Gibson Les Paul Junior

This is the second time I have tried to submit this review. I'm not sure why it is blocked, but let's try again. Luckily I saved it in a word doc. This is a 2009 Les Paul Junior, with all the usual specs, made in the USA, all mahogany, sunburst, with a solid mahogany body (2 pieces by the look of it). It has a single P90 mounted on the body, with one volume and one tone. The neck is also mahogany and the fingerboard looks like rosewood. It has a satin finish, single cut away, and a simple wrap-around bridge. The tuners are quite basic, vintage style Gibsons in keeping apparently with the original tuners on the Junior. The neck feels sort of medium fatness. It has the usual Gibson scale length. It came with a gig bag.

This guitar is probably my favourite ever electric guitar sound, in the 21 years that I have been playing. I play it through a Vox AC30 cc2 with alnico blues, and I play all kinds of styles, although with a leaning towards British rock and alternative rock (whatever that means!). Before I bought this guitar, I was put off by its apparent simplicity and felt that it would be too limited. Don't be fooled though! This guitar has an outrageously good core sound - nice rich P90s, which growl really well, and which have good string definition compared to a regular Les Paul, but which can sound thick too. However, you can also alter thing a lot more than you might expect by adjusting the tone and volume. You can get quite close to a neck pickup sound by lowering the tone and cleaning it up a bit with the volume, and playing near the neck. The controls on this guitar are pretty much usable across the spectrum too, compared to other guitars. One limitation I guess is that this guitar doesn't stay clean for very long. But that doesn't really bother me for how I use it. It can do good cleans though if you lower the volume. It has more punch and sustain than a tele or strat, but is a bit clearer and tighter sounding than a Les Paul with humbuckers. Great for punk rock I reckon.

The guitar was set up very well at the factory, with quite a low action. The two pieces of mahogany in the body are not that well matched, but I don???t really care about that. There are no other flaws, although I suppose a perfectionist might notice that the fret ends are just slightly sharp. Again, this is a very minor thing for me.

The guitar is really solid and because it is so simple, it is difficult to imagine very much going wrong with it. It's one weakness though is the tuners. It doesn't stay in tune all that well, which may be down to the nut which could need a bit more cutting, but also the tuners tend to slip a bit. I will probably replace these soon with something better. I think Gibson could do better with these tuners, but I can see why they put them on for aesthetic reasons.

I have no idea about Gibson, but Dawsons in Manchester where I bought it have excellent customer support. They also allow you to swap in two weeks if you want. I wasn't going to do that on this occasion!

I have been playing for 21 years and currently own a Tele, a Gibson Les Paul Studio, and in the past have owned a Stratocaster. I would certainly replace this if it were lost or stolen, or may even consider getting one of the reissues, since I love the basic principle of the Junior. What I particularly love about it is the range of sounds you can get out of one pickup but most importantly, the raw tone of it - superb sounds, which are really addictive. I tend to reach for this guitar now before the others. I guess it might be better with a neck pickup, but part of the charm is its simplicity and I suspect that it would lost some of its chime with more magnets pulling down on the strings. Overall, probably Gibson's best guitar - no wonder they continue to make it!

This is a 2009 Les Paul Junior, with all the usual specs, made in the USA, all mahogany, sunburst, with a solid mahogany body (2 pieces by the look of it). It has a single P90 mounted on the body, with one volume and one tone. The neck is also mahogany and the fingerboard looks like rosewood. It has a ???satin??? finish, single cut away, and a simple wrap-around bridge. The tuners are quite basic, vintage style Gibsons in keeping apparently with the original tuners on the Junior. The neck feels sort of medium fatness. It has the usual Gibson scale length. It came with a gig bag.

This guitar is probably my favourite ever electric guitar sound, in the 21 years that I have been playing. I play it through a Vox AC30 cc2 with alnico blues, and I play all kinds of styles, although with a leaning towards British rock and ???alternative??? rock (whatever that means!). Before I bought this guitar, I was put off by its apparent simplicity and felt that it would be too limited. Don???t be fooled though! This guitar has an outrageously good core sound ??? nice rich P90s, which growl really well, and which have good string definition compared to a regular Les Paul, but which can sound thick too. However, you can also alter thing a lot more than you might expect by adjusting the tone and volume. You can get quite close to a neck pickup sound by lowering the tone and cleaning it up a bit with the volume, and playing near the neck. The controls on this guitar are pretty much usable across the spectrum too, compared to other guitars. One limitation I guess is that this guitar doesn???t stay clean for very long. But that doesn???t really bother me for how I use it. It can do good cleans though if you lower the volume. It has more punch and sustain than a tele or strat, but is a bit clearer and tighter sounding than a Les Paul with humbuckers. Great for punk rock I reckon.

