As a Les Paul aficionado, and the proud owner of a ’58 Reissue, I like to keep up with the Les Paul product line roll-outs each year. The flagship for 2019 is the Les Paul Standard HP. Just to put it out there, I have mixed emotions about this particular model.
Gibson has again added a bunch of gadgetry to the guitar, and we all know the face-palms that were made with the Robot tuners. Talk about polarizing! My buddy loved his robot tuners, and that Les Paul is his #1. I was on the other end of the spectrum. I freakin’ hated that feature. And though I knew it worked and worked well as I had a chance to test it, I just thought it was a bit gimmicky. To me, a Les Paul just sells itself based on its history and the tradition behind it.
I realize that that’s probably a bit naive of me. But I’m by no means a Luddite. I embrace improvements and enhancements. What I don’t like are gimmicks.
So when I saw all the features of the new product line, they gave me a bit of pause. Four push-pull knobs and a five-position DIP switch in the control cabinet seemed like a bit of overkill. On top of that, Gibson was boasting about the over 500-thousand possible combinations you could have with the settings. So I didn’t think too highly about the product line. But to clarify, not nearly as bad as this fellow in the following video:
I get what he’s saying and while I can see his point, I don’t think it’s all that bad.
First, I love being able to coil tap my humbuckers. I have that feature in “Katie May,” my Slash L guitar, and it’s awesome. Furthermore, unlike the dude in the video, I love the colors. That Seafoam burst is KILLER! And I’m okay with the weight relief. I know what it’s like to lug around an 11- to 12-pound chunk of wood on stage and it’s not comfortable in the slightest; even with a 4″-wide strap.
I think where I draw the line on this model is the DIP switch bank in the control cavity. Putting myself in a buyer’s shoes, would I want it? I’m just not sure.
Here’s a rundown of the operation of the push-pull and DIP switches:
DIP 1: Neck pickup can be split (true single) or tapped (P-90 type tone)
DIP 2: Bridge pickup can be split (true single) or tapped (P-90 type tone)
DIP 3: Neck pickup treble bleed circuit (On or off)
DIP 4: Bridge pickup treble bleed circuit (On or off)
DIP 5: Transient suppression circuit (Spike control) for recording
Neck Volume: Pull for Split or tap (depending on DIP 1)
Bridge Volume: Pull for Split or tap (depending on DIP 2)
Neck tone: Pull for neck pickup phase reversal
Bridge Tone: Pull for Full bypass (Bridge only in humbucking mode with disabled controls)
When I see this, the geek in me says, “Yowee! Look at all I can do.” But then the more practical side of me says, “Damn! Imagine wanting to set my single coil sound true-single-coil or to P-90 in the middle of a gig. Not going to happen.”
But on the other hand, I absolutely DIG the neck tone push-pull pot! To be able to put my neck pickup in-phase or out-of-phase is LIT (as my 13-year-old likes to say). My own Les Paul has its pickups wired permanently out-of-phase, but it sure would be nice to have the ability to put them in-phase at the pull of a knob.
So this isn’t really a rant against the guitar. If I had one, I’d play it, that’s for sure. I’m just not sure that all this compels me to get one. But to be completely honest, it’ll have to get in line. I’m dead-set on getting a Gretsch Nashville Brian Setzer signature model next. 🙂
Guitar Gear 
I agree, a Les Paul is a Les Paul! All the added gimmicky takes away from a basically great guitar! Even without coil taps/splits etc. you can get fantastic tones.
A good amp with high headroom, well, roll back the volume controls and it will clean up. No, it won’t be a Strat, but clean tones can be had.
That’s how I use mine; set a reasonable amount of gain on the amp and use the volume and tone knobs to get different tones from cleanish to full on hard rock overdriven tones.
The guitar is only one part of the equation! An average guitar can sound fantastic through a great amplifier; keep the signal chain as simple as possible, I’m only using an Empress Tape Echo pedal to add a bit of ambience when I’m fooling around on my own! Conversely a fantastic guitar will sound pretty average or just plain bad through an inferior amp!
If you want true versatility, get either a H-S-S or a H-S-H guitar with the coil tap/splits. Strat based, 25.5″scale etc………
Gibson is trying to make the guitar into something it isn’t! Of course this is just my opinion!
My wife pointed at the HP Les Paul on the wall at our local music store and loved the color. She asked me if I had that guitar would I play it. (Does a fish swim) … I said sure I would. She loves to haggle shop keepers and sales personal so she went right into negotiations over the price. At the time I knew nothing about this model but when they brought it down off the wall and I saw the “gadget tuners” I said no way! The salesman said to me “is that a deal breaker?” …. I said throw in a set of Grover’s and you have a deal…and he did. My first act after bringing the guitar home was to replace the tuning system back to what I felt was normal. Then I went to the internet to look up this guitar. I have played many gigs with it and have left the dip switches alone and I can tell you that it really is a fun guitar to play. Comfortable and not near as heavy as my 98 standards. Not to mention we got a really good deal on it…I am happy with it.
I smiled when I read your comment because that’s probably what I’d do as well. You’re letting the guitar speak for itself without messing around with its sound. And if you got a great deal on it, that’s just awesome!