Gibson Les Paul Classic Electric Guitar - Ebony Reviews

This was a demo model I ordered. I don't know what was "Demo" about it as there wasn't a noticeable scratch on it, but it was significantly cheaper. I would challenge anyone to tell it apart from one that just came out of the factory. Delivery was SUPER FAST. This is my first Gibson. It really is hard to play any of my other guitars, this thing is awesome.

This is my first true Les Paul and I could not be anymore satisfied, impressed, etc. Plays great sounds great. I waited way to long to do this. Long overdue shout out to Daniel for taking of this process with professionalism and knowledge.

LES PAUL Hit it out of the park with the Les Paul guitar the sound and sustain is to die for incredible and to the original 50s and 60s les Paul guitar instruments of that erra the music and sound they where able to produce with what they had was incredible. As led Zeppelin, Lennard Skynard those boys as well as thousands of others made the less Paul sing like no other.. Eagles,Nazareth, Matalica and so on the Les Paul Guitar is still played Dailey in bands all over the world and my self is the only guitar I pick up every day as it's almost impossible to just walk by it as it calls out to you to pick it up and play it. Enough Said go check one out your self!

I got mine about 3 weeks ago and I've love it. Someone in my family got me a gym membership. Good thing, I'm just shy of 56 and about 36 minutes in, my back starts hurting. That's on me though! It's a dream machine…I have an old SG 1974, an 89 Explorer and a Les Paul Special. Also a Fender Ultra Telecaster that you really shouldn't compare because they 2 entirely different machines but the Les Paul blows the others out of the water. I chose this over the Standard for the ability to go single coil. Works really nice when your volume is rolled back or not playing with lots of gain. Sometimes the lacquer on the neck gets a little sticky. Comes with a cleaning cloth and I know why. It's an awesome guitar and I love playing STP, Zep, ZZ Top, etc and you can get really close to authentic sounds. I love it. Randy Poteete (sp?) is my guy and always super helpful. My only complaint is that when I busted it out and got going, I could hear a rattle. The truss rod cover was clinging by a thread. I had to tighten both screws. No biggie, but how the hell does that happen? The 55 point check card within shows the guy checked it off…okay again, no biggie, but slow down. Make it come as advertised…KILLER GUITAR!

Tone monster. Plays, feels and looks incredibly well. Couldnt be happier.

I used to own a '68 Les Paul Deluxe, and this model comes close. Very close. My go-to guitar, a Schecter Nashville PT model, has not seen the light of day since I received my Ebony Classic several weeks back. Oh how I missed the Les Paul sustain. Plus the inflections and pinch harmonics available with simple picking technique. It plays Les Paul fast (missed that too). Haven't played with the push-pull pot features much, but I love the raw single coil sound when you pull up on the bridge tone knob. I just need to figure out I'm going to deal with the associated volume boost, since it bypasses the volume knob controls at that point. And it does get louder. But what a rocking' sound! It's a beautiful guitar, and Sweetwater is the only company I'll buy a guitar from sight unseen, as I did my Schecter. Thanks folks!

After owning this guitar for two weeks, it's review time.

The Les Paul Classic has been described as being akin to the way some rockers in the 1970s set up their instruments, and being a fan of hard rock from that era i can understand why that description has been applied. Having said that, one should be aware that this is a completely contemporary instrument. The body is weight relieved, however, despite having hadthe infamous nine holes drilled into its mahogany body, this beast still weighs a hefty 10 1/4 pounds.

The neck is advertised as a '60s slim taper,' and is very smooth and playable, though actually closer to that of my 335 than the chunkier '60s slim taper' neck of the Les Paul Standard 60s model.

The electronics are what separate this guitar from a typical L.P. Standard, with coil tap, phase, and cut off options activated by pull pots. The controls are noiseless, and quite sturdy, though I really only utilise the coil split on the neck pickup. The pickups themselves are Burstbucker 61s, uncovered, with zebra spools. Despite what the experts say, I think the lack of the aluminium cover does produce a bit more brightness and crispness than the same pickups with covers.

