The Gibson Les Paul standard guitar has stood the test of time. Born in 1958, this magnificent creation of Gibson Guitars has grown into such a household name that they have just recently (in 2008) released the Gibson Les Paul standard 2008 as a classic remake of the original masterpiece.
The standard is the true Sunburst, having gained it’s own identity by shedding the Goldtop finish of the earlier Les Paul models. The Sunburst had been used on a couple of other models of acoustic and semi-hollow bodies but never on the Les Paul. The standard was fitted with a revolutionary Tune-o-matic bridge, with a few select models having tremolo style assemblies. The originals were also equipped with PAF style humbuckers, which are known as the original humbucker. The body style of the Gibson Les Paul standard guitars were the same as earlier models, built with a solid mahogany body and a bound maple cap to bring out a little more brightness from the darker sounding mahogany wood.
Another very popular model is the Gibson Les Paul standard faded version. It’s a newer model of sunburst that has been factory rubbed to give it a weathered and used look of a vintage Gibson sunburst. Practically everything about this version is the same except for the BurstBucker pickups. This is a model that I own and honestly, I’ve never been a fan of these pickups. They just don’t spit out a tone I can use with my current amps. I’ve replaced these with an SD ’59 and a Dimebucker. This bad boy is now, in my opinion, the best sounding guitar on the planet . Well, maybe.
The 2008 model is a modern version of the Gibson standard with a few notable changes. The body is still constructed of mahogany but is now chambered for a lighter weight and better tone characteristics. Also fitted with Grover locking tuners that have a higher ratio for improved and precision tuning. The pickups are Burstbuckers – again not my favorites. I played one of these at L&Ms and even with the different body chambering I still didn’t like these pickups. A swap out would be in order . Other than the pickups I was very happy with this model of Gibson standard Les Paul.
Finally, for this round of stories we talk about the Gibson Les Paul standard ebony. The main difference with this beauty is the beautiful black body with ivory binding and an ebony wood fretboard. The ebony is slightly darker in tone but only to a really discerning ear. The price of ebony though is more than traditional rosewood adding to a collector value of this guitar.
I have a few more models of these guitar instruments I would like to try out, so there will be some more reviews coming out in the near future. Keep your eye out for interesting Les Paul guitars for sale.