mikeyrsmith
New member
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2003
- Messages
- 605
I just came up from my basement band room after spending the past 3 hours with my new Gibson Les Paul Jr.
Gotta admit...my expectations were low. And opening the shipping box and seeing MINIMAL packing materials--just a cardboard sleeve for the neck area, some bubble wrap, and a gig bag--didn't do much for my confidence in the product itself. But damn! This thing (so far) kicks ass!
Pics first, and then a quick review (sorry if they're too big!):
After I tuned it up, I went over it with everything but a magnifying glass, and as near as I can tell, it's flawless--not a mark on it. Nice fretwork with no sharp ends or filler visible; a dark(ish) and clearly well-conditioned fret board; no loose hardware; tuners properly aligned; nut cut slightly high (the way I like it!) but the slots themselves are clean and in the right place; multi-piece body but the grain is very tightly matched--you really need to look closely for the seams; medium chunky neck (definitely not a skinny one); intonation was damn near spot-on right out of the box (pretty amazing for a compensated/wrap tailpiece); and the action was on the high side but perfect for my heavy handed style. It's loud and resonant unplugged (even my wife could tell that much!). And the P-90 growls like a P-90 should through my '77 Marshall, and cleans up nicely when the volume is rolled back.
For $650, this thing is a total winner in my book. I've never owned a vintage Jr., which I'm sure is a different animal entirely. But I'm not sure how a current Custom Shop model could beat this thing on looks and functionality, especially at this price point!
Rock on!
Best,
Mikey
Gotta admit...my expectations were low. And opening the shipping box and seeing MINIMAL packing materials--just a cardboard sleeve for the neck area, some bubble wrap, and a gig bag--didn't do much for my confidence in the product itself. But damn! This thing (so far) kicks ass!
Pics first, and then a quick review (sorry if they're too big!):
After I tuned it up, I went over it with everything but a magnifying glass, and as near as I can tell, it's flawless--not a mark on it. Nice fretwork with no sharp ends or filler visible; a dark(ish) and clearly well-conditioned fret board; no loose hardware; tuners properly aligned; nut cut slightly high (the way I like it!) but the slots themselves are clean and in the right place; multi-piece body but the grain is very tightly matched--you really need to look closely for the seams; medium chunky neck (definitely not a skinny one); intonation was damn near spot-on right out of the box (pretty amazing for a compensated/wrap tailpiece); and the action was on the high side but perfect for my heavy handed style. It's loud and resonant unplugged (even my wife could tell that much!). And the P-90 growls like a P-90 should through my '77 Marshall, and cleans up nicely when the volume is rolled back.
For $650, this thing is a total winner in my book. I've never owned a vintage Jr., which I'm sure is a different animal entirely. But I'm not sure how a current Custom Shop model could beat this thing on looks and functionality, especially at this price point!
Rock on!
Best,
Mikey