Tone on this baby is incredible, with the snap and sharp attack one expects from a maple topped Les Paul, and it sustains for days. It's a bit brighter and has slightly more clarity in the midrange and trebles than a Les Paul Standard, again I suspect this is due to the pickups being uncovered.

It's a beautiful guitar, and along with my 60s Standard has become the instrument I depend on most.No complaints.

As always, kudos to Sweetwater and my sales engineer, Andrew. Ordered on a Friday, arrived on a Monday.

Huzzah!

Always wanted one and I finally got it. Can't put it down and helping me to improve my playing. Fingers are raw! Arrived nicely configured.

I have purchased dozens of guitars over the years from stores and online retailers. Sweetwater has outshined all of them with the recent purchase of my new Gibson Les Paul Classic for so many reasons. To begin with, the guitar came to me with the best playability right out of the box. Sweetwater's custom fret treatment makes this Les Paul out play each of my 4 others including my custom shop models. The guitar arrived perfectly packaged and in flawless condition. My sales associate was a professional musician and a customer service specialist as well. I can truly say this was one of the best guitar buying experiences I have ever had. I know I will work with them again for future guitar purchases. They are the best company to purchase a guitar from.
Thank you to the Sweetwater team!
Michael

I have a wall full of tele's. I wanted to add to my guitar collection for passing down to my son someday. I wanted a Les Paul in it. The only time I had a n LP was in 1983 and it got ruined. I spotted this American Classic. It boasted 4 push pull knobs that did all sorts of things. I had no intention of playing it. When it arrived it was stunning. I used another great set of music nomad tools I purchased here to fine tune the setup. OOPS! It plays better than any guitar I have including a PRS 509. It strats better than a strat, it sopanks better than a tele, Slide guitar dream, It is my favorite guitar to play now. It does have that Les Paul weight but a 3 1/2 inch wide strap fixed that. If you want something fun, professional, American, and a great value, get one of these before the prices explode.

I've played bass for more than fifty years and finally decided to try a 6 string. After messing around with a couple of cheapies, I decided to try the Les Paul. All I can say is WOW. This guitar sounds great through my Fender Twin and playability is great. I was a little unsure of spending this much for a guitar but after playing it for a while, I am glad I did.

I received my Les Paul Classic and I just have to tell you that this guitar is probably the best out of the box Les Paul I have ever purchased. I have bought dozens of other guitars in my lifetime but none of them have ever come to me like this. As soon as I picked it up and plugged it in to my Marshall I had this huge kid like smile from ear to ear. Usually I would have to take a new guitar to my tech to be set up for playability. This Les Paul plays amazingly and has great tone. I couldn't be happier with my purchase. I want to thank Andrew for his help and consideration on this order. I am sure that I will call on him again in the future for my next purchase.

Michael

This is the most superb instrument ever made. I immediately swapped out the pickups to add Gibson 490R/500T Humbuckers (which I knew I would do) and replaced the nobs to look more 70s. Despite these changes, I've never played a guitar - Gibson or otherwise - that feels and plays so magically.

I bought a Black LP Classic as a demo. To be honest, the only scratches on it were so hard to see it was ridiculous! I also grabbed this bad boy before Gibson raised the prices by a couple hundred dollars! Anyway, once I lowered the nut slots, and intonated it, lowered the action, this thing is a BEAST! Not 100 percent in love with the bridge pup, but the neck sings! Sounds outstanding! I also back filed the not slots for the G and D, and it stays in tune very well! Even after 1 and a half step bends on the G! Only recommendation I have is to throw some Grover Locking Rotomatics on. Drop fit, no drilling, 15 minutes. Shout out to Rob Kramer for being the man. And Shoutout to Sweetwater for listing demos. Instead of grabbing guitars off the wall and selling them for full price. (Like some other places).

