Gibson Les Paul Traditional Plus Top (Heritage Cherry Sunburst) Reviews

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Customer Reviews

Allen Treschler
from Las Vegas, NV
July 4, 2011Music Background:
semi Pro Musician

Magnificent

This Led Paul has better sustain and sound than the "standard". The non chambered body and thicker neck give it that. I loved being able to choose which guitar by seeing its pic before I bought. The set up by Sweetwater was perfect. Guitar arrived in perfect condition. I am blown away by the sound of the guitar, It sounds exactly like a vintage later 50's guitar; everything from a ringing bell to growling Les Paul. The action and feel of the 50's neck is super fast with perfect intonation. This is a magnificent instrument of highest quality. Way worth the money. I am now a loyal Sweetwater customer and make all purchases that I can thru them.

from Southern California
August 9, 2011Music Background:
Hobbyist

I love the smell of nitrocellulose lacquer in the morning!

"The FeEx man is here!! The FedEx man is here!!"

After letting my heritage cherry sunburst acclimate in it's case for 24 hours, (difficult to do!) I clicked open the bright chrome latches and gently raised the black, snakeskin lid. What a gorgeous medley of sight and aroma! The bright red cherry burst against the snow-white fluffy lining inside the case, and the heady aroma of factory-fresh nitrocellulose....

Sorry... just re-living the moment.

This is the most "punchy" sounding passive-pickups axe I've ever played, even more so than my 1971 LP Deluxe with mini 'buckers.

Straight into my Mesa Boogie F30, you can "feel" the notes burst out of the speaker. The punch can be toned down and mellowed and / or thinned out by messing with the pickup mix, volume, and tone knobs. Nice Mike Bloomfield-like clean tones from the middle position with a touch of drive and reverb. Page, Gary Moore, Slash - very close. Very versatile. Haven't quite been able to dial in a Clapton "Beano" tone yet, but probably due to my amps. Roll off the treble, and there's some mellow, almost Jazz-box tones in there, too. Clean it up, add some slap-back, and break into "How High The Moon" if you want.

The body is "weight relieved" by some "strategically placed holes" inside the body, which worried me a little, and you can hear a touch of resonance, but it's still sounds and feels like a Les Paul.

The Plek set up is exact to specifications, intonation is perfect, frets are flawless, however the correct, specified action is a little too high for my preference. Fit & finish - all excellent.

from London, Canada
February 23, 2011Music Background:
recording artist

Sweet Tones, Terrible Nut!

I tried several to find the one that I liked best, just happened to be a cherry burst. Went through a gold top, an ebony, standards and traditional, and this one had that sweet spot tone wise that kept me playing in the store. Its got the sound I like. HOWEVER, the nut was terrible and actually lost it's ability to hold a string after a few months of play. The guitar had an issue staying in tune on the g/b strings in particular. I had a new bone nut put on the beast and pro set up done. Now she sings like a bird. Do yourself a favor if you buy one, and take it in for a solid set up right off the get go. You'll be glad you did.

Ron J
from Minneapolis
October 24, 2011Music Background:
Active Musician

A Decent Guitar

I have had the guitar for about a month and have been playing it a lot. About a week ago the volume pot for the bridge pickup failed, it only works at full volume and cuts out if set differently. I own several Gibson guitars and I have learned that it's a very good idea to install new CTS 500k pots and paper in oil casp as soon as poosible after after getting the guitar, it's like removing a blanket from the front of your amp. I don't know why Gibson USA insists on installing those junk pots and caps. The Les Paul Traditional I received from Sweetwater is a Heritage Cherry Sun Burst and I was pleasantly surprised at how nice the fit and finish is on this guitar. The guys at Sweetwater are awsome! It's better built and has a much nicer finish than the '08 chambered Standard I bought new a couple of years ago and feels and plays WAY better after a quickie set-up. The guitar plays great and the neck profile feels much closer to a 60's neck than the advertised "50s" neck profile, it's almost identical to my '90 and '94 Standards that were built before all of that crazy 50's and 60's stuff Gibson was marketing. The 57 Classics sound great and are a little warmer and punchier but not as bright as the Seymor Duncan 59's. My number one Les Paul is a '00 Standard with a pair of Duncan '59's and an RS Guitarworks pots and Caps upgrade kit and this guitar has become my favorite go-to axe for the vintage Zeppelin/Skynyrd/Foreigner style tones. You can't go wrong with one of these if you are looking for a quality built, great sounding and playing Les Paul. I would give this guitar 5 stars if it came with better volume and tone pots.