Anyone have a Gibson Les Paul Junior?

  • Thread starter Thread starter romanianreaper
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I bought a Jr earlier this year. Had one years ago as well. They are super fun guitars. Not frills just plug in and rip it. I did swap the factory P90 for a Mojo Tone Silent Coil P90. The particular Gibson P90 that came in my guitar was not a good example of what they should be. Everyone should own at least one Jr in their playing life.
 
Jrs are fun, and a great guitar for punk rock. Matter of fact, best sounding punk rock guitars I've recorded at my studio till this day was my former 58 DC Jr through a Matchless DC-30 on the first(top boost) channel. Plenty of drive and low end, but with more than enough midrange and a top end that clear as a bell.
After owning that 58 for over 20 years, I've finally found another one I liked better... it's a 57 single cut. This 57 has so much gain on the mid frequencies, and at the same time, sound so sweet on the low and top end! It became one of my all time fave.
Old ones are hit or miss. If you find a great one, they are hard to beat. The new ones are really good. Custom Shop are incredible.
One P90 equipped guitar that is a total sleeper is the Peavey version of a LP Special. Forgot how they call it. Two soap bar P90s that sound amazing! And not expensive at all.
But yeah... Les Paul Jr through an overdriven amp do sound incredible!
 
eclecticsynergy said:
Every guitar is different to begin with, and players approach theirs differently too.
Me, I've had more tuning problems with Strats over the decades than with my LPs.
But I did have a late-60s Firebird for a while that wouldn't stay in tune no matter what.

Looking back, I think with the Fenders it was mostly trem issues for me.
Certainly it makes better sense for strings to go straight across the nut.
I think PRS got that right with his headstock.

I agree the Gibson design is not ideal. Still, there are plenty of LPs that don't have tuning issues.
For the ones that do, IME a good nut often fixes the problem. But there is no universal fix.

For something that seems so simple, a guitar can be pretty complex.
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Yeah, when I’ve had tuning issues with a Fender type (I have partscasters I’ve built) it’s usually the nut and tremolo.
I’ve gone hardtail for that reason, I’ve never had good luck with any tremolo being stable.
I love Gibsons, I have 3 currently.
But they are def the most temperamental of any guitar I’ve owned in regards to tuning.
I’ve tried everything and the string butler so far has helped more than anything.
The string butler and heavy strings.
 
Love P-90s for rock and hard rock

I also love single pickup guitars…just got a melody maker explorer. Calling it my explorer Jr. If I upgrade the pickups I might go for a HB size P-90. I’m better with less options so I can just play.

I also really like the way P-90s and early VH type pickups clean up.
 
EyesOfTheSouth! said:
I have 8 guitars including 2 Gibson Custom Shops. But the guitar I play the most is my 2019 Jr. I love that thing. Tuning can be a pain, but it’s raw and raunchy. Just for kicks I tried both a BKP and Lollar P90. The stock pup went back in……it’s perfect.
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Wow that is saying something if you put it back in after those two!
 
I think im going to have to just play one. I know I'll dig it but whether I dig it more than my other Les Pauls will be the question and if it sounds great with my amp.
 
romanianreaper said:
I never looked into these before and thinking about getting another guitar thst is a backup to my Les Paul Classic. I know it has a P90 but never had one and thought it may be cool to have. My band does punk and rock and seemed like it would work well. Thoughts?
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You deserve one, kimg ?
 
romanianreaper said:
I think im going to have to just play one. I know I'll dig it but whether I dig it more than my other Les Pauls will be the question and if it sounds great with my amp.
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Yes, no substitute for just trying one. The P90’s give it a different flavor than humbucker equipped Les Paul’s, but I think my Jr works great with all the many amp varieties I’ve got. To me the only drawbacks are the noise (they’re single coils) and they’re not as tight or controlled or uniform/homogeneous sounding as humbuckers. They’re more raw and wild (in a great way imo) and in some ways allow for more nuance
 
Charvel1975 said:
I have a 98 Gibson Les Paul Special P100 in Ebony, has some upgrades that were done on it some years ago but needs some TLC and the wiring checked.
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I actually played a Walnut 2022 one yesterday with humbuckers and loved it. I'm thinking of picking one up.
 
Those guitarfetish slick brand ones are supposed to be decent.
 
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Enjoy my cs junior throughly.
 
Gibson's "The Paul" from around '79-'80 was a lot like an all-walnut LP Special.
Many didn't know at the time but they had an ebony board and a long tenon neck.
Cool guitars - the only Gibson I ever played that actually made T-tops sound huge.

Until about ten years ago they were a sleeper gem that you pick up for peanuts, $200-300.
But people got hip to how good they were and the prices have gone way up since then.

The Paul was succeeded by a cheaper model called the Firebrand, without the long tenon or ebony board.
In recent years I've seen more than one eBay seller trying to pass off a Firebrand as a The Paul to make some extra $.
 
Not a Junior (I want one), but have a Special in Olive Drab Green. Has Motor City P90's and a MC Savvy wrap around bridge. Things a beast.

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eclecticsynergy said:
Gibson's "The Paul" from around '79-'80 was a lot like an all-walnut LP Special.
Many didn't know at the time but they had an ebony board and a long tenon neck.
Cool guitars - the only Gibson I ever played that actually made T-tops sound huge.

Until about ten years ago they were a sleeper gem that you pick up for peanuts, $200-300.
But people got hip to how good they were and the prices have gone way up since then.

The Paul was succeeded by a cheaper model called the Firebrand, without the long tenon or ebony board.
In recent years I've seen more than one eBay seller trying to pass off a Firebrand as a The Paul to make some extra $.
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I remember when that happened wirh Les Pauls. When Slash hit the scene it changed.
 
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