Lose Your Illusion

Hot on the heels of its reimagined ’59 and ’60 Les Paul reissues come four new LP models built to the specs of the Guns N’ Roses legend

- Neville Marten

GIBSON SLASH LES PAUL STANDARD £2,599

CONTACT Gibson PHONE [phone] WEB www.gibson.com

What You Need To Know

1 Yet another ‘signature’ guitar?

There’s certainly plenty around from big makers such as Gibson, Fender, Music Man and PRS, and quite a few from the smaller ones, too, such as Vigier and Fret-King. But many players like to get involved. Some, like Steve Lukather with his Music Man ‘Luke’ models, getting right down to specifics with the designers; others, perhaps like Slash, taking the basic instrument he already uses and tweaking it cosmetically with a few suggestions about pickups and so on. In our experience companies often take a bit more care over them, too, so when done right, we like ’em.

2 Quite heavy, isn’t it?

Received wisdom and experience tells us that lighter guitars can be more resonant and dynamic, and heavier ones more thrusting in the mids – just what many want from their Les Paul. And at 4.3kg (9.46Ib) this one is at the upper reaches of ‘normal’ for an original 1959 Les Paul.

3 Two-and-a-half grand is a lot…

Yes, it is. But compared with what else is out there (and considering what goes into making a Les Paul compared with some more expensive bolt-on-neck guitars), that looks like a fair price for an instrument that wouldn’t let you down on stage at the Budokan, O2 Arena or Carnegie Hall!