Best Electric Guitar For Worship (2024 Update)

Overall: First thing I have to say is when I opened it I went over it with a fine tooth comb because I've heard so many nightmare stories about Gibson quality control over the past decade. My guitar was impeccable. Not a single issue whatsoever, as it should be for what they cost now. This guitar comes with the 490r and 490t pickups. These are fine if you play blues, jazz, or classic rock. If you want to play hard rock or metal you may want to look into replacement pickups. The 490r is very warm and thick. It sounds great for clean arpeggios and overdriven soloing, but it can sound downright muddy playing chords with any overdrive on it. Even with the pickup heights adjusted it was a little louder than the 490t bridge pickup. Now the 490t doesn't sound too bad. It's a pretty clear, but doesn't have a whole lot of output. Stick an overdrive in front of a dirty amp and it will sing, but it won't have the compressed singing quality on it's own. That can be good or bad depending on what you need. I played around with them for a couple weeks before deciding to replace them with Seymour Duncans (JB and Jazz). The Jazz has a lot more clarity in the neck than the 490r and it still has warmth to it. The JB just sings and still cleans up with the volume knob despite being high output. They're the go to aftermarket pickups as far as I'm concerned. If it had shipped with a 498t in the bridge I might not have been so quick to swap the pickups out. I love the fact that this has a maple neck. Maple is a lot sturdier than mahogany plus the Les Paul Customs in the 70s had maple necks. That's really the main reason I jumped for this rather than a Studio. No it doesn't have the binding like the Classic, Traditional, or Standard LPs, but I'm used to the no frills construction of my faded SG. It doesn't bother me. It has a simple beauty to it. My guitar is the tobacco burst and I really like how the neck, top, and back all have different colors. You get what you pay for, but it's not as good a value as it was a couple years ago. Replace the 490t with a 498t and drop the price (yeah right) back down a bit and I'd give it a 5/5. As it is it is a solid 4/5. I wouldn't hesitate to buy one if you're in the market for a Les Paul.

Not much to say about a GLP – its an amazing guitar as you'd expect and anyone can carry it and comparably price instruments. However, it's the Sweetwater service that makes the difference. Grant is great and super responsive to my questions and issues. You can tell that the people who work here play and love music. I completely trust Sweetwater with my musical instruments. I just purchased my second guitar with them yesterday and the process was fantastic. At this point, I'm only going to buy here. Even if I found an instrument at a cheaper price through one of their competitors, it wouldn't be worth the care and service you get at Sweetwater. 5-Stars guys! Customer 4-Life!

So it arrived today! it came in a very nice branded MusicStore box with a short checklist of things done before packing. This is nice as makes me confident the purchase was made with premium supplier. The standard Gibson outfit package is really cool. There's a branded soft gig bag with nice fluffy interior, a bag strap, a cloth, few marketing leaflets, and, a photo of the guitar that was made in the factory. Very cool. Value wise, its fantastic. The guitar out of the box looks great. it feels and looks premium, although it is a distant and poor relative when standing next to LP's Reissues or some other top-shelf models. Visually, its a different line. The guitar was pretty much setup to play from the box (thanks musicstore team), which was a nice surprise too. Unplugged, there is more than enough sustain, vibe and articulation details. This instrument sounds very much like pricier Les Pauls, even with no power. The neck is nice and fast with medium jumbos, allowing to play pretty much everything you want. Once plugged in to 90s JCM 800 set, it did deliver pretty much everything the more expensive Gibsons' do. There's sustain, articulation, the 'gurl' of Gibson. Studio workhorse, worth every penny. Which was a bit of surprise as the Studios' are slightly lighter in body construction. Some complain about finish quality, but i have not observed anything limiting playability yet. As mentioned before: if you place it next to a top-shelf Les Paul, you WILL see a difference. You will see dozens of differences in finish and quality as these instrumets are different. But, to me, its a great guitar, and I would reccomend that to anyone looking for Gibson sounding instrument for relatively moderate price. LP Studio is probably the cheapest and easiest way to get real Gibson sound for "OK" money. I have one comment to MusicStore team regarding the purchase process: It would be nice to allow customer to change payment option in case of problems with the one initially chosen.

