The best Gibson guitars on the market: review, opinions and prices

The best Gibson guitars on the market:

1. Gibson Les Paul Studio EB
2. Gibson SG Standard HC
3. Gibson Les Paul Tribute 2019 SCS
4. Gibson Les Paul Custom EB GH
5. Gibson ES-335 Dot GM
6. Gibson Les Paul Custom EB GH

This Gibson Les Paul guitar offers excellent value for money. In addition, it incorporates design elements that improve both ergonomic and sound performance. It is one of the best rated Gibson guitars by users.

Timber:

The body of this Gibson electric guitar is made of mahogany (swietenia macrophylla). However, the top of the body has a maple top that offers significant acoustic improvements. This wood has a density of 570 gg/cm3, so it is a little softer than mahogany. It is also a very elastic material with an excellent vibratory capacity.

The neck is made of the same mahogany used for the body and the fretboard is the typical rosewood that appears in almost all guitars of any brand.

Design:

The Gibson Les Paul Studio EB has the typical Gibson electric guitar shape, although the design aspects are different if you look at them in detail. One example is the method used to alleviate the traditional weight of these guitars: it features holes strategically positioned around the body of the guitar.

It is important to note that this method has been widely criticized. However, at culturasonora we believe that the final word lies in the acoustic tests conducted by the company and these have shown that there is a significant improvement not only in weight, but also in sound.

Another interesting design element is the slim tapered neck, the gentlest of all Gibson guitars. The hardware features a Graph Tech saddle and 22 medium frets cryogenically treated for durability. It also has trapezoidal-shaped inlays, a Tune-O-Matic bridge and an aluminum stop bar to improve the weight/balance ratio.

Finally, a soft case is included with the purchase to keep the guitar protected.

Ergonomics:

This Gibson Les Paul guitar weighs 3.6 kg. It weighs about two kilos less than traditional Gibson guitars and this difference makes it one of the lightest and most balanced guitars.

Another interesting aspect is the scale. In this case it is 62.865 cm long and 4 mm high in relation to the 12th fret. The scale of Gibson guitars produces a feel that every professional guitarist loves. Playing the chords from fret 1 to fret 7 is a bit hard, but it gets better from fret 8 onwards.

Despite the relative harshness of the chords, the phrases are comfortable and the bendings are smooth and easy to achieve. If you perform a bend up down you will notice how sensitive they are.

Sound:

The main characteristic of these Gibson guitars is the warmth of their sound and this is a consequence of the mahogany body. It has a maple top that is more responsive to the mids. If we add to this the internal hollows of the body, the result is a unique sound.

The Gibson Les Paul Studio offers a different and attractive sound and you won't find a guitar as personal as this one. The internal holes not only contribute to the sound of the model, but also provide a great sustain that expands the vibrations in ways that few guitars do.

About the electronic system we can only say that we love it. It integrates two humbucker microphones: a 490R series on the bridge and a 498T series near the neck. Both, being humbuckers, have extra gain and the noise is reduced to obtain the cleanliness that Gibson is so fond of.

In addition to the microphones, it features two push/pull volume controls that perform the coil tap function. This means that the humbucker pickups become single coil when you turn them up. The single coil effect brings extra sparkle and gain, but also provides a punch ideal for playing soul and funk.

Finally, it features two tone controls to independently adjust both the bridge and neck microphone. All this results in a versatile, clean, balanced sound with wonderful punch and sustain.

Conclusion:

This Gibson Les Paul guitar is in the studio range, but offers one of the best sounds you can find among Gibson guitars. We recommend it for beginner, intermediate and advanced players who want the full sonic potential of this brand but are looking for inexpensive Gibson guitars. Have you got your teeth set on edge? Find the best prices at thomann.

This time we find a modern version of the Gibson SG guitar from the sixties. This proposal presents slightly different characteristics that improve several aspects.

Timber:

The woods of the Gibson SG Standard represent the most traditional Gibson. We refer to mahogany in the body and neck, while the fingerboard is made of rosewood(dalbergia latifolia).

