Gibson Les Paul Custom Lite Electric Guitar (with Case)

No longer available at zZounds
Lighten the load but keep all the LP Custom class with the slim Custom Lite. Its maple top, mahogany body, and 490R/498T pickups preserve that classic sound.

What's special about this item?

Feature: What it does:
490R and 490T humbucking pickups PAF-style tone with bump in upper midrange
Bound rosewood fretboard Warm rosewood tone; beautiful binding
Mahogany body Rich, warm, focused sound; added sustain
Maple top Long sustain with crisp, bright tone

When guitar star Les Paul and Gibson president Ted McCarty sat down at the start of the 1950s to design a revolutionary 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 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 read more 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 a high-gloss finish, in genuine nitrocellulose lacquer, the Les Paul Custom Lite simply oozes class from every angle.

The beauty of this gorgeous 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-tapped pickups. 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.
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- Body: Slim line Mahogany
- Top: Maple
- Neck: Mahogany
- Fingerboard: Bound Rosewood with block inlays
- Electronics: 490R and 498T with coil taps
- Hardware: Gold Locking Grover Tuners with Tune-O-Matic Bridge
- Finish: Classic White

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. (5 ratings)
Submitted October 12, 2015 by Richard C in Torrance, CA

"Beautiful, very very light with an uncomprimised sound. "

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
First, Kudos to Zzound's for shipping this out as fast as they did This is my fourth Les Paul from Zzound, and my first review. I'll note, I actually purchased this Custom Lite listed as Blemished and upon inspection, it is as close to perfect as I could expect - granted missing some of the papers and photo that are normally included with a new guitar. With that said, the the general feel is great. White with Gold Hardware is stunning to look at. Extremely light/narrow width with a narrow neck (compared to 2015 models I have). I did not note an effect on tone or sustain for being half the width of a Standard. Decent enough low play with No buzzing of frets. The loss of a Tone knob for some is not ideal, but to kick in Coil Split is worthwhile compromise that adds an edge with a simple switch. Crossroads? OK, it's not a Custom, and arguably, what you are getting are the Custom's visual aesthetics which aren't a bad thing given that the guitar sounds great. It strikes a great balance for the price paid and having played between this and a Standard over the past week, I am very happy with this purchase.

Musical Background:

Beginner, self taught

Musical Style:

Rock, Alternative, Metal, Blues
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No longer available at zZounds

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