Gibson Les Paul Standard '50s Electric Guitar - Tobacco Burst Reviews

Thank Caleb Lowery for all your expertise and guidance with my purchase at Sweetwater, you guys rock!! I recommend sweetwater and Caleb Lowery for their great customer service and attention to detail. It greatly appreciated!

If you want the blues / early classic rock tone , this is it !! I love it , sounds amazing thru my Marshall silver jubilee. Great guitar !!

Just placed the order with Sunni. She was absolutely incredible. What an asset you have Sweetwater. I'll post an actual review when I receive the Les Paul, but to Sunni… you're awesome! Thank you

I was looking for a light weight and plain top LP. This is it.
Sounds and feels better than my R9. I needed to lower the nut slots, put new strings and a small lowering of the action.
Fit and finish is excellent. This hasn't been the case with other new in the box Gibsons I've purchased. Love this axe!!!

This guitar sounds like you expect a les Paul to sound. Very happy with this guitar. I've bought several guitars from sweet water and never had a bad experience. Had one guitar I wasn't happy with and they sent me photos of a potential replacement and when I gave them the thumbs up they shipped it out and replaced the guitar. Too knotch. Musicians generally like to put the instruments in their hands before buying but Sweetwater will make sure you are happy with your purchase.

Never parting with this one. It is simply amazing. It has that sweet rock sound I always wanted. I am glad I went with the 50's over the 60's model due to the neck and pickups. Love the color also. It is very easy to play on. There is nothing I would change on it. Very high quality. Pictures do not do it justice. The intonation and action was spot on out of the box.

My sales engineer was on the job. He made sure that I got exactly what I wanted and made me feel like a valued customer. Thanks Skyler!!

I sold my old 2004 LP out of anger and frustration... no amount of upgrades ever made that guitar be what it should be.

This one though - Gibson LP Std. 50s - is wonderful. Nothing needs to be upgraded, fit and finish are perfect, and it has *the sound*.

Don't hesitate. This is the real deal. Thank you Sweetwater!

I put Robert at Sweetwater through the paces before pulling the trigger on one of these and he definitely made the right recommendation for me. This is a beautiful looking, playing, and sounding chunk of wood. Best blues guitar I've ever played. Something about it just makes the sound that my brain gets lost in. I hate pickguard so I popped it off mine but even with it on its a beautiful instrument.

Bought this on Xmas day. I am a huge Gibson Les Paul Custom guy. I own 3 from different eras. I never had or even played a Standard.After checking reviews of the new/retro specs, I decided to get one.
This guitar is perfect. The finish,the tone,the hardware is excellent. Gibson really stepped up and made an excellent instrument. This will be a keeper.

Bought this one 2 years ago and when I pick it up it's hard to stop playing. Sound and action, everything sounds amazing. Just wish it was a little lighter. Won't give it up no way

About ten years ago I bought an Epiphone Les Paul. It was my first LP and the experience was a disappointing one, we just never bonded. I drifted in and out of other guitars, eventually finding my way to my first real Gibson, a Standard 50s LP Gold Top with P-90s. The neck on that guitar is one of my favorites and Gibson's return to what it does best is reflected in every element of it's construction and finish. So of course I needed another Standard 50s with Humbuckers to complete the set. For a minute I thought about another Gold Top on the theory that my wife might not notice another new guitar if it was the same color as the last new guitar... But the Tobacco Burst is beautiful and suits the guitar so well.

The buying experience from Sweetwater has been fantastic start-to-finish with Braden, my Sales Engineer, helping along the way with prompt professionalism and class. The guitar arrived packed securely and ahead of schedule needing only a small (very small) height adjustment to the bass-side stop bar post to play perfectly. The Standard 50s neck profile isn't for everyone but a little extra meat feels good to me and balances the weight of the body quite well. This guitar is somehow quite comfortable on a strap in spite of weighing almost ten pounds!

I've yet to really explore the tonal possibilities of the Burstbucker pickups but I can already tell I'm gonna love them as a counterpoint to the P-90s in my Gold Top. Gibson is once again making guitars worthy of the price tag but also worthy of the name. The vibe, the history, the quality, the sound - it's all there. Find one that sings to you!

