I have been guitar obsessed for most of my life and while I have played off and on, I never had an electric guitar that CALLS OUT to be played.

I was considering the Dark Fire originally but when I played this guitar after the Dark Fire, I suddently realized that while features and tech are nice, the sound coming from the guitar is paramount.

This guitar is so clean and the sound is so "full" that I couldn't see myself going back to anything else. It doesn't hurt that it is beautiful looking on top of sounding and playing as good as it looks.

When I asked my wife to drop my off at the local guitar shop, I didn't plan on buying a guitar. I walked in and asked if they had any Les Paul Customs. The guy pointed to one and I asked if I could play it. Then, another guy from the staff shouted that it was already sold and I couldn't, but the one next to it was also a custom. It was a Gibson Les Paul Custom 68' reissue in antique natural finish with gold hardware and ebony fretboard. I got it from the staff and was pleasantly suprised by how heavy it was. I'm a big believer in tone coming from the wood of the guitar, and I dislike how Gibson has "weight relieved" bodies and "chambers" now in most of their models. The Custom, I was told, did not have either of those, a big plus. I sat down in front of a Peavey 6505 + and spent no time in finding a great tone. This guitar screamed! It played so effortlessly, and the thinner 60's neck was a big plus. I kept playing and playing and fell more in love. Then, I decided just to be sure that it really was as good as it was, I played a Les Paul Traditional (the guitar I had been eyeing until now). There was no comparison. The Traditional sounded flat and dead next to this thing. Then I tried a Les Paul Standard, which I already knew I liked less than the Traditional, and the difference was even bigger. I played Epiphone Customs, and unfortunately for my wallet, I was able to tell quite the difference. Don't get me wrong, an Epiphone Custom is great if that's what you are in the market for, but do yourself a favor and don't play a Custom Shop guitar first, the craftsmanship in these is phenominal. I went home that day and agonized for 24 hours before I decided I had to have this guitar. I made it to the shop 5 minutes before closing and I bought it, and haven't looked back since. Quite simply, this is the best guitar I've ever played. The only reason I gave features a 4.5 was because technically there are features that a guitar can have that this one doesn't (floyd rose, etc.), but none of those features are ones that I want. Value was a 4, because as great as this guitar is, it still costs a lot of money. But now I have a guitar that I know will last for my grandchildren to play. I'm never selling this guitar. p.s. - I named it Jules after my wife, who took me to the shop that day.

This is hands down the very best Les Paul I have ever played. Everything from the playability to the tone to the intonation is far superior to any other model I've had. I know what I'm talking about, I have owned 12 Gibson LPs, everything from studios, standards, customs, elegants, supremes, etc. No other Gibson compares to this that I've ever played. Too bad it is so expensive, but it is a gnarly guitar so if you're willing to spend the cash then you'll be glad you got this one.

I have had this guitar since 2003. It's one of my favorites. Love the sound and the playability. I'm glad I bought it.

I wanted to try out some LP Custom's and this one took the gold. The flamed maple top is gorgeous on the trifade burst! The mahogany body and neck provide ample tone while the ebony fingerboard not only looks great but makes playing comftorable and easy. The inlay looks great and so does everything else on this guitar from the hardware to the finish. This, like any other good Les Paul, is quite on the expensive side but would I get one, probably. Just out of personal preference I would get active pickups and maybe locking machine heads but this guitar is great. It's totally worth a try. I also played a regular Les Paul Custom and it didn't play as well as this one, go pick one up and rock out, or stick with mellow stuff, no matter what you play, it's a great guitar!