When you want a Les Paul you’ll want a real Les Paul so that’s a Gibson and not a single cut guitar by any onther manufacturer that has its looks changed because it may not look like a Gibson Les Paul. Furthermore: the Gibson Les Paul since its inception in the ‘50’s has always been and will be THE benchmark. Period. This Gibson Les Paul Classic is a gorgeous, great guitar and very competetively priced too. For your tone you really do not need an AAA flame top; many of the best sounding ‘vintage’ Les Pauls are plaintops. And when you do not want one of the ‘burst’ versions that just do not quite meet the looks of the old ones, this Translucent Red is the way to go.. you’ll be buying a guitar that reminisces of George Harrison’s ‘Lucy’ and Dicky Betts’s ‘Redtop’ without having to fork out Custom Shop money. You’ll also get 4 push-pull pots that effectively give you all the inspiring tonal options (including the ‘Peter Green’ out of phase tone) you’d find in a Custom Shop Jimmy Page # 2 (read the spec sheets) but again without having to pay the Custom Shop Price. Between 1990 and 2008 there was also a ‘Les Paul Classic’ too but the ‘Classic’ version on sale these days has little to do with that previous ‘Classic 1960’. The Burstbucker pick ups are supposed to adhere to the specifications Seth Lover intended and that Gibson was applying to the 1961 P.A.F. / Patent Number Pickups. And indeed the Burstbuckers are clear, brilliant, a bit ‘bright’ and not ‘woolly’ or ‘fatty’. More a bit like the P90 ‘without hum’ it was designed to be but then a little more powerful, without the screaming harshness of some ceramic pickups Gibson used in the past. The Grover tuners – although I prefer the looks of the Kluson keystones – are also ‘60’s-modifications’ and I must say they have a wonderfull ‘solid’ mechanically feeling action. The crown inlays in the fretboard are a perfect fit (unlike some others where gaps were obvioulsy filled up with glue or something) and the fret bindings have been finished properly (in the past I’ve seen that done less scrupulously..). The Classic also sports the ‘modern’ larger strap holders so it is not imperative to fit straplock systems right away… Any drawbacks? Some people might scare back at the weight: it comes in at 4.25 kilo’s and the Slim Taper neck profile (also a ‘60’s’ characteristic) has to be your thing. Minor detail: upon arrival the fretboard was very dry but all it needed was some luscious application of Axe Wax and now the fretboard has the same nice even chocolate brown hue as my Gibson 2019 Firebird. When you are on the search for ‘a’ Les Paul, at least try the Les Paul Classic as well. I have sold two M.I.J. Tokai LoveRocks (a 2002 and a 2003) to fund the purchase of the Gibson Les Paul Classic; that was a gamble but I was right in doing so; the Les Paul Classic really pleases me a lot more. And a note I must add: mine came perfectly set up by one of the guitar techs of Music Store; thank you! Even the intonation was spot on !

Having tried playing MANY of these in my hands, it seems that the quality control out of the Jackson Indonesia factory is hit-or-miss. If you get a good unit without problems, it is a great guitar with a great sound for a great price! And the looks are so nice as well. The neck thru body construction is so smooth and sweet. However, you might get a dud that sounds horrible. Or it might have severe defects in the neck or locking nut. In my experience, about 50% are of poor quality.

