Gibson Les Paul Custom Lite Electric Guitar (with Case)

No longer available at zZounds
Chambered to relive weight without sacrificing tone, the Les Paul Custom Lite features high-class gold hardware and 90R and 498T humbuckers.

Black-tie-looks without the weight! Gibson USA designed the Gibson Les Paul Custom Lite Electric Guitar to provide the same classy looks of the Les Paul Custom without the heaviness. When guitar star Les Paul and Gibson president Ted McCarty sat down at the start of the 1950s to design a revolutionary new solidbody electric guitar, they originally envisioned two versions of the Les Paul Model: a "standard," which arrived first in the Goldtop of 1952, and a black Custom model with gold hardware, intended to be the creme de la creme. The 1954 Custom debuted with two single-coil pickups, but McCarty had already set Seth Lover and a team of Gibson designers the task of developing a revolutionary new humbucking pickup, which first hit the scene on the Les Paul Custom and Les Paul Goldtop in 1957. While the Les Paul Custom has always been a supremely elegant instrument--a "black tie" guitar for the formal crowd, as Les originally conceived it--many have come off the line over the years considerably heavier than the typical Les Paul Standard. The Les Paul Custom Lite, new from Gibson USA, redresses that disparity: made with a considerably thinner body and traditional weight relief, it lightens the load for a superbly playable Custom that still packs all the elegant looks and dual-humbucker tone that has made this Les Paul legendary.

In crafting the Les Paul Custom Lite, Gibson USA starts with time-tested ingredients, including the legendary tonewood pairing of a carved maple top and read more genuine mahogany body, the latter treated with Gibson's traditional weight relief to reduce the load and enhance resonance. The quarter-sawn mahogany neck is carved to a rounded '50s profile and topped with a Grade-A, rosewood fingerboard with single-ply binding and classic acrylic block inlays. The body and headstock are trimmed in multi-ply binding, and the headstock carries an Acrylic Gibson logo and traditional acrylic split-diamond inlay. Dressed entirely in high-gloss Ebony Black, in genuine nitrocellulose lacquer, the Les Paul Custom Lite simply oozes class from every angle.

The beauty of this gorgeous black Les Paul Custom Lite is more than skin deep, and Gibson USA has also packed added versatility into the traditional formula. Two of Gibson's most popular humbucking pickups from the Modern Classics series offer all the tone that made the Les Paul legendary in the first place, plus added single-coil sounds thanks to the coil-splitting mini-toggle switch added in place of the second tone control. The 490R in the neck position is made with a genuine Alnico II magnet and wound with 42 AWG wire in the image of the original PAF humbuckers, for plenty of depth and warmth with impressive articulation. The 498T in the bridge position has an Alnico V magnet and extra turns of coil wire for added punch and growl. A traditional Tune-o-matic bridge and stopbar tailpiece enhance the sustain that has long made the Les Paul legendary, and a set of Grover keystone tuners--all in gold, as are the pickup covers and strap buttons--ensure a lifetime of smooth tunings. Check out the Les Paul Custom Lite today, from Gibson USA, and grab a more comfortable hunk of that classic elegance.

Tonewoods

In crafting the Les Paul Custom Lite, Gibson USA starts with time-tested ingredients, including the legendary tonewood pairing of a carved maple top and genuine mahogany body, the latter treated with Gibson's traditional weight relief to reduce the load and enhance resonance.

The quarter-sawn mahogany neck is carved to a rounded '50s profile and topped with a Grade-A, rosewood fingerboard with single-ply binding and classic acrylic block inlays. The body and headstock are trimmed in multi-ply binding, and the headstock carries an Acrylic Gibson logo and traditional acrylic split-diamond inlay. Dressed entirely in high-gloss Ebony Black, in genuine nitrocellulose lacquer, the Les Paul Custom Lite exudes class from every angle.

Electronics

The Les Paul Custom Lite is fitted with Gibson 490R and 498T humbuckers for all the tone that made the Les Paul legendary in the first place, plus added single-coil sounds thanks to the coil-splitting mini-toggle switch added in place of the second tone control. The 490R in the neck position is made with a genuine Alnico II magnet and wound with 42 AWG wire in the image of the original PAF humbuckers, for plenty of depth and warmth. The 498T in the bridge position has an Alnico V magnet and extra turns of coil wire for added punch and growl.

Hardware

A traditional Tune-o-matic bridge and stopbar tailpiece enhance the sustain that has long made the Les Paul legendary, and a set of Grover keystone tuners--all in gold, as are the pickup covers and strap buttons--ensure a lifetime of smooth tunings. Check out the Gibson Les Paul Custom Lite today and grab a more comfortable hunk of that classic elegance.

Features:

- Genuine Mahogany body with carved maple top
- Mahogany neck with rounded '50s profile
- Rosewood fingerboard with acrylic split-diamond inlays
- Powerful 490R and 498T humbucking pickups in the neck and bridge positions
- Gold plated Grover keystone tuners with 16:1 ratio
read less

- Traditional weight relief
- Thinner body
- Mahogany neck with rounded '50s profile
- Rosewood fingerboard with acrylic split-diamond inlays
- Powerful 490R and 498T humbucking pickups in the neck and bridge positions
- Gold plated Grover keystone tuners with 16:1 ratio
- Tune-o-matic bridge and stopbar tailpiece
- Coil-splitting mini-toggle

For support or warranty questions, please contact the manufacturer:
Phone: 800-444-2766

Reviewers gave this product an overall rating of 5 out of 5 stars. (4 ratings)
Submitted October 18, 2014 by Robert Gates in Willseyville, NY

"Perfect in Every Way! Simply Brilliant!"

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
As good as a Custom. A perfect guitar!
Sound
Perfect! Love the pickups!
Features
I like the switch instead of the pull pots!
Ease of Use
Plug it in and play it!
Quality
Perfect! Absolutely perfect!
Value
The best Gibson value I have found.
Manufacturer Support
Not sure
The Wow Factor
Off the charts for Wow Factor! A Black Custom: Is there anything sexier?

Musical Background:

Just an amateur player who has played many years.

Musical Style:

Southern Rock
3 of 3 people (100%) people found this review helpful. Did you?
Thanks for your opinion!

No longer available at zZounds

In most cases, a product is unavailable because it has been discontinued by the manufacturer