The guitar was set up very well at the factory, with quite a low action. The two pieces of mahogany in the body are not that well matched, but I don???t really care about that. There are no other flaws, although I suppose a perfectionist might notice that the fret ends are just slightly sharp. Again, this is a very minor thing for me.

The guitar is really solid and because it is so simple, it is difficult to imagine very much going wrong with it. It???s one weakness though is the tuners. It doesn???t stay in tune all that well, which may be down to the nut which could need a bit more cutting, but also the tuners tend to slip a bit. I will probably replace these soon with something better. I think Gibson could do better with these tuners, but I can see why they put them on for aesthetic reasons.

I have no idea about Gibson, but Dawsons in Manchester where I bought it have excellent customer support. They also allow you to swap in two weeks if you want. I wasn???t going to do that on this occasion!

I have been playing for 21 years and currently own a Tele, a Gibson Les Paul Studio, and in the past have owned a Stratocaster. I would certainly replace this if it were lost or stolen, or may even consider getting one of the reissues, since I love the basic principle of the Junior. What I particularly love about it is the range of sounds you can get out of one pickup but most importantly, the raw tone of it ??? superb sounds, which are really addictive. I tend to reach for this guitar now before the others. I guess it might be better with a neck pickup, but part of the charm is its simplicity and I suspect that it would lost some of its chime with more magnets pulling down on the strings. Overall, probably Gibson???s best guitar ??? no wonder they continue to make it!

2005 Sunburst (pre-satin finish), wrap around bridge, P-90, single cut-a-way. Stock everything, easy action neck, solid tuners, dot inlays, came with lame Gibson "gig bag", use my own case from my early 80s Gibson Sonex. Beautiful looking axe, simplistic.

Run through 2 all tube amps: Rivera-era Fender Super Champ (screams without pedals) and through the "beast", a late 70's Fender Blackface/grill Super-Twin Reverb (180W/390W peak), 90lb monster, through a DOD Stereo Chorus and TS-808 TubeScreamer (re-issue). Don't care for the clean sound, except through the chorus, but the P-90 screams with overdrive, amazing. Prefer it to humbuckers or other single coils. No more noise than usual through a tube amp. Squeals like a pig thru the Super Champ. Those Rivera eras were the best, hands down. Easy action, use .010's, coated strings.

Set the P-90 up about a 1/16" closer to strings. No frills, so simple, generally keep both volume/tone all the way up. Occasionally need to re-tune after awhile of furious strumming and/or bending strings.

Excellent axe. Also have an '87 American Strat, early '80's Sonex, and 4 acoustic/electrics (Tak EF341SC, Ovation Balladeer, Ovation 12-string, Cort MR710, through an Acoustasonic Junior30 DSP). It's my favorite electric, by far. Though simple, it seems more versatile for what I play (Replacements, slobberbone, Blackfoot, Green Day, Foo Fighters, Social D, and hard southern punk-rock style originals). I take care of it, but dont need kid gloves either. Dependable geetar.

Haven't needed anything yet. If I need it strobed, will take to local shop. This guitar got me back into electric guitar after having played acoustic for the past few years.

Gave about $600 thru Ebay. This is now my main electric axe. If lost/stolen, I would like another, but probably couldnt afford it now. Would replace with '57 re-issue Custom shop Epiphone. Love everything about it, looks, playability, simplicity, and especially sound. It rips. Have been playing on/off for 30 years (but total of about 10, with all the years of gaps of not playing at all, just drinking. Also want to get an Invader, Marauder, LS-1, S3. Gibson built some killer axes in the 70's/early 80s.

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.

2001, tobacco sunburst, very simple guitar.

