You could spend $ + and get a Standard Les Paul and eventually spend even more to get what you really want, or you can just save yourself the time, effort and money and buy Custom Shop '59. When people think of a Les Paul, this is the guitar they think of, not your standard production assembly line model. If your not buying a Custom Shop Les Paul, you might as well buy a cheaper import. These are the kind of guitars people buy and hold on to for life.

As close as you will get to an original burst! From the tone of the unpotted custom buckers to the lightweight made to measure accuracy of these beast you will be in for a treat when you purchase one. These guitars are truly the best of the best and are far better than a run of the mill USA made LP (Yes even if you run the racks I doubt you would find one even close to the R9). BTW- Zach McCord at Sweetwater is a very fair salesperson and I highly recommend asking for him before you purchase. These guitars just look and feel right which inspires me to play more and keep the creativity flowing! Thanks again Zach for another awesome purchase!

First off, i want to thank my Sweetwater sales rep, Greg Savino for walking me through this purchase of a lifetime. There's this little 1 mm dimple on the headstock between the 2nd and 3rd string tuners so he asked if I wanted to wait for another or take as is and he'd take some off the price. Of course I took the deal! Arrived perfect and from what I could immediately tell, no other blemishes.

Fit and finish is perfect. The flametop is something to behold. It came with "10s" but I like D'Addario EXL120+ (9.5) so I strung it with a new set and adjusted the bridge - perfect. No buzzes or intonation issues and the reissue Klusons generally stay in tune with some retuning of the 3rd string after heavy playing. Fret dressing is about as good as can get as well. I opted for the pao ferro ("Brazilian rosewood")fretboard and am pleased with it. Inlays, binding and hardware look great as well. The aged hardware is just right - none of that silly overdone nonsense.

Sound and playability: As I expected, the unpotted Custombucker Alnico III pups are bright and really poke out in the mix in all three positions. I like! One thing to get use to is the unpotted pups will pick up any pick bumps on the body so just be advised. It takes some getting used to and cleaning up the flat pick technique - something that's surely helped me.

All in all, this is a treasure and as close as I'll get o the real thing.

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