The 498T is bright compared to the PAF of yesteryear. I like the 498T though. The quality is there, those who rate it down don't know how to set up a guitar or just have an axe to grind (no pun intended). They are made of wood, made by human hands and hey guess what...THE ARE ADJUSTABLE FOR A REASON!

Timeless design.

Ebony fretboard plays like butter

No issues. 2004 and newer are made in Gibson's Custom Shop.

Yes they are expensive but you will have a real instrument designed to out live you!

Always respond quickly to email questions

Black Beauty.......

Hobbyist and Active Musician!

Rock, metal, blues

Playing for 20 years.

Blues, Rock, Pop

The 490/498T Pickup combination creates a very agressive sound suitable for todays hard rock and metal. Good high output sustain with an edgy attack. I prefer the vintage sound of Gibson 57 classics or Seymour Duncan 59's better for the classic rock stuff I play so I gave the it a 9 for sound.

Two pickups, two volume and two tone controls with a toggle switch - perfect and timeless.

Mine needed a basic set up when I received it, which is easy to do but if you aren't sure about it take it to a local guitar shop and about $75.00 will get your guitar set up properly. This guitar plays like a dream and it's easy to get awsome sounds from it.

Fit, finish and playability are awsome on this guitar. Mine arrived in perfect condition. The quality is top of the line, which is what one should expect from Gibson's Custom Shop. Solid as a rock and if taken care of properly this guitar will last a lifetime.

These guitars are expensive but worth every penny. Save your money until you can buy one and you will never regret owning the greatest electric guitar ever made.

I have had no reason to contact Gibson due to this guitar is perfect but I have received support from them in the past for a different guitar, and the support was excellent.

I have wanted a black Les Paul Custom ever since I was a kid. The sexy ebony color churns up memories of the the worlds greates players using them back in the 70's: John Fogerty, Mick Jones, Peter Frampton, Joe Perry, Leslie West, Neil Young and on and on. There is nothing on earth as sexy and appealing to the eye as the ebony black Les Paul Custom, it's almost magic.

Active Musician

Classic Rock

This is a great guitar but it came incomplete from the manufacturer. The set up was terrible. If I buy a Fender Custom Shop, PRS, or a Tom Anderson guitar in the same price range, the set up will blow this Gibson away. Corian nuts? Why? Are you trying to save pennies on a 5K guitar?

Again, corian nuts are a waste on this level of guitar. Should be bone.

It's a LP Custom so it does deliver, especially through a Fender tube or high gain amp.

Beauty, for sure.

No. It's overvalued. Gibson has decided to charge up front for any appreciated value many of their guitars will accrue over the next 20 years. I guess I would, as well, if I could get away with it.

I have many dealings with Gibson from a customer stand point as well in the course of general business. Not my favorite company under Henry, JC, or the current crew.

Legacy of the LP Custom is evident. It's a great guitar once all the manufacturing issues have been fixed.

Life long musician, luthier, gigging musician, instructor, I actually read music!

Rock, jazz, contemporary, even orchestral work (guitar and bass).

43 years, got a gig tonight.

Whatever suit my soul.

i have bee playing for 41 yrs & still goin i own Two Les pauls a wine red Custom & Les paul Standard ,Play it thru marshall half

i mostly play Blues& classic Rock my Les paul custom just sing along with it

I have been playing since I was a kid.

Metal, Classical, Rock, Waltz.

Mine is a '79, so it's made it 25 years with only a few dings here and there. The quality seems top notch.

These may be costly, but mine has lasted 25 years and still is in great shape and plays beautifully

Gibson has customer support? Since when?

Blues, art-rock, neo-baroque minimalism

the sound is fantastic! i read reviews about Les Pauls and all of them were good. i was blown away by the sound of this baby. crisp and clear, no hums even with heavy distortion. i had an Ibanez before, and there was this tremendous hum that i hear when i turn hit my effects, and it got even worse when i turned on the overdrive on my amp. i guess it might have been the stock humbuckers that came with it, not grounded well or something. But this guitar sounds Great!

it came with a guitar cord which i don't use since i've got my own. allen wrench for adjustment. the knobs are ok, but i will change them to skull design ones to match the black color of the guitar.

i didn't quite expect that the clearance of the strings from the fret is quite far. 3mm from from the first fret and about 4.5 or 5mm on the 22nd fret. im used to the Ibanez, maybe that is why i find it a bit awkward to play in such clearance. but hey, once i get used to it, it'll be better. the knobs are very responsive especially the volume control. i might change the humbuckers to Seymour Duncans, but i'll give these HBs a chance first and see...

will probably last a lifetime i am sure. looks very sturdy and can stand up to a beating.mine had paint chipped of near the first fret, but then again it's just paint so who cares, sound is more important than looks for me.

for the price, it is worth it definitely. it's almost like a bargain for the features and quality this axe has.

never dealt with them, and i don't think i will ever have to.

standard Les Paul look but in black. i'd probably have the chromed parts of it sand blasted or painted black to give it that Goth look. but you cant go wrong with black, fits any occasion, be it a wedding or a funeral.

just a regular person with a passion for guitars

Rock, Heavy Metal, Blues, Jazz, Acoustics, Classical, Grundge, and the list goes on

Good full tone. Could use some boost in the upper-mids, but overall very good.

Average features, but not much for options from Gibson. The one big plus here is, you get volume and tone knobs for each pickup. Not many other guitars doing this any more.