Oh, this is where it shines! LP Jr. + 100 watt Marshall= HEAVEN!
No effects needed, when you turn this thing up....it Growls!
Also have a Custom Shop "57" triple pickup Black Beauty, and this thing (as primative as it is), is way more responsive to harmonics.

Got this one used for $500.00 w/hardshell (go figure)
Was perfect top to bottom...not a scratch!

Tough as any "Tele".......nuff said.

Customer WHAT?

Over 30 years playing, and never tired of these.
We all know what Leslie West did with this animal, but I was very surprised when I recently read an article in VINTAGE GUITAR's website
(artist pages), on Martin Barre of Jethro Tull. Seems he was so impressed with Leslie's tone while touring with Mountain, that the ENTIRE "AQUALUNG" album was recorded with a Junior!!!
Well, I had to go back and listen to the album, and sure enough!
One trick pony....MY ASS!

This review is for a 2004 model LP Jr. in Vintage Sunburst purchased new from MF. This year/model (I'm pretty sure)is exclusive to MF. Here are the specs:
Manufactured in: Nashville,TN

NECK
Species: Mahogany
Profile: '60's slim taper
Peghead Pitch: 13 degrees
Thickness at 1st Fret: 0.800
Thickness at 12th Fret: 0.875
Neck Joint Location: 16

FINGERBOARD
Species: Rosewood
Scale Length: 24 3/4
Total Length: 18.062
Number of Frets: 22
Nut Width: 1 11/16
Width at 12th Fret: 2.062
Inlays: dot
Fingerboard Bind: NA

HARDWARE
Plating Finish: Chrome
Bridge: Compensated wraparound bridge
Knobs: Black Top Hats
Tuners: White Button

ELECTRONICS
Pickups: one p90
Controls: one volume, one tone

CASE: Gibson gig bag

I gotta comment on the bridge. Most Juniors have an angled wraparound bridge. This one is not angled, the posts that hold the bridge are square with the pickup so the bridge is straight, or parallel to the p90 pickup.
I'm not rating features. It's a Junior, about as simple as they come, but that's the beauty of it!!!

I play mostly rock / punk, a little blues. I'm running this guitar through a Marshall DSL50 and Marshall 4x12 cabinet with greenbacks. This guitar sounds incredible! Sound is tough to describe but here's my take on it. Through the dirty channel it growls like a rabid pitbull that has the neighbor's cat cornered, and it sings nicely through the clean channel with the tone knob rolled back a little. Awesome p90 tone! Also played this through my TSL 100 and Vintage 30 loaded cab. That sounded great too, I just prefer the clean sound through the dsl 50 rig.

Guitar came ready to play right out of the box. Intonation was on, action is nice and low. The finish has a little orange peel in and around the cut out, bad chrome on the bridge where it wraps around the post, not that noticeable, but I expected a little better quality from Gibson. Otherwise the finish is really nice, and the mahogany looks great on the top.

I've played this guitar at several shows now. I need to tune this thing about every three songs, but I beat the hell out of it. I'm going to replace the tuners with something that will hold better. Also replaced the strap buttons with straplocks. I never gig with out a backup guitar, but I've also never had to use the back up since I started using this as a main guitar.

Requested the specs for this guitar from Gibson and they were unable to provide assistance. They said to ask Musician's Friend. Since they ordered these guitars they would have the specs. Just figured since Gibson built the dang things, they would know how they built them. Whatever, no big deal, I found the info.

I've been playing for 25 years. Right now I also have a 78 LP Std, 00 LP Std, and an Ibanez RG (it's my kids!), the marshall's above and a Line 6 Vetta Combo. I've always played Les Paul Standards, experimented with many others, but always end up going back to the Les Pauls. This junior is now my favorite axe. I love the simplicity of it. It's probably the funnest guitar I've ever played. If this one were lost or stolen, I'd save my money and get an older one or a re-issue. But for the price, this one is definately worth it.

2005 LES PAUL JR. Dark sunburst, volume and tone knob, one very nasty P90. The rest you allready know from the many reviews.

For now I have a Roland Blues Cube 30 watt. Has a clean and dirty channel. But next is a Fender tube something. Probably a Deluxe Reverb. For blues and rock and mild jazz this thing is great.

Came nicely set up to my liking. Action was close, and intonation was on at the 12th fret. (Really) Tuners seem ok. Stays in tune for my playing. But I check tuning between songs anyways.

