The Les Paul Classic 2017 T riffs on the beloved guitars of the ’60s and ’70s while adding modern upgrades for tone and playability, yielding a true Classic with contemporary twists. A Grade-A plain maple top on a mahogany back with 9-hole weight relief combine for subtle beauty with enhanced resonance and superb playing comfort. The solid-mahogany neck has a fast slim-taper profile, a thicker rosewood fingerboard with 22 super-smooth polished frets for easy bends, and a genuine nylon nut. Zebra '57 Classic humbuckers with orange drop tone caps ensure sultry PAF-like voicings, while a nickel wired ABR bridge and aluminum stopbar combine for solid sustain. Gibson USA gently rolls the fingerboard binding for a neck that never felt so good, and Grover locking kidney tuners provide an accurate and long-lasting performance. Gold speed knobs add an elegant touch.
Delivered in a classic Gibson brown hardshell case with a Gibson multi-tool, a premium leather strap, and a polishing cloth.
Gibson USA is inspired by a tradition of innovation that stretches back to the company’s origin in 1896. Since then, the contributions Gibson has made to the art of guitar making have been continuously impressive—the humbucking pickup, Tune-o-matic bridge, adjustable truss rod, triple-pickup guitar, semi-hollowbody guitar, P-90 pickup, cryogenically-treated frets, automatic tuning, the zero-fret adjustable nut and much more—including radical body shapes like the Flying V, Explorer and Thunderbird. Introduced in 1952, the Gibson Les Paul has become—and remains—the world’s most iconic guitar.
With every instrument proudly produced in Nashville, Tennessee, Gibson USA keeps two important traditions alive: the tradition of innovation, and the tradition of hand-crafted instruments that are 'American Made, World Played.' The Gibson team is driven by a passion for perfection—even the process of selecting, grading, and sorting wood for each specific guitar requires considerable expertise, as does the engineering research behind pickup design and selecting materials that strike the ideal blend of style, tone and durability.
What may be most recognizable about a Gibson USA guitar isn’t the distinctive shape, technical sophistication, or exceptional playability—it’s the magic. When people play a Gibson USA guitar, they experience the result of hundreds of human hands working to make the best guitar possible. Just by picking one up and holding it in your hands, you can share in the rich heritage that reaches back to the 19th century, the visual appeal of a work of art and the connection to the world’s greatest artists who have chosen to express themselves with guitars from Gibson USA.
After several Epiphone Les Pauls (which are fantastic guitars), I decided to step up & go for the "real deal". I could not be happier. The guitar itself is just gorgeous (photos do it no justice), it even smells pretty! The tones from the zebra pickups are true, classic Les Paul sounds. The plek'd frets are a joy to play. The craftsmanship is astounding. Glad I went for it!