I cannot really follow the Gibson company. They say about the Traditional model that "you asked for it, so you got it ..." I think, nobody asked for this model! And then they call people who think the Les Paul is a solid body guitar "purists".I wonder, how they called Les Paul when he refused to put his name on the SG at the beginning of the 60's. (Actually, that is why it is called SG and not LP.)
I think, Gibson got this gift - got the Les Paul guitar and Les Paul himself and just could not deal with this. This was too much for this company. And now when the Master is not there anymore, they think, they can do anything under the Les Paul name.
So the advertisement of the new Standard should sound like this: It is never easy to change a legend, but we could do it ...

I am a Les Paul Guitar fan. I just admire these instruments. And I really hope they will survive this "improvement"!

this is a 2007 Gibson les paul standard in honey burst finish. It has a flame maple top, chrome hardware, tune-o-matic bridge and gibson burstbucker pro pickups.
it has a slim tapered 60's style neck which i prefer over the 50's as i find it a bit too chunky.
probly the thing that separates this standard from previous models gibson has produced is its chambered body which some people dont like. i personally think its a great feature as you get everything you'd expect and want out of a les paul without the back pain at the end of a gig.

the sound of this guitar is nothing short of perfect. theres nothing i would change about it at all. i use a mesa boogie solo head and the combination of the les paul and the mesa is insane!
i use mostly the bridge pickup as i play alot of rhythm hard rock music and the tone is tight and crunchy just as i like it.

bottom line les pauls are the best rock guitars.

when i got the guitar the set up was great. fairly low action but i like that. all the harmonics etc were all fine and from memory i giged with it the very day i got it!
the finish is beautiful! great colour which will only get better with age. the only slight down side for me personally is the flame top, not that i dislike it but i just think it would have looked a bit better without it so the finish looks more natural.

I gig on average around 3-4 times a month and my guitars all cop a thrashing. i previously owned a gretsch malcolm young firebird and after about 4 months or giging the pickups and bridge looked like they had been rusting for 20 years! i also had problem with tuning with my gretsch. with the les paul iv been gigint with it for the past year or so since i bought it and it still looks like its just come off the show room floor. Absolutely no rust or hardware decay at all.
The only issue i hav had with it since i bought it is having burs on the bridge causing me to break strings. but i just took it to the shop where i bought it and they'v fixed it free of chrage.
im sure this guitar will last me forever.

Never dealt with the company so i cant say.

I couldnt recommend this guitar any higher! i was lucky to get a standard in 2007 before the new '08 models were introduced as i really hate the 2008 models.
I would deffinately buy another gibson without question.

A 2008 les paul standard in a very nice 'root beer' finish, which does a bit look like your granny's sideboard, but its a wonderful colour nonetheless.

Burstbuckre pick ups, 60s style neck, 4 rotary knobs and a toggle - what more do you need?

It sounds as it should sound - like a AA maple top les paul - played through a Fender blues deluxe amp. A great variety of tones can be produced without too much effort. Wonderful warm blues tone and nice fulsome jazz tones and sustain that seems to last for weeks.

Always a bit of a lottery on whether or not the thing has been finished off by the local infant school or by crafts people. I have two other gibsons and they must have slipped out the factory whilst the quality control person was on a teabreak, but they sound & play perfectly despite this.

Anyway, this was very well finished, but a bit heavy with the lacquer in a couple of places but you really have to look very hard to find them. As ever guitars usually need setting up when you get them - part of the fun of making them your own. But more generally, there is nothing major or minor wrong with it that a few minutes wouldn't sort out.

Should last for ever - well almost.

Its very good. A tremendous lump of wood and well worth the expenditure even though they're not cheap.

My Gibson Les Paul Standard Goldtop was made in May 2007 in the US. It has a nice maple top and looks very beautiful. It has the Burstbucker Pros which give it great tone. The treble is a little bright but perfect for me. You can get so many tones from the 3 way toggle switch and 2 tone, 2 volume knobs. The body and neck are both made of solid mahogany. It has a rosewood fretboard. The guitar isn't all that heavy at all. It has to be like 6 pounds or so. It has the Nashville Bridge and and stock tailpiece. The neck isn't all that big. It is definately a super nice guitar.

This guitar is flawless for what I play, which would be U2. I can get all of Edge's sounds from this. I'm just using a Fender G-DEC with it which the only thing that changes the tone is the 3 way switch and knobs. It is only noisy with really high gain and I'm talkin' REALLY HIGH GAIN!!! In the neck position things are subtle and smooth and sweet. She is soft and mellow there. In the bridge she is just a little bright (depends on the settings). I play mostly on the treble selection. In the middle is where I get a lot of variety of sound combining the bridge and neck. I love to roll a little off the tone (about 5) and a little off the bridge volume (about 6). Things seem to go places with that setting. There is sooooo much variety of sound this guitar can make. Absoloutely magnificent.

