Gibson Les Paul Standard

Les Paul Standard. You know the features so no need to go over them. Mine is the Honeyburst color and it's a looker, too! Got the Burst Bucker Pro pickups and the tapered 60's neck. It's a used 2006 model and other than a mild case of buckle rash it looked brand new. Has all the features I need.

This is my first Les Paul Standard. I've been wanting one for years but held out until the right one came along with the right price. I play it thru a Marshall DSL 50 head with a 1960 BV cabinet using 2, UK 25 watt Celestion Greenbacks and 2, 30 watt Weber Blue Dogs. (Great combination. Got a Weber Beam Blocker in front of each speaker too. REALLY helps). Effects are a Barber Direct Drive SS, a Digitech Bad Monkey (both set for a low to medium crunch, an Aphex Compressor all going into the amps input. Got a Boss GE-7 EQ and a Boss digital Delay going into the loop. Between the amps clean channel, the pedals and the amps Ultra Channel I've got a good variety of tones going.

I really like these Burst Bucker pickups and see absolutley no need to change them. Once you've got the pickups set to the proper heights you can get some great tones going. Anything from Beatles to Stray Cats to Led Zep to Van Halen is no problem. Tighten things up with a bit of compression and you can go even further. Country, funk...even a bit of Hendrix. (I said just a bit!) The pickups balance out very well with each other and they compliment each other very good as well. I could gush on and on but there's no point. I think they're great as is. (And I've changed the pickups in every other guitar I've owned). Oh yeah...they are NOT wax potted so depending on how much gain you've got going you might notice a tad of microphonics happening.

Well I'll tell ya, after hearing so many horror stories about Gibsons production line quality I was a bit hesitant about buying an LP Standard. Once I spotted this guitar I looked it over and over and then some and in all honesty the ONLY flaw I found were two slight little gouges (very, very small) in the fretboard that could have been cause by anything. The Honeyburst finish is gorgeous on the maple top with not one flaw. I love the color on the mahogany back as well. Kind of a deep reddish brown. The Binding is top nothch. Very well crafted. The neck feels about as rock solid as they come. Action from the 60's taper neck is a JOY. My God, but this guitar plays so great with no effort. Once I bought it a tweaked the action a bit to get it closer to my liking, but that took about 10 minutes, along with adjusting the intonation. No sweat.

I've had the guitar for about 2 months now and I do have to take it in for a proper setup. I prefer not to take aguitar in right away but rather play it for a while to get it broken in a tad. The frets do have to be leveled off a bit because there is a bit of a high spot around the 2nd and 3rd freat on the high E string only. I know a great tech so I'm not worried about it.

As far as reliability my only real gripe about this guitar is how the tuning goes crazy with slight temperature changes. For example, the temperature differance between the upstairs and basement in my house is about 2 to 3 degrees. If I keep the guitar upstairs all the time there's no real problem. But if I take it from upstairs to the basement the high E, B and G strings go nuts for about half an hour. Sharp, flat....all over. But once the guitar gets use to the temperature change the tuning is very stable. So now I just keep it in the basement all the time, just so I don't have to put up with re-tuning it for half an hour. But in all fairness I know of a few life-long LP players who've said the same. They told me "get use to it."

Never dealt with them except for one e-mail I sent them. Never got a response back.

Okay, a slight rant here. I don't understand Gibsons business practices these days and how they're trying to squash out the little guys. Henry, what the hells wrong with you? These small store owners (the ma & pa's if you will) have been around a lot longer than the super market guitar stores have been. Doesn't loyalty mean anything to you guys anymore? I personally know of one fellow who owns his own music store, and he had to drop Gibsons because of the demands they were placing on him. He said Gibson use to be great to deal with and it seemed like overnight it went from a love to a hate relationship. That's "hate" as in THEM hating him. Why, Henry?

Gibson may make some great guitars but they have no right to slit the throats of the good people who've long been there for them by selling their products. I hope they don't start doing the same for the employees who actually make Gibson guitars. I personally prefer the small stores myself. I've been to the "BIG STORE" twice and both times could'nt wait to get out of there.

Opinion: Cruel.

Okay, rant over. As I said, this really is a great guitar and I'm glad I waited for this one to come along. Compared this one to a lot of other Les Pauls and this one just had that special something. Les Pauls just balance out so well too when playing. Nothing is in the way, like toggle switches or knobs. Makes playing that much more enjoyable.

