Best High End Guitar (2024 Update)

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 !

First of all, sorry that this is in english but maybe somebody will still find it useful. I ordered two of this exact model. I sent the first one back due to a quality issue. The first guitar was well set up, played really well, sounded great, and looked beautiful but at the top of the neck there was a very small gap between the fretboard and the neck. It was about 0,5 mm in height and about 3 cm in width on both sides of the neck. It was small but you could feel it with your hand every time you played over it. Anybody would notice it upon inspection and I am quite surprised that it got past both the Gibson quality control and the Musicstore check. This is the reason for the lower score on “Verarbeitung”. Now, was it a showstopper? For me, it was, considering the price of the instrument. For others, it may not have been and to be honest I thought long and hard before sending it back because it was otherwise a really excellent instrument and I’m sure some people may have decided to keep it. Kudos go out to the Musicstore.de for making absolutely no fuss about taking it back. I will certainly consider buying from this store again in the future. Now, to the second guitar I received: What can I say? It is a wonderful instrument that has THE sound. I usually play a Telecaster but wanted something Gibson-ish for a more humbucker-type sound. This has that sound, so if you are looking for a classic Les Paul sound, you will not be disappointed. Unlike the first guitar which seemed set up quite well by the Musicstore, the second one was not. This is not a problem for me as I am familiar with setup work but if you are not, then you may need to take the guitar to a good luthier once you receive it in order to get the most out of it. So that is something to consider when buying. Mine was pretty off and didn’t seem like anyone spent more than 3 minutes setting it up which was a bit disappointing considering that I know (based on calls to the store) that the delivery was being held back for over a week because it was waiting to be checked and set up. The truss rod had been adjusted quite right but the intonation was way off, the action was “ok”. The pickups seemed untouched and the height was off leading to an imbalanced sound. These are all minor things and it didn’t bother me because I like to set up my own guitars anyways but it should be noted that there seems to be a diffrerence in attention to detail between whoever is doing the setups at the store. That said, once set up properly, this thing is a killer! It is a tone and sustain monster! As far as workmanship goes, I can’t find any noticeable flaws. The finish is beautiful and the binding is very well done. The fretboard was extremely dry and needed to be oiled right away. This is typical Gibson and a bit annoying but also not a real issue that can’t fixed with a few drops of lemon oil and 2 mins of work. One last thing to note, the guitar is heavy. The fist one weighed 4.6 Kg and the second one weighs 4.4 Kg. That is normal for a Les Paul but you should know that in advance in case that is important to you. Reading back what I wrote above may seem negative but it is only so others know what to expect. All in all, I’m very happy with the guitar and would buy it again but for the price, I would’ve expected a bit more attention to detail.

First of all, sorry that this is in english but maybe somebody will still find it useful. I ordered two of this exact model. I sent the first one back due to a quality issue. The first guitar was well set up, played really well, sounded great, and looked beautiful but at the top of the neck there was a very small gap between the fretboard and the neck. It was about 0,5 mm in height and about 3 cm in width on both sides of the neck. It was small but you could feel it with your hand every time you played over it. Anybody would notice it upon inspection and I am quite surprised that it got past both the Gibson quality control and the Musicstore check. This is the reason for the lower score on “Verarbeitung”. Now, was it a showstopper? For me, it was, considering the price of the instrument. For others, it may not have been and to be honest I thought long and hard before sending it back because it was otherwise a really excellent instrument and I’m sure some people may have decided to keep it. Kudos go out to the Musicstore.de for making absolutely no fuss about taking it back. I will certainly consider buying from this store again in the future. Now, to the second guitar I received: What can I say? It is a wonderful instrument that has THE sound. I usually play a Telecaster but wanted something Gibson-ish for a more humbucker-type sound. This has that sound, so if you are looking for a classic Les Paul sound, you will not be disappointed. Unlike the first guitar which seemed set up quite well by the Musicstore, the second one was not. This is not a problem for me as I am familiar with setup work but if you are not, then you may need to take the guitar to a good luthier once you receive it in order to get the most out of it. So that is something to consider when buying. Mine was pretty off and didn’t seem like anyone spent more than 3 minutes setting it up which was a bit disappointing considering that I know (based on calls to the store) that the delivery was being held back for over a week because it was waiting to be checked and set up. The truss rod had been adjusted quite right but the intonation was way off, the action was “ok”. The pickups seemed untouched and the height was off leading to an imbalanced sound. These are all minor things and it didn’t bother me because I like to set up my own guitars anyways but it should be noted that there seems to be a diffrerence in attention to detail between whoever is doing the setups at the store. That said, once set up properly, this thing is a killer! It is a tone and sustain monster! As far as workmanship goes, I can’t find any noticeable flaws. The finish is beautiful and the binding is very well done. The fretboard was extremely dry and needed to be oiled right away. This is typical Gibson and a bit annoying but also not a real issue that can’t fixed with a few drops of lemon oil and 2 mins of work. One last thing to note, the guitar is heavy. The fist one weighed 4.6 Kg and the second one weighs 4.4 Kg. That is normal for a Les Paul but you should know that in advance in case that is important to you. Reading back what I wrote above may seem negative but it is only so others know what to expect. All in all, I’m very happy with the guitar and would buy it again but for the price, I would’ve expected a bit more attention to detail.

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.

