Putting a cool spin on the original "tuxedo" aesthetics of the Les Paul Custom, Gibson's Custom Shop introduces the limited-edition Les Paul Custom Maple. This guitar offers all of the sonic weight and playing feel of the traditional Les Paul Custom with an eye-catching look that really pops on stage. The Limited Edition Les Paul Custom Maple exhibits a striking new look that really helps you stand out from the crowd -- a bold impression further enhanced by a high-gloss nitrocellulose lacquer finish with gold hardware. Add the rich, powerful humbucking pickups, classic Custom appointments and hardware, and unparalleled Gibson Custom quality and playability, and the Limited Edition Les Paul Custom Maple is a stunning acquisition for player and collector alike.

Classic Les Paul Tonewoods, Plus a Maple Fretboard

Although the look is new and bold, the Limited Edition Les Paul Custom Maple remains deeply rooted in Gibson tradition. The body is crafted from the classic tonewood pairing of a rich, resonant one-piece mahogany back and a clear, articulate two-piece maple top. The mahogany is strategically chambered to enhance resonance and reduce weight, and joined to a one-piece, quarter-sawn mahogany neck that is carved to a comfortably rounded profile. The custom look and precise feel of the premium maple fingerboard creates a subtle backdrop for the traditional pearloid block fingerboard inlays, while other "upscale" visual features of the traditional Les Paul Custom remain… read more entirely intact.

Elegant Binding and Inlays

The five-layer body top, back, and headstock binding, mother-of-pearl split-diamond headstock inlay, and single-ply fingerboard binding all link the Limited Edition Les Paul Custom Maple firmly to the first Customs of 1955, as conceived by Les Paul and Gibson president Ted McCarty. One look, and it's no surprise that the maple fingerboard is one of the more frequently chosen options on custom-commissioned Les Pauls.

Gibson 490R and 498T Pickups

Of course all of the best of the Les Paul tone is here, too, from the rich, warm, throaty neck pickup sounds to the fiery crunch and wailing lead of the bridge pickup. The 490R pickup in the neck position is a traditional PAF-style humbucker with an Alnico II magnet and moderately wound coils of 42 AWG wire for enhanced breadth and clarity. The 498T in the bridge position also boasts an Alnico II magnet and traditional 42 AWG wire, but its coils carry a few more turns of the good stuff for a hotter output from your "lead" position.

High-end Hardware

High-quality, gold-plated Grover "keystone" tuners retain the upscale look, as does the traditional pairing of gold-plated Tune-o-matic bridge and stopbar tailpiece. Partner these solid tone tools with a PLEK-cut Corian nut for unparalleled resonance and sustain, and finish it off with Gibson Custom's acclaimed PLEK set-up, and you've got a guitar of unparalleled tone and playability. Each guitar includes a Gibson Custom hardshell case, Certificate of Authenticity, along with Gibson Custom's Limited Lifetime Warranty and 24/7/365 Customer Service.

Features:

- One-piece mahogany body with maple top
- Maple fingerboard with pearl block inlays
- Powerful 490R humbucker in the neck and slightly hotter 498T humbucker in the bridge
- Gold ABR-1 bridge and stopbar tailpiece
- Gold tulip-style tuners with 14:1 tuning ratio read less