I had played Les Pauls most of my life, starting with a black Les Paul Custom in the late 60s and later an alpine white 20th Anniversary Custom, which saw a lot of road miles over the 70s and 80s. This latest Paul feels so much like the first one I ever played, with its early sixties neck. What a gem! I asked my longtime Sweetwater account guy Darius Beatz to select one with a fast fretboard and solid intonation and, as always, he delivered. This one is stunning, with a custom black pickguard I had ordered extra. I've bought so much gear and several guitars through Darius and Sweetwater over the past eight years and they always come through. This guitar is cherry. It's like an old friend coming back home.

I've been playing an American Telecaster for 15 years. I decided I wanted get a new guitar that would provide me with more tone options. I opted for the ebony classic for its 60's profile neck, push/pull options, and esthetically I loved the exposed pickups.

I play out of a 68 Reverb and must say it sounds amazing. I frequently use the single coil option. Single coils sound great with gain. The humbucker at the neck has great creamy mid that melts when played clean and it's really what sold me. The sustain on this guitar was a nice surprise. Although it has 9 hole weight relief, it's still has some girth to it.... Just a bit heavier than my tele. I'm used to a heavier weighted guitar so personally, not an issue. Lastly , she's a beautiful guitar! I mean look at her! Truly a classic and a guitar I will own for the rest of my life.

I worked with Ed Needler on this purchase. He offered competitive pricing and answered all my questions. A 2k purchase is a big commitment so the fact that Ididn't feel pressured, it may the experience better. When I had a question or concern, the Sweetwater team came through.

It came with all of the case candy and this thing plays like butter! It doesn't sit in a stand for too long before I get the itch to play. I highly recommend the classic for someone's first Gibson.

My wife bought me this guitar for my birthday! She went through my rep Alden Debee and he made it happen for her. Thanks Alden for taking good care of her (and me too). This is my new Number 1 guitar. There's nothing about it I don't like. It's that good. I actually like it better than my Slash model LP. It's one smooth machine. Loving it!

I waited a full month before giving a review ,,The guys at sweet water were great to work with!!!these guys are the pros.....any change I wanted to make they did it , and to the tee!!!this guitar came to me fast and the packing was outstanding after all the package went through by ups,,after watching ace-ventura kick the package down the hall way in pet detective .....when I got it out of the case it was so gorgeous,the case also,pluged it in and tuned it after all it had new strings ,it sounds great and feels wonderful!!!!Gibson did an outstanding job with not question,,,anybody that is trying to decide to make a decision to get this guitar please do so , I have no regrets and will now look forward to the next les paul, and have to say I play strats all the time !!! thanks sweet water and excellent job gibson

I can't say enough great things about my new ebony Gibson Les Paul! This guitar rocks and is an absolute blast to play.
I can't put it down. Quality-wise, it's flawless all-around as well. Looks, feels, and plays like a dream! Sweetwater delivered lightning fast and it arrived in perfect condition. Thank you Sweetwater!

Received my LP Classic and it is everything I expected and more! My salesman Geoff has been so consistent over the years so I had no worries. Guitar showed up two days earlier then I expected! This guitar sounds and plays like a dream. I have been playing for 30+ years and have had many guitars ( LP custom, 25/50 LP custom, Studio LP, strats ,etc... ) this LP classic plays the best out of all of my previous guitars. The 61r and 61t pickups sound great so far but I have not played with the band yet to see how they set in the mix. You can't go wrong buying a Les Paul and you definitely can't go wrong buying from sweetwater!!

