Gibson Les Paul Special - TV Yellow Reviews

Had to send back my 2nd Special the replacement for the 1st one that had finish cracks, the 2nd one had dead frets from the 11th to the 13th frets ,sent it back AGAIN !!! I exchanged it for a Les Paul junior to see if my luck got any better with Gibson ! It did ! The Junior I received is PERFECT in every way plays great action and intonation spot on its beautiful sounds fantastic should have gotten this guitar from the get go !!! I didn't deal with my sales engineer any longer he no longer wanted to sell me a guitar cause I'm to picky , well when I spend $ on a guitar I want it perfect ! No one here would buy a new car with cracks in the hood right ?! he just doesn't listen !! I got Nick Hankoff in customer relations he was FANTASTIC got me the Les Paul junior in my hands in 1 day . Thank U Nick finally someone that gets it !!!!

This guitar is wonderful, has thick neck but for heavy blues or anything really it's fabulous- thanks to my sales rep Logan Neher - he's the best

The Gibson Les Paul Special is just that…Special. I like the hand filling 50's profile neck and those P90 pickups are throaty and articulate. If you like Gibsons, this really adds another dimension of tone to your playing. From full range cleans to rude in-your-face hard rock, it delivers! Another amazing wonder is the wrap around tailpiece. Very smooth under the picking hand and, even though its only intonation adjustment is 2 small screws that slightly change the overall angle, was perfectly intonated upon receiving. There was a little mix up when Sweetwater sent the wrong serial number guitar from the one I had chosen. I noticed this when the guitar was in transit and had looked at my invoice. I immediately called Sweetwater and they arranged for the delivery driver to pick up the first guitar when the right one was delivered…all in only 48 hours time! This is why I love to do business with Sweetwater. They are tops in customer service. I would like to thank Jim Ridings, Tommy Lansidel, and the rest of the team for making this another wonderful buying experience.

The neck has an amazing feel, a little larger than my American Strat. Still smooth even though it is nitro. Frets are amazing and the P90's have the snarl I desired. Thanks to Kingsley and Sweetwater, always a great experience!

Worth every penny. The neck feels amazingly comfortable and those p90s are killer!

Cannot say enough about how great this LP Special is, from the beautiful translucent TV Yellow finish that displays the wood grain, to the buttery smooth action and playability. Sounds great unplugged, but the real magic takes place by plugging it in to hear those P-90s. Working with Sales Engineer Drew, from order through delivery, was fantastic. He answered all my questions, ensured that I was able to see photos of the actual model I was purchasing, and kept me apprised on the progress of the bone nut upgrade and custom setup. Sweetwater will continue to be my go-to source for music equipment purchases. Thanks again Drew and the Sweetwater!

Love this little guy. Just such a Swiss Army knife of high-quality tone. Neck size reminds me of 59 LP reissue. In a good way.

Here's the secret to getting the most from these:
1) Do find a light weight example. Mine is 7pounds. Took some hunting but they are out there.
2) To balance the pickups you have to lower the neck one almost even with the body, and raise the bridge pickup high.
3) If you're having trouble intonating the tailpiece, look at Music City or Mojotone compensated versions. They both look "stock" and work good.

Buy this guitar!

While browsing sweetwater at 2:00 am. Xmas day, i was checking an EPI crest wood i intended to purchase with tax rebate. I thought , before i pass out lemme check the GIBSON offerings. Long story short the one i picked to view was sweet, pun intended. I was so tired i was about to click off. I saw the last digits in serial # were my birth year . So i checked the rest of the # . All serial #'s match my whole birthday. DAY MONTH AND YEAR. Needless to say i carted it immediately ,and didn't sleep for two days. I know the TV yellow is popular and i was worried about the hold time until rebait . ( the really cool part ). As soon as SWEETWATER opened after Xmas i spoke with Ty ,i dont think he even had coffee,i explained the rebait issue and he assured me that he would make sure that it was mine. Later STEVE from Sweetwater called and confirmed . What service, this is my third guitar from SW. NEVER an issue, Really HAPPY

I've been passively looking for something with dual p90s and eventually pulled the trigger on this Special in tv yellow. I used it on a session the day after it arrived, without any formal setup, and I was already smitten. I guess I'm new to these 50s style necks, but wow… the guitar sounds exactly how it feels. I considered a Junior, but the neck p90 on this alone is worth it. My client was equally impressed and is considering ordering one for himself. Thanks to Ryan Murray for the smooth transaction.

First off: Sweetwater…. What a company to deal with! Absolutely phenomenal! Nothing else to say. I wish everyone would do business this way.

