A gigging man's Les Paul with '60s slim-tapered neck and coil-split humbuckers.
Taking design and visual cues from the Les Pauls of the '80s and '90s, the Les Paul Traditional Pro features BurstBucker 3 and '57 Classic pickups with coil-splitting, '60s neck profile, Grover locking tuners, antique binding, period-correct pickguard, vintage Gibson top hat knobs, and the revolutionary Plek set up.
With all the fat, sweet, snarling Les Paul tone that purists love, the new Gibson Les Paul Standard Traditional Pro sports a non-chambered
mahogany body with a thick maple cap for the perfect blend of warmth and clarity. The top is finished in high-gloss lacquer, while the back, sides, and neck have a smooth satin finish that feels great and lets the wood resonate fully. Each Les Paul Traditional also comes with Gibson USA's standard black snakeskin case.
Period-Correct Pickguard
The creme-colored pickguard has been a Les Paul staple dating back to the models of the late 1950s and the early 1960s. Many players, however, removed the pickguard from their Les Pauls to show off the beauty of the flame maple tops, moving Gibson to stop installing the pickguard altogether. During the 1980s and 1990s, Gibson began reinstalling the pickguard in the factory, and the Les Pauls from this era once again arrived in stores bearing the classic, creme-colored pickguard. The Les Paul Traditional comes equipped with a period-correct pickguard, designed to protect the maple top.
Pickups: Neck - '57 Classic; Bridge - BurstBucker 3
Among the qualities that make Gibson's original "Patent Applied For" humbucking pickups so unique are the subtle variations between coil windings. For the first few years of their productions—1955 to 1961—Gibson's PAF humbuckers were wound using imprecise machines, resulting in pickups with slightly different output and tone. The BurstBucker 3 and '57 Classic Plus pickups are the result of Gibson drive to capture and recreate this characteristic. Introduced in 1992, the '57 Classic provides warm, full tone with a balanced response, packing that classic Gibson PAF humbucker crunch, inspired by those original PAFs that received a few extra turns of wire. Both are made by Gibson to the exact same specs as the original PAFs, including Alnico II magnets, nickel-plated pole pieces, nickel slugs, maple spacers, and vintage-style, two-conductor braided wiring. Gibson added poly-coated wiring, which improves consistency by eliminating thick or thin spots on the wiring, and wax potting, which removes all internal air space and any chance of microphonic feedback. Both pickups offer coil-splitting for single-coil sounds via push/pull switching in the volume controls.
Revolutionary Plek Set Up
The Les Paul Traditional is the first model from Gibson USA to utilize the revolutionary Plek machine in setting up the guitar. The Plek is a German-made, computer-controlled machine that carefully measures each fret, along with the fingerboard height under each string, and then automatically dresses each fret, virtually eliminating string buzz and greatly improving the overall playability of the guitar. This pioneering process does in minutes what it takes a luthier several hours—sometimes even days—to accomplish. Every fret is accurately aligned, and the guitar is properly intonated, leaving the instrument "Plek'd" and amazingly playable.
Antique Binding
To see the process of putting the binding on the Les Paul Traditional is to really appreciate the effort and attention that Gibson puts into each instrument. A lone craftsman will carefully glue and fit two pieces of binding around the entire body of a Les Paul. He then winds a single, very long piece of narrow cloth around the entire body until the entire surface is nearly covered. The body is then hung to dry for a full 24 hours before it is unwrapped and moved into the next phase of production. It has been done the same way for over 100 years. Some question the value of adding binding, but Gibson believes it is a fundamental part of our rich guitar-making history. The binding adds elegance to the Les Paul Standard, and helps protect the edges of the body. The neck binding is installed over the fret ends, which eliminates sharp fret edges and provides for a smooth neck and easier playability.
Gibson Les Paul Standard Traditional Pro Electric Guitar Features:
Body Style: Non-chambered
Top: Carved maple
Back: Mahogany
Neck: Set mahogany
Neck Profile: '60s
Headstock: Angled
Scale length: 24-3/4"
Fingerboard: Bound Rosewood
No. of frets: 22
Nut width: 1.69"
Inlays: Trapezoid
Binding: Antique
Bridge: Tune-O-Matic with stopbar tailpiece
Tuners: Locking Grover
Hardware: Chrome
Bridge pickup: potted BurstBucker 3 humbucker with coil-splitting
Posted by SpaceAceTX from Ft. Worth, TX on Feb 6, 2010
Experience w/product: I have used it
Reviewer's Background: Garage slug, local spots
Reviewer's Play Style: Death Metal to Surf
First: out of the box be ready to plop down $40 for a pro setup.