The action was perfect when I got it (I got it pre owned). It had a new set of strings and the action was a little low, which is how I like it. I didn't do much adjusting as for they sounded nice when I first played it. Evverything was properly set up and was in no need of fixing anything. There were no flaws that I could see except for a very faint scratch in the back but other than that terrific!

I wouldn't hesitate to take this thing out live. In fact it'd be the first thing I'd grab! It definitely will last me several years, actually even more than that! The finish is right where it needs to be. It looks like it would age properly over time as I play it more and more. The strap buttons are a bit short. My strap keeps slipping from the button. But other than the button problem I can certainly depend on this guitar. I've already done some recording with this guitar. It is great.

Never had to deal with Gibson and hopefully never will.

I've been playing for three years and this guitar is the best I have out of three others (Dean ZX, Squier Affinity Series Strat, and a Squier Affiniy Telecaster). Personally if it were stolen I'd brake down and cry and then buy another. Great job Gibson! They really know how to make a great guitar! I love the easily playable 60's neck and can't get over how easy it is to bend the strings and move from fret to fret. I don't wish it had another thing. It is perfect the way it is! I love my sweet baby!

2005 Les Paul

The guitar sounds good but does not stay in tune.

New the guitar had the strings very high and it felt like a bur on one of the frets. When I got home I noticed the finish has a couple of air bubbles that looked back. Below average workmanship.

I would not use this guitar live or depend on it. I also have an ESP Truckster and that guitar is SUPER. The Gibson is just very poorly made. I have a $100 Fender I bought for my daughter that plays way better then this Les Paul!

I purchased a brand new Les Paul and found the paint had bubbles and the guitar was very poorly made. I contacted Gibson because they advertise a lifetime warranty. NO RESPONSE! I sent registered letters to the President and CEO of Gibson. NO RESPONSE! They are crooks selling junk. Be smart. Buy another brand.

I have been playing for about 40 years. I don't use the Gibson because I don't consider it fit to play. Instead I use my Truckster ESP and a Marshall Vintage Modern Combo which is a SUPER Amp.

les paul standard 1990 way before all the chambering and all that plek stuff but the features are great cherry sunburst, mahogany body neck and rosewood fretboard 22 frets chrome hardware cream binding it looks sweet!

well it sounds awesome but when i got it i got it used and she had a like a 50's reissue in the bridge which wasnt enough output for me and it sound a bit twangy so i changed it for a pearly gaters by seymour which now the bridge sounds awesome

the neck came with this seymour duncan bridge pickup in it and it sounds great i got curious to which pickup it was so i took it out and read dcl on the back still doesnt narrow it down for me but it just sounds EPIC

i play all styles of music and its rich sound is perfect for me toally well balanced its awesome

i hated the set up but it wasnt from the factory but i dont believe the factory could do a whole lot better but its the factory

the finish is great it still looks great after 18 years FANTASTIC!!!

it is a ten for everthing but the action set up but bad factory set up is always terrible

its 18 years old and is in fantastic condition still the finish is a bit faded but that can be expected

never needed them

absolutely PERFECT 100% absolutely perfect!

2008 Sunburst Les Paul Standard, chambered mahogany body with maple top, Burstbucker humbucking pickups, Grover locking tuners, special pots, old-style finish, Tone-Pros locking bridge and tailpiece, strap locks and case.

Sounds are really good, but the neck pickup is a little bassy compared to the bridge, it could be a tad brighter. Other than that, this guitar sounds really great. I play blues/blues-rock, classic and it works perfect for that. Running a Goodsell Super 17 through an Avatar 2x12 cabinet with Celestion G12H-30's with Keeley Comp, Keeley Blues Driver, TS-9 (Analogman), ZenDrive, T-Rex Mudhoney, CMATMODS Brownie, Line 6 Reverb, Boss CE-2 Chorus, Boss DD-3 delay.

The action was a bit high from the factory and I didn't like the strings they use so I had it set up by my favorite luthier with D'Addario .010's. The neck feels like a broken in Les Paul and the action is great. For a chambered body it's still a little heavy at 9.4 lbs. The locking tuners are not that great and have been replaced by regular Grover Rotomatics. The set screws on the bridge weren't tightened properly and I lost one after a day. The guitar won't stay in tune due to the nut material and the way it's cut. That also will be replaced with a standard bone nut.

Seems like it's made really well and with the extended neck tenon should be more durable than Les Pauls of the past. The pots are sealed and mounted to a circuit board, so if they ever go bad it will be difficult to clean and/or replace. We'll have to wait and see since I've only had the guitar a couple of months. I couldn't use this guitar without a backup because it doesn't stay in tune that well. It's better with the new tuners and set up, but the nut still must be replaced. Once that's done I'm sure it will be just fine. I use multiple guitars for different tones.

