Since its introduction in 1955, The Gibson Les Paul Special has faithfully served the working musician as a reliable, professional-quality electric guitar at an affordable price. The new Les Paul Special Pro continues this tradition by offering ample bang-for-the-buck; packing more value than ever into this iconic workhorse. Key features of the Les Paul Special Pro include a 60' slim-taper neck with a hand applied smooth satin nitrocellulose lacquer finish, Alnico V Burstbucker Pro pickups, push/pull coil split function for each pickup on the tone pots, gloss nitrocellulose lacquer finish, cream neck binding and pickup rings, vintage gold tophat knobs and the Gibson G FORCE tuning system.Burstbucker Pro Pickups
At the heart of the Gibson Les Paul Special Pro are the Burstbucker Pro rhythm and lead humbucking pickups. The Burstbucker Pro pickups feature an Alnico V magnet (instead of the Alnico II), which offers slightly higher output and allows preamps to be driven a little harder to achieve a more natural break-up. Like all Burstbuckers, the Burstbucker Pro has asymmetrical coils”true to the original PAFs”which supply a more open sound. The Burstbucker Pro Neck is wound slightly less than the original PAFs, while the Burstbucker Pro Bridge is slightly overwound for increased output. The Burstbucker Pro pickups are also wax potted to allow loud volume pressures with minimal feedback. As with all Gibson pickups, every part is precisely manufactured at Gibson USA in Nashville, Tennessee, insuring tight, seamless fittings, and superior workmanship.Burstbucker Tonal Characteristics
The Burstbucker Pro Lead and Rhythm pickups constitute a versatile and well-calibrated set that offers extremely good output balance from all switch settings. In the neck position, the pickup gives you juicy, warm, creamy vocal-like tones with outstanding clarity, while the bridge position excels at everything from bright jangle through a clean amp, to chunky rhythm through a crunchy amp, to wailing overdrive with near-infinite sustain through a high-gain amp. Selected together, the pair provides tones from funky to greasy, depending upon amp and effects settings.Revolutionary Plek Set Up
The Les Paul Special Pro is the first model from Gibson USA to utilize the revolutionary Plek machine in setting up the guitar. The Plek is a German-made, computer-controlled precision machine that carefully measures each fret, along with the fingerboard height under each string, and then automatically dresses each fret to within .001 tolerances, virtually eliminating string buzz and greatly improving the overall playability of the guitar. This pioneering process does in minutes what it takes a luthier several hours”sometimes even days”to accomplish. Every fret is accurately aligned, and the guitar is properly intonated, leaving the instrument "Plek'd" and amazingly playable right off of the shelf.