Gibson Les Paul Modern - Faded Pelham Blue Top

Great feeling asymmetrical neck, nitro finish, easy access to the entire fretboard and more pick switching options than you will ever need, including a hard bypass that basically routs the bridge pickup straight to the output jack. Updated hardware and nice tuners, not those plastic vintage style.Gibson QC issues? Meh, don't be a fool.. spend the 60 bucks, I took mine down to my local guy and had it professionally set up. Optimized nut height, checked frets, level and intonation... The action is almost too low now! It just rocks! You should have a pro setup done on any guitar you get in the mail, then again in a year after it has settled in to your climate. Have you seen what ups does to these packages? Spent 3 grand it's worth having set up to your liking.

A Les Paul Modern Disaster

Tremendously disappointed with this flop of a purchase. I've spent the past few months rooting for Gibson to finally turn the corner and re-establish themselves as one of the best guitar manufacturers in terms of product quality. This was a HUGE BELLY FLOP!I received the guitar and right away drove it over to my local luthier. He puts the guitar on his repair bay, removes the strings and begins his setup process. Within 1 minute he turns at me and makes a face of disgust.I walk over and see CLEARLY VISIBLE glue repair marks on the 1st to 8th frets. The ebony appeared to have small hairline fractures and my luthier feels they tried to Super Glue the cracks to make it presentable.James Curleigh (CEO of Gibson) would be very proud to know that this paperweight ... MoreTremendously disappointed with this flop of a purchase. I've spent the past few months rooting for Gibson to finally turn the corner and re-establish themselves as one of the best guitar manufacturers in terms of product quality. This was a HUGE BELLY FLOP!I received the guitar and right away drove it over to my local luthier. He puts the guitar on his repair bay, removes the strings and begins his setup process. Within 1 minute he turns at me and makes a face of disgust.I walk over and see CLEARLY VISIBLE glue repair marks on the 1st to 8th frets. The ebony appeared to have small hairline fractures and my luthier feels they tried to Super Glue the cracks to make it presentable.James Curleigh (CEO of Gibson) would be very proud to know that this paperweight left his warehouse and quote-on-quote passed their new "rigid" quality control standards before being shipped. I was beyond psyched to receive this guitar and have been completely let down by Gibson.They may never return to prominence and I am sad to say they still have a long way to go.I drove the guitar promptly to my local GC and they accepted the return and was promptly refunded. The rep (Joe) could not believe the POOR condition for this almost $3000 guitar.Note to Gibson: Take some pride in making sure ALL your guitars, not just Custom Shop, get a solid QC evaluation before the item ships out to a person who is willing (or stupid enough like me) to waste his hard earned $$$ on a substandard quality guitar

Awesome Customer Service

I would firstly like to give Ryan Wiltermood a huge thank you. When buying a 3k dollar guitar there are a lot of concerns with shipping all the way to Alaska. With that said I pulled the trigger after reading reviews and ordered my first Les Paul Modern. I was contacted first thing in the morning by telephone letting me know that my new guitar was going through acclimation and 55 point inspection to follow and that my guitar would arrive as promised. It actually arrived two days sooner in immaculate condition, packaged like it was glass in a dual wrapped padded box inside a box. All contents of authenticity were inside the case and guitar was polished in tune and ready to play. Guitar was so perfect in every way I almost don't want to play it. Lol ! Beautiful ... MoreI would firstly like to give Ryan Wiltermood a huge thank you. When buying a 3k dollar guitar there are a lot of concerns with shipping all the way to Alaska. With that said I pulled the trigger after reading reviews and ordered my first Les Paul Modern. I was contacted first thing in the morning by telephone letting me know that my new guitar was going through acclimation and 55 point inspection to follow and that my guitar would arrive as promised. It actually arrived two days sooner in immaculate condition, packaged like it was glass in a dual wrapped padded box inside a box. All contents of authenticity were inside the case and guitar was polished in tune and ready to play. Guitar was so perfect in every way I almost don't want to play it. Lol ! Beautiful craftsmanship and Sweetwater really made purchasing a breeze. I will definitely recommend and make Sweetwater my only choice in future purchases. Customer service of this magnitude is pretty much obsolete in 2023 and Sweetwater took it back to the basics and for that I rate y'all 10 stars. Guitar is absolutely beautiful. Plays so well with the action really low without fret buzz at all. Ebony fret board feels amazing to the hand and what else is there to say ? The tone W0W! Outstanding tones and I imagine this guitar will outlive me. Thanks again Ryan. Much appreciated my man.