As attested to by all the reviews on the Capri Orange MX Player Tele, it is a great playing guitar in its original factory form. However, I chose this guitar as the platform for Sweetwater to custom mod. In collusion with friend and Sales Engineer Jeff Jent, we determined the component upgrades of choice for the project. The oem wiring harness was replaced with the Emerson 4way switch Tele wiring harness. The additional switch position allows for the pups to play in series. The oem pups were replaced with Fender Custom Shop Twisted Tele pups. All this modification under the hood was covered up by a Fender black pearloid moto pickguard. The oem string guide was replaced with the Fender American Standard string guide. The oem control plate and knobs were kept as was the oem bridge with box saddles. I prefer the 6 box saddles bridge to the 3 saddles bridge – just a personal choice. Upon receipt of the Tele, from my personal parts box I installed Fender all short post locking tuners and Fender locking strap buttons. Since the MX Player Tele doesn't come with either a case or gig bag, I had the guitar shipped in a new Fender Elite hard case. I provided Jeff with my preferred set-up specs by the numbers and he forwarded those to the guitar technician for the final modified product set-up. Guitar technician Brandon Harper did exemplary work in putting the mod guitar together and tech supervisor Marty Flaley verified the completed modifications "nailed" by Brandon. If you desire modifications on a new guitar, don't be hesitant to turn the Sweetwater guitar technicians loose on your vision project. The techs know their trade. But in full disclosure, modified guitars are non returnable so be sure of the modifications you desire. The standard Sweetwater warranty is in place though. All of these details can be gone over with your Sales Engineer to be certain, just in case I have misspoken the rules of engagement. Thanks to Brandon for his tech expertise and Marty for the oversight (prior to his promotion, Marty was my tech of choice for set-ups on new guitar purchases). Can't say enough about my excellent relationship with my Sales Engineer Jeff Jent. He knows his gear! If you don't have an assigned Sales Engineer, call Sweetwater and ask for Jeff. If you are ever on the Sweetwater campus, ask to personally meet your Sales Engineer and guitar tech. I've had that pleasure and glad to call them friends. OH, and what about the orange Tele? It feels, handles and plays great. It is on par with my Elite and Ultra Teles (except slightly less expensive) as a fine crafted guitar. If you have ever wanted to do a mod guitar, pick any platform and turn the guitar techs loose. My new Tele is a Sweetwater Custom Mod!

This is a really great deal. Unless you get lucky on Reverb or whatever you won't find a deal like this anywhere else. And let's face it–you need a Telecaster! It's as basic as a Stratocaster. Even more so. It's so versatile and has a bright (but not too bright) sound. It's HIGHLY customizable. The shape of the neck is very comfortable for both rhythm and lead play. I'd even go so far as to tell you to make this your kids' (or YOUR) first guitar. For one thing, it's a Fender. The build quality is rock solid. It's really designed to be a lifetime instrument. Cons–really just the shade of the neck itself. It's a little pale. But that's just me. Not only that, but later on you can purchase another Fender neck and just replace it. (It's easy.) Don't let this absolute steal for a real Fender Tele get away from you. You'll thank me.

Overall: This is a great American built Telecaster at its price point. I'm not sure what the other review was downing it so much for. The pick ups are Yoseminee, as advertised, so why the down review on the pick ups? The pick ups are well known for great telecaster sound. The 3 bridge system he called cheap is what was used on the first Telecaster and this model was made to look and sound original. It's NOT a cheap model, it's a good guitar at its price point. I've seen some reviews on it saying it sounds better than the Professional and at it's price point…… how can you complain about the American built Performer. I own a Les Paul classic and this is my second guitar purchased. I wanted to own a Fender as well as a Gibson. I'm happy with it. I now own 2 classic guitars with classic sound.

Overall: For 100 bucks less than a Japanese made RG550 I'll say the quality of this Indonesian assembled guitar is sub-par albeit correctable. All hardware was loose. Blase switch wast rubbing against finish. Tone and volume pots were pushed down into contact with body. Gold playing on bridge pick-up shows nickel plating already. Action was set so low that it was unplayable. Some frets are razor sharp at the edge of the fretboard. Neck and fretboard are dry as a bone, and need to be sanded and sealed. The grain was raised when I unboxed. Which basically tells me that there was very little if any polyurethane applied to the neck or fretboard. As with all Indonesian guitars ai take this as an opportunity to fix these little things on my own, but you are better off getting an RG550 Genesis. The quality is far superior. Also the paint is awful, and the plating on all gold plated surfaces are sure to deteriorate quickly. One note: Sounds has nothing to do with these inadequacies or defects. Ibanez should just seize operations in Indonesia, as should all other guitar manufactures. Indonesian guitars are ok enough to correct, but even at the 800 dollar mark you should get a 100% gigable axe. This is not at that level.

I've owned this guitar for a year. I own more than a few Ibanez, with about half of them being Prestige and the others being 80's/90's Fujigen Ibby's, 2010's Iron Labels and Premium. I love this RGA and it's remarkably well spec'ed for most anything a diverse player will want. What it isn't: it isn't a prestige and it doesn't feel like it. That's not a bad thing; the roasted maple neck is amazing, feels comfortable, but the fingerboard does feel a little different (given the wood type). The only real negative I find is that the finish (the actual finish) feels like it's very delicate. I can see this finish cracking easily with an everyday bump. I hang my guitars and pull them just to record, so not a n issue for me, but it definitely feels very delicate. The only other reasonable complaint is that for the pricepoint, it should include at least a gig bag. This is basically a 1,000 dollar guitar.

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.

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.