So…..The guitar. I'm lucky enough to have a couple of great Gibson Custom Shop guitars. I had always passed on the Gibson Standard range as I felt they were sub-par, especially for the money. I was always reading reviews about inconsistencies and bad QC.
Having said that, I was in need of a P90 guitar and found some great reviews of this Les Paul SpeciaI. Not being able to find one locally, I purchased from Sweetwater. A day after ordering the guitar showed up on my doorstep! I kid you not!
The case is pretty good…. A little less furry fuzz on the interior would be nice.
The guitar looked great. This newer translucent TV Yellow finish is the business. It had been flawlessly applied; I couldn't find anything. I was pleasantly surprised after some of the stuff I have seen and read about. Fit and finish was excellent! All the hardware was snug and tight. Zero complaints.
My only gripes? The nut is huge and the nut slots were way too shallow. I re-cut the nut slots to lower the strings and re-shaped the nut. Now it looks, feels and plays better.
The Fingerboard is gorgeous. Great deep color and fine, tight grain. However, it felt rough and needed some additional scraping. Some lemon oil and now it's super smooth. A couple of frets had some high points plus the rest needed a polish. I also rolled the binding edges to take the rather square edges down.

I know this might sound picky and it is. But this is the key: with just a little extra attention to detail and some extra refinement, this guitar looks, feels, sounds and plays as well as any of my Gibson Custom Shop guitars. If you're not sure about doing the work yourself, it's definitely worth having someone do it for you.

This guitar is amazing! Some new strings, a few tweaks to the truss rod, action and pickup heights and it off to the races…. Gibson have an absolute winner with this one! I actually feel like it's good value (never thought I would say that about a Gibson). Okay, so it needed some finessing, but the bones of this guitar are good and strong. It sounds incredible, plays beautifully and stays in tune. Most of all, it gives you those goosebumps and makes you smile. This one checks all the boxes!
Buy it… you won't regret this one.

This LP special is so fun and comfortable to play. I had Sweetwater set it up for me and lower the action a bit and it arrived ready to plug in and go. The guitar was spotless and looked perfect (I'm very picky too) and the setup Sweetwater had done on it was excellent. I'm really happy I decided to get one! A huge shout out and thank you to Sweetwater and my go to guy Jeff Jent for always gladly helping me with all my music needs.

Everything that could be said about this guitar already has been, and yet you're still reading these reviews trying to decide if it's the right choice. Well, all the reviews have it right. This thing rips. It wails like a banshee. The neck is a tree trunk that still manages to play fast, and the p90s are white. hot. From bell-like chime, to full throated roar, to bone-shearing siren's scream, these pups do everything you ask of them.

And if that was not enough, it's just so dang fun to play! The lightweight and resonate mahogany body floats around on a strap making it effortless to play song after song. There's a reason why so many people say this thing is impossible to put down, because you'll want to play it for hours.

I didn't need this guitar. I have a Les Paul Standard and just wanted to try something with a little different sound. My standard hasn't left its case since this arrived. A special shout out to Toni Bush-Nord who always has my back and answers all my questions no matter how ridicululous. Toni has been taking care of me for years and is an awesome partner in crime when it comes to music gear!

I've had this bad boy for almost 3 years and not one flaw to report. I run it mostly through a dsl20hr and 2x12 greenbacks and occasionally through a dsl100 through 2 4x12. Sounds friggin fabulous clean and distorted. P90s can put out some great tone with the slab mahogany body. Comes with the 50s fat azz neck that just allows for a solid sound that totally Just goes and sounds like songs from heaven.
The quality of the paint and cellulose has held up great. No problems.
Beat bang for my buck back in 2019. My rep Robert Williams is a friggin great guy!!!

Telecaster on steroids. Gibson P-90's work for me. Hot enough for rock, can mellow out for jazz without getting tubby/muddy. Great character. Controls work perfectly. Nice fat neck. Great fretwork. It's a winner!
QC flawless.
I use it with a Quilter Aviator Cub 50, which emulates Tweed, Blonde, or Black Fender Deluxe sounds: straight in.
Very stable tuning. Tremendous sustain. Perfect finish.
Adam Cesarz (ext 1700) is my guy. Total pro.

TV Yellow Gibson Les Paul Special is the shizzle. Lightweight body and neck resonates like crazy when playing, The bound neck with rosewood fingerboard plays fast and smooth with perfectly dressed Plek'd frets. The P90 pickups are sweet but bark when you want them to.

I purchased this guitar about a few months after I purchased the new Original series LP Standard 50s and the Standard is angry as I can't help but grab the Special way more often. The P-90s offer up all tonal options in a simple package that packs some serious punch. This guitar is hard to put down even unplugged it's very resonate and the entire instrument vibrates when played letting you know that it is indeed Special.
Every aspect of fit & finish was done very well and only some simple tweaks made it personalized. I'm so pleased this was brought into the line as a standard offering and crafted in the fashion that made it great. The Special is inspirational and just so fun to play. Treat yourself and you'll be so glad you did.

I didn't even have second thoughts on this one! Great neck, body, P 90's, great paint job, fretboard, and tone to the bone! Thanks to Zach for getting this out so fast! Sounds killer through my Friedman Dirty Shirley. I've bought 5 guitars from Sweetwater through the years, and I've never had a problem with them, thanks SWEETWATER! If you have the money, get this guitar, you won't be disappointed! I've been playing for 50 years, and have several high end guitars, and this one is by far one of the best...

