Description
What makes this guitar special? This is a killer Les Paul with equally excellent tone, playability, and aesthetic. Appropriate to its heritage, this R8 sports an early ‘50s rounded profile that has as much chunk in feel as its BurstBucker pickups do in sound. They suit this reissue beautifully, outputting a perfectly full response with a bit of extra warmth in the neck and a bit of extra bite in the bridge. Aesthetically, the fingerboard is easily the most striking aspect, with a deep molasses streak reaching from the first fret through the last. The rest of the figuring has a pleasant reddish color, the lightest of which actually matches the mahogany body. The neck and body are bound in a single-ply cream that aptly complements the Iced Tea VOS finish. In addition, the action is great, the body is both clean and resonant, and the case includes much of the original case candy included from the factory.
Condition: This guitar is in excellent condition overall. It does possess various light surface scratches and a small ding or dent here or there, but largely remains very clean and still looks fantastic. The frets show only light wear and still have a full lifetime of playing left in them. The neck is comfortable and the truss rod is functioning.
Body: Single cutaway mahogany body with a bound carved maple top in Iced Tea VOS. Nickel-plated ABR-1 bridge and stop bar tailpiece. Gold top hat control knobs with nickel pointers. Raised single-ply cream pickguard and cream pickup rings.
Neck: Early ‘50s Rounded profile 1-piece mahogany neck with hide glue adhesive. 12” radius bound rosewood fingerboard with trapezoid inlays. 1.687” nylon nut. 24.75” scale length. Nickel Kluson Deluxe tuning machines with tulip keys.
Electronics: Gibson BurstBucker 1 in the neck and BurstBucker 2 in the bridge. 2 x volume, 2 x tone controls. 3-way pickup selector.
Weight: 8 lbs 11.8 oz
Playability/Sound: The early ‘50s neck on this guitar has a nice chunky feel which will be perfect for players who like a full-in-hand profile. The pickups sound fantastic across the board with a very full response in the neck and a bit of extra bite in the bridge.
Case: Includes original hardshell case.