I think this guitar was meant for me. Of what I gather from the store I bought it from, one guy bought it then returned it a about two months after owning it. Then another guy bought it, put it in layaway for 90 days then decided he did'nt want it. The ANOTHER guy also put it into layaway for about 30 days then came into some financial difficulties and couldn't buy it. Then I came along. Tried it and felll totally in love with it. Compared many others, went back a week later, it was still there so I bought it. When I was told of it's "history" I thought that maybe there was something wrong with it but there is not ONE thing wrong with this guitar. It's well made, it plays great and it sounds great.

A beautiful Iced Tea, standard les Paul features (Burst Bucker Pro picups). The only thing I miss on Les Pauls is an on/off-switch, but I usually turn the rythm picup volume down and use the picup toggle. Problem solved!

I play in a couple of metal and rock??n??roll bands, through a Mesa Dual Rectifier with a straigt Standard cabinet and a slanted Traditional cab, with a Cry Baby as only effect. I??ve been playing for quite a while and got through a lot of amps and guitars. And now I??m home! This is the guitar for me! I have a Les Paul Studio too, wich is great, but the Standard is better! Even with my amp tuned in to a heavy distorted sound, every single note is there, and the sustain is incredible. I used to break a lot of strings with my other guitars, because I had to use a lot of force to get the punch in the tone I wanted. With my Les Paul, I get the punch without attacking the strings like a furious wood chopper...
It stays in tune, no problems there.

I got this guitar from my father, and he searched through about six or seven guitar shops to get the perfect Les Paul, and he has set in to perfection. I don??t know how it was delivered from the factory.
The finnish is flawless. And for the first time in life i`m worried about belt bucket marks on the backside... I really want to keep this guitar in a perfect condition! But this is a guitar built for playing, and a couple of dents is part of metal gigs. Guitars age beautiful...

This is a dependable guitar, and I trust it to last for a lifetime of gigs. I have replaces the strap buttons to strap locks, wich is a good idea. The original strap buttons aren??t dependable (like on most guitars), and the angle of the strap button by the neck is chritical. if you rise the neck, the strap will most probably slip off with the standard strap button.
I have also changed the direction of the picup toggle. Instead ow working in a vertical direction, i have set it horizontally. That??s because I tend to switching it accidenally while playing wild solos...
Though, I will always bring a backup, but that??s only for emergency if I break a string.

I have never had any reasons to contact customer support

I??ve been playing in bands for about 20 years, and this is definitley the guitar for me. The exception is my garage band, where I use a Gibson ES-335 (another love of my life. Should I get a girlfriend?) . It seems to work better for that style. The Les Paul Standard is a classical, and there is a good reason why: It sounds great, it??s dependable and it??s beautiful!

My new Gibson LP Standard is a 2001 model that had never been purchased, and was absorbed by the internet guitarsale shop when they took over another store's inventory. Being a 2001, it has chrome Grover tuners, 490R/498T h/b, and a nickel jack plate. Nashville chrome bridge with standard stopbar. Gold tophat knobs. I chose one with the '60s neck profile because I like them. It has a honeyburst 2-piece bookmatched plain maple top that has surprises in store when you change the angle of light on it. It will change from a very plain looking flat-sawn grain pattern to a 3-dimensional shimmer with hints of "blister" and a scattering of "bird's-eyes". It appears to be an eastern rock maple from what I know. It really is beautiful in an austere way. The back and neck mahogany are finished in a sweet honey color (not red) which is the way I have wanted one for a long time, but never found in any local guitar shops. So I took a chance and ordered this one without first touching it. The sellers gave me a very nice deal on it. And lastly, it is SOLID and heavy - 9.7 pounds. I seriously doubt they drilled weight-relief spaces in this thing.

I love the sound of the 490R and 498T pickups. The bridge 498 is just hot enough to make serious crunch when used alone, and the 490 neck has the warm, fat, round singing tubular tones we love. The 498 alone has very bright top end and a solid bassy foundation and just enough mids inbetween. It will make the classic harmonic squeals when you ask it to, although I'm still working on that technique. With both p'ups together it sounds nice and fat and FULL. You can dial in all the gain available on my Marshall combo, roll out the mids, and you have the Death Metal chugga-chugg. Or you can ease up on the gain, restore the midrange and sound like Bad Company/Free/Kiss - whatever they play on your local "classic rock" station with the same 101 songs on rotation. It sounds like a LES PAUL. It satisfies like a thick juicy steak.