Overall: …at least in my case. I ordered numerous semi hollows from a well known maker, and had to send them all back for poor set up/fit/finish. Finally gave up and ordered this Electromatic Jet, mostly because the quality control got rave reviews and I was just tired of rolling the dice on the 335s. The rumors were true. For the price, this is just a great guitar. Yes, the Bigsby is a little gripey. I ordered some nut sauce and that should take care of it. I've read of some other fixes if it still needs a little love. In the meantime, I take it easy on the Bigs. Gigged with it right away. Looks totally pro and classy to all but total guitar snobs – of which I am one, for sure. So, at that level it's not a total love affair, but I will say that as of right now, I guess rather than saving for a 'real' 335, I'm saving for a 'real' Gretsch. For sheer umph, you can't beat the 335 – I know it – and the down market 335 sounded great – sent it back for having a totally unprofessional nut job. Not to mention fret sprout and truth be told, the finish is just not that good looking. Not to rag on the big E. I have a 339 that's a total gem. But this Gretch – just at the basic level of fit and finish, it smokes the 335s I've been sent. And then just the look of the thing. Heads turn, people gather to check it out. It's just good looking. Not all pretty girls are rich girls. I've heard of people preferring these Electromatics over the Player series. Sounds like a stretch to me, but on a cost/benefit comparison I could totally get that. Playability – it's totally playable, but such a different feel from the LP I usually play, that it was like learning to play all over again. I even got new blisters. It some ways it's actually easier to play than my LP. In some ways, mostly in not having a chunkier neck under my hand, not as enjoyable as the LP. I haven't picked up the Gibby in two weeks. The LP is a better guitar in pretty much every way, but it had better be, right? Then again, one thing it can't do is sound like a Gretsch, and even though I'd rather be playing the high end Jet (mostly for the thicker neck), I feel like I'm getting a good dose of 'Great Gretsch Sound' at a killer price. The Jet has a thinner neck and a slightly shorter scale, but it has a very different feel. It's very easy to play. And feels very well built. Neck feels great. Headstock looks so cool. The neck is not overly thin, objectively speaking. It's got a little meat on it.The Sound – woah! It's spanky! You will cut through! If you are a player who feels a little exposed if your sound is too out front, well, playing this baby is the sonic equivalent of wearing a Speedo with holes. You will be heard. Personally, I'm digging it. I'm used to fighting with PAF style pickups to get my sound out there. Problem solved. No EQ necessary. Don't get me wrong: it's a beautiful sound – smoky and airy and raspy with a ton of vibe and attitude. You can get a wide range of sounds out it, but it's a very different palette of colors for a Gibson guy to get used to. And it's a great palette. The notes come off with an immediacy that is just great. I find myself digging out pedals that I didn't really use with a Gibson. I'm putting away the Marshall type pedals. Pulled out a Fulldrive 3, which is kind of dark with PAFs.Anyhow, not to ramble. The Electromatic Jet is the real deal, the reviews are real – I think you can't count on receiving a good guitar when you order this. Oh yeah, I wanted to mention the volume control sucks… no taper… it's either off, then with a tiny little twist of the knob you are at full volume. Something that I imagine is easily remedied. Having gigged with this guitar now, for a few weeks, I will say this: why are there 3 volume knobs? That is just silly, I'm going to just put in a new Master Volume pot and totally bypass the two other volumes. I don't find myself using the tone knob a whole lot either. Partly because it doesn't really seem to do anything, partly because it just sounds so freakin' good at full knob. Anyhow, like I said, I'm a wicked guitar snob, on something of a budget, and I'm keeping this baby, and loving it.Many salaams and hat tips and thank yous to zZounds. Or is it zZounds? I've bought a ton of guitars from them and all kinds of other stuff. They've been very patient with the returns. And of course, I wouldn't have half this stuff without Pay to Play. Bless you ZZOUNDS!

Overall: A couple of weeks ago, I was looking at buying the Gibson les Paul Standard 60's Bourbon Burst for $2,499.00, as I was doing my research checking out reviews when I came across a side by side review of the Gibson verses the Epiphone les Paul standard 60s. The similarities in quality and sound were eye opening, still skeptical I thought to myself, I owe to myself to at lest checkout the Epiphone les Paul standard 60s what's the worst that could happen, if I don't like it ill send it back and order the Gibson. Well I'm here to say I don't JUST like it, I ABSOLUTLY LOVE IT. Right out of the box I was super impressed with the look and feel of this guitar with the flamed maple top to the deep rich cherry back and sides, I sat down tuned it up plugged it into my amp. I went from being impressed to ka-ching I hit the jack pot. You know after I bought this guitar and before it arrived I had that feeling of buyers remorse, thinking that I somehow compromised and I should have bought the Gibson. Well the first few licks on this guitar and all that washed away instantly. This guitar has it all, value, quality, sound, playability and the flamed maple top…. just wow…!!!!! thank you zZounds and Epiphone for this fantastic les Paul.

