Buy a Gibson Les Paul Special guitar today!
Gibson's Les Paul Special with Humbuckers has a comfortable, worn-in look about it. Plugged in, it delivers that inimitable Gibson humbucker richness. And, though it has the vintage appearance of a well-loved '50s guitar, its thin-taper '60s neck and jumbo frets give it a fast, fluid feel. Made entirely in the USA its quality craftsmanship is evident in every detail.

Skin like butta
In the 1960s new jeans were stiff as a board and the color of a military uniform. But these days they're usually broken in before you buy them-already toned down, soft, comfortable, and ready for action. Now Gibson has applied the same concept to their Les Paul Special With Humbuckers. The worn yellow model for example looks like sunshine streaming through a window and bears the signs of a long life of frequent but loving use.

Graceful neck
The 1950s LP Specials sported a thick, chunky neck style that is the holy grail for some players. I'm not one of those players. I am a firm believer that older is not always better. In the '60s Gibson came out with a slim-tapered neck that puts a lot less strain on the hand and wrist and facilitates speedier motion up and down the fretboard. Plenty of the heroes of rock and country developed their lightning-quick styles on that neck, and I think Gibson made the right choice to put it on the Les Paul Special With Humbuckers.

It is evident that a lot of time and careful craftsmanship was spent on the mahogany neck of this guitar. The edge of the rosewood fretboard melds seamlessly onto the neck and the satin finish-worn slightly on the back to match the body-makes hand motion incredibly smooth. The fretboard, however, is brand spankin' new, no aging there. It is outfitted with carefully dressed large frets. These frets combined with the slightly shorter traditional Les Paul 24.75" scale mean that fast runs come out cleaner.

Sweet voice
I've always liked the free resonance of the LP Special. Having just a chunk of mahogany for the body without the maple top makes these guitars by nature a little more vibrant. And of course Gibson's famous mortise-and-tenon fixed neck joint transfers vibration freely, adding to the guitar's resonance and sustain. Maybe it's my imagination, but the light finish on the Les Paul Special With Humbuckers seems to make it breathe freer when I'm playing. The Honduran mahogany feels alive and resonant with incredibly responsive and subtle tone.

The science and lore of how wood affects a solidbody's tone is an extremely personal and debatable affair. But whatever you have to say about that, there's no question most of a guitar's tone comes from its pickups. Here again, I heartily approve of Gibson's choice for the LP Special With Humbuckers. A 490R alnico humbucker in the neck position delivers a sweet, warm signal that's great for everything from metal ballad intros to jazz solos. The crunchier 498T at the bridge really cranks out that famous Les Paul hot, throaty, and sustainful lead tone. Combined with the guitar's overall resonance, these pickups can't wait to produce soaring Latin rock solos or high-definition fusion runs with equal ease. They're the exact same pickups Gibson puts on the Les Paul Custom which experts have always said has some of the best pickups in the world.

Like most Les Pauls, this one comes with independent volume and tone controls with a three-way switch. This may sound like an insignificant detail, but being able to mix precisely the amount of trebly bridge and more-rounded neck pickup sounds is a huge tonal advantage over other systems. It leaves room for unlimited nuances in your tone.

Heavenly hardware
Classic gold top hat knobs, green tuners, and black switch plate enhance the clean chrome gleam of the classic tune-o-matic bridge and stopbar tailpiece-the same as on the Les Paul Classic. The LP I played had no problems with intonation and the tuning was rock solid. I've always believed the deep-set mounting screws on the tailpiece add an extra touch of resonance and sustain to the Les Paul. This guitar is more evidence that I'm right.

The Les Paul Special With Humbuckers is entirely American made. It's a great-looking, fabulous-playing guitar that sounds fantastic. And it begs to be abused. When you strap it on you have no fears of marring a perfect finish. You just want to get down and play with abandon. With the same hardware and electronics as the very best Les Pauls, it gives you genuine high-end tone and playability. This is definitely the Les Paul of choice.