Here's where I take off 5 points for the neck. As you've seen in countless reviews here, the frets, fretboard, and neck binding on the fret-ends are full of file-marks, there is glue oozed out of some fret slots, and even a chunk of WOOD at the 5th fret. The bone nut was cut too low, and the G, B, and high E strings all buzzed on the first fret. This kind of shoddy work is unacceptable at the prices that Gibson demands, and makes them out to be fakers when they advertise that "only a Gibson is good enough". Bullsheet. Carvin will turn out a flawless instrument for $1000 less. My '05 Epiphone LP Classic has a nearly perfect fretboard and setup for $375 new. The Gibson USA production line apparently has some lousy employees who are NOT luthiers working one of the most IMPORTANT parts of the guitar. I almost sent it back because of this, but I will explain more later.

The body is beautiful, and was made well. With the exception of the bridge saddles - the slots were cut way off and so the string spacing is OFF - again, I associate this with the people who finish the neck/fretboard/strings - the setup part. As for the body and neck woods, it all appears to be solid as granite, and finished very nicely. The top was polished to perfection. There was some ripple on the neck heel as others have noted here as well. But overall it is very, very nice, and SOLID.

So - body woods great, fretboard, neck binding, finishing, and bridge saddles very poor. Shamefully bad setup.

Typical nitrocellulose finish that looks great so far because it's still new (even though it's an '01). The strap buttons feel solid, the hardware all feels solid, and I love the nickel metal jackplate. It has the feel of a strong, solid guitar that will last long beyond I will. I won't be using this at a gig. I am a bassist in my professional musical life - the guitars are all for my use at home - I love making sound with them, and I am enamored of the FAT HUMBUCKER sound that comes from a good Les Paul. I play almost every day just for my own entertainment.

No contact with Gibson yet.

OK, here's where I'm fortunate - one of the USA's best luthiers happens to run his shop in my neighborhood (Mike Lull) and he is an authorized Gibson repair shop. So before I sent the guitar back, I took it to him. The guitar is now being set right. Gibson will pay for some of it, the guitarsale shop will kick some $$$ for some of it, and I will have a perfectly dressed and set-up neck and bridge when they are finished. I will post another review after I have it back for a few weeks.

I own an Epiphone LP Classic that happens to be one of the most resonant, sweet solid body electric guitars I have ever touched. I bought it immediately after I first held it. Unplugged, it sings like magic. Plugged in, it sounds as sweet as can be for stock Epi components. With volume kept down, it has a voice like an angel. For $375 US brand new - yeah, go ahead and laugh. If you could play it, you'd quit laghing and start making music. I will play around with different pickups as time moves along, because it's a keeper. The fretboard is 100% better than the Gibson I have, and there was nary a flaw on it. Just the usual cheapo electrical components which are easily replaced or fixed.

This Gibson - time will tell once I get to play it with a proper setup. I mostly play bass, and have been gigging with a number of local bands in the Seattle area for years. I own a Carvin LB75 that's all mahogany, I have a nice acoustic bass, a few nice acoustic guitars, and a Modulus Q5 that's only a few weeks from completion. My bass rig is enormous, powerful, and clean. I will play music as long as I can move my hands. Out gigging with the bass, or at home with a guitar, stringed music is my passion. I've always wanted a Gibson Les Paul Standard, and now at age 45, I've got one. Yes, they are overpriced, but - It's an American rite of passage, like owning at least one Chevy small block V8 and one Ford small block V8, or a Harley Davidson. It's an icon, and when I find the right one, I'll keep it until I pass it along to my son someday. I hope it's this one, but who knows - maybe I'll get myself one of those '59 Custom Shop Reissues.....

Les Paul Standard Gold Top 60's neck profile
USA made 2006 - 222nd day
Deluxe Tuners
22 frets, Mahogany Body, maple top and rosewood fingerboard
2 Burstbuckers

I play mostly metal and occasional blues depending on my mood. I prefer palying the old Metallica especially the Kill em All album. I ran it through Korg AX3000G and and a 30 watt Fender speaker. The burstbuckers are just on the right blend for me. Blues on the neck and and screaming solos on the neck. I dont hear any unnecessary noises at all but the sound is fat and ugly. The uglier it sounds, the better it becomes. Apart from shoulder breaking weight of the guitar, evry single appointments on the guitar is a luthier mastery. Nothing on this guitar happen by accident and i might add that its probably the oldest guitar design on the planet. Though, some improvements can be made like the tuners, straplocks,ebony fretboard without spending ??200 more and less heel on the neck. Nothing is perfect and everyone have always something bad and good to say. Eventhough its a flawed guitar, i would still buy it, over and over again.

