Les Paul Standard Hp
The 2018 Gibson USA line builds upon the stellar lineup of previous years, while offering exciting new, eye popping finishes paired with cherished, timeless favorites. These iconic models pay homage to the rich legacy of classic Gibson instruments through the Core T line, while also offering bold, modern counterparts in the forward thinking HP line, showcasing some of the latest and greatest features from the USA factory. From incredible Les Paul Standards, Traditionals, and Studios to SGs, Firebirds and more, the 2018 Gibson USA line truly offers something for everyone.Built to the highest standards with gorgeous, premium tone woods and constructed with time-honored, traditional craftsmanship, the 2018 Gibson USA lineup is the perfect choice for an American made instrument rich with legacy and character. Additionally, one of the big focuses for this year’s lineup will be special runs, with unique, highly anticipated monthly releases that beautifully compliment the core line-up. You’ll want to keep your eyes peeled to catch these ultra limited runs on our New Arrivals page, as once they’re gone, they’re gone! The Wildwood Guitars Staff believes that every instrument tells a beautiful story.
We invite you to discover the magic and inspiration that comes with an instrument worthy of bearing the Gibson name. Wildwood Guitars is honored to present these phenomenal tributes to some of the most iconic instruments the world has ever known; the 2018 Gibson USA line.
See also:For guitar players, this isn't a bad thing because you simply buy a guitar you like and keep it until you find something you like better. On the other hand, it's a constant struggle for guitar makers, even huge companies like Gibson.Guitar players are a fickle bunch who want what they're comfortable with, but churning out the same old product year after year isn't how you build a sustainable business. For 2015, Gibson took a huge risk by installing its controversial G FORCE automatic tuning system on all of its U.S.-built solid body guitars, along with a host of changes designed to improve playability. Image: Mashable, Jhila FarzanehTypical tuning machines use a knob, which can be tightened or loosened to adjust the pitch of each string.
Guitar players use an external device — also called a tuner, confusingly — to precisely measure the sound frequency of each string. It’s a proven, effective way to get a guitar in tune.
G FORCE takes that process and automates it entirely.The mere existence of a robotic tuning system angers legions of purist guitar players. Making it a mandatory inclusion was nothing short of heretical. Even if the system was great, it would attract hate, but unfortunately for Gibson, it wasn't.
Of frequent bugs.To add to Gibson's woes, it also of its guitars substantially. A 2014 Les Paul Standard cost $2,999, while a 2015 cost $3,879.
Vorbis opus mp3 comparison. That's a healthy increase for features players didn't want.2016, Gibson says, will be it's best year ever. It touts improved tech in its newest guitars, while more reasonable prices and old-school offerings should satisfy the purists.Gibson divided its guitars into two distinct lines, Traditional and High Performance.
Traditional removes many of the high-tech features of the 2015 guitars and slashes the price ($2,799 buys a Les Paul Standard). Image: Mashable, Jhila FarzanehHigh Performance (HP) is a continuation of the tech-first guitars Gibson offered in 2015, albeit with more sensible pricing. The Les Paul Standard HP Gibson provided me for testing rings in at an expensive-but-not-astronomical $3,149.Confession time: Despite the fact that I'm a tech reporter working for a forward-thinking website like Mashable, I've been somewhat of a luddite in my views on guitars. Every guitar I own is either old, or new pretending to be old, and I've previously scoffed at Gibson's robotic tuners. That being said, I'm a tech reporter so I'm approached this with an open mind.I want to see whether or not I and the many dissenters of Gibson's tech-forward approach are wrong.
PlayabilityGibson made some subtle hardware changes for 2016, but without boring you with the geeky details, I'll just say this guitar plays extremely well.One of the changes worth mentioning is the increased neck width over older Les Pauls. I have tiny hands, so I prefer smaller, narrower necks, but it took virtually no time getting used to this guitar. You notice the extra width, but it's very subtle. Image: Mashable, Jhila FarzanehLes Paul guitars are typically very heavy, thanks to their thick Mahogany bodies, but Gibson now routs chambers on its high-end models to trim the fat. I won't say my tester unit was light, but it's not backbreaking like many Les Pauls I've played and owned.Overall, the guitar felt balanced in my hands. The 2016 Les Paul Standard HP feels slightly different than what I'm used to, but no worse.