Design:

This is the classic SG design of the 1960s. The body is totally solid and we did not find the holes in the ultra-lightweight design. Also, the neck profile is rounded and identical to that of vintage Gibson SG guitars. Any musician who has tried these old guitars will appreciate the beautiful deja vu.

The differences with respect to the old SG are found in the lightweight Graph Tech nut, which has a sound quality similar to bone. It also features 22 medium-sized frets that have been cryogenically treated to make them more durable.

Aesthetically, the Gibson SG Standard guitar has trapezoidal inlays and the finish is the cherry color that made guitarists like Eric Clapton fall in love. The bridge is from the Tune-o-matic Nashville series made of aluminum. It also features an aluminum stop bar to improve the weight to balance ratio. The tuning peg system is the precision rotomatic grover.

Ergonomics:

It is the company's most ergonomic guitar. This is due to the 3.18 kg weight with slight slopes at the back and the presence of the cutaway.

The scale is the typical 62.865 cm with a capo width at 1.695 inches. Unlike other Gibson guitars, the neck has a special design, but it is wide and with a curve just like the old SG. This particularity in the neck is what makes possible the touch that captivated Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Angus Young, Jimmy Page and many more.

The feel of this guitar is for experienced players who wish to apply force. This is due to the relative hardness of the strings. Chords anywhere will demand the touch of a hand that is or seeks a professional level. The same happens with the phrases, although the bendings in any of their types are a blast.

Sound:

The modern Gibson SG guitar has aspects that differ from its 1960s counterpart. It integrates the 490R microphones in the neck and the 490T in the bridge, which have a resistance of 7.4 which is higher than the traditional Classic 57's. This resistor produces a clearer and more powerful sound.

The 490 T and R are made with alnico 2 magnets that give an extrapunch and sustain highly valued by rock musicians. In addition, these microphones feature four-conductor cabling that will allow you to diversify your sound options.

The controls include two volume potentiometers and two tone potentiometers. Thanks to the four-conductor wiring of the 490 T and R microphones, you can replace them with push pulls to convert humbuckers into single coils for more gain, albeit at the expense of coupling and cleanliness.

Generally speaking, this guitar has the powerful AC/DC sound, but it is also warm and reminds us of the twang of an Eric Clapton blues ballad.

Conclusion:

We really like the Gibson SG Standard HC because it has all the features of its older counterpart and also adds several improvements. We also love the ability to expand the sonic capabilities through a slight electronic modification. This is a guitar that is great for achieving old-time sounds but with some modern flavor. This is why we recommend it for all learning levels and for collectors who just want to buy a classic Gibson guitar and enjoy it on special occasions. To see thomann's best prices, click here.

This legendary firm, always faithful to its designs, presents its most recent creation. This is the Gibson Les Paul Tribute 2019 guitar, a traditional instrument but with modern aspects that give it an impressive value and make it one of the most versatile Gibson guitars.

Timber:

For the manufacture of this guitar, the company has been faithful to the mahogany body. A maple top, which is an excellent wood due to its many characteristics, has been incorporated. Maple has the virtue of having beautiful veins that provide a great acoustic benefit thanks to its elasticity.

Maple is also found in the neck, so the sonic benefit is much greater. It is also important to note that this wood provides us with a fragile mast and therefore requires greater care. Another wood used is rosewood for the fingerboard, which is quite common due to its durability and high sound capacity.

Design:

The newest of the Gibson Les Paul guitars features the traditional Gibson company design. It has a pear-shaped body with cutaway, rounded edges and a slight curve in the soundboard.

The neck has a tapered shape with an ultra slim profile for greater comfort. On the other hand, the body incorporates a modern feature: die-cuts in the mahogany wood designed to make it less heavy and improve the sound quality.

As for the hardware, we find a tektoid capo (a material partly made of graphite) that contributes to improve several sonic aspects. Also, the typical 22 low-profile cryogenically treated frets help to improve the ergonomics of the instrument.

Likewise, the Tune-o-matic bridge and stop bar are made of aluminum to reduce the weight of the instrument. Precision vintage-style tuning pegs have been incorporated to give that old-time feel.