Second: you will have a shallow dip in neck due to a radial neck curve below 8th fret, it needs relief so expect it, you will not have that straight down the neck level string height like a Jackson USA, it's not gonna happen folks. G string buzz pops his ugly head up from time to time, truss rod will need fine tuning till it settles in a bit over the first 6 months. This is not a fretless wondder if that is what you're thinking don't get it.
This is a decent mid-level Gibson, but they seriously need to get quality control in check. I will put down cold cash that yours will NOT come properly setup out of box, being able to get in tune isn't the same thing folks, not knocking Gibson but they simply don't spend the time to do it. Please tell me I'm wrong when you get it since I do wish Gibson would step up, this is too much $$ not to receive more attention.
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Les Paul Standard Traditional Pro
Posted by Tommy Skulltower from Long Island/NYC on Jan 16, 2010
Experience w/product: I own it
Reviewer's Background: Active Musician
Reviewer's Play Style: Rock/Punk
I own a Standard Trad. now and it is by far one of the best playing guitars and best sounding I have ever owned, I have had and played Jackson, Strats, alot.
Ive been playing for about 30 years and I have played alot of beat up instruments at Sam Ash and Guitar center here in Long Island NY. This Unit not only exceeded my expectations it blew my mind away.
Play wise its set up to perfection right out of the box
Soundwise, with the single to double coil selections you can really get a ton of diffrent sounds.
Locking tuners- Come on now thats just a plus.
Weight - Far better than my 96' Gibbie Studio
Value? Now you know that its worth the price as a Gibson always has worth.
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Nice axe, other options
Posted by PaveTom from LA (Lower Alabama) on Dec 31, 2009
Experience w/product: I have used it
Reviewer's Background: Hobbyist
Reviewer's Play Style: Rock/Metal
Played it at guitar center and it played and sounded fine. I was comparing it to my Studio and ESP LTD EC-1000FR as I played and didn't find it to be vastly superior in playability or tone. Played the ebony and was not overly impressed with the consistency of the finish. Don't get me wrong: I would love to own it. But value-wise, I find that you're paying for the Gibson name---and I love Gibson, own two. If you just gotta have an LP, a nice guitar.
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AMAZING LES PAUL!!!
Posted by Studogg from Little Rock, AR on Dec 27, 2009
Experience w/product: I own it
Reviewer's Background: Proffesional Musician
Reviewer's Play Style: Rock, Pop, Emo, Blues.
Plain and simple. I have owned several Les Pauls and this is BY FAR the best and most interesting pickup combination of any of the LPs I have had. The locking tuners and the coil tapping capabilities are incredible upgrades. In fact, you can get more sounds out of this guitar than a FAR more expensive LP Standard Plus. Some people complain about the wood grain not being as good. Okay, maybe they are not as perfect as the LP Stnadard Plus, but guitars are meant to be played more than looked at and these STILL look very good. If you get a black one then the wood grain will not matter anyway. All in all, I got this guitar for about $1,400 slightly used and it is the best electric guitar I have ever owned. Buy one before they are gone. Gibson is stopping production on these babies!!!! Get you one.
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Why get a 59?
Posted by Hutch from Michigan on Dec 9, 2009
Experience w/product: I own it
Reviewer's Background: Collector/Player
Reviewer's Play Style: ANY!
I have had this guitar for 8 months now. A little bit unhappy with the orange peel in the paint and a small dent in the binding. But, you touch it and the magic is ON!- I was missing something....It has GREAT tuners! (Unlike the green keys which are terrible) Split coils! WOW! Very nice plain top, great neck and action/intonation was perfect from day one- Still, I was missing something...I ordered and put in a set of Sheptone hand wound pickups (With the ability to split the coils) WOW!!!! No need for a 59 Paul now!!! The 57 and BB3 are junk!!! Want this guitar to sing like a bird??? Want those pickups to really sound like a single coil??? Pull em, junk em, and slap in some Sheptone's!!!! You'll never know what you have until that day....
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