Deep Purple fan
Well-Known Member
I've been shopping for a vintage Les Paul Junior Sunburst but they are not easy to find in good shape and at a fair price. I stumbled upon the 2018 Gibson USA (non-Custom Shop) specs and was able to snag one. It was close in design and specs to what I was looking for. The issue with Gibson USA Les Paul Juniors is Gibson usually requires a compromise of the buyer. Not often do they offer Sunburst AND a fat chunky 50s neck AND a Wrap around bridge AND a dog ear P90 AND vintage tuners. The 2018 has a vintage vibe and they are virtually sold out so I grabbed one from Chicago Music Exchange.
The Good: A lot of good news here. Generally the specs are what I wanted. I wanted a vintage sunburst finish, a rounded 50s neck, vintage style tuners and a ballsy dog ear P90. I also wanted a rosewood fretboard and mahogany body. Too often Gibson USA requires the customer to compromise by offering a 60s or slim neck, wrong colors, humbuckers, electronic tuners, etc. They save the vintage specs for the custom shop but prices start at $3500. Every few years they get back to the basics at Gibson USA. They did a great job here. The finish is particularly good, as is feel. The guitar is light at 7.5 pounds and the pickups perfect at 7.9.
Tone - The guitar is very resonate. Its very loud and acoustic when not plugged in. Plugged in it is a thick ballsy beast when going in an overdriven amp. I played it though the JVM410HJS, Engl Morse, Engl Blackmore and Friedman BE and it was killer in each. Lots of mid frequency. The highs are not piercing and the lows are not boomy. It is unique in tones and you can shape tones by using the controls. It does not remind me at all of a strat or a tele. Its something different. It definitely has Les Paul DNA. Its great for classic rock. Very vintage, Thick yet there is an articulate clear sound to notes. It does not get mushy. The pickups are very responsive when dialed back. It cleans up nice. The pickups output is smack in the middle of what you will find in a 50s vintage junior.
Playability: The guitar is fun to play. It stays in tune. The setup from Chicago Music Exchange was great. No intonation issues. The simple one pickup design took a bit to get used to. You can definite gig with this bad boy. The neck is chunky but not baseball bat chunky. Its not as chunky as my R9 or either R8. The neck feels comfortable. The guitar is well balanced. It is not anything like a custom shop Les Paul but its not designed to be. A lot of people describe the old juniors as student guitars or beginner guitars. That's a bit misleading as they are solid and well put together instruments.
The Bad: No deal breakers but its not all joy either. The most obvious thing I noticed is the finish on the rosewood fret board is very uneven. As you go down the neck its worse. Not horrible but this is Gibson USA being Gibson USA. You can see the different shades in the picture. Its purely cosmetic. My biggest beef is with the controls. The volume and tone is wired through a board under the control cavity. I would prefer traditional vintage wiring. I may change it some day. I don't think it has great impact on tone but the controls on the Junior are so important as that is an important way to shape your sound while playing. I've played the guitar about 6 hours and did not notice an issue...so I will defer any work for now.
The thing that is most baffling is Gibson used a pre-1950s old logo and not the normal one on the headstock. It looks ok but its not right for this era instrument. I'm convinced they did that as this is the only obvious clue that it is not a custom shop guitar. Otherwise it looks very similar...virtually identical.
The price has been the biggest source of criticism mainly on blogs by people who did not buy it. I've seen it range from $1200-$1500 which is significantly more than previous years and the 2019 model. I paid just under $1100 but it was an open box. It was flawless but I suspect it was returned due to the finish on the rosewood being very uneven. I actually went and used an inflation calculator and based on the price in 1957 when you account for inflation it comes out to $1200. The 2018 model for example is much closer in specs than say the 2019 model which is an example of a Junior I would have very little interest. In final analysis, if you want a pretty authentic vintage Junior the price of the Gibson USA looks a lot better than the Gibson Custom shop....price wise that is.
What do you get in the custom shop that is not on the Gibson USA 2018 model? You get a custom P90 pickup. I'm not sure its actually any different but even if it is the Gibson Dog ear in this model is excellent. You get the traditional wiring in the custom shop. You also get the more traditional manufacturing process and hide glue construction. You get more authentic tuners. You get the same style bridge but upgraded quality. You will also get a chunkier neck and the finish will be more authentic. When you add all that up I believe the custom shop will have more mojo and have a bit more of that sound. But honestly, as good as the custom shop is, I have a mental barrier to spending that kind of money on a Junior. I'd have to go used and they are not that easy to find.
Ugly: There were no shop stoppers.