... wow. I am overwhelmed by the way this guitar came. I have several guitars and NONE have been as sweet as this one! This guitar is probably my last. I see absolutely no reason to ever get another. The quality is second to none, it is flawless. It is an absolute work of art! I have never had a guitar as beautiful as this one. Thank you the staff of sweetwater, a shout out to Chris Shura and Zack McCord... thank you both on a very special guitar and an absolute pleasure purchasing this 50's standard.

I would like to say that I received this beautiful
Instrument without flaws. It plays very well. It was set up and ready to play. The 55 point inspection was the best. Thank you sweetwater. I would definitely buy again from this company. Although I received it with a small inspection card and I'm not sure if this is something new that gibson does and replaced the bigger inspection card and just a little concerned about it.

The Standard '50s neck is very comfortable. I would not say it is a very thick neck but thicker than the normal Gibson neck. The only thing I can compare it to is a Warmoth Fatback neck that I have on a T-Style guitar. The Warmoth neck is a lot thicker than the '50s Standard neck and I enjoy the play-ability of both. As for the play-ability and tone of this guitar, I seem to have hit the gold mine with the one I picked out. Weighing in at just over 10 lbs (they all vary) it has sustain for days. I do recommend you try out the '50s and '60s model before making a choice. My sales engineer advised me on the '50s Standard since I had tried a '60s Standard and was not hoping for a thicker neck.

This guitar is everything you expect from a Les Paul. It's gorgeously made, heavy, no frills and all sound. The neck profile is chunky but ridiculously comfortable in the hand. The purchasing experience through Sweetwater was second to none. I cannot recommend Sweetwater and the new Les Paul Standards enough.

The 50s standard is where it's at! It plays great. Feels great. Looks great. My first Les Paul is such a joy to play. Patrick, my fantastic sales engineer, walked me through the order and answered some questions after I ordered (and returned) a damaged LP guitar from a big box store. He sent me pics of the guitar as soon as it arrived. I look forward to working with him again in the future.

So much has already been written about how amazing this guitar is, so I won't rehash what others have already said. But I wanted to address the 50s style neck. I have small hands and Vienna sausages for fingers. And so I had always told myself that I could never own a guitar with a chunky 50s neck. But recently had the opportunity to play one and was SHOCKED at how easy it was to play. Mine arrived yesterday and after 3 hours of playing, I felt no fatigue or stiffness in my hand. I dare say that the carve of the neck is the most comfortable and effortless to play that I have ever experienced. So, if you're like me and not blessed with the hands of a tight end, don't think that you won't enjoy the neck on this guitar. Go to that other place (I know, eww), try one and then come back here to Sweetwater and place your order. You'll never regret it.

Not disappointed in this purchase at all. It even came with a leather strap and a Gibson guitar tool. Pablo Murcia from Sweetwater did an excellent job as my sales engineer. Gibson's and Sweetwater's attention to detail made for a great experience.

If you want a classic, this is the way to go. The quality control is impeccable. The neck is noticeably thicker than my other guitars, but it doesn't get in the way of playing. It's a great playing, smooth neck. But if you're on the fence between a 50's and 60's Standard, you may want to play them first. It's definitely a bigger difference than online reviewers give it credit for. The finish on the guitar is stunning. I've owned a lot of guitars with humbuckers, but these are something else. Very smooth and creamy and sound great in every position. 10 of 10 highly recommend!

Happy owner of a PRS Custom 24, S2 594, and a Silver Sky. Now, I own one this incredible Les Paul Standard 50's.

I played a used Les Paul Tribute in a local GC and loved the feel of it. I started researching Gibsons online and decided on trying the Standard model. Wow! I had to have one. But! Finding a "Good" one was difficult and I didn't want to spend $.

Sweetwater had a used one, and with the help of Mike Defraties (my sales engineer) I placed the order. Later that day I received a phone call from SW telling me that the used one was actually defective and could not be sold. To make up for the issue, Sweetwater made me an offer I couldn't refuse.

I ordered a 60's Standard first, but ultimately sent it back as the neck was too thin and I just didn't connect with the guitar. Mike Defraties made the exchange effortless and smooth.

I chose a "Plain" top Standard 50's in Tobacco Burst because I thought the Gibson flame tops could not compete with my PRS' tops. I'm glad I made that decision.

The guitar I chose is absolutely gorgeous. Looks, tone, feel... I'd swear this particular guitar was built for me. It looks as though it has only one job... SOUND AMAZING! It does that job incredibly well.

