Gibson Les Paul Standard (Les Paul Standard)

Member Name: sparksteroid

Product:	Les Paul Standard
Date:	30/01/08 (394 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautiful to play, sturdy, sustainable

Disadvantages: the most basic model

After owning and playing an Epiphone Les Paul LP100 (the most basic one!) for several years and only dreaming of owning a 'real' Les Paul I thought it was about time I upgraded and managed to get one relatively cheap from a friend who works in the music industry.

I must say the difference in moving up from an Epiphone to a Gibson is a stunning experience on it's own for any guitarist. Anyway, this baby has burstbucker pro pickups with alnico v magnets, twenty two frets on a rosewood fingerboard, trapezoid inlays and single-ply fingerboard binding with a mahoganey body tune-o-matic bridge, nickel plating finish, two tone and two volume controls and a rhythm/treble selector switch. I particularly like the sunburst effect as on this picture.

To hold in position the guitar feels solid sturdy and the general feel that it contains a lot more power than you could utilize. Upon playing the guitar it became so much easier than playing on your average guitar and I found myself not having to put any effort in at all. My fingers were doing the work and I have to say I never realized I was that good before.

Although there are plenty of guitars out there designed specifically for the beginner at affordable prices, I feel that the Gibson Les Paul makes playing a lot easier and a beginner would probably be able to perfect their techniques with a lot more precision and ease than with a standard beginners guitar. The price is a little hefty for the beginner though ranging probably from around £800 - £1200 in various stores. If you managed to come across a genuine Les Paul second hand at a reasonable price I would advise you snap it up straight away!

The various tones and sounds attainable from this beautiful instrument are so warm sounding, clear and particularly sustainable. This is a superb guitar for lead guitarists as I find myself holding a single note which sustained for over a minute. This guitar is extremely enjoyable to play and does the job perfectly but with so many other more advanced models about, this would be the model of choice for a general consumer with a particular passion for Les Paul's. The more advanced musician would probably go for something a little higher up in the league.

Summary: An enjoyable play, does the job nicely but the most basic model