I'm a weekend musician anymore. But would easily gig with this guitar. The sound is just ripping awesome. The glossy finish shows sweat marks easily dont care if it wears off in places. Could use strap buttons, at least it dosent weigh 10 pounds.

Never dealt with Gibson

Been playing many years. Mostly an acoustic player anymore but ventured into the electric venue again. Bought a LP Studio and sold it to get this one for simplicity. Was I surprised. It would never be stolen. This is not an entry level junker guitar. Maybe the Epiphone version of this is I cant say having never seen one. But after now owning something with a P90 seems I can tell them a mile away on songs now. With my little amp cranked normal or on overdrive, the volume and tone on 10 on the guitar, oh my god. For the money it is killer, in about four days it was sitting at my door. No tax and no shipping. Sorry I dont go into all the detailed gorey details but just wanted to add another positive comment about this guitar. Looking to get the Fender Deluxe so I'll have something I can crank to 9 or 10 with this guitar pretty much dry and still leave the roof on a small dive bar.

2002 I think, USA.
Pretty simple really, a P90, Vol, Tone and shiny black paint.
Looks like its a 3 piece body, mahogany. NecK? Who knows.. Nice rosewood board.
It has very few features, but in the age of things becoming so feature packed and whiz bang.. I consider simplicity a feature in itself.

Sounds fabulous unplugged, really resonant body.
Plugged, fat single coil sound. Really nice clarity, chords really ring out, power chords sound amazing, I'm used to them sort of just mushing together, but with this they just sing. Sustains beautifully and feels just so nice to play (feels alive in your hands).
Fun with distorion, its no full on metal machine, but still rocks fairly hard!
I love the clarity of this thing, truely love it,

Action was perfect, finish was perfect, really nicely finished frets.. nice all over. Perfect.. The paint is thinish though, not thick and glossy (is how I can see its a 3 piece body, can just make out the join in the wood, not through transparency, just a gentle dip). I figure the thin paint adds to the resonant feel, not a fan of all that 6 inch thick glossy goop.
Its so easy to play.

Despite what people have told me about the tuners, it stays in tune pretty well (better than my LP Voodoo for sure and that had Grovers).
I figure the paint won't last forever, it does feel thin, but I don't mind that, like a bit of wear and tear. Aside from that.. what can go wrong? Its so damn simple.

I sent them email, they replied. Aus distributor seems very helpful.

Admittedly I've only been playing for a year, I traded my LP Voodoo for this (sure I maybe got ripped a bit but I don't care, this is exactly what I wanted and how can you get ripped if you get what you want?), I couldn't come to terms with the neck on my Voodoo, Nice guitar though.
I love this axe, Its just sublime.. For me its all about how it feels unplugged and this thing speaks to me..
Only thing I wish it had was a different colour, wanted alpine white, black was all they had.. and was the last one..
I love it, if it were stolen, I'd be extremely upset, try to get another. It probably is a bit expensive for what it is.

Obviously a junior doesnt have many "features" in the sense of the term that guitarists most often use, ie: clicky knobs that coil tap and pickups that enchant your hands to play half decent. Juniors are guitars like they should be made. Its a peice of wood with strings that resonates through electricity. This guitar rocks and definitely gets a 9/10 for features because it has the features that one needs.

Ok TECHNICALLY.
the features depend greatly on what era junior you have. the original juniors had wrap around bridges and crappy little kluson style tuners. the new ones are basically the same in features. the junior that i own is from the late 80s, when they made them with tune o matic bridges and mini grover tuners...features that come on much more expensive high end models. this is why i went for an 80s junior, classic tone, stays in tune like a mofo. this neck aint bending.

If you crank the prescence on this guitar and set everything else (mids trebs and bass) to 5 then you get pretty much a clean pallette to use the tone knob to make the guitar sound however you want. Its not an amp sim or anything, but you can get a good range of tones. The clean tone is excellent, bright and sustaining and takes to reverb like a champ. ryhtym distortion is chunky and full, and the lead distortion sings.

again it depends on what era guitar you have. the finish on the new juniors, the 00' juniors, have an orangey see thru finish and the wood is crappy. the backside of the new juniors are painted dead black along with the neck so that you cant see through to the junk wood they made it out of. if you have an older junior they have the classic yellowey burst and the back of the guitar is translucent so you can see the beautiful wood. when i got my guitar the action was perfect, there were no dead notes at all, although i dont think this guitar is much for shredding, or being a metal dork. (no offense i like playing metal too)

rock fucking solid. get new strap buttons or a strap lock (duh)

Never talked to them, bought it used.