Ergonomics:

This guitar weighs 3.8 kg thanks to the die-cut design on the body that subtracts almost two kilos. Other elements that enhance the feel are the low profile frets, as well as the width of the nut at only 1.695″ long. Its scale is traditional: 62.865 cm and 4 mm high in relation to the 12th fret. T

All of the above produces an ideal balance. Chord plucking requires little force to play phrases or solos and the width of the neck also makes traversing the fretboard easy.

If you're hoping to play progressive rock shred compositions, this guitar comes in handy. You would only need a fretboard scalopado to have it all and be the next virtuoso to follow.

Sound:

The main characteristic of these Gibson guitars is the warmth of their sound and this is a consequence of the mahogany body. It has a maple top that presents a greater response to the mids, and if we add the internal holes that presents the body, we have as a result a unique sound.

When listening to this guitar for the first time, it feels just like other Les Paul guitars. But we will realize that this is far from reality if we pay attention to what we hear.

The first thing we notice is the nasal sound provided by the holes in the mahogany body. On the other hand, it has a great midrange presence thanks to the maple neck. The sustain is enhanced by the die-cut body, the low profile of the frets, the maple neck and the tektoid nut. Overtones are also significantly improved thanks to the maple and nut. This improvement is even more noticeable with the forced harmonics that also have great sustain.

As for the microphones, these Gibson Les Paul guitars integrate one of the 490R series and a 498T. These provide punch, sustain and reverb that are especially suited for rock and blues. There are two volume potentiometers on the controls : one is for the bridge mic and the other is for the neck. It also integrates two pots to modify the tone and allow each microphone to be configured independently.

One thing we love about this guitar is that the microphones are four-driver. This means that you can add push pull potentiometers to use them as single coil and humbucker to your liking.

Conclusion:

This is avery versatile, dynamic guitar with great sonic potential. This is why we recommend it for students and intermediates who wish to experiment with various styles and emulate them without any limitations other than technical ones. It is also a good choice for musicians of any level looking for cheap Gibson guitars. Interested? Take a look at thomann's best prices.

This is one of the best hollow guitars on the market because each of its parts is of excellent quality. Not for nothing is it considered an icon among jazz standard guitars and also one of the most expensive guitars available.

Timber:

All the woods in this guitar are solid and AAA rated. The solid spruce of the soundboard has seven layers of solid wood for maximum strength. The sides and back are made of solid flamed maple, which is not a common wood because it is reserved for the high end.

Likewise, the neck is solid maple reinforced with walnut. This gives it the hardness of maple and the acoustic capabilities of walnut. Finally, the fretboard is solid ebony, a wood also reserved for high-end Gibson guitars.

Design:

The main feature of this guitar is its hollow body. This means that it is completely hollow, ideal for traditional jazz guitars from the beginning of the last century. However, it has a modern touch in the slim body with double cutaway.

The soundboard is 6 cm deep and weighs only 3.75 kg to make it one of the smallest and lightest of Gibson's hollowbody electric guitars.

Some beautiful aesthetic details it has are the pearlized block inlays that look great. Also the five-ply bindings are a blast and the sunburst color is beautiful with its polyester cover. The hardware is gold-colored for the headstock and silver-plated with gold for the ABR-1 tune-o-matic bridge with ebony base.

Finally, the electronics have a traditional configuration with two 57 classic humbucker pickups on the bridge and neck. We also have two independent volume pots and two tone pots, in addition to the always characteristic three-way microphone selector switch.

Ergonomics:

Gibson archtop guitars are the envy of the competition when it comes to ergonomics. This is a consequence of its impeccable and easy-to-achieve feel throughout. It mainly makes its mark with bends up and bends up down that are a total blast.

In sweepy sweep picking, the touch requires almost no force and this has always been surprising from Gibson. This guitar also has a good weight to balance ratio, making it comfortable to carry with the case. Open and closed chords, as well as capo chords, are also excellent to the touch and we highly recommend it.

Sound:

With the 57 classic humbucker microphones, you achieve a clear, saturation-free sound thanks to the 7.5 balanced impedance. In addition, to make the sound even better, they were manufactured in alnico II.

Its sound in the first switch position has a great gain for jazz phrases, while in the second position the sound is ideal for blues licks and in the third position it is rich in nuances for strumming.