By far the best guitar I've ever owned! Sounds amazing, super versatile, surprisingly light, and the TV yellow nitro finish looks great. It was on backorder for several months, but well worth the wait, and Zac took good care of me the whole time. Thanks!

You can't go wrong with these! Killer P90 tone! Acoustically it sounds amazing, the entire instrument vibrates. A great non custom shop version of the original 50's Gibson's at a killer price!

This guitar is different, i'm just in love, i've never played anything so angry but at the same time so balanced. The arm is fat, but don't be scared, it's not as big as an Epi JJN or a 57'. I have another SG Classic from the year 2008, with the widest neck and 2 p-90's, this one has the fullest sound, highly recommend it for rock n' roll and any other style!

I got this model when it was released in 2019, and all I can say is that was worth it since. The neck has a nice grip with my hands, the color is really nice, the sound of P90 pick ups are so unique. If you are thinking of getting this guitar, go ahead!!! Don't overthink!

Let me start off by saying I'm a Fender guy. From that strat single coil quack tone to the Tele twang fender always nailed it. I bought a Gibson les paul classic gold top in 2018 and couldn't bond with it. Played in no more than 10 times, sits in it's case smelling brand new. Now this thing, this guitar has such a good tone when dialed in right! Does not sound harsh and dirty like a traditional les paul and not too clean like fenders. This thing has a taste of both those worlds! Growls soo good when cranked and perfect for those rhythm chords! Start soloing and it sounds full and rich. Now the body, the looks, this one is just an eye catcher. If you're on the edge about buying one, do yourself a favor and get it. You won't be disappointed. This thing is literally becoming my top guitar

HELP!This guitar is holding me captive. I cannot put it down. Need food and water soon. Many thanks to my awesome Sales Engineer Yuval!

I received this guitar over a week ago, and I literally can not put it down.

First, the fit and finish are perfect. Not a flaw anywhere. And the color is beautiful. I was concerned when I ordered it that the TV Yellow might not be much different than the butterscotch of my Telecaster, but when I opened the case, I was extremely pleased to find that it is definitely yellow. The finish is also thinner than I'd expected, and the lovely grain shows through nicely. It is simply a beautiful guitar.

The neck is nice and beefy. It feels substantial in your hands. The tuners are nice and tight, and the thing even stays in tune pretty well for a Gibson. Way better than my 50's Les Paul Standard Gold Top.

Plugging it into to my Marshall JTM45, I started off with some clean cowboys chords and basic rhythm stuff. Everywhere raves about how great this guitar sounds dirty (more on that in a sec), but I was stunned at just how good it sounds clean. No mud from the P90s no matter where I set the tone controls, or which pickup I chose. After a while, it became clear that this is my new favorite guitar for clean rhythm.

Then, I finally cranked the volume knobs and slammed the front end of the amp. My jaw actually dropped. I can see why so many hard rockers chose this axe. It roared. Like a grizzly bear eating a hiker roar. No pedals needed for this plank. It wants to snarl.

The best way I can describe it, is that this is the Les Paul's younger, snottier brother. It will behave when you insist, but in its black little heart, it wants to cause trouble. It made me want to put on a leather jacket, drive a car with tail fins with the top down, and with a girl with a "bad reputation" at my side.

This guitar is just fun. It may not be the very best guitar in my collection, but it is definitely the most fun. It's hard not to smile when I play it.

I'd also like to thank Simon Whitehouse, my sales rep. I've now bought two guitars, one amplifier, and a few accessories through him, and he has never provided anything less than flawless customer service. He's extremely knowledgeable, responsive, and offers the same solid level of service when I have a question about a $5 cable as he does when I'm buying a $2500 amplifier.

I always wanted a Les Paul with p-90's. This one is a keeper. The tuning and intonation are spot on, even without tunamatic bridge. The plecked neck is plenty smooth. Had my action lowered and set up before shipping. Thanks again Aaron Regenold!!

This guitar is really a dream to play. It's nitro finish is smooth and beautiful but beyond the visual eye candy lies a snarling beast ready to deliver classic tones that range from Johnny Thunders to gritty blues. It cleans up nicely as well to produce the chime of classic P90's. The P90's may not be as hot as humbuckers but to my ear they are more expressive and produce a greater variety of tone. Thanks to my sales engineer Chris Neyman for suggesting this fantastic guitar that allows me to relive making the noise of my misspent youth. PS: motorcycle jacket optional.

This is very simply an amazing guitar. My second Gibson. My first one a few years ago, a 335, was a huge disappointment and I stayed away from Gibson after that. I found myself coming back to this guitar on the Internet over and over, initially attracted by the stunning color, then by P90's that I love. Fit and finish is excellent. The fingerboard, binding and frets are absolutely perfect. The medium chunky neck is a dream to play and I have always been a thin neck guy.

However, the real magic is the tone. I can get a delicate warm tone out of those P90's and then a nasty growl and bite without ever turning a dial or stomping a pedal, just change the attack. The P90's are so sensitive to the attack on the strings it is a joy to play.