Awesome guitar. I use a 70s super reverb 4x10 and this guitar sounds amazing. i dont have a rat pedal but i want one because this guitar sounds great with a vintage rat. i would definitly buy it again, but i would never buy one of the crappy new juniors, what a joke. go vintage or go broke....or both.

This review is for a 2004 Les paul JR. I should mention that I have recently recieved this guitar! This is a straight-up Junior as the guy at Gibson said when I enquired about it before ordering from Musicians Friend. Mahogany neck and body,one P-90 at the wrap-around bridge,2 knobs,rosewood fingerboard,chrome hardware. The body appears to be solid one piece,sunburst top,black sides and back as well as neck. This struck me as kind of odd(black finish on back and neck) I would have preferred seeing the mahogany. Kind of wonder if it was painted to hide laminations in the neck and body.
Tuners are kluson-style with plastic buttons. Headstock has gold stencil logo,nice vintage angle.Fingerboard and fret-work are nice. Nice round vintage feel to the neck. Nice looking sunburst top-pretty wood! Good fit at body/neck joint. Single cutaway body. Finish is nitro-cellulose lacquer. Made in Nashville USA. Came with a nice Gibson gig-bag!!

The sound of this guitar is awesome. Unplugged, it has a rich,full resonance that hints at good things to come. Plugged in, I am not disappointed. P-90 covers all strings true and balanced. Harmonics to chunky rythms. Singing sustain can be obtained when driven hard through a small 6V6 amp. Clean full chords through the Super Reverb amp. Tone knob offers a nice tonal sweep. Some might think this guitar is a one trick pony but it offers a lot of tone in my opinion--2 knobs, 1 pickup, 2 hands and an amp...what else ya need!

Straight out of the box-this guitar is set-up to my liking. great action on the whole neck. No buzzes or fret out. Frets well polished and smooth. Intonation pretty close. The only problem I had was the G string nut-slot was not cut deep enough and the string would pop out when I did bends. I do my own guitar maintenance and with the proper file I quickly remedied that situation!!
On the subject of finish--it could be better! Overall I am happy with the top and neck(with the exception of it being black). However, the black finish on the back has light scratches over the surface. Looks like it could have been buffed out a little better!
All the parts--bridge,tuners, p'up and p'guard seem to have good fits and the neck/body joint is seamless!

Since I just purchased this guitar--I can,t attest to its reliability at this point BUT will say that it seems to be quite well-built and road-worthy. All parts and strap buttons are well-mounted. Being light and relatively inexpensive I feel that it is a real gig-worthy guitar and reliable

Have not had to use customer support...so don,t know!

I have been playing for 35 years. I currently own 12 guitars-all vintage except this one and a Guild Jumbo. Have been through 30 or so guitars and for the last several years been interested only in vintage AND primarily Gibson. Regular Les Pauls are too heavy for my liking and I had the 'jones' for a junior AND the price was right! So far, I am extremely happy with the purchase. Great sounding,vintage-feeling and playing guitar. Would buy again if necessary!

Built in 1955 its basically one of the simpelst electric guitars ever made. Mahagony body in three tone sunburst nitro laquer finish, glued mahagony neck, rosewood board with 22nd frets and mother of pearl dot inlays, kluson tuners, one dogear P-90 single coil pickup rated 7.6 kOhm in bridge position, wrap around tail piece, tone control, volume control and a large bumble bee capacitor, thats it. The neck is fat (but not as fat as the '55 LP Special neck)and dead straight, and the frets are of small size. I suggest rating a 2 is ok, I'll save the 1 for a guitar with the same features except tone control.

