When a guitar manufacturer offers a new version of an iconic guitar, modifying components and features and expanding the options list is a great way to give a new twist to a classic design. For a great example, with Gibson Custom’s CS Les Paul Long Scale, the change occurred at the ground floor. Every bit a Les Paul, this new model has one significant change: a longer scale length. Changing the scale length from the Gibson standard 24-3/4” to to 25-1/2” may seem small, but the resulting differences are huge!
Longer scale length gives this Les Paul a new voice. Notes have more snap and pop and there is added clarity and shimmer to the overall sound. The longer scale length also adds higher string tension, changing the overall feel of the guitar plus making it more favorable to dropped tunings. This is a Les Paul with bell-like chime and some serious bark on the low strings.
The Les Paul Long Scale is also unusual in that its neck is available in two very distinct shapes. The ’59 True neck profile is nice and chunky while the V2 Slim Taper ’60s profile is thinner and quicker.
All of the other appointments on this guitar are strictly traditional. A mahogany neck and body joined with a mortise-and-tenon joint, capped by a two-piece, figured maple top, all sprayed with old-school nitrocellulose lacquer says “classic.” Even the Custom Bucker pickups are Gibson’s finest reproduction of the original PAFs to date. Reissue green key machine heads and gold top-hat knobs complete the traditional feature set.
Shown here in Washed Cherry, the Les Paul Long Scale’s other available colors are Iced Tea Burst and Antique Gold.
Huge, chimey notes and all that you love about a Les Paul, that’s the Gibson Custom CS Les Paul Long Scale. Check it out!