Intonation is plenty close enough, not perfect. I used the approach of setting the stop tail based on the intonation of the A and B strings, not the two E's. I was at first thinking I would need to upgrade to a tailpiece that allows for individual string intonation adjustment but after playing the guitar a few weeks I realize it is not necessary.

It does remind of my Tele and Strat, like them this Gibson stays in tune beautifully.......I love that.

I thought the price for what you get, including a beautiful case was very reasonable. The guitar came well pack from Sweetwater.

Yes. I did. I love the look, the feel, the sound, and the smell of this guitar. And there's not another guitar I own that sounds like it. Highly recommended ordering the set up through Sweetwater as well. This is the third guitar I've ordered through Sweetwater and Paul Lea, my sales rep, always takes great care of me. Btw, I live in Germany and everything I've ordered has made it here in exceptional condition, ready to play out of the box.

I have had this brand-spanking new LP Special for less than 48 hours, and I literally cannot put it down. The play-ability is unmatched - the neck is so smooth, and comfortable. I have large hands, and the neck shape is just perfect for me, and allows for really digging in to bends. If you like traditional, fat, chunky necks, then this is the guitar for you. The finish is fantastic, crisper than the Sweetwater pics show on the site. The frets are so perfect, not too big, just right. The wraparound bridge, which is a new one for me, seems to add sustain to the guitar - and it's extremely comfortable and does not dig into my palm the way some others do.

The PAFs are awesome - On a clean setting, you get nice, chimey chords from lighter strumming. However, if you dig in a bit, you can hear how dynamic they are, and that slight growl comes out. Truly remarkable, and a real plus for someone like me who doesn't like to rely on racks of effects, or a dance floor of pedals.

Everything about this guitar exceeds my expectations, and has relegated my 50's Tribute, Strat, Tele and Sheraton Pro to the bench. It is a truly remarkable instrument, and I highly recommend it to anyone in the market for a no-frills, rock n' roll machine.

If you're even considering this guitar, then just go ahead and buy it. I played one at my friend's house and knew immediately that I had to have one. Aric Ficek is my sales engineer, and took care of me as always. The guitar arrived perfectly set up. The fit and finish on the LP Special is top notch— I can't recommend It enough. And there's nothing quite like a set of P90 pickups. This is the sound of rock and roll!

This is hands down the nicest guitar I've ever owned! It looks, feels and sounds AMAZING. The neck took a little getting used to because it's so chunky, but it's super comfortable. The P90's sound crazy good and they can do it all from pristine cleans to down and dirty crunch. I was a little concerned about the noise, but I've heard humbuckers on a Strat that made more noise than these. If your even thinking about getting one of these just get one!

I am beyond ecstatic with this guitar and with my experience with Sweetwater. I find that this guitar exists somewhere between the LP studios and standards. If you are on the fence about spending the $$$ on the TV Yellow Special, seriously just get it. You won't be disappointed.

About the guit: it's a textbook Gibson production line guitar. It's loaded with hoodoo/mojo/heritage, even more so because it was off the line right before the Gibson factory (and the rest of the world) shut down. Some little bits of orange peel here and there, some contrasting paint areas aren't super-duper clean, some debris in the finish, but overall the quality is outstanding. I work in production myself so I may be looking too closely at things even though it's a gorgeous translucent finish. You really can see the wood grain! I'm stoked on the price honestly - it's American, single piece body, set neck, nitro, more or less a difficult colorway to find in the past that wasn't a custom. I purchased this guitar to be my 'goin out' axe. I have a 2013 Traditional that is wayyy too heavy and I cant relax with it outside the home because I feel like I have to protect a beautiful flaming finish.

About Sweetwater: hands down best service I've encountered, def a mom and pop vibe here. Thank you to Nate and Jacob, they eased any anxieties I had with shipping a $... guitar and cheerfully answered all my old man warranty/demo model questions. The shipment was speedy and flawless too, double boxed with air AND styrofoamish packing. I will definitely be coming back to SW for a 'goin out' amp.

Ok, I've had this guitar a couple months now and all I can say is WOW! I was in Boston MA for work and I went into Guitar Center to check one of these out, they come setup for .010's and I play .009's and I didn't really dig it. I wasn't planning on buying from GC as I purchase everything from SW by the way. Nothing against GC I just really love Sweetwater. I emailed my sales reps , Jeff Law and Brett Moore and asked if they could set it up with .009' which they did, new nut and a set of GHS Boomers and the extra charge was ZERO! First thing when you take it out of the case is the smell of the nitro finish, it smells like vanilla and rock stardom. I plugged it into my Peavey Delta Blues 1 X 12 with no pedals and I immediately had to mop up the testosterone that flooded out from the P-90's!!!! Dig in and you get that growl, back off and get those creamy cleans, and this thing comes plekked from the factory! If you have never played a plekked guitar (I hadn't) you haven't lived, I hadn't before this either so don't feel bad. The fret work is perfect, the fit and finish is perfect, don't be scared of the neck if you have smallish hands like I do, it's a wider neck but the contour gives you access, a fantastic neck! I already have wear marks on the fretboard from playing this thing over the last two months, gonna re string it today and lemon oil the FB. I'm out of adjectives so I'll close this review with a "must buy" recommendation! Also the tech who set it up, Jordan, did a most excellent job!!!! Thank you.....