If you like P-90s and are familiar with the different types and companies which produce this pickup you'll gonna hear the difference between this one and the contamporary types at a glance. On one hand, it sound great in all situations (clean, crunch, high gain) and with all major amps (Fender, Boogie, Marshall). It has plenty of power with the right bottom and overall frequency response, never harsh, always balanced and dynamic with transparency. The tone pot in combination with the bumble bee provides a wide range of usefull sounds, especially when you vary the position where your right hand strokes the strings. For sure, you won't get for instant those pretty singing sound of a pickup in the neck position of a Les Paul, but it's possible to come close to it. Sound is full and rich, not much noisy for a single coil pickup.

At first, it's a 49 year old guitar. Looking at myself (I'm as well born in 1955) it seems in the same good shape I am (laughing). Surely, there are some dings, dongs and scratches, but if you take a look at my homepage www.coleslaw.de you could see under gear, how wonderfull those ol' lady looks like. Concerning the action it's the best guitar I own. Even when the strings are set low (I use .11 - .49 gauge) there's no buzzing at all and your fingers could speed up and down the fretboard. So far action is much more better then my MM van Halen, my PRS Custom 22 or one of my Strats.

I guess the age and shape of the guitars speaks for its own. It's rock solide and build for more than a lifetime.

I bought the guitar at the beginning of the year 2004 from Germanys best known vintage dealer Wolfgang Eistert (see www.guitar-coffee-shop.com), thus I can only rate his competence. He's a smart guy and well known worldwide as a reliable vintage dealer.

Basically I wanted a guitar which had been manufactured in the same year I am born to a convinient price. Always addicted to Les Paul's in some kind of love-and-hate association I ocassionally bought either a Standart, Custom or Special by purpose to get rid of it after 5-6 month of playing. At a time, where every week another affordable normal or nearly unaffordable custom shop Les Paul is leaving the Gibson factory I suggest that such an old Les Paul Junior represents an achorpoint for the restless guitarslinger on his ever lasting quest for sound. Thus I'll give the highest score in the overall rating.

A 1987 Les Paul Junior purchased in 1998. My first good guitar and still plays like a champ.

Single cutaway with the tobacco sunburst, 1 P-90, Grover minis (which are great - better than the cheap plastic ones they use now) and the best part: It has a Tune-O-Matic.

The neck is what you'll find on a new Les Paul Studio model.

It's so basic it's great. It's been my slide guitar ever since I bought my 1989 Gold Top.

Nothing beats the sound of a Junior. The back pickup from my SG Classic is pretty close but still can't touch the Junior. The Junior's really funky when clean and huge distorted - bigger sound than humbuckers will give you.

No flaws to comment on. Only (minor) dings were caused by me.

I used to think this guitar would be great at parties and such, but the guitar's too nice to take out anymore. And good luck finding a replacement since the new Juniors don't come with a Tune-O-Matic and cost about $2000 more.

But I haven't had to change a thing on it and nothing's fallen off.

Never had to

Been playing for 16-17 years? Other gear includes a 1989 Les Paul Goldtop, 2001 SG Classic (P-90s), 2003 Les Paul Studio (with 57 Classics) going through either an old Fender VibroChamp (silver face) or a newer Fender Deluxe amplifier.

If anything happened to the Junior - I'd seek out a late 80's one in a flash. I remember seeing a picture of Joe Walsh playing one and it looked like such a neat guitar. That's what made me want to get one.

2001 LP Junior, others have spec'd this guitar so just read someone else's specs:-)

The thing is that an LPJ is a really simple guitar...

This LPJ has a great sound, almost as good as mu 50's LPJ's. It's a lone P90 singlecoil, so of course you'll get some hum if you ask for it.

Bought it used, and the setup was flawless. There really isn't any room to adjust the P90...
No build or wood flaws that I can find, if you don't count some stuff you should really retrofit.

This guitar was bought to take care of live playing, as using original LPJ's was getting very scary. Works fine and takes a really heavy beating without complaints.

I have however fitted Gotoh tuners (the ones on the guitar are really not any good for fast on-stage tuing) and also replaced the stud/tailpeace with a Wilkinson one. The reason for this is that the compensation does not work with a spun G-string.

Been playing about 25 years.
If I lost this one, I'd just get anoter one. Hell, I'll probably get anoter one anyway:-)
I love the sound, the feel and the simplicity.
The LPJ is, in my mind, not comparable to any other guitar. You want a LPJ, you buy a LPJ. Simple.
I coult do woithout the tone control...

