This review is for a "VERY" Red Gibson THE PAUL II, it's a thin bodied (uncapped mahogany) guitar with all the Les Paul controls and LP shape -it is countoured and not flat bodied like a Junior-, light weight,dots instead of inlays on the neck and no bindings or fancy bits.
Despite what anyone else says I find that Gibson tuners (these,anyway) Hold the thing in tune well.
Fretwire does seem a bit soft and I am already seeing quite a change in the profile of the wire,which is worrying,and is in fact why I bought a cheapie as a backup for this.
Important points for Gibsons in general:
Gibson nuts are cut for a 10 gauge set at the high strings,so you will get some rattle from the standard 9s it comes with.
Fergawdsake,buy one from somewhere close and with a good reputation as GMI's Quality Control,or lack thereof is now legendary.
GMI is Gibson Musical Instruments and it's guitar products (brands) include Gibson,Epiphone and Kramer,amongst it's pantheon.
Despite my wiring hassles I am NOW happy with this guitar.
August 2002. These are just my HC review giving my (over) reactions as they occured to me.
Features: 9
98 The Paul in ""very" red with slight grain showing through close up -v.nice.
Bought New/old stock at a bargain price.
The guy who said it's basically an LP shaped SG is just about right.
I played this back to back with a Junior Special for over an hour and preferred the weight,tone and feel of this. I have added a pickguard,as:
a) The finish may get scratched - doubtful as it's quite tough.
b) It looked a bit too basic without.
It will be getting Pickup covers (and a new amp) for looks and tonal "improvements".
Sound: 10
Blues,Rock and Dinosaur rock band/Rock n Roll. My little marshall practice amp sucks the sustain out of it and the 490 and 498 make the speaker dance!
When I get a better amp,i'll tell ya. Sounded great in a decent amp in the shop, but don't they always..Sounds good even in a crappy amp.
**Yes,it does sound better and if you turn the treble down on the Vox and back the pickups down in the guitar a few mm, you get a very acceptable LP tone,you know it's not QUITE J.page or E.Clapton though.*
Good Gibson LP leaning toward SG sound.
ANY sound you want,almost up to Telecaster (apart from stratty), Any style you want. Just set the amp and tone controls and boogie.
Let me tell you, buying a basic guitar from a Good maker seems to pay off..although this ain't always the case as instrument are sensitive individuals.
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Action, Fit, & Finish: 8
Action a little high and slight fret buzz on high e [barely detectable]. No real flaws. Looks like a plank.. so it's nickname IS "The Plank". v.good setup but not perfect,so i re did it.
Reliability/Durability: N/A
Proverbial tank. It's a Gibson..and it aint plywood!
Only had it a month can't really say
Customer Support: N/A
Shop were very good. Gibson can be reticent.
Overall Rating: 9
Playing for about 18 yrs. Ibinhad Roadstar,Kramer st copy,Pacifica,Fresher LP copy,Cheri Telecaster,Fender acoustic.
The Paul is BASIC but a very FINE guitar for the money..
9.7 Overall
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Update Number 1
Action, Fit, & Finish: 7
Just adding to my previous review> i've cured the slight high e buzz by raising that side of the tunomatic [ever so slightly] and intonating it again..it does seem very sensitive to intonation.
As I suspected in my last review the switch was a bit TOO "crackly" and eventually the neck [front] pickup failed to make a noise at all.. so i resoldered the switch - which is a quick job on these, much better after that,but i think the switch is a bit duff as i still get occasional crackles, though only when switching from neck or bridge to both.
.No crackle at all when switching neck to bridge and vice versa. I also had a look in the control cavity and although it's strongly put together they've used enough solder to sink a friggin battleship, plus it's a bit untidy.. Come on Gibson, i'm an electronic hobbyist and i can do better than this with a really bad hangover!!
Bit disapointed with the sustain as my strat sytyled Ibanez with single coils sustains almostt as well as this, either unplugged or plugged in - mind you the Ibanez has 10s on it this has the standard 9s.
Gibson strings seem excellent though, they seem to last a lot better than most other makes of strings.
7.5 overall -Come off it Gibson we pay for your quality of build as much as the playability,tone or anything else. My cheapo guitars are better sorted electrically than this!
Yamaha can beat this with their eyes shut for wiring.
Reliability/Durability: N/A
Strap button need locks. All else seems A OK.
.. because of the slight buzz,i'll let you know if she deteriorates,in any way.
**No,10s rid you of buzz.*
Neck and the Pickups are the greatest. Neck takes a little getting used to from Fender copies, BUT it aint a baseball bat and my small hands find their way around it just fine.
Has an excellent neck and pups, which is what I paid for plus it's light for a Gibson,well ballanced and has a versatile range of tones and styles..you name it and you can probably play it on this.
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Update Number 2
Yet another review by me updating the others to include the defects I've recified so i'll keep it short
Sound: N/A
As before..except, I have found that the biggest change was putting a cover on the neck pup and that gives it a much more vintage/almost muddy tone ..but i like it... it did surprise me HOW MUCH the tone changed..(i know a little about pickups) slightly less clear and microphonic,which i guessed, but ,in a "50s way" this guitar can cover all sounds (except strat) gives the whole guitar a wider range..from 50's to nu-anything.Left the bridge pup uncovered as it's always sounded fine.
I think the strings are a little light, BUT, i play this guitar for 20 mins to 2 hours daily and they are still,uncleaned,original and sounding ..outstanding...best strings ive used.*Swapped high string and the other 5 have been cleaned,B string buzzes slighly,because it,too,is too light.* I'm Lazy, sue me**
Action, Fit, & Finish: N/A
The pickup selector was shot and the £8 replacement is much better quality. On reflection I can just,barely,tolerate this on a £400 guitar...especially as it makes such really fine sounds,it may be wise to budget for replacement parts..if it didn't sound so great i'd be pissed off with it,*as it was a nightmare at the time*. Previous rating stands.
Reliability/Durability: N/A
AS previous, no real problems encountered in drilling the 2 small holes for the pickguard and the paint seems quite deep/fairly scratch resistant. Home use only, would not use this without strap locks..almost fell off my strap once. **By the by,the standard buttons are too small for the cheap dunlop straplocks to hold on to - answer= put larger strap buttons in,or buy Schaller locks.*
Overall Rating: 8.831
AS before. I wish Gibson had more attentive qc people......zzzzzzzzzzz.Love them sounds.