The quality of the wood, the craftsmanship, and attention to detail in the construction of this guitar is great. Don't kid yourself, this is no Epiphone crap cardboard. My problem is, why would anyone build such a great guitar, and load it up with such CHEAP electronics!!???!! My pickup switch has never worked properly, gotta f### with it all time when switching pickups.

Expensive guitar, but aren't they all now? I'd rather pay 1K for this than 500 for the korean trash.

Haven't tried to deal with them.

Every guitarist needs a LP for their arsenal.

hobbyist, songwriter, guitarist, recording engineer

rock, blues, prog.

Professional drummer,guitarist, singer songwriter

Rock, classic new age it doesn't matter as long as its real

Amazing sound. Very ballsy.

Typical gibson

My dealer is very very helpful.

I had to purchase it after playing it. Now it's mine!

Rock

I have played over 3,000 gigs and recorded hundreds of songs over the past 35 years. 100% of my live gigs, I played my 1979 Les Paul Custom. And 90% of my studio work, I have recorded with my Les Paul. And yes I've played Paul Reed Smiths, which are fantastic but to me lack personality. Les Paul Customs have tons of personality. Personality to me means when I fidget with my picking, I can get lots of variations of tone. With the PRS, the tone is definitely beautiful, but it's much more uniform. Relative to a 'Paul, a PRS is a tiny bit bland. I say a tiny bit because I acknowledge that a PRS is a rip-roaring guitar for blues, classic rock, Latin Rock (Santana), pop, and Country (as long as you're not trying for very twangy.) I have tried over one hundred electric guitars and the two best guitars I have ever played are, number two, my 1980s G&L Skyhawk (which is a hand made Stratocaster, made by Leo Fender's company, and with pickups wound by Leo Fender himself) and number one, my 1979 Les Paul Custom. I play both guitars through a 1979 Mesa Boogie Mark IIA amp. The tone of both guitars is spectacular, especially with this amp. The Les Paul gets the edge over the G&L because, with the amp turned at 100% volume on gain and master, the Custom's sound is still perfectly CLEAN and MEAN. At those fantastic volumes and with all that overdrive, the Skyhawk is a little bit dirty and, although it has fantastic sustain and thickness, it is not as thick, clean and sustaining as the Les Paul. If money is no object, and if you want a guitar so durable you will leave it to your children, you should definitely buy a Les Paul Custom. Also, if you want beautiful silky clean tone, or thick, semi-crunch bluesy, classic rock crunch, or classic Metal guitar tones, you MUST get some generation of a Mesa Boogie "Mark" amp. In fact, to me, you should not waste money on a Les Paul Custom unless you're going to play it through a Marshall, Boogie, Vox, or other top of the line tube amp. If you want to hear how MONSTER the Les Paul can sound, check out my Black Magic Woman video or my "OA" (which is Hotel California) videos at: youtube.com/ajmora. Rock on guitar players!

Musician

Pop, Classic Rock, Acoustic Rock

When I play, I love that creamy smooth sound this baby produces. It can't be beat! The one thing that really helps this sound is a nice tube amp.

I've heard the pick-ups are amazing!!

Very playable for my expression and style. I like nice thick strings though, so I would change the strings it comes w/ for a size up.

Dude, it lasts for thirty years!!

Yeah...I'ts a little bit overpriced...

I 've heard great things.

IT IS THE SINGLE MOST BEAUTIFUL GUITAR I HAVE EVER LAID MY EYES ON!!! It was crafted by the GUITAR GODS!!

Active Musician

Classic rock, some jazz, soft rock

The Custom sounds really good as it came from Gibson, however, I use Seymour Duncun Pick-ups in all of mine (Screamin Deamon, bridge and 59, neck). I have to say, this sounds even better. I find that I have more control over the sound from the guitar. I don't need to change settings on the amp.

It's a Les Paul Custom in a nice hard shell case...What else do you need?

I have found that Gibson guitars usually are a bit inconsistant with the fret work. Overall, this thing is still awsome, but I also have a complete fret grind and polish done. If you like the way it plays out of the box...Let someone do a fret job on it!

I would have put this score higher, but the fret work in not what you would expect from a $3000.00 guitar. For that price, I think that the fret work should be top notch directly from Gibson. Everything else...finish, binding, and inlays is very sweet.

Again, the price tag is a bit steep. Especially when the fret work isn't top notch. I mean, we are talking $3000.00 for one of these things new. I've baught used cars for less. Still, it is a Les Paul Custom. Just lower the dang price some.

I own 5 Les Paul Custom's and a 1986 Flying V. I've dealt with Gibson several times and they've always been very helpful and have went out of their way to get things done or just to help out. I can't say anything close to that about Jackson and I own two 1988, USA made Soloists.

IT'S A LES PAUL CUSTOM!!!! Does anything else need to be said? This guitar is the quintesential rock and roll machine. When it says "CUSTOM" on the headstock...nothing else compares.

Gigging guitarist and amat. recording artist

hard rock, metal, classic rock

Gibson les pauls are the best. this one sounds awesome, in all tones.

the features are great.

best you can get. period.

the price is good for quality. it is expencive, but it is the best.

gibson offers the best support around.

i drool over this guitar. it looks so good. it has the best feel ever, and it plays like a dream.

This tone kicks my ass over and over each time I play it. I NEEED to own this axe.

Typical Les Paul Luxury. The headstock artwork is very nice and is exclusive only to the custom.

Made extremely well.