Gibson Les Paul Standard Traditional Pro Guitar Review
Features: The body of the Les Paul Traditional Pro is, of course, made of mahogany wood. It is non-chambered, which means it is completely solid all the way through. The top of the guitar, on the other hand, is made of carved maple to improve looks. There are just a few finishes available on the Les Paul Traditional Pro, all of which are modeled after classic looks such as sunburst and ebony. The neck of the guitar is set into the body, and is made of mahogany. Its fretboard, meanwhile, is rosewood. It has twenty two frets with trapezoid pearl inlays. The hardware on the Les Paul Traditional Pro is all standard Gibson stuff. It has the "top hat" styled tuning heads and chrome Tune-O-Matic bridge. Interestingly, though, it doesn't have pickup covers. Electronically, the guitar has two Gibson brand humbuckers. As a great added feature, the volume and tone controls also offer the ability to "split" the two coils of each humbucker, which means select either one of the two coils on the pickup.
Playability: Though Les Pauls are beautiful looking and even better sounding, they aren't necessarily known for their excellent playability. If you're looking for a guitar to shred with, search elsewhere. The completely solid body is rather heavy, and the neck is pretty thick. It is definitely suited for more classic styles of music like rock, pop, and blues.
Sound: The coil splitting option on the tone controls really opens up a myriad of tonal options for the Les Paul Traditional Pro's owner. Though the body isn't really designed for metal, it can play it. It can also play just about anything you want. The regular settings provide traditional rich Gibson tone, and the splitting option can give you anything from fat distorted sound to bell like clean tones. The sound of the Les Paul Traditional Pro, in a word, will certainly impress.
Overall: The Gibson Les Paul Traditional Pro is a musician's instrument. It is excellent quality, and has a price tag to match. Connoisseurs of tone will love it, as will serious and/or professional musicians. It has the potential to be the centerpiece of anyone's collection. You can find the Les Paul Traditional Pro in music stores for about $2,000.
Published by Mike Harris
I'm a college student in Springfield, MO. Hope you dig my stuff. View profile
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7 Comments
Post a CommentHe author of this review has clearly not done his homework.
The trad pro has Grover locking tuners .....not standard gibbs stuff
It is weight relieved (Swiss cheese ) not solid
The neck is a 60's style. Which is very thin
The it's playability is outstanding......one ofnthe main things the lp is known for.
The top hats are the shape oft the vol and tone knobs.....which by the way split the humbuckers via the vol pots. Not both
I must agree with with David S. Mr. Smith writes a "fair" review but his youth and inexperience betray him. David noted many of Smith's errors, but for me, the single biggest error Mr. Smith makes however is not in his specs, but in his assertion: "Though Les Pauls are beautiful looking and even better sounding, they aren't necessarily known for their excellent playability." Gibson LP's have long been noted for their excellent playability. This one reason (along with superb tone) why so many of us put up with the heavier weight of an LP. The LP, along with the Fender Strat, are THE benchmarks for playability. When people compare any today's modern guitars, it is always held against a Strat or LP. One last note (pardon the pun). The inlays on the Traditional Pro are not "pearl," they're simulated mother of pearl nade from ABS plastic. How does this LP rate along side other Gibson LP versions? It rates well enough for me to buy it... and
Moron Mike Harris must have never heard of weight relieved holes (9). Does the std trad pro have weight relieved holes or not?
I've owned one of these for8 months now and its a great guitar for the money.I own assorted Fender and Gibson guitars and this guitar plays incredibly well.It has the slim 60's neck and the nut and frets are finish with the pleck system.You can set this guitar with about as low a action as you can take with very little if any buzz.The pickup covers are of but it has zebra coils that look fantastic.The neck has a satin finish that feels great,never gets sticky.With aged binding and a gloss top this is a best buy as far as I'm concerned.I bought this instead of a 57 reissue gold top because I thought it was a better guitar.
With the proper set up, the Trad Pro is great for shred - if that's your thing. Wish it had more options as far as finish too-like a goldtop. But, man-what a great guitar.
Also be warned that I was at GC and they had me try out a trad pro that was way too light to be a trad pro - meaning it had a chambered body. It was probably a newer Standard Plus. If you're not into the whole chambered vs. weight-relieved, then no big deal. But, if you are, pay attention to the weight. Just because it has a Tradtional tag hanging from the neck doesn't mean it is.
One more thing... you wrote: "The hardware on the Les Paul Traditional Pro is all standard Gibson stuff." Umm... not exactly. The tuners on the Traditional Pro are locking Grovers, not the standard Klusons.
A couple of factual errors in your review...
You wrote: "It is non-chambered, which means it is completely solid all the way through". It's true that it is non-chambered, but it is also "weight relieved" meaning that Gibson has used swiss-cheese holes drilled inside the mahogany to help reduce weight. So it is not truly solid "all the way though".
Also, the coil split is done using the volume pots, not the tone pots.