The way i see it, there were like 15 Les pauls hanging on the wall. All the color options were available. Gold top had always been my home for a very long time for no particular reason. Im just lucky that the factory set up is not that bad. The action is low and there might be some buzzes here and there but i can live with it but the frets needs to be dressed slightly. you can feel the roughness of the frets when you string bending. The 3 switch selector screw was a bit loose. Noine of thse problems exist on a ??1500 guitar. Gibson should double check their guitar before leaving its factory. remember, an instrument poorly set up will always fail. Only thru professional set up any guitars can turn into an instrument you love to play.

This guitar should outlast you. Dimarzio cliplocks is on the way to replace the stock strap button. I dont think its big enuff to hold a heavy guitar like this. Like any other equipment and toys you have, care must taken to ensure the guitar is in perfect working condition. A visit to the guitar tech from time to time would be highly recomended. Protect your investment.

Dont need em yet.

It took me 5 hours to get this guitar and that would mean an endless argument and price matching with the sales people in the shop.I knw alredi what I wanted and as soon as I hold and played the gold top, i knw it was the one. Been playing since I was 6. Started with a ukelele and progressed to the 6 strings. I saved for 8 months to buy this guitar and if ever somebody stole her from me, il beat the shit out the bastard. Folks, buy this guitar. Its too much for a price but dont worry. Youll earn it back.

The finish is notr perfect, you can see some textures. Not big deal. But it should be perfect, this is a Gibson!!!
Tuners are pretty steady. No problems with the truss rod.

Just perfect!!!!

It came with a normal set up, now i do my own set up. No problem at all.
I think the wood is not the best but the sound is awesome.

Finish is a really boring sunburst, Dont like the finish, its top quality but boring to look at. Had the bridge changed for a floyd rose original to make it more versitile and make a shit tuning reliableibility a lot batter. Changed the Kluston tuners for grovers because they are much better and accurate. 24 3/4'' scale which originally had a fat neck until i got some sandpapper and gave it a Zakk Wylde natural feel and made it into a slimmer neck. Came with a gibson hardcase which IS solid. 2005 model with 22 frets and set neck. Has a nice slab of mahogany with a really boring flame top(wish it was quilt). Has two volume and two tone with a three way selecter. Two gicson pick-ups are gone and are in another guitar of mine. Now has EMGs, 60 in the neck and 81 in bridge.

Original pick-ups were very muffled and wooly under hi-gain but sounded much better under low gain and clean but they had to go cos they weren't an option for the heavy style i play. It goes through a peavey valveking head and marshall 1960 cabs and sounds great, for heavy crushing riffs to clean stuff and nearly everything in between. With the floyd rose, I can do a lot with it. middle switch setting gives a sound almost like the mighty metallica from the puppets, justice era. 8 with the EMGs, 3 with the Gibsons.

The set up from the factory was worse than i expected, but i expected perfection, But everyone has different preferences. I would say that the action was ok because it wasnt high but not low enough for me. The pick-ups came out easily and the thick body easily took the battery clip for the EMGs. The top is bookmatched perfectly but is boring grain. Tuners were a little flimsey and not very accurate or solid. Aprt from that, good.

The guitar stands gigs very well and i have dropped it a few times at practice sessions, nothin happened, very robust finish. The orinignal hardware is gone but the strap buttons have served me well, but i mite get strap locks at some soon, just in case. I always have a back-up, an epiphone standard with same set up, just in case it goes wrong. Its my second main guitar, alongside my ESP JH-2 explorer. I also have an ESP EC-1000 and thats just as relaible as the Gibbo.

Never dealt with them, EMG are helpfull tho, if thats any use

Ive been playing for about 6 years and have a maverick X-1 (old shape, the better one) a V a built myself, ESP JH-2 and an ESP LTD EC-1000VB and an Epi LP standard. This guitar is good but not brilliant, despite the price! If it were stolen or lost then i would save the money and build myself something better.

Standard issue pickups and hardware, with a so so sunburst finish. And a Gibson hardshell case, with a pick guard thrown in.

I love the sound. I've been playing Strats (from no names to Fender's) for years, and it was a joy to finally play a Les Paul. I love the weight, the sustain, the solid feel. My kind of guitar. As someone else said, eveyone should own a Les Paul. Just maybe not from Gibson...

