There's something about a Les Paul with a little less polish that just makes sense. The Gibson Les Paul Standard 60s Faded in Vintage Cherry Sunburst takes the classic Les Paul Standard formula and gives it a satin nitrocellulose finish that feels considerably more broken-in than a typical brand-new Gibson. Underneath that Faded finish, though, this is still a full-blown Les Paul Standard: a solid, non-weight-relieved mahogany body, AA figured maple top, mahogany SlimTaper neck, rosewood fingerboard, 60s Burstbucker pickups, and hand-wired electronics. A Gibson hardshell case is included.
The Les Paul Standard 60s is Gibson's take on the features that made the early-1960s version of the Les Paul so compelling. By this point, the basic recipe was already established: a carved maple top over mahogany, set mahogany neck, dual humbuckers, and a comfortable neck profile designed for players who wanted to move around the fingerboard. That formula has been responsible for an absurd amount of recorded guitar music over the decades, and this version gives you the familiar Gibson experience without trying to reinvent what already works.
The body is solid mahogany with no weight relief, topped with AA figured maple. That's an important combination: the mahogany brings the fundamental warmth, sustain, and midrange punch, while the maple cap adds some extra bite and definition. And then there's the finish. The satin nitrocellulose lacquer doesn't try to hide behind a perfectly polished surface; instead, it gives the Vintage Cherry Sunburst a slightly more subdued, worn-in appearance and a smoother, more immediate feel in your hands. It's the kind of finish that makes a brand-new guitar feel a little less like you should be afraid to actually play it.
The neck is classic 60s Gibson territory, with a SlimTaper profile, 24.75" scale length, and 1.7" nut width. The bound rosewood fingerboard has a 12" radius and 22 medium jumbo frets, with the familiar acrylic trapezoid inlays. That 12" radius is a particularly nice compromise on a Les Paul: comfortable for chords down low but plenty friendly for bends and lead work higher up the neck. If you like a Les Paul that doesn't feel like you're wrapping your hand around a baseball bat, this is the neck you're looking for.
For pickups, Gibson went with a pair of 60s Burstbuckers, loaded with the Alnico 5 magnets that give them their characteristic combination of clarity, bite, and output. They're hand-wired to individual volume and tone controls, with audio-taper potentiometers and Orange Drop capacitors. The individual controls are important on a Les Paul, too — you can blend the two pickups, clean up the bridge pickup with the volume control, or darken the neck pickup with the tone control without losing the fundamental character of the guitar.
The hardware stays firmly in classic Les Paul territory: an ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic bridge, aluminum Stop Bar tailpiece, and Grover Rotomatic tuners with Kidney buttons. Nickel pickup covers and hardware, cream binding and pickguard, amber switch tip, and gold Top Hat knobs with silver reflectors finish the look. Nothing exotic. Nothing unnecessary. Just a really good Les Paul recipe.
If you're a player who likes the idea of a Les Paul Standard without the pristine, showroom-new presentation, the 60s Faded is a very compelling option. You get the non-weight-relieved mahogany body, figured maple top, 60s neck profile, Burstbucker pickups, and proper Gibson hardware — but the satin finish gives the whole guitar a more relaxed, broken-in personality. It's a Les Paul that looks like you already have a few stories to tell with it.
