Every month in Best of Guitar Gallery, we highlight a small selection of guitars that stand out for their artistry, design, and craftsmanship. Chosen from Sweetwater’s industry-leading assortment and individually photographed, inspected, and tested by our professional team, each instrument is carefully handled, stored in a climate-controlled facility, and presented exactly as it exists — so the guitar you see is the guitar you receive.
Gibson Custom “Bugs and Leaves” Les Paul Custom Art Electric Guitar – Ebony
During his childhood in Nebraska, Gibson Custom’s in-house Master Artisan Rick “Rickie” Hinrichsen marveled at how insects and animals came to life after dark. Celebrating this often-overlooked spectacle of nature, Hinrichsen reimagined this 1968 Les Paul Custom “Black Beauty” as the backdrop for a vivid nocturnal scene. With the dark lacquer representing the nighttime sky, he employs the sharp contrast of white ink to depict a wide variety of woodland creatures and lush foliage. Together, they form a living tapestry and a reminder that wonder hides in plain sight if you take the time to look.
Gibson Custom and Gibson Acoustic Dealer Select Instruments
Imagine being able to walk into the Gibson Custom Shop in Nashville or the Gibson Acoustic factory in Bozeman, Montana, and have their luthiers build a special guitar just for you. You could hand select your favorite pieces of tonewood, choose a custom finish, and spec the pickups and hardware to perfectly suit your playing style and desired tone.
To offer this experience for those of us not named Slash, Jimmy Page, or Angus Young, Sweetwater and Gibson developed the Dealer Select program.
To create Dealer Select instruments, Sweetwater’s guitar experts work closely with Gibson artisans to dream up inspiring variations of Gibson’s most iconic models. From interesting tonewood combinations to one-of-a-kind colors, custom-wound pickups to Murphy Lab aging, every detail is carefully considered with the aim of creating exclusive, heirloom-grade instruments impossible to find anywhere else. Click here to view the full selection of currently available Gibson Dealer Select guitars.