Bought sight unseen, and it's really good...

I had been mulling over a Les Paul Modern for a couple of weeks, so I decided I would take a chance and order one in graphite metallic, sight unseen. The features certainly ticked all the boxes, so take my money and call me when it gets here... It did need for me to set it up, not that it was bad or anything, but everyone likes it set up the way they want it. A string change, slight truss rod/string height adjustment and intonation...this is a very nice instrument indeed. Mine weighs 8 lbs 6 oz thanks to the weight reduction, and is incredibly resonant. It vibrates nicely in my hands when chording, especially on open chords. The asymmetrical neck carve feels really good in my hand, and the new neck joint is really nice as well and seems as sturdy/stable as any ... MoreI had been mulling over a Les Paul Modern for a couple of weeks, so I decided I would take a chance and order one in graphite metallic, sight unseen. The features certainly ticked all the boxes, so take my money and call me when it gets here... It did need for me to set it up, not that it was bad or anything, but everyone likes it set up the way they want it. A string change, slight truss rod/string height adjustment and intonation...this is a very nice instrument indeed. Mine weighs 8 lbs 6 oz thanks to the weight reduction, and is incredibly resonant. It vibrates nicely in my hands when chording, especially on open chords. The asymmetrical neck carve feels really good in my hand, and the new neck joint is really nice as well and seems as sturdy/stable as any other. The compound radius fretboard isn't immediately apparent, but it is 10" to 16" (I checked), and promotes low string action. The frets are nicely done, but have no nibs on the ends...I can overlook that because we have level frets from the factory folks, as it should be. I have zero complaints on playability, it is buttery smooth all the way to the 22nd fret. The locking Grover tuners are doing their thing, and after the initial string stretching the guitar stays in tune nicely. The pickups sound good, although they are a little hot for what I am doing with it, but one can compensate for that with the volume/tone controls. The switching electronics all function as advertised, although I may never use the coil tap feature, I will be all over the phase shifting. The fit and finish are all good, as I could find no defects. In conclusion, I am very happy with this purchase, and would recommend this model to anyone looking for modernized Les Paul. Thanks to Connor and Josh at HSV GC for talking me into this!

First guitar I bought without seeing it first

I became obsessed with this particular guitar after seeing the review in Guitar World, I already own three Les Paul Models did I really want to go for this one?I found a "used" copy on GC site for $700 less than the going rate, there wasn't one up in my area to try out so I took the leap of faith and bought it unseen. Why not right? GC has an awesome satisfaction policy.When it came to my local store, not only was I blown away by how beautiful and well crafted it was but so were all of the employees. I came in primo condition and set up fro m the factory, after a try out in the store it came home with me. It's a joy to play, even without using the push/pull effects it sound great - like a Gibson should. Still playing around with those effects but this black beauty ... MoreI became obsessed with this particular guitar after seeing the review in Guitar World, I already own three Les Paul Models did I really want to go for this one?I found a "used" copy on GC site for $700 less than the going rate, there wasn't one up in my area to try out so I took the leap of faith and bought it unseen. Why not right? GC has an awesome satisfaction policy.When it came to my local store, not only was I blown away by how beautiful and well crafted it was but so were all of the employees. I came in primo condition and set up fro m the factory, after a try out in the store it came home with me. It's a joy to play, even without using the push/pull effects it sound great - like a Gibson should. Still playing around with those effects but this black beauty is becoming my favorite quickly. And a picture does not do it justice, it is perfectly put together and flawless in design and in manufacture.Totally glad I went for it.