As usual with Gibson, the potentiometers really do their job. The tones have a high sensitivity and you can play with nuances and different frequencies. That is why guitarists who try it are impressed with the sound quality of this Gibson jazz guitar. Its sound is classic, but without detracting from the modern colors, which are fantastic.

Conclusion:

No wonder Gibson hollow body guitars are some of the best in the world. This particular one is a visual as well as sonic delicacy and is precisely what a jazz guitarist is looking for to create his own style without limitations on the instrument. We recommend it because, in our opinion, it is the best jazz guitar in the world since 2014 thanks to having the roundest, warmest and most versatile sound of all. The best price for this guitar can be found at thomann, click here.

Gibson ES-335 DOT guitars feature a combination of traditional and innovative elements that make them the best in this price range.

Timber:

The Gibson ES-335 electric guitar has a body made of maple. Not only does this wood have excellent compressive and torsional strength, but its flexibility is superb and it produces beautiful vibrations. This quality of maple is largely due to its slightly curved grain, a characteristic that helps the sound wave to meander inside the box and produce more intense sensations.

The top is figured maple. It presents more uneven lines that should not be considered defects, on the contrary: the different layers contract and provide greater strength and stability to the wood.

Its neck is made of mahogany. It also integrates a fretboard made of rosewood, the wood most used by almost all brands for this part of the guitar.

Design:

In terms of design, these Gibson guitars have a traditional pear-shaped body. They also feature a double cutaway that allows greater accessibility to the last frets.

The Gibson ES-335 Dot can be considered a small guitar because the body is slim. However, it is archtop type , so it is completely hollow inside. The ‘C' shaped neck provides excellent ergonomics and a firm grip.

It has a scale of 628 mm from the neck nut to the bridge. The nut has a width of 42.8 mm, which gives the feeling of playing an intermediate between electric and electro-acoustic guitar. The hardware, on the other hand, is made of nickel, both the 22 frets and the Grover Kidney series tuning keys.

It has the Abr-1 type bridge, which has several advantages over the traditional Nashville bridge. On the one hand, it allows a firmer anchorage on the tailpiece attached to the bridge. On the other hand, it provides a better string tilt for a great attack on the sound.

The finish is the familiar metallic graphite popularized by Gibson. Finally, a hard case is included for added security and the Gibson Certificate of Originality with lifetime warranty.

Ergonomics:

It has a weight of 3.4 kg and for being a hollow body guitar it can be considered heavy, but this is due to the quality of its woods which are AAA type.

Regarding the scale, it is the same used in most Gibson electric guitars: 62.8 cm and 3.8 mm of string height in relation to the 12th fret. Thanks to the width of the capo, with a little more than 4 cm, the feel is an intermediate between electric and electro-acoustic guitar.

This sensation allows the musician to adapt easily to the movements. In addition, the rounded C-shaped neck gives it a better grip and you can feel a good firmness across the entire fingerboard. All these elements make this guitar an ideal blend for jazz and blues. It is an instrument with a different and personal touch that allows the creation of sensitive lines.

For chords, the touch is nice, smooth and firm, while for phrases the action is fast and has an excellent grip so you can make great quality sweeps. The bendings are the ones we like the most because their feel is similar to that of solid body guitars. You can make strong and precise stretches thanks to the linearity of the tuning fork.

Sound:

The sound quality of these Gibson guitars shifts between traditional and modern. This is due to the combination of archtop design and modern curved wood finishes on the soundboard. The unplugged sound is loud and can be used in small rooms and even in acoustic practice sessions. In these cases the sustain of the hollow body plays in favor of the sound and we like it because it gives it an air of acoustic versatility.

However, when you connect it to the amplifier, everything changes for the better because the electronics come into play. This is composed of two MHS-II series humbucker microphones and four potentiometers for volume and tone control. The humbuckers are an impressive improvement over the 1957 classics because they have more power and impressive gain. The magnets in these pickups are alnico V magnets that offer a dynamic and very stable frequency response.

In addition, these microphones feature a 42 AWG wire coated with polystyrene and a resistance of 8 to 8.5 ohms. This produces a warm and powerful sound, but also with great gain thanks to the 8.5 resistance. It has a great bluesy attack when you use the bridge mic.