The first Les Paul I got had a bad neck. I took it to get set up, and there was nothing they could do with it. The results of tightening the truss rod were uneven, and they advised me to return it, which I did. Damn shame, as the Les Paul I was given in exchange doesn't look as half as good. Where the first had a nice tiger stripe sunburst effect, this is the typical mis-matched two halves plain looking sun burst. Very disappointed. It also has a loose tone knob, and other poor touches to the finish. This is not a guitar I would have chosen to buy cold in a shop. I haven't taken it to be set up yet, but if it has a dodgy 60's neck again this will be the last Gibson I touch.

It's a solid guitar, and I'm aware of the chances of the neck breaking if I'm not careful. But why Gibson don't fit strap locks I don't know. When you're spending this a mount of money (??1300) on a guitar, small touches like that leave you feeling short changed. I would gig with it, but I'd prefer to gig with a Tokai at a third of the cost (or even a Japanese Tokai at under two thirds).

Not had to deal with them, only the shop that sold me the guitar and through them their suppliers (not Gibson). I wouldn't use either again. And I curse Gibson for shipping a guitar with a great body but a useless neck that wasn't fit for purpose.

I've been playing for 22 years (ouch, that long already?), and own and a handful of other guitars (no name Strat copy, Tokai Strat copy, Fender Strat Deluxe, Gibson SG), and I really wish I had bought a Tokai Love Rock instead of this Gibson. I'd always wanted a Les Paul since trying them way back when, and the sound and weight is great, just not the actual product Gibson sell. At half the price it wouldn't hurt so much.

I think you know what she has - standard issue pickups and hardware. Classic.

Started with a Starforce guitar in 1998, which was fine, especially with a Zoom pedal.

Got into a band at Uni and got a Les Paul Standard (1990/91) Cherry Sunburst.

I used to play it with the Zoom until a friend kindly pointed out "You've got a Gibson Les Paul and a Marshall amp. What the hell do you need effects for???"

He was not wrong.

Flawless finish. Has picked up a few dings here and there over the 16 years we've been together.

Started to lose her sparkle in the late 90s, and the cover of one of her machine heads came loose.


A trip to a luthier spruced her up a huge amount, made her like new.

Used to play in a couple of bands quite regularly, and she always always ALWAYS came through and made me proud.

Very dependable (if bloody heavy) guitar. A real workhorse.

Been playing on and off for about 18 years. More off than on to be honest, but have got back into it big time.

Currently own a Marshall Amp, a Zoom G2 effects pedal thingy, that old Starforce guitar and a Jem 7VWH replica.

She's called Soo

Love the neck on her. After learning something on any other guitar I can come back to Soo and she'll make it damn easy to play anything I sruggled with before.

If I lost her, or she was stolen, I'd be devastated. My grandfather helped me with the money to buy her. My uncle went with me to the shop to buy her. They've both dead now, but I think of them fondly every time I play her.

She's so much more than the metal, wood and plastic she's made from. A constant companion through life.


I have a feeling Soo will be in my future family for generations to come, and that every time she's played she'll sing just as beautifully for them as she does for me.

Mine is a modified 1978 from the Kalamazoo Factory. I got it used about 2 years ago and it had different pickups and different tuners. The pickups were Seymour Duncan Seth Lover humbuckers, which I have since exchanged for overwound Golden Age humbuckers. I also added a Bigsby B-7 and am going to put in a passive overdrive cube on one of the tone controls. It's got a tobacco sunburst finish with a good deal of playing wear in a few spots and the usual dents and dings. It also has a maple neck and rosewood fret board.

The usual Les Paul sound. The Overwound Golden Age humbuckers are pretty fat sounding compared to the Seymour Duncan's that were in it when I got it. Sounds pretty good clean and sounds great through some overdrive. Has nearly endless sustain, even with the Bigsby.

When I got it, it had .009-.042 strings tuned to E flat...I promptly removed them and put on a set of .011-.055 (now .012-.058) and tuned it back to standard. The intonation was fine and the neck didn't budge when I switched to the heavier strings. The finish was in pretty good shape when I recieved it. It had a bit of buckle rash on the back and a few dings on the front. Now I've worn through the finish in a few spots on the top and I've added to the buckle rash on the back.

