2011 Gibson Les Paul Faded Brown Review

[JLP5178]

EDIT: I am new to the forum guys and I believe I posted this review in the wrong section before.

 

Hello,

 

I was asked to do a review once I received this guitar and compare it to my other guitars as well as my other Gibson guitars. I expected this guitar to not be up to par with my other Gibson guitars considering it is a cheaper guitar. $799 US. I also play the heavy stuff so I was in fear when I kept reading that the BurstBucker Pro's were not made for the heavy style I play.

 

To my surprise, it came out of the box set up perfectly. That has never happened with any guitar I've ever bought before. Usually I have to lower the action quite a bit and adjust pickup height. Everything was perfect. I put my 10-52 hybrids on and tuned it to Drop-C. The BurstBucker Pro's actually do not sound bad for the heavy stuff. From what I had read on hear I got the vibe they were going to sound vintage and not be able to pull it off. That was incorrect. It does sound a bit better with a tube screamer in front of it, but I do that anyway.

 

While I will say these pickups will pull off the heavy stuff, I won't be keeping them in there. I have ordered a chrome EMG-81 X series to go in there. Since it has chrome hardware the EMG 81 X Chrome edition should look fine in there. Plus I have kept all of my other Les Paul's stock. They have 498T's in them which sound great and have a good chunk sound for the heavy stuff. But if anyone is interested in buying this guitar and plays the heavy stuff, you could buy it stock and get away with it. It's not like it won't handle it. I've just been playing for so many years that I'm very picky on the tone.

 

The guitar build is amazing for a guitar that price. Some say you just pay for the, "Gibson," brand and that there are better deals for $799. I have to disagree. This is about as good as it gets for that price. The neck feels just as well as the more expensive Les paul's and the natural type finish the faded brown has I am in love with. I have always wanted a guitar that looked natural. The back of the neck and the entire guitar has the natural wood look. It has a maple cap on the top, which also has the natural wood look. Honestly, if I was custom building a Les Paul and paying a ton of money for one, I would still pick this finish. But I have been in love with the natural finish for many years.

 

 

For those not playing the heavy stuff the burst bucker pro's will work even better for you. Some of you might want to use a 500T Gibson pickup if you want to stay passive. The way the neck feels, the body feels, the tone of the guitar, virtually no different than my other Les Paul Studio. The only difference is the pickups. And honestly they aren't night and day difference. I think people nit pick when they speak of this. Or maybe do not own the type of high gain amps I own with a tube screamer. I'm not sure. But I am able to get good harmonics out of this thing. I do have the pickups very close to the strings but I did not adjust them. Everything is set up stock.

 

Again, that is a first for me. I have never gotten a guitar where everything was perfect stock. Especially the action. The action comes very low. I believe it comes stock with 10's. I put the 10-52 on it because I tune to drop C. I can't wait to hear this thing with the Chrome EMG 81 X! It will match the chrome hardware and the other pickup, although the neck pickup will be inactive until I can afford another EMG, if I ever do, to put in there. I have other guitars with EMG's and EMG x's so I'm not in any big rush to get another neck pickup in there.

 

But I didn't want the black EMG's in there because it just would take away from the look of that chrome hardware. Any questions, feel free to ask!

 

I also included a picture of it for those interested.

 

Here is also a picture of the EMG 81 X in Chrome! It will look awesome in there! If you have not heard the EMG 81 X series yet, I seriously suggest you go check them out. I have them in a custom guitar I have and they sound literally amazing. It's like having a passive pickup with the clarity of the active. I have both and still love my originals but a lot of people who aren't fan of the original EMG series would probably fall in love with these new X series.

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003JFYY78/ref=oh_o00_s00_i00_details