NGD Gibson Historic 1954 Les Paul Reissue

[rockabilly69]

It took me a few weeks to post this because, I really wanted to play it, and get a feel for what I like, or dislike about it. I'm happy to say, I don't dislike anything. And, I'm finally back in the P90 Les Paul club.

Recently, I sold my 2004 Historic Les Paul 1956 reissue because it was just too heavy at 9lbs 11oz. For my P90 fix, I was content to play my Historic SG Special which is feather weight at around 7 lbs, but fortunately, I found this really nice condition 2019 R4, and it's a nice 8.5 lbs! Which to me is the ideal Les Paul weight. And I got a pretty good deal on it from a guy on The Gear Page. He told me he got in over his head with a few guitar and amp purchases so he needed to sell something to recoup some cash.

So what makes this guitar a keeper (besides the low weight)? To start, the shape of the neck. For years, the Gibson custom shop has slapped big necks on these things, that were very uncomfortable to play. The shoulders of these necks were always way too big, and it just made them too hard for me to find a comfortable playing position. But not this one, the neck shape, is more like a vintage early 50's Gibson than anything I've played in the past, so it's really comfortable to play, and the fretwork is very nice. Also, many wraptails are slightly off in the intonation, but this one came with a MojoAxe intonated wraptail, and Tonepros locking studs. The intonation is surprisingly good! And the strings just ring like a bell, this guitar is surprisingly loud acoustically! The P90s sound great, especially the neck pickup, which I normally have to fight with in dialing in! I haven't touched a screw on this guitar, and anybody that knows me, would find that odd, as I am a serial tweaker! Also, aesthetically, the gold finish really nails the vintage Gibson goldtop green/gold hue, and it has a real nice topcarve, and some good looking wood, on the fingerboard, back, and neck.

I've own(ed) a few Historic Les Pauls, but this is my first R4! What drew me to it was the same type of simplicity that I find in my Historic SG special, 2 P90's and a wraptail. And once again, for me this is a winning combo. Of the many guitars that I own, my 1957 Reissue has been my number one for a while, but this one is right up there!

[Dru Edwards]

Wow - Congrats! What a fantastic guitar. Gibson has done an excellent job with their Rx reissues.

I too have a Gibson Les Paul P90 goldtop, a '60s Tribute Studio. Not as nice as your though.

Enjoy!

[BoneDigger]

Very nice! I love P90s above all others and would love to give one of these a test some day! Most of the ones with P90s I've seen have been Epiphones and haven't quite had the twang and spank I like in a P90. Would love to see what a Gibson sounds like. With P90s and that LP sustain, could be a match made in heaven!

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

Wow - Congrats! What a fantastic guitar. Gibson has done an excellent job with their Rx reissues.

I too have a Gibson Les Paul P90 goldtop, a '60s Tribute Studio. Not as nice as your though.

Enjoy!

Thanks! A very close friend of mine has a studio like yours and LOVES it. He's a great guitarist and has a good ear for tone. He told me that the day he bought his, he had no intention of buying a guitar. He was just goofing around in a guitar center while a friend of his was buying strings. He just saw the guitar sitting on a stand, picked it up, played a few chords, told the cashier to ring it up, and walked out the door with it!

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by BoneDigger

Very nice! I love P90s above all others and would love to give one of these a test some day! Most of the ones with P90s I've seen have been Epiphones and haven't quite had the twang and spank I like in a P90. Would love to see what a Gibson sounds like. With P90s and that LP sustain, could be a match made in heaven!

I have a nice little collection of high end guitars, but I've also have/had a few Epis that I enjoy. One is a DOT ES-335 style reissue, that really took me by surprise. I have since given that guitar as a gift to my girlfriend's dad, who I gave a few lessons to. He loves it. And I also have an Epiphone Olympic reissue that also took me by surprise. It was a replacement for another one that I bought, and it is a stellar guitar. I'm not a fan of the archtop bridge pickup that's in it, but it's a fun guitar acoustically, and it plays great. It's currently awaiting a set of Gretsch Dynasonic pickups that I am going to install in it. A friend of mine did the same mod to his Epi, and I LOVE it! That said, as for any of their LPs sounding like this one, well that would probably be a stretch, as this one even stands out in a group of historics, which I've had a few.