This is a really high quality built Gibson Les Paul Special.The guitar is in fact a tone monster of great proportion and excitement to play upon. The light weight body on this one really makes this guitars tone resonate with the strings,neck, through the excellent p-90 pickups and that wrap around bridge releases a sustaining note-fest beyond reproach through the amps speakers. I have to thank Tad Shaffer, my Sweetwater agent because he helped me secure up the lightest weight demo in the herd. I'm a fan of lighter weight body wood on my Telecasters and Stratocasters too. Thanks Tad amidst the break out of this current Corona virus pandemic you made it happen for me and I'm grateful.

I'm a tone junkie and a Fender, Gibson, Rickenbacker, Gretsch and Danelectro guitar player. Spent 10's of thousands on guitars and vintage amps in my life, believe me this Gibson will not disappoint. Its dollars well spent for a rock and roll fiesta. It brings a smile to my face as I create some of my best string bends,thumb over chords open notes low end high end its all there. Dig in and let it rip, or just play sweet melodies of your choice its a winner.

It's perfect color nitro TV Yellow finish is a bit translucent so some mahogany grain bleeds through which makes it real nice to look at too. After 60 years of playing guitar believe me this Special is very Special. Rock and roll forever, keep on playin.

All I can say is WOW. I just love this guitar so much, it quickly became my number #1. I used to own a Gibson LP Traditional 2018 which was great, that I got it for trading it since I saw a good deal at the moment.
Then I started to look into this one, and OMG, everything I saw on videos and review was true for me. This is just a monster guitar. It is like the Gibson Telecaster. Just simple plain piece of wood, but just so great to play, and unplugged sounds amazing, very resonant and loud. Love the neck profile (very similar to the Traditional) but for some reason, this guitar is even easier to play.
And OMG, I just missed that Gibson smell so much from the Traditional. So I'm very happy with this guitar, I think by far is the best Gibson you can get now for the money. And In-person also looks so much better than in photos. The TV yellow is just outstanding. My new fav color!!

There's nothing bad to say. Simple guitar that sounds good in every configuration. I've owned this guitar for about six months now and there's just nothing wrong with it. This is my only electric guitar now. Works wonderfully in live and studio settings. The pickups can be a little noisy, especially on certain stages with fluorescent lighting, but pickup hum doesn't bother me too much. The guitar just sounds too good to care about things like that. Truly a farm truck of an instrument. Always works for anything it needs to.

Thanks for all your great service!

Guitar arrived safely on Feb 4, 2020, and I let it acclimate to climate/temperature as recommended for a Nitro finish. Opened and it is beautiful! I put on my normal strings I use on all my electrics (Ernie Ball Regular Slinkys 10-46) and a MojoAxe compensated bridge (which these guitars definitely need for much better intonation and mitigates the potential of the Sitar Syndrome these vintage style wraparound bridges are plagued with - highly recommended). Neck relief is set up perfect as well as action is dead on for this model. I had to adjust pickup height up as this model needs a hotter signal to truly get the vintage vibe it is renown for.

I've been playing it through a hand-wired 1964 Fender VibroVerb (with 15" speaker, and Cesar Diaz mods from Fender Custom Shop), 1965 Princeton Reverb (with Fender Deluxe power transformer and 12" Weber speaker), Vox AC-30 (UK built with UK Blue Alnicos), and venerable 50 watt Marshall Blues Breaker. Nothing like P90s. Sounds great through all of them.

I had a double cutaway TV Yellow Les Paul Special many years ago (wish I kept it!), and I will admit I like the slim taper neck on that better than this new LPS. But, the neck is fantastic on this new fiddle. Very comfortable.

Description says frets are Medium Jumbo - they are not. They are more like normal Mediums. Not a big deal, but I do prefer Medium Jumbos.

The frets are meticulously dressed and polished and superbly accurate.

Overall this Les Paul Special is an absolute dream. Build quality is as good as it gets. Nitro finish is flawless. Fantastic guitar.

I'm sure this guitar will be a top seller for Gibson. Nice to see Gibson is back in action.

Jake Tillman was my Sweetwater Rep, and was a great help. The Sweetwater folks do it all right. All the best to them.

I’ve had this guitar for about three weeks now. And I’ve had this guitar in my hands for 4-6 hours every day since I got it. I see it from across the room and I can’t help but pick it up. The incredibly simple body design is a delight to behold and it smells fantastic. This is the first nitrocellulose finished guitar I’ve had and the difference is surprisingly palpable. Having played mostly strats, this is also the first guitar I’ve owned with a set neck. The way this thing resonates feels like the body and the neck are one, way more than with any bolt on neck I’ve ever played. The fit and finish are super classy, finish is great everywhere and I love the glossy black headstock and pearl inlayed Gibson logo. The P90 pickups sound amazing. My sales rep Nick Huskins was awesome and quick with the photos of the guitar and it only took like 3 days to ship. My only complaint is that now I want more of Gibson’s Original Series guitars to go with this beauty. Buy one!

