New guitar - Gibson Les Paul Classic Antique Artist Series

Don't know what it is about 'em, but I've always dug the vibe of Les Pauls... The first one I picked up (actually the second guitar I ever purchased) was a pawn-shop-prize Les Paul KM (Kalamazoo) in natural finish. It was a late 70's model that was in pretty fine condition when I got it in high school. I played the heck out of it for a few years, managed to keep it in good shape, and even made a couple hundred $ when I sold it. (Yes, my first experience in turning guitar gear for money... if only I would've waited, since Les Paul KM's are now catching 2x what I sold mine for on e-bay!)

A couple years later, I picked up a Les Paul Standard Double Cutaway Plus in transparent black... very cool guitar on paper (24 frets + lightweight chambered body = match made in heaven) but something wasn't right... it just didn't feel like a Les Paul. So I traded it for a Les Paul Classic in wine red. It looked like a Les Paul, felt like a Les Paul, sounded like a Les Paul. So I'm not sure exactly why I ended up selling that, though I expect it had something to do with getting more Ibanez guitars at the time.

My best Les Paul experience to date, though, was borrowing my wife's (then fiancee's) late 70's Les Paul Pro for a couple of months. It reminded me that fixed-bridge, set-neck, mahogany-bodied guitars mean business; plus, it introduced me to the world of soapbar pickups. It still wasn't enough to turn me into a Gibson player, though... shortly after sending the LP Pro back to the in-laws I ended up trading all my Ibanez guitars in on PRS's (mostly fixed-bridge, set-neck, mahogany-bodied models...).

So lately I've been jonesin' for a Les Paul once again... perhaps because I've been enjoying the other Gibsons I've had (Firebird V, EDS-1275 doubleneck), perhaps because I've sort of re-discovered my PRS Singlecuts, or perhaps because the Gibson "Guitar of the Week" program caught my attention. I've been watching for a cool Les Paul at a good price and just managed to get my mitts on one of the following...

Gibson Les Paul Classic Antique Artist Series

This is one of the "Guitar of the Week" models and has a custom finish by designer Tom Morgan--believe that this one is from week #5 and is 1 of 400. The specs are similar to the normal Les Paul Classics with a few tweaks... AA flamed maple top, antique body/fretboard/headstock binding, holly inlay on the headstock, '57 Classic pickups, removed (but included) pickguard, and (of course) the custom finish. As a bonus, it weighs in at a relatively light 7 lb 10 oz.

So it looks like a Les Paul. And thankfully (unlike the DC+), it feels & sounds like a Les Paul, too! I've already put it through its paces at home, playing it through the Egnater rig at band practice, jamming along with about two dozen Rush tunes through the JTM45, and breaking in the V-Amp for demo recording. I'm pretty impressed so far... the '57 Classics aren't quite as hot as the 496R/500T, but they get the job done.

Finally had a chance to snap a few pics... long-story-short... my laptop's hard drive controller went out a few weeks ago and it's taken me a while to get the new laptop setup with Photoshop CS2 and all the other necessities...



--B