Les Paul Standard Hp 2017
It didn't take long to feel I could get the most out of it. SoundThe Les Paul Standard HP has the full-bodied tone you'd expect of a good Les Paul guitar with some extra liveliness thanks to the body chambering. Where this guitar differs from other Les Pauls is in the sheer variety of sounds afforded by the 10 knobs and switches the guitar is fitted with.This guitar is extremely configurable. A nearly infinite amount of sounds are available at the flick of a few switches and the twist of a knob or two.The sound varied from the warm and mellow jazz sounds you'd expect from a Gibson, to the twangy country more typical of a Fender. Tones reminiscent of both Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix were readily at hand.Generally, I've never thought of Les Pauls as being 'one guitar' guitars, meaning if I had to pick just one guitar to use for the rest of my life, it probably wouldn't be a Les Paul. Traditional Les Pauls are well-suited for rock, blues and jazz, but somewhat fall flat for country, funk and R&B.This isn't an issue with the Les Paul Standard HP. With some fiddling you can make this guitar work in any style of music, but amazingly, the character never dilutes.
It sounds like a Les Paul, even when it doesn't sound like a Les Paul.It doesn't do everything, but it gets remarkably close. The Robot Tuners. Image: Mashable, Jhila FarzanehFinally, we've arrived at the elephant in the room: The robot tuners. Gibson says this year's version of G FORCE is its best yet, but does 'best' mean 'good?' While I like the idea of a guitar that retunes itself in theory, G FORCE doesn't work very well in practice.With just six buttons and one LED for all of the guitar's six strings (read; no screens), the interface isn't what you'd call inviting. It's impossible to figure out without the instruction manual, so I pulled up a PDF on Gibson's website.is 29 — 29!
— pages long. Mercifully, Gibson also has a single-page to explain basic operation G FORCE. Image: Mashable, Jhila FarzanehEventually, I was comfortable enough to execute standard tunings and the handful of alternate tunings Gibson pre-configures, but going any deeper than that was a frustrating exercise in complex button combinations. The G FORCE is remarkably capable — one gets the sense Gibson has accounted for every situation that would befuddle a system like this, but the advanced functions are incredibly difficult to access and operate.If I were Gibson, I'd scrap the current interface and develop mobile apps to connect to the guitar via Bluetooth.
That would allow Gibson to organize G FORCE's many functions into a more intuitive interface.The interface is annoying, but the biggest problem with the G FORCE is that it isn't very reliable. It worked fairly well about 85% of the time, but the remaining 15% of the time it was incredibly frustrating. There were a handful of instances where I'd have to make small adjustments to individual strings and other times where the G FORCE would go haywire and lower a string by a whole octave, wasting time in the process.If I were using this guitar as a professional tool, I'd probably use an external tuner to double-check the system's work, which somewhat defeats the system's purpose. Gibson claims G Force is quicker than any human can tune a guitar, which is probably true when it works properly, but it's not an order of magnitude quicker. When it fumbles, it takes substantially longer than a human would, thus negating any time advantage.G FORCE requires a battery that's good for 100 tunes before it needs a recharge, meaning professional musicians better carry a backup, or else.I genuinely like the idea of G FORCE in theory; if it worked as well as Gibson claims it does, it'd be fantastic for professionals, but it's not something I'm comfortable relying on. With a guitar, you need something guaranteed to work 100% of the time, not 85%. So, Traditional or High Performance?
Image: Mashable, Jhila FarzanehUntil Gibson works out all the quirks of G FORCE, I'll recommend the Traditional Les Paul. I enjoyed all of the tonal possibilities the High Performance offered, but the non-G FORCE equipped Traditional offers many of the same features at $350 less.For the sort of person who will spend $3,149 on a guitar, an instrument is a tool, not a toy. Tools have to work consistently and reliably and G FORCE simply doesn't. Otherwise, it's a great guitar.All in all, this guitar helped show me that the guitar designs of the late 1950s and the early 1960s can be improved upon, and I applaud Gibson for taking the risks it does.
As much as I dislike G FORCE, I'd rather Gibson develop new technology than make the same Les Paul year after year.