Just the facts:
1. This is unquestionably one of the classiest looking guitars I have ever seen. Just stunning! Gibson has really hit it out of the park with this one.
2. Gibson's craftsmanship on the guitar is just perfect. Everything looks great, feels great, sounds great, etc. And their setup was second to none.
3. The component parts and materials (pickups, tuners, controls, etc.) are beautifully matched and complement each other.
4. The sound and tones on this guitar are beyond fantastic and appropriate for all kinds of music. I'm using a custom-made Apex Amplification Predator 15 watt amp (kind of a Marshall-clone, I'd say.) and the guitar just sounds phenomenal with this tube amp. While I will never be a performing artist I am confident that a pro could walk up on any stage with this guitar and wow the heck out of an audience.
5. A personal note on playability: My left arm is 'somewhat' messed up from a compound fracture during a military parachute jump, as well as having a minor (genetic) hand tremor (gee, thanks Mom for those genes!! :) ), but I find the neck and the overall guitar very easy to play. I love my older Custom Shop Strat but this Les Paul Classic just smokes it! I find that I just can't put this guitar down.
6. A couple of notes regarding the Sweetwater team:
a. Despite the fact that I ordered this guitar during the Corona Virus shutdown I still received First Class Service. The guitar was packed incredibly well and the case and guitar arrived in absolutely stellar condition. And despite limited staff working on-site (because of the pandemic shutdown) the Sweetwater team did everything possible to get the guitar to me in a timely manner. Such a great effort on their part!!
b. The guitar techs at Sweetwater did a phenomenal job setting up the guitar. Never have I seen such a beautifully set up instrument. Further, there was not a single fingerprint or spot of dust on the guitar when I opened the case. Just a super impressive job by the guitar techs. Thank you!
c. Finally, a shout out to my great Sweetwater Sales Engineer, Mark Johnson. He is and has always been right on top of everything, and is full of great advice when you require it. He is also very proactive. As an example, from previous conversations with Mark (other purchases I made) he knew that I had the serious left arm injury and hand tremor, with the guitar playing challenges that come with those. On his own, he called me directly to discuss the guitar purchase, discuss the physical challenges I have (in detail) to be sure that this guitar was the right fit for me. An absolute gentleman who treats you like a trusted friend. BTW, I have played Les Pauls before so I knew the neck and guitar overall would be perfect. Nonetheless, Mark's kind gesture is really appreciated.
7. Bottom Line: I love the guitar. My recommendation is that you contact Mark and get one for yourself. This one is a keeper! Thanks

The sound is as good as it gets!!!!

First off, I want to give a big shout to Ronuel Viera, my Sweetwater SE who moved mountains for me. The first guitar the SW sent had a minor issue so Ronuel and his colleagues stopped at nothing to get me a replacement.

What can I say about this guitar? It's the newest Gibson Les Paul (unless you're reading this a year from now) but it checked all the boxes: looks, playability, tone. The pickups on this guitar really sing - something about these burst buckers and being exposed when paired with a Marshall and a Tube Screamer absolutely has "that tone". I've played many guitars over the years, including Gibson Les Pauls and even an Epiphone at one point and this is the perfect mix of it all - at a great price. Still expensive, but you get what you pay for.

I am so glad I bought this guitar. It's not your typical Les Paul, but it's close enough. The quality of workmanship is top notch. The guitar is very well balanced, plays great and sounds great. I am just super happy with it. This is my third Les Paul that I have purchased, but the first one is almost 30 years.

The service from Sweetwater was top notch. Sweetwater actually included a small bag of candy in my package for Halloween. I thought that was a really nice little touch and it made me smile!

This guitar came totally set up. I took it out of the box, plugged it in and played for two hours straight. I"ve always been a Strat guy but the sound of this is amazing. There are so many different sounds you can get by splitting the pickups. I"m not a big pedal guy, but I used a chorus, delay, and a blues driver to get the sounds I needed. The playability is almost perfect, the tone is awesome. I"ll still play my Strats but I"ll play this as much as I can.

So I will say a word on the 2 most important aspects first when deciding to buy any guitar which are feel/playability, and sound.
My guitar action arrived perfectly set up. Neck relief is right on, and nut is slotted perfectly. Fretwork is perfect. I only needed to adjust the intonation slightly. So playability and feel is just a dream. Unbelievably comfortable neck and low action. Just awesome. It's hard to put it down and walk away from.
The sound of the guitar with the 61 humbuckers is very classic with a good amount of trebly bite and sparkle. I did end up swapping out the bridge humbucker for a 498t for my own personal need of a high output pickup for high gain hard rock... which was a simple swap because of the quick connect system. Overall a very well balanced sounding guitar with wonderful bass, mid, and treble presence. Also the push/pull knob switching is awesome for a good variety of sound options.
The guitar I received is just beautifully finished with a deep black ebony. I've had no issues whatsoever with any of the hardware or electronics. Everything seems to be very high quality.
I'm absolutely in love with this guitar and can't put it down, which I suppose is the point. Play what inspires you everyday and makes you want to never stop playing.

