[nbfan]

Product:
Gibson Les Paul Special SL

Price:
$660, used.

Experience:
I have played electric guitar for 5 years, and own/have owned 3 electrics (Epiphone LP Junior P90, DIY Saga Tele, this Gibson). I don't reserve myself to one genre. I play rock (all forms including hard rock, classic rock, alt rock, etc), jazz, blues, some classical, and some metal. Gear I play it with: BBE Sonic Stomp, Ibanez TS808 RI, Danelectro DA1, Line 6 Spider III 30 amp. It sounds pretty good with this stuff. I've used it live (two or three smaller concerts, and formerly every week at church) and usually don't bring a backup unless I want more tone and bring my Tele also. It's a Gibson, so it's built like a Gibson. Tough guitar that I would take anywhere.

Features:
Although I installed a Burstbucker Pro humbucker in the bridge, the stock pickups were 490R (neck) and 498T (bridge). Tuners are standard Gibson tuners (don't know the name, they look like the ones you see on Standards and most other Gibsons). Standard Gibson control layout- 2 volume, 2 tone, 3-way switch. Mine did not come with a pickguard, but I was able to pick one up used and use it from time to time depending on the mood I'm in. 22 fret solid mahogany neck. Don't know what the profile is, but I kind of reminds me of the 50s style.

Sound:
I love this sound. Of course it does your classic Gibson thick overdrive tone, but pretty much everything else I play, too. For some reason Gibsons are often associated with having a very dark tone. Maybe that's the case for some, but I know that this one has a very balanced tone. Sustain here is what you expect from Gibson. I think that you'd be hard pressed not to like the tone you get from this guitar.

Playability:
This isn't where I'd say the guitar exactly 'shines'. Don't get me wrong, it plays beautifully. I just like a fatter neck for some reason. Frets are perfect, I like the neck access (but I'm no shredder either, so I wouldn't know about that). Now that I've adjusted the neck, the action is real nice. I've got it low enough so that it plays like butter but high enough so that it doesn't buzz. We all like it at that point, don't we?

Reliability:
This guitar stays in tune real well. Reliability is decent, Gibson makes their guitars like tanks. Well...wooden...tanks. Anywho, I think that this guitar really can hold up to a lot. I don't abuse my guitars, but I don't exactly treat them like Custom Shop items either.

Overall:
My overall opinion is that this is the best guitar money can buy for under $1000. It plays good, it sounds good, it holds up like a tank, and it's got the Gibson name. You can't go wrong with this guitar. I'd recommend it anyone if Gibson were still making this model, but unfortunately it was discontinued. However if you've got money and you see one used, I would say go for it!