This was the 4th guitar I purchased this year and my 2nd from Sweetwater. All I can say is wow! Great bang for the buck too! Sweetwater hooks it up with their guitars! They really take care of us imo. Robert has been my sales rep and I couldn’t ask for a better dude. Also the 0% for 48 made this an absolute no brainer. The P90s make even me sound like a decent guitar player. The neck feels superb too! This is basically a must have for a LP collection. Next up will be a Jr.

This is my first P90 guitar, and like my first Tele (a CV 50s) that I bought earlier this year, I can't believe what I've been missing out on all these years. The P90 sound is everything they say it is, plus tax. Very close to a humbucker (which makes sense since Gibson wanted to emulate a P90 less the hum when the first PAF was developed), yet does great single coil sounds - just play with the volume and the pick attack and see what you get. I've tried it through a few amps and it sounds great through all of them - 50w Plexi, 85w Twin Reverb, 10w Univox (all tube amp from '60s), and an Epiphone solid state practice amp.

I'm new to wraparound bridges and nitro finishes, but everything seems spot on as far as playability and finish/build quality. It does indeed have Gibson branded pots which I guess are supplied by CTS, and the Orange Drop caps with no PCB in sight - not a big deal to me since you can drop anything you want in there, but it's nice to have quality components right out of the box. The tuners seem pretty stable, if a bit on the sensitive side to dial in. I guess that's how they rolled in the 50s. Interestingly the spec sheet indicates medium jumbo frets, but these are no way medium jumbo frets. They are visibly narrower - .090 according to the digital calipers, and .0425 high at the 21-22nd frets. I'm guessing that's closer to a 'narrow tall' configuration, but either way they play just fine. The neck is fuller than I'm used to, but I can still get my short thumb around it, very comfortable to play. My only pan for Gibson is that the TV yellow seems a bit thick, you can barely see the wood through it. The stampings on back of the headstock even appear half filled in it's so thick. I envisioned something a little lighter with more grain showing through rather than a dollop of Dijon. Oh well too late now, I named him Colonel Mustard and they'll have to pry him from my cold dead hands. The case is really nice, with a comfy padded handle and solid latches. Made by TKL of Canada, I've always liked their cases. It came with the Gibson multi tool, factory bench photo, thin micro fiber looking polishing cloth, a leather - looking Gibson strap that's nice and grippy (good for dreaded SG neck dive), and the usual documentation.

On Sweetwater's end, they are fantastic as usual. Easy buying experience, great service. I bought this as a demo so was ready for imperfections. Nonetheless the guitar was practically pristine when I got it, I thought it was a different guitar for a while but the SN matches the pics they sent. The strings were on the tired side so it definitely spent time being played. I had a couple of! questions about how they handle demos, and Aaron Tremain was prompt, professional, and helpful in his response. And as always, thanks for the candy!

Long awaited and amazing build quality. I've waited for many years for this guitar to come back. Les Paul Jr will be my next purchase. Buy this guitar while you can. You won't be disappointed!!

Plays absolutely amazing and sounds even better. The p90s have the classic growl... you cant be disappointed in the wide range of tones this guitar is capable of. Arrived nicely setup and ready to play!

This is a really nice, back to basics Gibson. The tone is just what you would expect from a P90/Mahogany guitar, nice and fat. I also play a mid 90's Am Std Tele w/Custom Shop Texas Specials and a Les Paul Traditional w/ a 50's neck and 57 Classics, the Les Paul Special fits nicely between the two. The neck is bigger than my Traditional, very nice to play. Lately it's been my go to guitar and I'm lovin' it!

The quality control and build is impeccable! 100% perfect out of the box. Gibson you are just nocking it out of the park with such a great build! This guitar, like all, was double-boxed to the West Coast and when it arrived it was immediately put to use. Sound is very defined with those P'90's. Growly when driven hard through a VOX AC 30, Marshall Studio Vintage head, Blackstar MK2 20 watt and Fender 100 watt & 40 Bassbreaker heads!! Just a joy to play! Mellow enough when used through a Fender 65 Deluxe, Twin Amp and all other Fender amps that I own. A great no nonsense Gibson Les Paul Special-TV Yellow!! Don't hesitate!! Whip out those hard earned dollars and buy one for yourself and if you can another to give away!! You won't go wrong!

Matt Alexander is my Sales Engineer and is the best. A true professional, dedicated and knows what I need. His understanding is such that in seconds the purchase is done. Always calls to follow up to see how's my new purchase is coming along. Best in the business and I have purchased gear for more than 40 years! Thank you Matt Alexander and Sweetwater for what you do-best service to the customer!

Excellent Guitar! Solid build quality, super playability and endless possibilities... not to mention it feels like you are holding a bit of history with this one! Superfine! I can't overstate how impressed I have been with Sweetwaterand my rep- just awesome to deal with- thanks Mike!

