Gibson Les Paul Traditional with Hardshell Case
Taking design and visual cues from the Les Pauls of the '80s and '90s, the Les Paul Traditional starts with an un-chambered mahogany body with traditional weight-relief holes for a beefy tone that maintains the resonance of modern Les Pauls. Each Les Paul Traditional also comes with Gibson USA’s standard black snakeskin case.
Weight-relieved Mahogany Body
Satisfying the call in the early 1980s to make a lighter Les Paul, Gibson engineers came up with the idea of placing strategically routed holes in the Les Paul's body to lessen the weight of the guitar. After trying several patterns, the final configuration of holes resulted in a Les Paul with enhanced acoustic qualities and improved resonance. This same period-correct pattern is used in the Les Paul Traditional. The body itself is made from premium mahogany, and it goes through the same rigorous processes as all the wood used by Gibson USA.
Pickups: '57 Classic (Neck), '57 Classic Plus (Bridge)
Among the qualities that make Gibson's original "Patent Applied For" humbucking pickups so unique are the subtle variations between coil windings. For the first few years of their productions — 1955 to 1961 — Gibson's PAF humbuckers were wound using imprecise machines, resulting in pickups with slightly different output and tone. The '57 Classic and '57 Classic Plus pickups are the result of Gibson drive to capture and recreate this characteristic. Introduced in 1992, the '57 Classic provides warm, full tone with a balanced response, packing that classic Gibson PAF humbucker crunch. The '57 Classic Plus is the perfect bridge-position companion to the '57 Classic, inspired by those original PAFs that received a few extra turns of wire. Both are made by Gibson to the exact same specs as the original PAFs, including Alnico II magnets, nickel-plated pole pieces, nickel slugs, maple spacers, and vintage-style, two-conductor braided wiring. Gibson added poly-coated wiring, which improves consistency by eliminating thick or thin spots on the wiring, and wax potting, which removes all internal air space and any chance of microphonic feedback.
Revolutionary Plek Set Up
The Les Paul Traditional is the first model from Gibson USA to utilize the revolutionary Plek machine in setting up the guitar. The Plek is a German-made, computer-controlled machine that carefully measures each fret, along with the fingerboard height under each string, and then automatically dresses each fret, virtually eliminating string buzz and greatly improving the overall playability of the guitar. This pioneering process does in minutes what it takes a luthier several hours — sometimes even days — to accomplish. Every fret is accurately aligned, and the guitar is properly intonated, leaving the instrument "Plek'd" and amazingly playable.
Gibson Les Paul Traditional with Hardshell Case
The manufacturer's warranty covers defects in materials and workmanship for the lifetime of the product. The warranty excludes damage from misuse, abuse, and contains other exclusions.
