Gibson Les Paul Custom Electric Guitar (with Case)

The Legendary Les Paul
After Fender's Telecaster hit the market in 1950, musicians realized that the possibilities electric guitars brought to music went far beyond simply making acoustic guitars louder. By then, Gibson had been selling hollow-body electric guitars for more than a decade, and decided the time had come to make their mark with a state of the art solid-body guitar. The model they designed, which featured the endorsement of electric guitar pioneer Les Paul, instantly set the gold standard for luxury in electric guitars. Over the years, the Les Paul sound has been indispensable for countless guitarists who demand the very best, from classic guitar greats like Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Duane Allman, and Ace Frehley all the way to latter-day rockers like Slash, Green Day, Buckethead and The Gaslight Anthem.

Les Paul Custom: The Best of the Best
In 1954, Les Paul himself is said to have asked Gibson to make an even more luxurious model of the guitars that bore his name. The ultra-high-end guitar Gibson designed for him featured various high-end upgrades to the hardware and electronics, such as frets so low and flat that the Les Paul Custom was nicknamed "The Fretless Wonder." The Les Paul was already known as one of the greatest guitars available--the custom version simply took things a step further for guitarists who wanted the absolute best of everything, from sound to design to hardware. In the 1950s, Gibson described their Les Paul Custom as "the ultimate in a solid body electric guitar." More than half a century later, they still stand by that statement.

A Work of Art
The original Les Paul guitars featured a shiny gold finish as a symbol of their "gold standard" quality. But Les Paul himself wanted something that looked even classier, so the first Les Paul Customs featured an elegant, glossy tuxedo black finish that, combined with the ebony fretboard, earned the model the nickname "The Black Beauty." Today's models are available in different finishes that are every bit as elegant as the original: Classic Ebony or Antique White Gloss, luxurious Wine Red, distinctive Cherry Sunburst, and the "Silverburst" model that looks like it was beamed out of a black and white film-noire masterpiece.

Still State of the Art
Of course, the gorgeous look of the Les Paul Custom wouldn't mean much if the sound wasn't just as beautiful as the finish. The new edition of the incomparable Les Paul Custom is still based on the models produced the mid 1950s, but Gibson hasn't turned a blind eye to modern innovations. Each Les Paul Custom is expertly crafted with a hand-carved maple top fitted to a solid piece of mahogany with strategically-routed chambers. These chambers not only enhance the resonance and overall acoustic quality of the guitar, they also make the guitar that much lighter, making it easier to play for hours on end without getting a sore shoulder. Some of the electronics have been updated to modern standards to give you both that classic, vintage Les Paul howl and the chance to take the Les Paul to places where it's never been before.

Perfectly Set Up for Rock and Roll
The newest models of the Les Paul Custom feature two distinct pickups:

The 490R Humbucker (neck)
This "modern classic" pickup gives you a tone similar to that of the classic '57 Les Paul Custom, which revolutionized the sound of electric guitars by including a newly-invented "humbucking" pickup. The humbucker killed the 60-cycle "hum" noise that had previously plagued even the best electric guitars. The 490R is an updated version of that classic tone, with a slight increase in the upper mids for a more contemporary sound. Made with a special AlNiCo II magnet to give it that "singing" quality.

The 498T Humbucker (bridge)
Made with a slightly hotter AlNiCo V magnet and a specially wound coil combo, the 498T "Hot Alnico" pickup has higher output than most pickups and features an emphasis on highs and mids, making it the perfect pickup for rock and roll.

Luxury to Last a Lifetime
Custom-cut solid woods. Pearl Inlay. Gold hardware. Metal tulip tuners. Single-ply ebony fretboard. Gibson's famous Tune-O-Matic bridge. Everything about the Les Paul custom says "luxury." The Les Paul is already known as a high-end guitar--there aren't many guitars that need to come with a certificate of authenticity--and the Les Paul Custom is the top of the line. Naturally, that kind of luxury comes with a price tag, but it's an investment that will keep paying off as long as you keep playing. A brand new model may not appreciate in value quite as much as the original 1950s models have (they routinely sell for half a million dollars or more), but Les Paul Custom electric guitars are designed and built to endure. Other guitars will come and go, but with a Les Paul Custom, you'll always be among the elite.

The Les Paul Custom, introduced in 1954, has been affectionately nicknamed the Black Beauty and the Fretless Wonder. By any name, it has always represented the highest level of elegance and beauty in the Les Paul family.

490R Humbucker
This "Modern Classic" pickup features tonal characteristics similar to the '57 Classic, but deliver a slight increase in the upper mids, for a more contemporary humbucking sound. The special Alnico II magnet gives these beauties a singing quality that delivers on demand.

498T Humbucker
Put a slightly hotter Alnico V magnet into a specially wound coil combination, and you get the 498T "Hot Alnico." With its higher output and emphasis on mid-ranges and highs, the 498T is the perfect rock pickup.

Technical Info

Body: Carved Maple top, Mahogany back

Neck/Profile: Mahogany/'59 Rounded Les Paul

Fingerboard: Ebony 22 frets

Inlay: Pearl block

Scale: 24-3/4 in.

Nut Width: 1-11/16 in.

Binding: Multi-ply top, back, and headstock, single-ply fingerboard

Bridge/Tailpiece: Tune-o-matic/Stop bar

Hardware: Gold

Pickups:
490R Alnico magnet humbucker
498T Alnico magnet humbucker

Controls: 2 volume, 2 tone, 3-way switch

Strings: Les Paul Signature .009-.046

Audio Samples

Meticulously hand-made in Gibson's Custom Shop, this is one decked-out Les Paul! Carved maple top, solid mahogany back, both with multi-ply white and black binding. Set 1-piece mahogany neck with rounded profile. Ebony fretboard with pearl block inlays and single-ply binding. AlNiCo 490 and 498 humbuckers. Gold hardware. Includes case and certificate of authenticity.