My particular guitar is free from any QC issues that I feared after researching Gibson. The finish is amazing. The case is great, and everything smells wonderful!

I was thinking that I may need to change the pickups, but after playing with it for a few hours, I'm no longer having those thoughts. This guitar has all the Gibson Les Paul sounds I've ever wanted. Clarity. Grit. Flavor.

I got more than I hoped for with this guitar and Sweetwater made it happen.

Had a Gibson archtop in the past was disappointed at its overall fit and finish this les Paul is perfect, I think Gibson is finally back!!!

One of the nicest Gibsons I've ever owned. I love the chunky neck. Typical gibson fit an finish/quality control issues but I play guitar not look at them for the smallest imperfections. In all seriousness nothing that effects playability just a little lacquer bleed on the binding by 19th fret.

Right out of the box, plays perfect!!! Great sound and perfect look!! Grant Vitek always comes through with the best match for me!! He is very knowledgeable and a true musician his self!! You can always count on and trust him. Grant truly has your best interest at heart!!! The perfect combination:::: Sweetwater and Grant Vitek!!! You going to know what true happiness is all about!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am beyond ecstatic!! My experience with Sweetwater was outstanding!!! Evan Mehre was all around just the best when it came to professionalism and he offered a wealth of knowledge!! I can't wait to do business with Evan and Sweetwater!! My 50's Les Paul Standard is my dream guitar!! The most beautiful guitar I've ever owned with an equally beautiful sound!!

Grant Vitek does it again!!! The perfect Gibson!!! Gibson went back to the original lay out. If you need any music gear Grant is the absolute best. He is very knowledgeable, genuine and cares that you are completely satisfied with all your purchases from Sweetwater!! Grant Vitek is a great asset to Sweetwater's business !!! I will have many more purchases from Grant and have complete confidence in Sweetwater. There a perfect combination to your happiness!!!

Gibson is back on top of their game! I want to start by saying this is my 5th Les Paul, but definitely my favorite!!! It's great to see getting back to building Les Paul Standards the way they should…top quality materials and hand craftsmanship…minus all the gimmicks. No robot tuners, no circuit boards, no push-pull pots, no weird burst. Just an amazing guitar that looks and sounds as good as it plays! It's also nice to be able to buy a standard with a 50's C shaped neck again (my last two Les Pauls were Traditional models). Great job Gibson!!!

I also want to thank my Sales Engineer Nick and the whole Sweetwater team. Amazing service as always. You guys are why I refuse to buy my gear anywhere else!

I bought mine back in august 2019, and now it is June 2021. This guitar has stood up amazing and only gotten better over the couple years. It will rock gigs, and can play pretty much anything I throw at it. And it's a beautiful feeling guitar. Like others the neck pickup does feel a little muddy to me but nothing too catastrophic. This guitar is amazing I have no regrets and I hope to keep it till the day I die. I also took the pickup covers off so now it looks just like a November burst slash les Paul ;). If you're thinking of getting one, do it!!! Everyone who has ever played mine has said how awesome it plays and sounds.

It's awesome. So glad I bought it. You know what it is. Just do it.

The Gibson touch is definitely present in this model. The sound has so many nuances and richness. The ergonomics of the strat are way better than the LP, but the way it plays and sounds makes one fill like a million bucks.