I got my Sheraton almost two years ago as a christmas gift, and I have played it more than any of my other guitars since then! It is a fantastic semihollow that feels perfectly suited to my playing style and my size (I'm 6'0"). It is comfortable to play sitting down or standing up, but I must say that for a semihollow, it is quite heavy. I love the classic twin humbucker, 4 knob, 3 way switch configuration. Usually I would use pedals to get my tones, but with this guitar I find myself just getting my amp to break up naturally, and play around with the tone knobs and volume knobs. I can get tons of different sounds that way, and I haven't used my pedalboard in a long time. My Sheraton in particular is quite bright, I don't know if all of them are like that, but mine is. This to me is great as I love bright guitars that can thicken up when turning the tone knob down. In fact, I keep my tone knobs turned down to about 7 or 8 90% of the time, and I turn them up when it's time to really dig in. I find that it can do blues comfortably, but it can also do hard rock and I even play fast Metallica songs complete with solos on it. When I got it, I immediately took off the not so great looking pickguard and put 11-50 strings on it. It was great out of the box, but I still needed to make a full setup just to get it to how I like my guitars set up. But still it felt too blingy for my personal taste, so I changed the gold screws on the pickup rings to black screws, and the gold knobs to vintage looking black ones. Now it looks so good that I sometimes catch a glimpse of it when sitting on my desk and feel the urge to go "oh yeah!" Some things that I don't like: the finish is quite plasticky and can get sticky after a while, plus it's not as perfect as I would have wanted. The neck has a very agressive thin shape that took me a while to get comfortable in, and still to this day will feel alien if I've been playing any of my other guitars. It is quite heavy, I haven't weighted it to see, but it is my heaviest guitar, and all of my other electrics are solidbodies. The pickup selector broke about two months in. Lastly, the split coils feel a bit useless to me, and the volume knobs have much less resistance to being turned than the tone knobs, which I imagine comes from the push pull functionality. But all of those are nitpicks for such a great guitar. I highly recommend the Sheraton. It is a fantastic guitar. Great sounds, great looks, and you get the classic ES-335 versatility that session musicians love. You really can't beat it at this price!

Overall: A couple of weeks ago, I was looking at buying the Gibson les Paul Standard 60's Bourbon Burst for $2,499.00, as I was doing my research checking out reviews when I came across a side by side review of the Gibson verses the Epiphone les Paul standard 60s. The similarities in quality and sound were eye opening, still skeptical I thought to myself, I owe to myself to at lest checkout the Epiphone les Paul standard 60s what's the worst that could happen, if I don't like it ill send it back and order the Gibson. Well I'm here to say I don't JUST like it, I ABSOLUTLY LOVE IT. Right out of the box I was super impressed with the look and feel of this guitar with the flamed maple top to the deep rich cherry back and sides, I sat down tuned it up plugged it into my amp. I went from being impressed to ka-ching I hit the jack pot. You know after I bought this guitar and before it arrived I had that feeling of buyers remorse, thinking that I somehow compromised and I should have bought the Gibson. Well the first few licks on this guitar and all that washed away instantly. This guitar has it all, value, quality, sound, playability and the flamed maple top…. just wow…!!!!! thank you zZounds and Epiphone for this fantastic les Paul.

I just received this guitar a few days ago. It's already my favorite. Love the slim taper neck, and the probucker pickups are great. The pickups are fine on clean tones, but where they really shine is when the gain is cranked up. Build quality is very good, and it's a beautiful instrument. I prefer a rosewood fretboard, but find the Indian laurel to be completely acceptable. Only 2 negatives: 1. No coil splitting option, 2. it's a heavy guitar. This doesn't matter much to me because as a hobbyist, I typically play sitting down. But I can see that if you play standing, this could get tiring after a while. But these are minor quibbles – overall I'm very pleased with my purchase. Finally,kudos to Dave Hoffman, who held my hand during the 3 month period it took to get a new shipment in.

Overall: The first guitar I bought myself was a PRS SE Custom 24, it was an amazing guitar especially for a beginner. As I played more I found that I didn't like the finished neck, the fret work wasn't as good as it could be and the pickups weren't the tone I wanted.So I started looking around. A friend of mine showed me his PRS CE and after playing it I was sold. His was the matte black, but when I went on zZounds I saw several colorways that I liked. A few of them had pictures of the actual guitar, so I picked one that had beautiful figuring.The neck, fretwork, and setup are all amazing. This guitar played perfect right out of the box. The pickups sound amazing and the ability to split the coils for complete tonal diversity.My signal chainPRS CE24JHS Muffuletta Ibanez TS808 Fender Blues-Deluxe Reissue As to the case vs gig-bag issue. I prefer a gig-bag, but I wish it had come with the same one that the Silver Sky comes with instead of one that seems almost the same as the SE gig-bag.