I wrote to customer service about all the problems and they said, "Sorry to hear", take it to an authorized repair center. I guess that's all they could say, but I really don't want the same nut material put on because it's too soft and won't last long and the grooves aren't properly cut.

Overall I think that since it has the new tuners and once the nut is replaced it will be a great guitar. It's a shame that for $2300 you still have to deal with these types of issues.

2008 Les Paul standard in Honey Burst with the 60's neck. AA maple.

Well, after 20+ years of playing it's my first foray into Humbuckers. The burstbuckers sound very rich, and I'm discovering a whole new bunch of sounds (I've been playing a Mexican Fender Tele till recently).

Through my Laney combo it just sounds fantastic. It certainly requires more fiddling to get cleaner sounds on the rhythm pickup as it can tend to get quite "muddy". I've found myself having to do a bit more work with the amp to get the sounds I want.

I love the two volume and two tone switches. As a lead guitarist I've just found it has solved a whole plethora of problems with regards to being heard over the rest of the band.

The chambering doesn't really seem to have made much of a diference to the sound, so I wouldn't let that put you off (let the price do that).

I really have to agree with a lot of other people on here and say that the finish was not what you'd expect from a guitar costing a grand a half.

File marks on the fretboard, and a shoddy bit of wood staining are evident.

The action though was very good, although the bottom E did need a bit of therapy to stop some buzz.

Dont get me wrong, the guitar looks bleedin' bootiful, it just has a few inconsistencies with the finish.

I have never enjoyed playing a guitar as much as I enjoy playing this one, flaws aside.

It plays great, and sounds awesome so that's all that matters.

Durability and reliabity wise is impossible to answer. It's still too early to tell.

By the looks of it the finish wont last long before becoming quite pitted, and I have already worn a belt mark into the rear.

Nice weight to it though, and surprisingly it is a similar weight to my fender.

Never used em.

I've waited 20 years to be able to afford this bad boy, and I'm very pleased I now own one. I bought this guitar for a very distinct reason, rather than on a whim.

The main reason was that with having two telecasters in the band, it was hard to differentiate the two guitars from each other. The Gibson and Fenders work very nicely together and our music has now taken on a very nice, rich sound.

I really need to stress how important it is to try a LOT of les paul's before you find one. I've played a load of LP's recently, and the diference between them is very noticeable. There are some real turkey's out there... actually, 70% are turkey's, so whatever you do DO NOT BUY ONE BEFORE PLAYING IT.

I found the custom far too heavy (although very nicely built), and I just couldn't warrant the extra 500 wing wangs it would have cost. The studio felt cheap, and sounded cheap, but cost 700 quid so I just couldnt understand why anyone would buy one.

When I picked up this one, I knew it was the one. It just felt right, and sounded fantastic. Sure, it has it's niggles with the build quality, but nothing is perfect. This was about the fifth or sixth les paul I had tried that day.

Cost wise.... it is overpriced for what it is, but then I knew that when I bought it. People forget that it isn't just about value, it's about buying the guitar that makes you feel invincible on stage, and the les paul does that for me. The fact it sounds gorgeous is also a plus.

If it was stolen I would probably cry as it took so long to find the right one. But I'd go through the whole nightmare again to find another one.

This guitar has made me the performer I've always wanted to be. Some people love strats, others the SG, but for me it's a Les Paul all the way.

Wonderful (if flawed) guitar.

I'm giving it an average score overall as it is quite a niche instrument. I'm sure that other people could find far more suitable guitars at a better price, and probably better built.

Mine is a 2005 model Les Paul (before all that chambering tomfoolery began) in heritage cherry sunburst. Everybody knows the spec,k if you dont you shouldnt be here jeje. Came with a set of Zakk Wylde strings on which were almost as shoddy as Wylde's technique and music.

The best feature of this guitar by a long way is the sound. Very rich and thick with sustain that will outlast religion. The clean tone is warm and vibrant, and the distorted tone is just....well its just swell. You can go from the crunch of the bridge pickup to the warm flutey slash tones of the neck.

The action was fine on reciving the guitar. cosmetically, though bought new it was not without flaw. A few specs of lacquer by some frets, a tiny bit of crappy binding here and there. Either way, this is not a bother as it is a guitar to play, not to take out for the evening in a ball gown...and maybe more ;p

Duno lol, only had it for 24 hours Lal.

guess thats something you should talk to Watchdog abiwt.

been playing 8 years, until now have only really nailed by usa strat. This guitar is so excellent, its great to play and sounds very very good. Some people weep about it being heavy, if anything that attracts me more (the same cant be said for women ahahahahaha). either way, to wrap up, fantastic guitar, fully recommend it to anybody. It will not disappoint, thats for true.