Just let me start by saying how much I appreciate this team at Sweetwater! From Mr Justin Dunbar, Dillion, the tech's and certainly my sales engineer Tad Schaffer. They define the word "Customer Service" and I'm grateful for their service and help. Now the Gibson is a lot more than you think with the 61!s in this is a great sound and many different tones with not 2 but 4 push pull that can give nice different cleans and distortions and also get a pop sound. Neck is slim and fast. Basically a 60's modified beast! Do yourself a favor and pull the trigger you'll enjoy it, trust me 29+ years of professional playing and I wouldn't hesitate to be a go to first guitar! Call Tad now!

What a beautiful piece of art! Love this guitar! Thank You Brian Kerns!

I had been playing on a Epiphone Les Paul for almost a year when I got this guitar. I thought Epiphone's quality was quite good for the price I paid for it, but as soon as I held this beauty in my hands and played just a simple minor pentatonic scale it blew my Epiphone out of the water. The quality here is exquisite, other than a few VERY minor areas on the fretboard where you can see where the machine ground down the wood which don't affect playability at all and unless you're looking for it, you won't notice it. My only real critique of the sound is it seems kind of metallic, but that could just be the strings that it came with so I'll try swapping them out and see if it changes anything.

The push-pull knobs are also really nice. I'd never had that before so that'll take some getting used to, but from just messing around with them for a bit, I do like them (they were really just kind of an added bonus feature for me).

The hard-shell case it comes with does have kind of a weird plastic smell to it, but I'm just going to let it air out outside and see if that helps. Again, though, that has nothing to do with the guitar itself.

Overall, if you're looking for a quality guitar with "Gibson" on the headstock look no further than the Les Paul Classic.

This is a great guitar. You can get many different tones out of it, with the coil taps and phase switching. And the sound cleans up better than you'd expect. The pickups are excellent and do have that PAF sound. The pickups sound great through a high gain tube amp with the volume rolled off. I mainly got it for playing my Thin Lizzy because without a Gibson Les Paul, it just ain't the same! :-)

I'd buy this ebony model in a heartbeat if it had an ebony fretboard. I have several LPs, including an older black custom (with ebony fretboard. I dare not gig the old custom. I don't know why Gibson offers guitars with black, or silverburst bodies, yet with brown rosewood fretboards. Yacht!! Plus, ebony is harder…plays more like a maple board.
Guess I'll have to wait…and wait for the upcoming artist model.

I always try to make fair reviews that take in to account the price of a guitar as well as its features. This is a $2000 guitar so expectations should be high compared to a $500 import. With that said, the new Gibson Les Paul Classic is a fantastic guitar. The build quality is excellent and so is the attention to detail. The black paint/nitro finish is smooth as glass and no bleed on the binding. The Burstbucker 61 in the bridge is excellent and has all the muscle you"d expect from a great Les Paul. I really dig this guitar and kudos to Gibson for dropping the prices (a bit) to remain competitive.

However, this doesn"t get a 5 star review from me for a few reasons. First, the guitar arrived from Sweetwater poorly set up, a first for me out of 4 guitars I"ve bought from them. Action was really high and intonation was off on every string. Generally not a big deal since those things are easily adjustable but the ABR-1 bridge on mine was garbage. The saddles would not travel their full range, making it impossible to intonate. I"m a big fan of the TonePros locking Nashville bridge that I have on my other two Les Paul"s so I had planned on replacing it anyway, but it still should not have arrived with an unusable bridge. Second, I"m underwhelmed with the Burstbucker 61 in the neck. It"s dark, muddy and doesn"t clean up well when you turn down the volume and I even had my tech install a high-pass filter. Engaging the push-pull to go into single coil doesn"t really do the trick either. Some may like that old-school woofy tone but for my use, I"ll need to replace the pickup with something that has more clarity. Third, this model/color seems to be unusually heavy for a guitar that"s weight relieved. Mine is lighter at 9lbs 5oz, but most on Sweetwater are close to or at 10 lbs. For some reason the solid cherry ones are lighter, could just be a coincidence. Some LP enthusiasts insist the weight is a contributor to the ballsy sound, but I"ve got one a full pound lighter and it"s every bit as beefy, so…