Don''t underestimate this little beauty. Solid feel. The 50's neck is not as fat as I expected. It is just right. Intonation is perfect, considering the soapbar bridge. (I Was a little suprised).My sales representitive, Chris Barry hooked me up with a nut upgrade and a setup with 9's on it, as opposed to 10's. The shop got it perfect and fast. 100% quality work.
The P90's carry a wide range of tones. From mellow, to high cleans to extreme crunch.
Nice hardcase with tool kit.
Ask for Chris Barry and get yours now! I highly recomend it.

I am a Telecaster guy but always wanted a Les Paul. They were either too expensive or too heavy. Also, Gibson has been under fire regarding quality control issues in recent years. Soon as I saw the TV Yellow Specials I decided to take a chance. Glad I did because Gibson seems to be back on track with the guitar I purchased. Fit, finish and craftsmanship are flawless. It's about the most perfectly crafted guitar I have ever owned. The P-90's offer great tonal variations from clean mellow output from the neck pickup, to grit and growl from the bridge, all with great sustain. One thing I am very fussy about is rough fret ends. No issue here as they are nicely polished making for a comfortable playing experience. Action was set perfect from the factory. The fretwork in general is very well done. I am not a fan of glossy necks but can live with this one since I have found little drag while playing.

Super quality case as well, with strap, multitool, paperwork and a shop photo of the guitar sitting on the tech's bench. Overall, very pleased!

I have been wanting one of these great playing guitars for years. Gibson has finally come back with this iconic model they way they were made back in the Fifties. The fit and finish is flawless, Rosewood board and fret work is fabulous, the P-90's bark yet can also get very clean with a simple roll back on the volume and tone controls, and the Kluson tuners keep this baby in tune (btw I use 11's for strings). Gibson has a winner here!!!!

I have to say I was a little susceptible about buying a new Gibson, the last time I purchased a new one was in 2000 and it was a 24 fret Double Cutaway Les Paul Standard. As soon as I got it I knew something wasn't right, took it back and was told it need a neck reset and they told me they would send it back to have it done, my reaction was "No Way" I wand another new one which I did get and it's been one of my main guitars ever since.
That all being said, I called my buddy Nich at Sweetwater and pulled the trigger. When it arrived the first thing I noticed was how tight it was double boxed, after overcoming that hurdle, I found myself staring at the nicely made Brown case, I open it up and just thought wow! The fresh smell of lacquer, and the transparent finish, now I've owned a 57 Special before and in sweetwaters specs the neck description was a 50's stle neck, my original 57 had a very "Chunky " neck, not so with this one, it was actually very comfortable rounded and close to to the 60's style. Fit and finish was excellent and it was in perfect tune and perfectly set up, I only had to adjust the high end side and it was just to my liking. So now the question was, how did it sound amplified, I plugged it into my 20th Anniversary Bogner Shiva (Also purchased through Nich.) and let it rip, now all P-90's hum, in the extreme high gain setting it did just that(You have to find the sweet spot position and the hum decreases.) In the clean channel I t had a mellow sound in the neck position it had the spank, FYI...use the volume control! Turn it down and it a very mellow, crank the control to 10 and it screams!
Al in all, I am very impressed with were Gibson is going and as always very impressed with my sales engineer Nich. Sweetwater is the best as always.

This is not my most expensive Gibson but one of my favorites! Great tone and sustain. Mine is in the 9lb range so not lightweight although I generally prefer the slim taper necks this 50s profile is very comfortable. An excellent value in a terrific Gibson!

I bought one of these several years ago because I did not have a P90-equipped guitar in my arsenal. At that time, these came equipped with a gig-bag. The P90s have a unique tone to them. Great for blues - maybe even some country. When I got mine, I did a couple of things before I played my first job: I bought a hard case (from Sweetwater, naturally), I replaced the bridge with one where I could adjust each string, and I replaced the top-hat knobs with barrel knobs. Nothing wrong with any of components Gibson supplied - I just prefer those pieces of hardware. The guitar is very light weight and comfortable. The neck takes a little getting used to because it is a little deeper than a more modern neck. The fit and finish is very good. If you need a guitar to be a little "different" than what you may be used to, this is one to consider.

I'm trying to like this baby but i guess it's me and not the guitar based on all the fanboys and rave reviews. Can't bond with this guitar and it's a couple major things. Firstly, the neck is 50's and i've large hands and still it just isn't comfy or conducive to my playing. I'm fighting it. Secondly, some tuning issues with the g string after double stop bends. Not really digging the playability overall. I got this mainly for the LP style and P90 guitar for those growly songs needing that tone, and hey the finish is rad no doubt. I've got and had a ton of nice guitars and it's a great guitar but just not my cup. Think i'll sell it and get a LP with a more modern neck with P90's .

