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Tool’s Adam Jones — and Gibson’s Cesar Gueikian — discuss the finer points of Gibson’s new Adam Jones 1979 Les Paul custom

- By Richard Bienstock

Legendary guitarists, from Jimmy Page and Joe Perry to Billy Gibbons and Slash, have been associated with specific Les Paul models over the years. But it’s safe to say that when it comes to the world of modern hard rock and metal, there’s no artist-and-Les-Paul pairing as iconic and instantly identifiable as Tool’s Adam Jones and his Custom Silverburst.

“When I think of Adam Jones, I think of a Gibson Les Paul Custom Silverburst, and when I think of a Gibson Les Paul Custom Silverburst, I think of Adam Jones,” Gibson Chief Merchant Officer Cesar Gueikian says simply. Which made it a no-brainer for Gibson to team up with Jones to pay proper tribute to his distinctive instrument.

And pay proper tribute they have, with the craftsmanship and attention to detail that only Gibson can provide. The new Adam Jones 1979 Les Paul Custom in Antique Silverburst is a stunning, exacting Custom Shop recreation of Jones’ number one guitar — the 1979 Silverburst that we hear on every Tool album and see at every Tool show — from the wood to the finish to the pickups to even the volume pots. “I’m really blown away,” Jones tells Guitar World.