Gibson Les Paul Classic Plus Wine Red 1998
Gibson Les Paul Classic Plus, wine red, made in USA 1998. The 90s-era LP Classic models were more or less a 1960 reissue model, very close in some ways to an R0. This one dates to 1998, so you get a different set of pickups, but a lot of the other specs are still there: trad tuners, trapezoid inlays, a thick two piece plain maple cap, uncovered pickups, a pretty slim, fast neck and the subtle '1960' in gold on the guard. It feels great in the hands: the slim neck suits me just fine, and at under 4kg, it's very agreeable weight-wise. The natural resonance and volume is immediately impressive too, it's got plenty of liveliness and sustain. Plug it in and it gets better: this thing sounds fantastic. The neck pickup is clear and sparkly, always a good start, with a generous piano-like bass response. The bridge pickup is creamy, full and fat, with a super wide midrange bursting with harmonics and character. It cleans up very convincingly and delivers the goods on dirty tones with conviction. The amber binding, yellowed cream plastics and rich red finish are a glorious combination, it looks very lush indeed. This is a discerning choice if you're after an LP, it really nails the brief.
Model: Gibson Les Paul Classic Plus
Made: USA, 1998
Serial: 84298
Finish: wine red, gloss nitro
Body: mahogany, plain maple cap, chambered
Neck: mahogany, rosewood fretboard, 24.75" scale, 12" radius, slim 1960 shape
Weight: 3.975kg
Mods: none
Pickups: Gibson 496R/500T passive humbucker x2
Accessories: Gibson brown and pink hard case, no docs
Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has dimples and scuffs on the end, scuffs and hazing on the edges, scuffs on the front around the posts and some surface scratches on the back between the tuners. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, minor dimples, scuffs and rub wear on the back only. The back has scuffs near the switch cavity, neck join, bottom horn, middle and elbow areas, as well as some rub wear on the back edge and a dent in the waist area near the top edge. The sides have dimples on both horns and elbow area as well as some scuffs, dents and a rough patch near the jack. The front has scuffs near the knobs, dimples around the back edges and elbow area and some play wear on the guard and horns.
Overall: very good condition (7/10)
Playing condition notes: action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good, truss rod works. All electronics tested and working properly. Wearing fresh 10/52 Moonshiners strings.
Fret Life: 8/10, minor wear only, appear to have been recently levelled and polished