First, my sales guy Ryan Murphy got it wrong when he told me this guitar was a "great choice." In fact, it is even much more than that. I'm a Gibson guy who has owned and played (and sold or traded) many Gibsons over the years. Some were very good and some were dogs. But, this LP Standard '50s model is among the best I've ever owned over the past 55-plus years (yes, I'm an older rockin' blues guy at 72)!!! First, I must warn you — there is no weight relief in this guitar, so you're talking nine-plus pounds on the shoulder. Simple solution is hang it on a wide, soft-leather strap. Problem solved. I have two other Les Paul's and neither have weight relief holes and routings in them. That's what I like. You want tone and sustain? Then some weight from all that mahogany and maple is the price you must pay. Period. The other thing I need to mention concerns the stock pickups. I've never been a huge fan of stock Gibson pickups in most any flavor. Having said that, I've left the stock pickups in my 2015 LP Standard (Burstbucker Pros) and 2019 ES-335 (MHS II with MTC) because they do get the job done nicely for me. However, this LP Standard has a Burstbucker I in the neck and a Burstbucker II in the bridge. The bridge BB-II bridge pickup actually sounds pretty good and I quite like it. A lot. The problem for me is I find the BB-I neck pickup sounds too "dark" for my liking. It sort of sounds like someone threw a blanket over the amp. It might be your thing, but not mine. Fortunately, when I buy a guitar, I always expect I'll have to swap out pickups, and that is why I didn't mark this guitar down a star or two. I already have a set of my favorite DiMarzios ready to get installed. The five-star rating is well-earned because of how well this girl plays. It is an amazingly resonant guitar and will sustain for days. It also stays in tune. Fit and finish are flawless. I normally play light-gauge (8-38) Ernie Ball Extra Slinky strings but gave this a full-band rehearsal workout with the 10-46 gauge strings that came on it and it still played so easy. I'll most likely restring it with the Extra Slinkys I normally use, but the 10's gave me no problems on this guitar. Finally, this has a thicker '50s neck profile, which I believe also adds to the tone and sustain. I have small hands and short fingers, but I still prefer the '50s neck over the '60s slim-tapers and other skinny necks. The '50s neck better and more fully fits the hand resulting in much less fatigue in the course of a three or four hour gig. As for sales guru Ryan Murphy, we go back many years and he has always put the absolute very best guitars in my hands. This time, however, he truly outdid himself with this one.

Gibson is back. Plain and simple. This guitar is phenomenal. Classic Les Paul at its best. No more weight relief, no more robot tuners, no more odd finishes. Just a back to basics, well built, gorgeous guitar. These new Standards are Les Pauls as they should be. Whether you go with the 50s spec, or the 60s spec, you won't be disappointed. This thing is amazing. The finish is absolutely gorgeous, the pictures don't even begin to do it justice. Plug it in, and it just rips. Absolutely 100% satisfied with this guitar. Will be buying a 60s spec as well. Also, I have to mention my sales professional Tiberius. He was great throughout the entire process. Always very helpful and quick to respond to my questions regarding the backorder status from Gibson. As well as remaining patient as I declined the first 2 guitars that were not to my liking. I look forward to doing business with him many times in the future.

Got mine in 2020 and it has been great. Love the pickups, stays in tune pretty good. The Volume and Tone controls allow you to get just the right sound from cleans to classic rock and metal. I was hesitant to go with Gibson due to the negative reviews on quality control but the guitar I got is excellent.

The intonation is perfect. Every note on the fret board feels right and the sustain is great. The pickups are pretty bright, but if you're at home jamming solo and don't need to cut through a mix rolling the bridge tone back a tad will tame that. I was a little hesitant to go with an alnico 2 pickup, but I've found them to be plenty versatile. I might eventually put a Duncan 59 or something like that in the bridge to make the tone a little more rounded, but I'm enjoying the tones I'm getting right now. This guitar sounds good through every amp and speaker I've played it through whereas some guitars sound kind of dead if not paired with the right amp. When I first played one of these I thought the neck felt a little too thick, and I'm used to a higher action. However, I quickly became used to it and now other guitars feel wrong. Playing this guitar seems slightly more effortless due to the excellent setup. Many aspects of a guitar come down to personal preference, so play one and see for yourself. For me, this is my #1 guitar at the moment.

Gibson's Back! Own a bunch of expensive guitars ($5000+ PRS's, vintage, etc) and have owned very nice LP Custom's, Standard, Classics, Traditional's, Studio's, etc... All great but the LP 50's Standard hits the sweet spot & the price is great! While my much more expensive PRS guitars seem "perfect", do I really need "perfect"? Law of diminishing returns definitely applies. The LP 50's Standard hits the sweet spot between price, performance & quality (even mojo). By going back to basics but in a very thoughtful way, Gibson has captured magic with the LP 50's standard. It's like getting a production R9 without paying Historic prices. Awesome job Gibson!!!

Bought two new Gibson Les Paul Standard 50's, one a gold top with P-90's and the latest, a Tobacco Burst with humbuckers. Without a doubt, Gibson is building the highest quality, top build guitars I've seen from them in over thirty years.

Both guitars were nearly flawless. And I'm pretty particular when it comes to examining them for defects. But, I also understand that these are for the most part, hand built and hand finished guitars (yes, they utilize computer guided manufacturing which, in my opinion, is why their quality is so much more consistent). So there will always be some small cosmetic imperfections which I feel make each guitar unique!