It's pretty sturdy. I'm sure in it's 28 years it's been tossed around and it's still in one piece. It has some jumbo strap buttons on it which hold any strap on pretty well, too. The finish wore off pretty quick, but I play harder than most people, so it shouldn't be a problem.

Haven't dealt with them and I don't think they'd do anything for a '78 anyway.

It's a Les Paul...you buy them because they're Les Pauls. The '70s are often considered the dark ages for Gibson, but I'm happy with this one. I play the hell out of it and it keeps on going.

1992 model, "Heritage" Cherry Sunburst. Much pinker looking & less subtly flamey than the more recent Ice Tea, Root Beer etc finishes. Canadian hardcase with the plush pink Bishop's gown style fuchsia drape. Purchased new in '92. Crappy strap-buttons were the first thing to go. Replaced with Dunlop straplocks. I remember the Dunlop screws were a little too small so I solved that by filling the screw-holes with industrial strength super-glue. Hey, it did the job. That was at least 13 years ago & they've held like a rock ever since. Took me a longtime to remove the stock mudbuckers & 300K volume pots, though. Wish I'd done that WAY sooner. 5 points off for the 300K pots & crappy straplocks. Does that seem harsh? I paid the equivalent of $1500 for this.
Very heavy guitar & I'm in no way convinced that this improves tone or sustain, as a previous reviewer claimed. I have a poly-finished Jap Burny LP Custom that is at least 2 lbs lighter & sonically pisses all over this in every way imaginable.

I made do with this as my main axe for many years, but if I'm honest with myself I was never truly happy with it. I guess I wanted to justify having spent two summer holidays working in a sawmill while in school to treat myself to this, so enamoured was I with the myth of the Gibson Les Paul. No fool like a young fool, I guess. Over the years I've used it with just about every type of Marshall (ah, how those myths die hard), toured in a punk rock band (how quaint it all seems), played blues covers, you name it. Just always sounded too dark, muddy & strangled. Harsh too. Convinced myself this was normal, not knowing any better. Upon finally getting a Tokai that sounded & played approximately 23 times better (having cost a third of what I paid for this Gibson) I was embarassed into springing a small fortune for a pair of Duncan Antiquities & some proper 500K audio volume pots to make Americas's finest sound worthy of it's gilded name. And.....................
The Tokai still sounds better.
Weirdly, the stock 498T/490R pups sounded great when I put 'em in an alder bodied Epiphone Flying V, so I can't blame this solely on the pups. The Les Paul with the Antiquities meanwhile sounds like warm mud as opposed to cold mud so you could call it a partial improvement.

Always been a little buzzing here & there. I use 11s & I like a fairly low action but I don't exaggerate either, y'know? Had to do some filing on the saddle of the A string as it was a butcher. Many tuning issues, particularily on the G string (oo-er missus etc). One of the knobs (oo-er missus etc) kept falling off at one time but it hasn't done so in a few years now, so we'll call it a draw. I must be on the 12th toggle switch cover by now.
Still, it's been a fucking Volvo compared to a Gibson Les Paul Special I had for a few years, that I thankfully managed to sell a few months back (no, I'm not proud).

Ok, it definitely shines here. Very well made. I've toured with this guitar all over Europe in all seasons & all sorts of atmospheric conditions & though I've taken good care of it, she's obviously high quality & you can feel it as soon as you pick her up. This should definitely not be a taken as a given on all Gibsons however. My $900 special looked ill & fucked by the time I sold it with 9 years of use on the clock. Finish on this one has only recently started to age to that nicely worn look which looks even cooler with the Antiquities. Strap locks are MANDATORY & Gibson should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves for not making them standard issue. As per any Gibson, watch the headstock.

Another reviewer said it best:
"Never dealt with the company. I'm sure they've more than earned their reputation as complete assholes though."
Not sure who said it, but it was in this thread. Poetry!

Been playing 17 years, 14 of them with this. It's been with me through it all & I've the muscles to prove it from lugging the bastard around. Have thought many times of selling it, but the bitch of it is I'm quite attached to it after all this time. If lost or stolen I'd be more pissed off about the monetary value than the sentimental one though, to be honest. And I definitely wouldn't replace it with another Gibson unless it was an original 50s job & I found myself in some parallel universe where I could afford one.
I don't exactly HATE anything about it (nothing that I haven't already replaced anyway) but what I love most is the fact that it's worth enough to get me an early 80s Tokai Love Rock if I sold it. For now.
I still love Les Pauls, but I'm too experienced to give a shit about the name on the headstock.