The
Les Paul Faded Double Cut, is part of the faded series from
Gibson, which offers a quality instrument to the guitarist
at an affordable price. This is done by applying a “worn
look” finish to the guitar, which requires no costly paint,
lacquer and buffing process as we can see in the Gibson
Factory review.
This
model is finished in Gibson’s famous TV Yellow, a colour
originally formulated to make the instruments more visible
on black and white TVs of the era. It captures the vibe
of the Les Paul Specials and Juniors issued from 1958-60
and additionally sports a pair of single-coil P-90 pickups,
for vintage tone.
The
body is made from Gibson’s usual material - mahogany and
is quite thin compared to other Standard Les Pauls as there
is no maple cap and it is not carved.
The
24¾ short scale neck is a very comfortable '60s-style slim-taper
mahogany neck which, joins the body at the 22nd
fret for easy access to the high registers. It features
an unbound rosewood fingerboard, adorned with simple dot
inlays.
All
hardware is chrome-plated. The bridge consists of Gibson’s
usual tune-o-matic /stop bar arrangement whilst simple white
buttons are used for the tuners.
Now
that we have covered the basic specifications lets talk
a bit more about the sound and feel of the instrument. The
Faded DC is unlike any Les Paul you will ever try, it is
light comfortable to play whether standing or sitting and
the neck is a breeze to handle.
The
thinly applied paint allows the body to resonate freely
and this is noticed in the tone, which is complemented by
the p-90 pickups. This is a perfect guitar for blues as
the p-90s sound very warm when overdriven.
The
short scale allows for easy string bending and the double
cut body makes access to both sides of the neck extremely
easy.
The
finish is the only “downside” on this instrument, as it
consists on, what could be termed as a “worn in” look. Thankfully
though unlike other aged guitars the hardware has not gone
through the relic process.
On
the other hand one can comprehend that in doing this Gibson
are providing a great sounding guitar to clients at a very
low price point.
Something
else that makes this guitar special to me is the fact that
is has been signed by Les Paul himself, you can read a review
of his concert also on this website.
In
summary, many of my guitarist friends and I agree that this
is a great instrument for the price.
By
Ernest H Slade