The playability of the 50's neck is so comfortable to me. I never liked the 60's or more modern "fast" necks as I just never connected with it. I am really impressed with the stock Gibson pickups. I was convinced that I was going to need to replace the Gibson Burstbucker pickups with a set of Dunkins or Lollars. I was so wrong!!! They are dynamic, have more gain than I thought but more usable, sorta in the PAF range.

My Sweetwater rep Andrew Plassman as always took great care of me from start to finish. The Sweetwater experience is nothing short of exceptional.

Now for the record, I'm a Gibson fan. Additionally, for content I currently own a few other Gibson guitars: L5, ES 335, CS 356, ES 175 and ES 346 so I have an ideal what the Gibson brand "should" sounds like. Additionally, I've owned 3 other Les Paul guitars in the past( 1 Classic and 2 Customs) which I've sold because the tones and built qualities weren't worth bragging about. No, I'm not going to go down the Gibson "lack of quality" road. But I did held off buying another Les Paul for 10 years until now. Now IMHO, for the money you can't buy a better sounding Les Paul. Sure you can spend 2x-3x more on a Custom (which I've done), a Re-issue variant or an Artist variant, but for every dollar spend, diminishing returns kicks in. What I like about this Les Paul is it's simplicity and basic materials used (although I'm not a fan of the "nut" Bone would have been a better option). Pure aggressive tone that speaks Rock/Blues all day long. It doesn't play nice trying to sound soft, it just brings the thunder without breaking a sweat. But I have found by reducing the Mids helps a lot if you don't want to hurt your ears. The tone is pure which grows on you and makes you play very differently. This Les Paul is my alter ego: Angry Charlie! And it pairs well with my mellowed Rock/Blues, CS 356 guitar (semi-hollowed Maple top/Mahogany back/neck with 57 classic PU). Do I like it ? Yup, it's a keeper!

love my guitar. love sweet water

This is a Les Paul like a Les Paul should be. Made well, finish is good, set up is good, and plays well. This is what I was looking for in my next Les Paul. I do not care for the burstbuckers but I knew I would be changing them out going in so no big deal. Out of the 4 other les pauls I own this one is my favorite. Gibson is back to what they should be after a long time going down the wrong path. They are now back on the right path, with new management making them the way they should have been making them all along. We all love a good LP just like we all love a good tube amp [ if it is not broke don't fix it, if it worked for them back in the day it will work now] good job Gibson. And sweetwater is the best as always.

Durante muchos años tuve el dueño de tener esta guitarra y gracias a Dios este sueño se hizo realidad. Gracias a Sweetwater por el excelente servicio brindado a través de su asesor de ventas Alejandro.

I thought about buying this for months before I finally pulled the trigger. This is the first guitar I've bought online, because I never buy one without playing it first. It is awesome! Play and sounds like a dream! I like the fact that, with the 50s wiring, I don't lose tone when I cut the volume back. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a Les Paul, and Sweetwater is a great place to do business with.

Beautiful guitar... Quality everwhere! The 50's Gibson LP Standard exceeded every expectation I could have imagined! 40 years on Fenders, which I still love, but this girl is hard to keep my hands off! Thank you to Dennis K. and the Sweetwater team. Always the best!!!

This guitar is so inspiring to play. I've always played fenders so it took a little while to zero in my tones, but man it sounds great. You can get that thick Les Paul sound and the bridge pickup cuts through nicely. Pickups aren't overly hot(which I love).

The feel of the guitar is the best part. The neck thickness is perfect...it's thicker than my other guitars but I actually prefer it. Out of box the action was great...intonation was only slightly off. Just the acoustics of the guitar alone tell you how special it is.

There are some minor cosmetic issues, but let's be honest I expected some going in. Nothing effects the playing, it's really just extremely minor finishing issues.

I've planned to buy a Les Paul for a long time and hoped it would be the guitar I really connect with...this guitar exceeds my expectations. Sweetwater was amazing as always...only place I'd buy a guitar like this.

Got this several months ago. Ed Nystron is my man at Sweetwater
This guitar is just gorgeous and plays like butter and sounds incredible
I've had LP in past but this blows em all away
Thanks Ed and Sweetwater for delivering an awesome instrument
Rick

Sound, feel,weight,look,.........Incredible............

