So a bit of context, when it comes to the type of people who like to buy these guitars/Gibson's in general, I definitely skew towards the younger side. I have been very fortunate enough to play everything from Epiphones, all the way up to a full fat custom shop Les Paul Custom. I also have prided myself on owning a unique collection of Les Paul type guitars from many brands that are not Gibson. However, I told myself I'd be remiss not to have at least one classic standard in my collection and to be honest, I bought this guy not wanting to like it and fully expected to take advantage of zZounds' return policy but darn it, I really fell in love with this guitar.

Sound
I play through a very no-nonsense rig. I plugged this guitar into my board, and from my board into a 100 watt Marshall tube head and yup. That's the sound of rock and roll right there. It has a warmer sound compared to some of my other Les Paul's that have higher output pickups, but the 61 burstbuckers here can handle the hard rock and metal style of music my band plays no problem while also cleaning up very nicely as well.

Ease of Use
Through the rig I use, it was a cinch to get it setup and sounding exactly how I wanted.

Quality
I'd heard and been on the receiving end of Gibson's infamous QC, but I'm happy to report with this example, I've had no issues worth noting. The flame top is gorgeous, the frets nicely polished and… read more leveled, and the fretboard itself being so dark, it almost looks like ebony from a distance which I absolutely love.

Value
To be completely honest, even though I love this guitar, it is very expensive for what you're getting. I own guitars in my collection (especially my lawsuit era JP made Les Paul's) I paid a third of the price for and they come very close to the level of quality seen in this standard. At the end of the day, it's the law of diminishing returns and it's up to the individual for where their ceiling is for how much they're willing to spend on the classic USA made Gibson Les Paul.

The Wow Factor
It's a Gibson Les Paul Standard. That innately comes with it's own appeal to a certain group of people who grew up in a certain time. Even though I came in a time after, I happen to be among the rare in the younger crowd who absolutely loves these classic guitars and as long as you know everything about what you're getting, then I say go for it.

Musical Background:
Currently 27, been playing since I was 13 and am in a band read less