The dual humbucker configuration with the selector on three produces a jazzy sound that is ideal for recreating Wes Montgomery-like compositions. The potentiometers also do a great job, especially the tone pots where you can feel every single change.

Conclusion:

The design and aesthetic finishes are great, as is the sound. There is an Epiphone that is right on its heels and costs almost five times less. However, the Gibson is far superior. Everything about it is better quality and you can't modify an Epiphone to sound the same. This is why we recommend it to anyone who can afford to buy a Gibson guitar as special as the ES-335. If you want to see thomann's best prices, follow this link.

Although there are many Gibson guitars that are really good, with the Gibson Les Paul Custom EB GH we were in for a surprise. This time we have a solidbody that we think is the best of all the Gibson Les Paul guitars on the market.

Timber:

This Gibson Les Paul Custom electric guitar has a body and neck made of mahogany. The top is made of arched maple, although the latter is just an aesthetic detail. It has the same stiffness and elasticity, but with better acoustic capabilities than the rest of the Gibson solid body.

A big change is the fingerboard designed in ebony, one of the hardest woods in existence. For this reason the fingerboard has a bomb-proof durability.

Design:

In terms of design, these Gibson Les Paul guitars have the traditional shape but with a difference in the top. This characteristic is decisive only in the sound. The neck also has a different design called Long Neck Tenon. The portion attached to the body is longer and reaches the microphone of the neck, which provides greater resistance and sound balance.

Likewise, the scale also follows the traditional measurement of 62.865 cm long and 3.8 mm high with respect to the 12th fret. For the hardware, 22 medium jumbo frets and precision Grove tuning keys have been used. It has a Tune-o-Matic bridge and stoptail tail piece , all with a gold finish.

Some aesthetic details are the mother-of-pearl inlays and split diamond inlay on the blade. It has a high quality ultra-gloss black finish.

Ergonomics:

This Gibson Les Paul Custom guitar returns to the traditional weight of the 1950s: about 4.2 kg. The scale is the standard 62.865 cm with a 3.8 height.

Chords are effortless and for phrases the touch is smooth. For bendings, the elasticity of the strings, coupled with the scale, allows for almost exaggerated stretching. The design of the mast allows for fast movements, which facilitates sweeping. At the same time, the ebony fingerboard allows to create explosive attacks thanks to a very slight curvature.

Sound:

The sound is what fascinates us in these Gibson guitars. This is the result of the quality of its woods together with Gibson's modern electronics.

The weight is responsible for the impressive stability in vibrations and sound frequencies. The arching of the lid allows these vibrations to be distributed downward into the lid and slows their travel through the body. This results in a higher sustain than any other Gibson Les Paul guitar, but also creates an intense and enveloping reverb.

The electronic system consists of the 490R Humbucker microphones for the neck and the 498T Humbucker on the bridge. These are considered the best combination of the company because they provide a gain of 8 to 8.5 and you can go up to 9 ohms if you know how to use the controls. The power of these pickups is impressive and for acid blues it is special.

If you use the neck mic you'll get cutting, almost killer riffs reminiscent of Zakk Wylde. However, if you move to the bridge mic, with the selector in the first position, you are met with the warmth of classic blues and Mike Stern-style jazz.

The tone potentiometers also do a wonderful job because with the right settings, your guitar will be much more versatile.

Conclusion:

If you have read our other reviews, you will notice that we generally don't let ourselves be impressed by traditional brands and proposals that have exhorbitant prices. However, the Gibson Les Paul Custom EB guitar is impressive. Its sound is excellent and the quality of its materials is the highest. Find the best price at thomann.

Final Conclusion:

The six Gibson guitars that we present in this comparison stand out for their quality/price ratio. These are really excellent proposals and we recommend them for any level of learning. Your ideal model will depend on the genre of music you want to play and your budget, but you can't go wrong with any of these six models as they are the best in their price ranges.

If you are interested in music, we recommend you to visit our culturasonora page. There you will find reviews of the best string, wind and percussion musical instruments on the market. We recommend you to check our article on how to recognize an original Gibson.

Technical characteristics of Gibson guitars