My first Gibson LP and I could not be happier. Plays fantastic, Sweet full sound. and the tobacco burst is beautiful

As a guy who has always played Strats and thought the Gibson neck was too wide and chunky, I took a gamble. I was was surprised to find the 50s neck is actually more of a c shape and very easy to play. It actually feels better to me than the slim taper neck on other Gibson guitars. Don’t be intimidated by the neck. It’s not a baseball bat. It does feel a little wider than a strat, but the roundness makes it very comfortable. Fit and finish were great. Thanks Ashton For great customer service.

Great Guitar! Great service. Like butter in your hands.

I've been gigging 52 years; lots of styles of rock and blues. .I've owned lots of Les Pauls, and PRS and have an endorsement with another well known Maryland based guitar company. I saw these at last winters NAMM,and was very impressed with the fit and finish. The week I received my new 50's Standard ,I also found and bought after a long search an incredibly killer 96 R9. I've had both guitars for about a month. You might expect the R9 to be better than the new Standard, " I did pay more than twice the price for it and although visually more striking, it just a'int. They sound very close to the same. I feel in some ways the new one is even better. Better tuners ,with screw in bushings, metal bridge bushings,and a tighter fitting bridge . This all adds up to a little better acoustic coupling. Where You can tell a difference is that on the R9 the binding on the neck is rounded. I'll certainly take the new one out on more gigs and save the R9 for recording and bigger shows, but You can bet I'll have the new one at every show. I LOVE THE NEW STANDARD. Thanks so much to Sweetwater for all the great service. In Texas We call em SWEETY's

After having to sell two different Les Pauls in my early years and kicking myself for having done it, I always dreamed of owning another one. I'm finally past the age of being reckless and irresponsible and thought that it was time. I saw an ad on Facebook come across my feed from Sweetwater of a beautiful Les Paul Standard 50s Tobacco Burst and I was hooked. I went online and went through the models. I found the one. I placed my order and later got a call from Michael Morgan. He helped me through the process and made me feel like royalty. I highly recommend him and Sweetwater.
The guitar arrived today and is even more beautiful than pictures can do justice. Absolutely a dream guitar. I am a very very happy customer

I started playing about 25 years ago, as a kid with tons of energy and a dream guitar in my mind: a Gibson Les Paul. Now, I've been a Les Paul player since about 2005, when I got an Epi Les Paul Studio that I still own (my first LP), and then I got a 2011 Studio Deluxe 50s (50s neck, coil splitting), which had been my #1, up until now.

This guitar, the new Standard 50s, blew my mind. It's everything I dreamed of as a kid, and more. It's simple yet powerful. It's a beautiful beast. Paint job is amazing, playability is incredible, and it sounds insanely good. It's a Gibson Les Paul the way a Gibson Les Paul should be. Nothing more, nothing less. I am very happy with this purchase.

Plus, the Sweetwater team has been pretty awesome with all my questions and inquiries.

This is an incredible instrument.

First I,d like to send out some love to Chuck whose online business model is absolute genius. The 55 point check alone should alleviate all concerns about ordering expensive equipment online... but everything else including warranty service is superb as well. Next some love for my personal sales/sound engineer Alan Finkbeiner who bade me to hold fire for this very guitar. The SE" are valuable resources that Sweetwater provides free...be sure to take advantage of that.

Alan and I often talked about the real les Paul of old. No dip switches, no titanium adjustable nuts, no weight relieved body, no push pull pots and no custom shop trying to make you believe that somehow their mahogany, maple, rosewood and humbuckers were worth thousands and thousands more. Fortunately, Gibson was listening. They did it. They produced just the plain old sweet les Paul Goldtop goodness of my youth and it plays and sounds great! You can"t really say that a $... guitar is cheap or even inexpensive, but I would stack this guitar up against any custom shop product.

Thanks Alan. You can"t imagine how close I was to spending money that I didn"t have to for the equipment I want and need. Had you not been on top of new and upcoming Gibson product I"d be eating beans a lot more often

I made a review the first time I received the guitar and highly praised it and really was impressed on how it plays, but I honestly was not able to notice the finish issues until I started playing it often as I don't have time to play it at first. I just noticed this finish issues upon close inspection. I love the guitar plays and don't want the hassle to return it. I just don't know how it passed QC and inspection. I believe it should be sold as blemished. Had seen forums and reviews in YouTube that have similar issues. Guitar plays awesome though so I'll keep it.

