Lester | soldguitars

1999 Gibson USA Les Paul Standard

"Lester"

#93169500

A bog-standard Gibson Les Paul Standard, made by Gibson USA. This one is a proper, old-school lump of Les Paul. It weighs in at about 10.5 lbs, which is about the same as a small car, right? We've got a thick mahogany body (non-chambered, but with the 'Swiss-cheese' holes drilled inside), and a chunky maple cap. Which is ABSOLUTELY plain ... no sign of any flamed tomfoolery on THIS top ... we all know that flamed maple is kinda for pansies. I DO like Les Pauls with nice, plain tops. And a proper rosewood fingerboard.

This is quite a chunky neck too ... just how I like them. Not baseball-bat-thick, but enough of a handful to know that you're holding onto something. The original 490R and 498T pickups are still fitted, which lots of Gibson purists don't like. Whatever. Get over it. They're great pickups; maybe the cork-sniffers should plug them into a hot Marshall and see what happens.

Unusually, I modified this a little ... the original speed-knobs were swapped for top-hat knobs. And those little metal pointy things were added beneath the knobs. You know ... those pointers so you know when you're at '10'. This went through a 'pickguard off, coils exposed' period when I was in a Slash phase, but is now back to how Gibson intended ... we all know that stock is best.

This was my first Gibson, and I bought it new in late 1999, after trying LOTS of them. I remember it like it was yesterday ... pulling down a dozen shiny Lesters one by one, and going back to this one every time. There was something tangibly but inexplicably better about this one than the rest. So, this is a lifetime 'keeper'. It has picked up its share of knocks since then, but is ageing like a fine wine.

Although I like to refer to the finish as 'Heritage Cherry Sunburst' (that's what it said on the box), this is a great example of what folks refer to as 'Clown-burst'. Whatever. Sticks and stones. A great playing, and great sounding guitar.