Gibson Hit a Home Run With This Guitar!

I've been a long time Gibson fan and have owned several over the years. I've held on to the good ones and have gotten rid of the rest. Gibson has been known to have their quality control issues for quite a while now and being that I'm an online buyer I was reluctant to pull the trigger on this one. But...I heard that Gibson was under new management and I'm also a sucker for an ebony fretboard, MOP inlays and locking tuners...so I pulled the trigger! Let me say that this one is an absolute keeper! The fit and finish is perfect except for a dull spot on the finish under the pickguard nut/pad (this is from putting the guard on when the finish hasn't cured all the way), the binding is flush with the side of the of the body around the entire guitar (a common problem from ... MoreI've been a long time Gibson fan and have owned several over the years. I've held on to the good ones and have gotten rid of the rest. Gibson has been known to have their quality control issues for quite a while now and being that I'm an online buyer I was reluctant to pull the trigger on this one. But...I heard that Gibson was under new management and I'm also a sucker for an ebony fretboard, MOP inlays and locking tuners...so I pulled the trigger! Let me say that this one is an absolute keeper! The fit and finish is perfect except for a dull spot on the finish under the pickguard nut/pad (this is from putting the guard on when the finish hasn't cured all the way), the binding is flush with the side of the of the body around the entire guitar (a common problem from routing the binding channel too deep), and the frets edges are finished smooth even in the higher register. I love everything about this guitar, the sparkle finish of the Graphite color top (it's shows but is not over done), the pickups sound great and have the switching capabilities for any style of music, the bypass switch is super cool as it takes you from whatever pickup/coil tap combination you're in at the time right back to a straight bridge pickup, and the neck feels good and natural at any place along the fretboard. If I had to say something negative about the guitar, I would say that they didn't do a great job on their intention of the "new modern contoured heel" because it still has a blocky corner at the neck joint, but as a Gibson owner I am accustomed to blocky heels so I really doesn't bother me. First time buying a guitar from Sam Ash and it was set up perfectly and was immediately playable. The tech that set this up knew what he was doing! You have a repeat customer here!!

Overall great guitar!

Asymmetrical neck makes it ergonomic and easy to play.Reaching the high frets is a breeze...Cutaway on the back is just right (not too deep or shallow). Pickups are fat and smooth, notes are clear and articulate. Was afraid the modern weight relief would make the guitar too light, but that's not the case...still nice and beefy. Push/pull knobs open the door to tons of tone...Ebony fretboard and mother of pearl inlays are a nice touch. Gibson did a great job modernizing a classic.

Top notch quality

I gig over 100 times a year. I play Les Paul's. My current number one has burstbucker pro pickups. This modern has them as well with the asymmetrical neck. it sounds and plays amazing, and will likely replace my standard has my number one. I checked it out for quality issues. This is a very well-made guitar. Only one small thing it arrived with a broken tone knob cap. I called Gibson and I got one in the mail two days later very quick.

Very Nice.

Looks, plays and sounds amazing. No problems with this guitar so far(first day). One thing to note about the burgundy finish. If like me you had to order this guitar because your store didn't have it in stock or on the wall. The guitar is much darker than the color on the Gibson and GC website. I think this is due to the amount of lighting used in the photography. I didn't want another dark guitar but it looks like I got one. Overall I still think it's the best of the current year(2019) color choices. Also, this guitar seems heavier than the 2019 Standard that I returned. Both are supposed to be ultra weight relieved but this thing is heavy.

Worth it.

After 30 years of guitar, some professional gigging. This Gibson Les Paul Modern is everything I hoped it would be. This guitar makes every other guitar I've owned feel like a toy (except for my Jackson Mick Thomson Soloist). It plays so smoothly. The tone is rich. And I love the huge variety of sounds I can get from all the push-pull pots. I do not regret spending the money, it's worth every penny. And this guitar really is worth the wait. I would suggest you see every piece of gear you have and pool the money into this guitar. This guitar is on another level beyond most everything on the market.PS- Thank you to San and Micheal and the Glendale Arizona Sam Ash store.