Overall, it's a fun guitar, can't beat the nitro finish and the really comfortable 50's neck profile along with Gibson's 12" radius, 24 3/4 scale and perfect sized frets make this guitar a players dream to play. The Gibson P90's are great sounding single coils. The one star nick on the rating is Gibson's ongoing quality control issues. The rosewood fretboard and binding have some minor sanding scuffs and nicks. Come on Gibson! It would take you less than 5 minutes to hand sand those little areas and do yo know how to oil a fretboard? Also, they are using really cheap rosewood with light and dark brown grain even on their most expensive models. Cheap imports use higher quality rosewood. Also, the case is cheaply lined funky plush, no blanket and the neck storage pocket when shut is higher than the neck rest pocket. Im afraid down the road it will dent the neck. If it does, I guess Gibson will have to replace the guitar. Nothing like having a nice guitar ruined by a lousy designed/built case.

The color is not TV Yellow, it is baby s*** green. Be advised that the color in the photo does not look like the color on the guitar. This guitar is more green than yellow

I finally bought a Les Paul with P90s. I own three others, no problem with any of them. These P90s hum like there is no tomorrow. If you can get by with the noise, this is your guitar. It also has no bridge adjustment.I

These are wonderful designs from the original Gibson from the 1950's. When you get one that has a limited number of flaws - you luck out! These are awesome guitars. However, I had to go through FIVE of these before arriving at one without factory issues. The most common issues found are sloppy wood routing (enlarged and jagged routes), countless dents under the finish, shotty fretwork (Plek is cool but still requires fine tuning by someone who knows what they are doing), cracked nuts, peeling finish, and one you also see a lot with these - pink patches and discoloration in the finish. The new Gibson management is worst than the previous ones as evidenced by their constant obsession with celebrities, branding, lawsuits, and the lack of quality control in their guitars. Want to see what I'm talking about? Call Gibson's custom service line and ask about Gibson guitars. You will be shocked at how unwelcome they will make you feel. Luckily, Sweetwater is absolutely amazing and they worked with me to find a rare one of these Les Paul Specials with the least number of factory flaws.

I am gonna go ahead and disagree with 90 percent of the reviews for this guitar.. This is my 2nd special as I had to return a cherry model less than a week ago because the neck pickup and neck middle switching position failed after 3 days of very light studio use. This model arrived a few days later upon playing I can immediately tell a big difference from the cherry model, The cherry model actually had a nice sound and playability before the electronics died. This model sounds nothing like the cherry model and is very harsh and just honestly does not sound good. My bigger point beyond just to leave a bad review that I didn't want to leave( I was really looking forward to this guitar)is that gibson is on track to be irrelevant within 5 years. Ive never experienced within any product from any company the kind of inconsistency that gibson seems to provide with every model at every level. Its honestly sad because similar to fender amplifiers Gibson guitars was once the gold standard and vintage Gibson examples are the best sounding guitars of all time but the new ones just aren't good man I don't know any way else to say it. This model sounds like a blanket in the neck and an ice pick in the bridge and the worst of both in the middle. My bigger point is that its not just me saying this if you go do your research and scour comment sections you will see a lot of people echo this same message that with modern gibson the ones that are actually good malfunction and the ones that work sound and play terrible and its not just USA. I also own a Gibson custom acoustic and for the money it is not even close to my Martin for similar price. I hope to someday get a Murphy Lab and hopefully at that level maybe Gibson can actually put something together that an actual musician and not a blues lawyer would want to play.. just sayin. Also my last point is that and this is something I never hear even on the Murphy lab guitars is Gibson has completely lost the most important aspect of the most important frequency on the new pickups..SWEET TREBLE...I don't know why every gibson pickup over the last 20 years can't get this right and they haven't fixed it on the new customs either is the concept of a sweet treble which is the one reason REAL BURSTS are over 250k. The real bursts have a sweet treble and a cream tone in the neck that no other guitar ever equaled and it's one that made the legend of gibson to begin with in my opinion from the electric standpoint.Same with the original specials and juniors they had a sweetness and creaminess that these new ones just don't have at all. Sorry to keep going on guys but I just get tired of seeing all the fanboys when it reality most real players feel very different about gibson who seems to care more about being a lifestyle brand than actually building great instruments. Anyhow they won't be getting any more of my money for a very long time I did place an order for a modern lite just because I have had good experience with tribute style Gibsons but anything above that is just not worth the money. Yes vintage gibson is the best but vintage gibson doesn't exist anymore. Also my last point and request to Gibson..you guys should stop taking credit for what Orville and ted McCarty did 75 and a 100 years ago like you had anything to do with that. Your marketing videos for acoustic facility is ridiculous with acting like the current administration has anything to do with what made Gibson a Legend....Thanks

Finish cracks at the ends of the frets with no fret sprout and waited 24 hrs to open sent it back!!! I was told it's a Gibson thing it happens !!! Got a replacement no cracks !! This is the 4th Gibson I have sent back for QC problems !!! I had Epiphones with binding on a necks that never cracked , one thing I must say Sweetwater took care of the problem and hand a new one in my hands less the 24 hours later from Indiana to Massachusetts. Amazing. They are the BEST !!!