Final analysis, its a nice guitar. Ballsy tone, nice build, vintage vibe which some typical Gibson trade off's to be able to play in their sand box without breaking the bank. The 2018 model has some cool features such as finish, neck shape, and general specs that made the few tradeoffs acceptable. The model sold well so its hard to say the price was crazy but it was higher than normal. I personally see the value in the few extra bucks. For now, my compromise was this guitar or hold out for a 1950s era guitar. I'm still looking but this will scratch the itch. I cant see going custom shop unless I find a great deal.
The Good: A lot of good news here. Generally the specs are what I wanted. I wanted a vintage sunburst finish, a rounded 50s neck, vintage style tuners and a ballsy dog ear P90. I also wanted a rosewood fretboard and mahogany body. Too often Gibson USA requires the customer to compromise by offering a 60s or slim neck, wrong colors, humbuckers, electronic tuners, etc. They save the vintage specs for the custom shop but prices start at $3500. Every few years they get back to the basics at Gibson USA. They did a great job here. The finish is particularly good, as is feel. The guitar is light at 7.5 pounds and the pickups perfect at 7.9.
Tone - The guitar is very resonate. Its very loud and acoustic when not plugged in. Plugged in it is a thick ballsy beast when going in an overdriven amp. I played it though the JVM410HJS, Engl Morse, Engl Blackmore and Friedman BE and it was killer in each. Lots of mid frequency. The highs are not piercing and the lows are not boomy. It is unique in tones and you can shape tones by using the controls. It does not remind me at all of a strat or a tele. Its something different. It definitely has Les Paul DNA. Its great for classic rock. Very vintage, Thick yet there is an articulate clear sound to notes. It does not get mushy. The pickups are very responsive when dialed back. It cleans up nice. The pickups output is smack in the middle of what you will find in a 50s vintage junior.
Playability: The guitar is fun to play. It stays in tune. The setup from Chicago Music Exchange was great. No intonation issues. The simple one pickup design took a bit to get used to. You can definite gig with this bad boy. The neck is chunky but not baseball bat chunky. Its not as chunky as my R9 or either R8. The neck feels comfortable. The guitar is well balanced. It is not anything like a custom shop Les Paul but its not designed to be. A lot of people describe the old juniors as student guitars or beginner guitars. That's a bit misleading as they are solid and well put together instruments.
The Bad: No deal breakers but its not all joy either. The most obvious thing I noticed is the finish on the rosewood fret board is very uneven. As you go down the neck its worse. Not horrible but this is Gibson USA being Gibson USA. You can see the different shades in the picture. Its purely cosmetic. My biggest beef is with the controls. The volume and tone is wired through a board under the control cavity. I would prefer traditional vintage wiring. I may change it some day. I don't think it has great impact on tone but the controls on the Junior are so important as that is an important way to shape your sound while playing. I've played the guitar about 6 hours and did not notice an issue...so I will defer any work for now.
The thing that is most baffling is Gibson used a pre-1950s old logo and not the normal one on the headstock. It looks ok but its not right for this era instrument. I'm convinced they did that as this is the only obvious clue that it is not a custom shop guitar. Otherwise it looks very similar...virtually identical.
The price has been the biggest source of criticism mainly on blogs by people who did not buy it. I've seen it range from $1200-$1500 which is significantly more than previous years and the 2019 model. I paid just under $1100 but it was an open box. It was flawless but I suspect it was returned due to the finish on the rosewood being very uneven. I actually went and used an inflation calculator and based on the price in 1957 when you account for inflation it comes out to $1200. The 2018 model for example is much closer in specs than say the 2019 model which is an example of a Junior I would have very little interest. In final analysis, if you want a pretty authentic vintage Junior the price of the Gibson USA looks a lot better than the Gibson Custom shop....price wise that is.
What do you get in the custom shop that is not on the Gibson USA 2018 model? You get a custom P90 pickup. I'm not sure its actually any different but even if it is the Gibson Dog ear in this model is excellent. You get the traditional wiring in the custom shop. You also get the more traditional manufacturing process and hide glue construction. You get more authentic tuners. You get the same style bridge but upgraded quality. You will also get a chunkier neck and the finish will be more authentic. When you add all that up I believe the custom shop will have more mojo and have a bit more of that sound. But honestly, as good as the custom shop is, I have a mental barrier to spending that kind of money on a Junior. I'd have to go used and they are not that easy to find.
Ugly: There were no shop stoppers.
Final analysis, its a nice guitar. Ballsy tone, nice build, vintage vibe which some typical Gibson trade off's to be able to play in their sand box without breaking the bank. The 2018 model has some cool features such as finish, neck shape, and general specs that made the few tradeoffs acceptable. The model sold well so its hard to say the price was crazy but it was higher than normal. I personally see the value in the few extra bucks. For now, my compromise was this guitar or hold out for a 1950s era guitar. I'm still looking but this will scratch the itch. I cant see going custom shop unless I find a great deal.
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