Gibson USA 2017 Les Paul Custom Special Electric Guitar - Light Green (Amazon Exclusive)

There's not a lot of information about there guitars and I was therefore cautious. For £699 there are probably better options to get your hands on a Gibson BUT whilst it may not have a the bells and whistles of other guitars, it performs in the areas you would hope. Firstly, it feels good to play. The neck is pretty slim with a light finish, the body is inoffensive and the overall finish is pretty good. I'd read some reviews saying the wraparound bridge results in a highost action so much so that lead playing is an issue. Not on mine. Yes it's higher than I'd like but, straight out of the box it's playable and get uinely not unpleasant. I imagine I'll fiddle with it to get it down a bit but, shred legato type stuff aside, you should be good from. the get-go. Also, it sounds pretty good. Clean sound is ok, can be a bit harsh on full volume but roll it back and there are a range of very useable tones. Stick on some dirt and you're good to go, neck and bridge pickups provide good rhythm and lead tones.There are obviously some areas which could be improved on, the finish, the bridge and probably the tuners but for the money, you really can't complain. Plays well, sounds good and comes with a padded gig bag - cannot fault it (for the money).

I've given this five stars, which reflects the price - for the money this is a fantastic guitar. Actually I got mine on an Amazon flash deal for £380, which makes it really fantastic value. The action was a little high out of the box, but screwing the bridge all the way down as far as it would go, and a tiny tweak on the truss rod sorted that beautifully. The satin neck is a delight to play. Haven't found much online about the pickups in these (Gibson DS pickups?) but they sound very, very similar to the ones in my Gibson Nighthawk Studio, which are Burstbuckers, so I'm happy. I love the look of the red finish on mine - very cool. Not sure if it will be particularly hard-wearing or not, but beat-up guitars look cool anyway, so that's fine. Fit and finish is generally good - frets are well dressed etc. As long as you're not comparing this to a custom shop Gibson or some other high-end guitar, I think you'll be very happy.

I was looking for a good second guitar with a 24.75inch scale, one I could get on with right out of the box without having to upgrade loads of things (unless I wanted to) - this was on offer so I took the chance.I have to say, it's quickly become my favourite guitar. I'm not a Gibson fan as a rule, generally much preferring Telecasters and Mustangs from Fender. This range is obviously Gibson's attempt to break into the same market as Fender's 'Made in Mexico' guitars. I bought the black finish, which is a thin nitro showing the wood grain underneath. This simple, stripped down look also applies to the controls, with just a master tone and volume acting for both pickups.The build quality is excellent, no sharp frets, well cut nut, no buzzes, lovely finish (especially on the neck, which is the nicest maple neck I've played). The guitar is light, but not too light (heavier than a Fender Mustang and Epiphone G400, lighter than a Telecaster), well balanced with no neck dive. Heavy enough to hang right standing, but not so heavy it breaks your shoulder!The hardware's decent, a little cheaper than standard Gibson but higher grade than most in this price bracket. The tuners are perfectly fine and stable, and the bridge does its job. Despite not wanting to change loads of things, I have changed the bridge for a standard 'lightning bolt' wraparound, as I found the stock one a little ugly and uncomfortable under my hand. Out of the box, the lowest you can get the action is about 1.9mm on all strings - if you like your action lower than this (I don't) you'll need a lower profile bridge (like the Wilkinson wraparound).The pickups surprised me too - they're ceramic, and I think 7.9k on the neck and 8.1k on the bridge. Not overly hot, but they definitely suit higher gain playing, cleans are a bit uncontrollable and shrill on the bridge, and the neck is a little... shouty? I expected to hate them, but I could live with them. Anyway, I changed those too for a set of £30 Vanson A2 humbuckers, but only because I already had them (and these are well worth trying, way better pickups than their price would make you think)... but if I hadn't I'd have kept the stock Gibson ones for the foreseeable as they were much nicer than I expected.The controls... control things, really well! I like the simplicity of single volume/single tone, so don't find this setup limiting.All in all I couldn't be more pleased... it's a stripped down little beasty with a cracking setup. If something happened to this one I'd replace it, and if I could afford a much higher spec Gibson Les Paul I'd seriously consider just buying two or three of these instead. Well done Gibson!

Got one for £300 - absolute bargain. Even with the questionable bridge (mine is fine) this thing is an American made solid mahogany body guitar and it is f****** great.

Great USA made low price Gibson Guitar with USA made humbucker. See youtube, Ron Wall - Gibson Les Paul Custom Special, 2017, $699

What more can you say about a Gibson.

This is a good budget Gibson guitar.