Aside from a few minor finish issues the guitar is great. Endless sustain. Thick neck. Low action. Its really fun to play and the overall feel and sounds from this guitar are impressive.

I'm 64 and have been playing Gibson guitars since 1975. I have bought and sold literally dozens of new and vintage Les Paul's, SG's, Strat's, Tele's, PRS, Hamer's etc. over the years and still write, record, play out live (obviously not for the past 9-10 months) and for my entire musical career, the Les Paul has been my favorite. I distinctly remember the heavy, maple neck, "pancake" bodied, mismatched 3 piece top boat anchors" Gibson churned out during the 70's and 80's. I bought a couple new in the late 70's and they were so poorly constructed and unplayable despite countless trips to the luthier I almost gave up on Les Paul's altogether. There was a period in the early 80's when I was a full time gigging musician and I was convinced I would never find a really great playing and sounding Les Paul I could actually afford. Fortunately, I was lucky enough in 1985 to buy a used Heritage 80 Burst that was pretty decent and then 20 years ago I snagged a used '95 Les Paul Standard I still own and play every day. It is light, extremely resonant and has a sweet spot (thanks to a pair of Duncan Seth Lovers) that invokes Duane Allman. That guitar restored my faith in Gibson and I went on to purchase a '97 Classic that is another great playing and sounding (with new pots/caps/pair of Duncan 59's) guitar also. Maybe there really is something to Gibson's so called "Good Wood" era of the 90's. Around 2009 I purchased a new chambered Standard with some serious quality issues that I kept about 5 minutes, and then in 2011 I bought a new Standard "Traditional" that was actually worse, and that was after sending the first one back. I was not surprised at all to hear Gibson was back in Bankruptcy recently. I am obviously brand loyal and a slow learner which, after reading a few glowing reviews, compelled me to buy a new 2020 Les Paul Junior from Sweetwater and that guitar is flawless, an absolute Tone Monster with that noisy, howling P90. The perfect fit, finish, weight and solid set-up right out of the box was amazing, not in part to Sweetwater's 55 point inspection of every new guitar they receive from the manufacturer. So, I decided to take a chance on another new Gibson and bought a Les Paul Standard 50's from Sweetwater that arrived about a week ago. When I ordered this guitar I decided to have Sweetwater Plek the neck and install a bone nut. The guitar arrived 6 days ago and it is also EXCELLENT. The fit, finish and overall workmanship is stellar on this guitar. The 50's neck profile is meatier than my '95 Standard but not as beefy as the Les Paul Junior's neck (that neck is the real mid 50's deal). The extra cost of having the neck plek'd and the bone nut installed was worth every penny. I left the set-up spec's up to "luthiers discretion" on the service questionnaire and whoever did the set up knew what they were doing. I do all my own set ups, mod's, fretwork, repairs, etc. myself and have a pair of Peterson strobes on my bench for intonating all my friends and bandmates guitars but I'm so glad I had this one Plek'd. I had intended to throw a pair of Seymour Duncan Antiquities I have laying around in this this guitar, but, the Burst Buckers have a unique "fizzy" kind of growl to them. If they sounded less like a 57 Classic and a little more like a 50's era PAF I would have rated this guitar 5 stars. The guitar arrived set up almost identical to my other guitars and the intonation is spot on, which saved me an hour on the strobe. I believe that at least for now, Gibson is making some of the best guitars in their storied history and definitely on par with the 90's era and no one should get too concerned about quality if considering purchasing a new one, especially from Sweetwater. All I can say is if you can swing a new electric guitar, make sure you get it from Sweetwater and if you can swing it, have the guys in the shop put it on their Plek machine to level the frets and you will be glad you did.
Thanks to Sweetwater for their excellent customer service and BRAVO to Gibson for a dramatic comeback!

Before I start the review I've got to send a big thank you to my sales engineer Ryan. He ALWAYS takes care of me and always checks in after the purchase to make sure I'm happy with making it. That said, here we go.

I've always been a Gibson guy and will admit for the last 15 years it's been tough to find one without quality control issues. I originally was looking to purchase from the Slash Les Paul collection but Gibson just can't seem to keep up production to meet the demand. So I pulled the trigger on the the Les Paul 50's Original series in Tobacco burst.