As I said in my earlier post it was my Historic SG Special that got me going on the P90s. I really love how they cut through in a guitar mix, they just seem to have so much complexity, and through a wound up 5E3 Deluxe, whoa buddy

[BoneDigger]

Originally Posted by rockabilly69

I have a nice little collection of high end guitars, but I've also have/had a few Epis that I enjoy. One is a DOT ES-335 style reissue, that really took me by surprise. I have since given that guitar as a gift to my girlfriend's dad, who I gave a few lessons to. He loves it. And I also have an Epiphone Olympic reissue that also took me by surprise. It was a replacement for another one that I bought, and it is a stellar guitar. I'm not a fan of the archtop bridge pickup that's in it, but it's a fun guitar acoustically, and it plays great. It's currently awaiting a set of Gretsch Dynasonic pickups that I am going to install in it. A friend of mine did the same mod to his Epi, and I LOVE it! That said, as for any of their LPs sounding like this one, well that would probably be a stretch, as this one even stands out in a group of historics, which I've had a few.



As I said in my earlier post it was my Historic SG Special that got me going on the P90s. I really love how they cut through in a guitar mix, they just seem to have so much complexity, and through a wound up 5E3 Deluxe, whoa buddy

Oh, don't get me wrong, I have no issues with Epiphone. In fact I have a LP made by Epi that is a great guitar, especially after adding a Set of Seymore Duncan Whole Lotta Humbuckers pickups and a Bigsby to it. I have played some of the Epi 335 Pro guitars and they are quite nice. I do tend to lean to the Gretsch side tone wise, but the Epis are nice!

That is one sweet Gibson. Got any videos or sound samples? Would love to hear the bridge pickup.

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by BoneDigger

Oh, don't get me wrong, I have no issues with Epiphone. In fact I have a LP made by Epi that is a great guitar, especially after adding a Set of Seymore Duncan Whole Lotta Humbuckers pickups and a Bigsby to it. I have played some of the Epi 335 Pro guitars and they are quite nice. I do tend to lean to the Gretsch side tone wise, but the Epis are nice!

That is one sweet Gibson. Got any videos or sound samples? Would love to hear the bridge pickup.

I also like Gretsch guitars with both Dearmonds and Filtertrons, but I worked my way up through the ranks on Gibsons

I still have one of my very first Gibsons with P90s here it is...



In the next few days I will get over to my studio and do a recording featuring all 3 of the pickup switch positions of the R4.

[DanR]

Congrats on the new guitar! It's quite a beauty. I am very fond of P90s and I have a '95 Les Paul Special that was my main gigging guitar when I was gigging.

[DukeX]

That is indeed a beauty. Sure wouldn't mind having one of those, or a Historical SG P90!

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by DanR

Congrats on the new guitar! It's quite a beauty. I am very fond of P90s and I have a '95 Les Paul Special that was my main gigging guitar when I was gigging.

I used to love my 90's Special, I should have never sold it!!! Here I am playing it on a gig I did with the world famous Dwayne Doopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers. They had me fill in for their guitar player on two gigs while they were touring in Utah and Idaho...

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by DukeX

That is indeed a beauty. Sure wouldn't mind having one of those, or a Historical SG P90!

Thanks! They really are nice guitars!

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

...I too have a Gibson Les Paul P90 goldtop, a '60s Tribute Studio...

Same here - mine's a 2011 that has the PRS-style revealed "binding" (looks like a sweet under-the-bed '56 that hasn't been played since Elvis got out of the Army), weighs around eight pounds thanks to the weight-relieved body (that also makes it ring like a bell through my Bugera V22 in pentode mode), and plays like an SG thanks to the Slim-Taper neck; I love my Gretsch electrics - nothing beats my 3-PU 5622 for sheer versatility - but when it comes to a straight-ahead rock gig the P-90 LP gets the first call...

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

Same here - mine's a 2011 that has the PRS-style revealed "binding" (looks like a sweet under-the-bed '56 that hasn't been played since Elvis got out of the Army), weighs around eight pounds thanks to the weight-relieved body (that also makes it ring like a bell through my Bugera V22 in pentode mode), and plays like an SG thanks to the Slim-Taper neck; I love my Gretsch electrics - nothing beats my 3-PU 5622 for sheer versatility - but when it comes to a straight-ahead rock gig the P-90 LP gets the first call...

I just checked - mine is also the 2011. I used to weigh all my guitars (listed with my spreadsheet of guitars/serial numbers/price/etc) but haven't in a few years. Might be a good time to do that during this self isolation period.

[Beachrunner]

NICE!! (Great photography, too.)

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by Beachrunner

NICE!! (Great photography, too.)

thank you