Simplicity at its best! (2001) re-issue tobacco-sunburst, wrap-a-round bridge, single dog-eared p-90 (would recomend trashing that piece-o-crap ABS plastic nut, and replace it with BONE, makes a world of difference! RESONENCE!

This guitar was NOT made to be played in the bedroom! So for all you young would-be critics, get a job, save your bucks, then put it through a 100 watt PLEXI-STACK. (Thats where it shines!) This thing was made to be DRIVEN! Forget all your little pedals and crap! Many of the BEST rock guitarists to ever hit the stage chose this axe....WHY???? Figure it out!!!

Again, its basic. You want to look good, (or sound great?)

Built like a tank.

Regretably. Gibson support SUCKS today. 30 years ago was a different story. If you have half a brain, you already know how to maintain your axe.

Guitars DONT play themselves, and Im really tired of all these young assholes who think a brand new PRS will make them a SUPER-STAR! Get a freakin clue! NO, YOULL NEVER BE AS GOOD AS THE ONES WHO'VE MADE HISTORY! Live with it, and quit blaming the guitar! ( its probobly been around longer than YOU! There are alot of GREAT new guitarists out there today, and I salute you!

2000 model. Made in USA. Please refer to other reviews for the exact specs.

This is my friends guitar, I borrowed it for about a month and played it intensively.

Just a beginners guitar with Gibson on the headstock, nothing more.

This guitar is almost a one trick pony. I said almost because it can do other kinds of music in a decent manner.

I really can't see any one outside the classic rock/punk demography that would use this as a main guitar.

Good p-90 sound.

My problem with this guitar is that there are alot of other p-90 guitar out there that sounded as good(or better) that cost less than this "gibson" and with better finish/feature/hardware.

You really feel like your paying for the "Gibson" logo on an otherwise mediocre guitar.

Dissapointing, in my humble opinion: nothing more than a step-up above a starter guitar. I can't really pinpoint a certain flaw(i.e. nut, bridge, or fret) but the playability is poor, can't play fast, difficult string bends.

I don't know, I only played this guitar for a month.

Never dealt, it should be good.

Don't get me wrong, overall sound of this guitar is just OK. But the pricetag is downright ridiculous, just because it's Gibson and "Made in The USA" don't give it excuse to make a mediocre sounding guitar.

Build in 1955, excellent condition down to the untouched solder joints and original 22 frets, one dog-ear P 90 pickup, rating 7.59 kOhm, mahagony body/neck, Kluson tuners, aluminium stop-tail, one volume, one tone control, large bumble bee capacitor, dark brown body with 3 color sunburst, golden Gibson script, weights around 3 kg. The neck is fat (but not as fat as that of a 55 Special Reissue from 1978 I owned), very comfortable to play with very low action (I use .11 string gauge and I tuned the axe down to D). Came with the original alligator case, which is not sufficient if you carry the axe around.

Very beefy sound, has lots of balls. Sounds dirty compared to newer P 90 equipped guitars, the first axe which enabled me to nail the Toni Iommie sound which could be heard on the first Black Sabbath record. Volume and tone controls react in a way you would never encounter in modern guitars. Roll the volume back and you'll got excellent clean sounds, roll it up this baby screams. Rolling the tonecontrol back alters the tone in a very subtle way I am not able to explain - you have to hear that. Once had a Gibson Melodymaker SG with one P 90, and it was the same story. I basically use an old (from 1971) Marshall 50 W head and a Marshall 4x12 Vintage Reissue Box with G12M Greenbacks. If you could play loud, you don't need any effects or stompboxes, this setup really rocks.

I don't know how my newer PRS, Fender, Music Man and other Gibson axes would look like in approximatly 50 years (if I become 99, I would know this), but depending on it's age it is a extraordinary guitar.

I guess, all this things have been proved over the last 49 years. Despite I have always 3 or 4 axes on stage I would also make a gig by just using the Junior.

Haven't had to deal with Gibson.

I play since 1968 and was behind a guitar which is the same age as I am (I'm born in 1955). Due to the situation, that Strats and Les Paul Standards are financially out of reach for a weekend player, I chose this fine axe and never regred it. I'll give a 9 because it has not the versatility a LP with an additional neck pickup would have, but thats a thing I could live with.