I purchased one in 2007. Not sure if they are different these days but the back and sides only had a thin nitro finish that was soft and fragile. Only the top was polished. The guitar sounded awesome and the thin finish really added to the vibrant sound. I purchased an LP Standard later on. The Standard just doe not sound as good as the Classic. Still disappointed by the finish but it does contribute to the resonance and sound.

Poor QC and quality. Mine arrived with several scratches in the finish and other blemishes (i.e., dents, dings, etc.). The intonation was off as well. Finally, the fretboard had not been properly sanded and finished. Sweetwater, to its credit, quickly processed the return and refund. I just don't think Gibson has its quality up to par yet after the bankruptcy. Will wait before I purchase another one.

This guitar had a few problems. There was a rough edge on the pick guard, as if it had been hit by a wire wheel. The pick guard wasn't mounted flush to the pickups. The neck was machined slightly wider than the fretboard, leaving a tiny rail on both sides of the fretboard. The big issue, though, was that the A string buzzed on the 4th fret. Raising the bridge didn't fix it, so I assume the nut was cut too deep for the A string. Sad, because it's a beautiful guitar that sounded great except for those three notes. Gibson quality is hit or miss, I guess. Sweetwater made the return easy and I am waiting for a new PRS.

I LOVE this guitar. It sounds incredible!! The pickups are so clear and respond well to anything I throw at it. It feels great now, and the guitar is absolutely gorgeous. One of my dream guitars for sure. For looks and sound, it gets 5 stars!!

However, that wasn't the case when it first arrived.

I was extremely disappointed in Gibson for having a very important QC flaw. The nut was cut way too low and my b string was buzzing at the nut from the slot being significantly cut lower than the rest of the slots. It was completely unplayable at first. I had to play with a capo at the first fret to satisfy my needs until I could get a new nut and fix it. I live in California so I didn't want to pay to ship it back to Indiana, as I had just received this guitar after returning a PRS with a trem issue a week prior. I was tired of playing tag with shipments.

So, I replaced the nut with a new bone nut and decided to eat the cost. The problem is now solved thankfully. However I was pissed I spent 2 grand on an instrument that had such an OBVIOUS nut issue. Did Sweetwater even do the 55 point inspection?! Like one open chord and the problem is fully audible. It's not like some secret scratch or minor flaw. It was apparent from the first E chord I ever played, and in 5 seconds it was absolutely awful sounding. You could even hear it through the amp.

I was surprised this issue got through both Gibson and Sweetwater unnoticed, and it led me to pay for a new nut installation. A new guitar that costs 2 grand shouldn't have that problem.

Not to mention the frets were incredibly rough and felt almost as if they weren't ever sanded down. When I would go to do some bends it felt comparable to the sensation of my nails scratching a chalkboard. Totally unacceptable from both Sweetwater and Gibson to let that crap slide.

Now, I know not all of the Les Pauls will have that problem. So I still recommend them for their sound and versatility. But be prepared to possibly spend some dough on a new nut and installation of said nut. (unless you know how to do it your self, props to you).

On a side note my sales associate, Patrick Lantz, was a baller. None of this is his problem and/or fault, and I am always extremely happy doing business with him.

But I definitely am reconsidering the whole 55 point inspection thing. If that's not being done correctly then what makes Sweetwater any different from its' competitors? Please don't get anyone in trouble on my behalf Sweetwater, but maybe reiterate the importance of this to your employees. I shouldn't have to eat the cost of a new nut installation for a brand new instrument that's supposed to be checked for major flaws like that.

In short, the guitar is now 100% a 5 star rating, but my experience was definitely subpar.