Straight out of the box this thing was perfect! Immaculate set up, fit and finish we're flawless. I didn't purchase it with the intent of keeping the current Burstbucker pickups in it but they did sound incredible. Very vintage feel to my ear. In line with my Gibson Historic LP. The nut was perfectly cut with very low action. I only rated it 4.5 stars due to seeing a few tooling marks on the fret board(typical Gibson). My purpose in purchasing was to recreate the Slash LP so I have installed the Seymour Duncan Slash Alnico 2 pups. This took the guitar over the top. Can't put it down. It's quickly becoming my number 1.

Anyhow, it seems as though Gibson of yesteryear is back. Can't wait to see what else they've got in store. Bravo Gibson!

The new Original Series Les Paul Standard is everything we've been asking for. I have found my new favorite guitar and it's the one I've been patiently waiting for.

I always wanted a Tobacco Burst Standard with the natural back and old school Gibson Deluxe Tuners. Not only did this check those boxes off, but it also has the thicker neck (which I prefer) and no weight relief. It also has an amber toggle switch cap which is a nice touch! Cosmetically this thing is everything I've ever wanted.

The sound and tone from this monster is incredible. The first time I plugged it in I was blown away by how responsive it is. The new pots really make a difference too. When you roll back on the volume and tone knobs you can hear a big difference. Going from 6 to 7 really does make a big difference.

So why not a full 5 stars... well, there's only two things that really stopped me from giving it a perfect 5. As I mentioned above, the volume knobs are very responsive but once you roll back to about a 2-2.5 the volume is off. So, 0, 1 and 2 all have zero volume. It kicks on around 2 and a half. The only other thing is an issue with the pick guard. It seems the bolt they use to connect the chrome "L" bracket to the side of the guitar and the pick guard itself is too long. This causes there to be a nice dent right where that bolt is resting on the body of the guitar. I"ve seen some videos online and this seems to be happening to almost all of the Les Pauls where the pick guard has been taken off. It just bothers me that with all this new emphasis on quality control that Gibson didn't notice something like that. Nice fresh dent in your brand new guitar. Other than that the fret board was very dry when I got the guitar, but nothing some A-One oil can"t take care of.

All in all, I highly recommend this guitar to anyone in the market for a new Les Paul!

This guitar is an amazing, Beautiful, light Les Paul Standard figured top.

I give it 4 stars for one reason only... Pictures!
Sweetwater you can do better.
If I can get better pictures of defects with a cell phone, you can get better pics with your set up you folks have. No excuses!!

This was a "Demo". And it had finish cracks at every fret marker on the neck. Which was listed in the description however the pics gave it a less impactful appearance.
But they stand out in the light like you hit it with a razor blade.

This guitar is 8.13 lbs flamed top in tobacco burst. It is my first Les Paul. And I actually do love it! I'll deal with the checks as I have a luthier friend and he will fix it for practically nothing.
Not like its an R9 or anything...But.
I was trying to add pics but the tab isn't working for me for some reason.
Now I'm looking for my first all valve amp...

Really like the AC30's.

Keep playing folks!!!

Love the size, weight, neck shape & quality -but- tone is a bit dark/muddy.
Own a 2007 LP Custom Shop R8 NOS which has similar weight, neck shape -BUT- so much better tone & sustain (& overall magic) than the 50's Standard. The beauty of the R8 tone and feel really makes it hard to appreciate the 50's Standard as I should. Don't get me wrong, the 50's Standard is 80% of the R8 but it's that final 20% that makes all the difference. Of course, for the price difference, the R8 should be better than the 50's Std and it is. Perhaps it would be as simple as a pickup change in the 50's Std. but not sure what to change them to ... but just not liking how dark/average the 50's std sounds. Not sure if pickups alone would fix it - perhaps it's the construction and can't be fixed. The 50's Std. is a great guitar and would satisfy most everybody .. but it's just not "magical" like the R8 and once you've experienced this "magic", it's hard to like anything else.

I have recently got a brand-new LP Standard and it is a great guitar. However, something made me upset as I thought it was my guitar only, but after checking I found out it was on every Gibson LP. The nut is made of two pieces and glued together, see attached. Obviously, it will not resonate as a one-piece, and the savings are not passed to the customer either. Hope somebody at Gibson cares about quality and brings this up in a meeting.

The guitar sounds amazing. Out of the box the finish is cracking along the binding on the neck. Finish is cracked in middle of neck. These issues are noticeable when playing as you can feel them. Out of the box there was a screw missing holding tuner in place on back of headstock. Aside from that its great.