Taking a page from the SG playbook, Gibson creates a slimmed down, streamlined, all-mahogany version of its flagship solidbody, adding ergonomic niceties like a belly cut for just $1,499.
The all-new Les Paul Modern Lite features everything you’d expect from a Gibson Les Paul, only thinner, lighter, and more ergonomic. The SlimTaper neck profile is ideal for younger players, and the slimmed-down all-mahogany body has been designed with a contoured back for maximum player comfort, whether sitting in front of a camera or rocking out in the garage.
Five satin-nitrocellulose finishes with matching headstocks complete the fresh new look—a first for a Gibson USA Core model—while open-coil 490R and 498T humbucking pickups deliver grown-up tones. The Les Paul Modern Lite arrives in five attention-grabbing satin finishes and a soft-shell guitar case is also included. With the holiday season approaching, it makes an ideal gift for a younger guitarist looking to stand out. And if you aren’t a younger player? Strapping on an instrument that’s a little easier on your back isn’t the worst idea in the world.
Learn more here.
The Americana rocker (and a son of an outlaw legend) adds subtle modernity to a classic profile.
Nashville, TN (August 11, 2020) -- By leveraging its iconic past and leaning into an innovative future, Gibson has set the stage for the next era of shaping sound for present and future with instruments that nurture new players across generations and genres of music. Gibson and Lukas Nelson have announced today, they’ll release the first-ever Gibson USA Lukas Nelson ’56 Les Paul Junior.
Lukas Nelson knows all about legacies, indeed he’s been hard at work carving his own for most of his young, but extremely eventful life. This customized Gibson Les Paul Junior is inspired by Lukas Nelson’s own 1956 Junior.
“The beauty of this guitar is that it is very versatile with the sound. In fact, I can get a lot of different tones just from the P90 and the way that I attack the strings and through the intonation and the vibrato that I give,” says Lukas Nelson. “If I hit it lighter, it doesn’t break up as much. If I get into it, it gets a lot of grit and dirt and breaks up. It’s a versatile tone, which I’m pretty grateful for. Frankly, Gibson has been nothing but incredible to us -to me-since I’ve met them. And this guitar has taken me on a long journey. It’s taken me to some amazing places, and I hope that a lot of other people get the same opportunity with their version of my guitar.”
With his primary focus as the front man of Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real over the release of six studio albums, four Eps and world tours, Lukas and the band have evolved into an emergent and vital force in American music. In song after song, on stage after stage, Lukas and POTR have sharpened the edges of their singular sound, one that nods to their influences while also pushing forward into uncharted territory. The never-ending road also beckons with additional projects, Lukas and his band POTR’s frequent performances as Neil Young’s band and of course, performances alongside his father in Willie Nelson & Family.
Watch Lukas talk about his original 1956 Les Paul Junior in our Rig Rundown from 2019.
Lukas and Gibson’s Luthiers worked closely to develop his Lukas Nelson ’56 Les Paul Junior. Several prototypes were road tested by Lukas on tour over this past year and the end result is Lukas’s vision. Based off his beloved 1956 Les Paul Junior which has been his main guitar for several years, the Lukas Nelson ’56 Les Paul Junior is rooted in tradition with some modern enhancements. Like his original, the single cutaway slab Mahogany body, and neck are crafted of genuine Mahogany for its resonant tonal characteristics and moderate weight. The fat 50's-style neck profile feels smooth and comfortable while providing rigidity and sustain. It features a Rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays and medium jumbo frets for a vintage feel with modern playability. Finished in a deluxe satin Vintage Sunburst, this shade was developed to capture the same vintage patina of his original. The single, dog-ear P-90 pickup features Alnico III magnets and is voiced to replicate the tonal response that Lukas requires. The single volume and tone controls have gold speed knobs (as used in 1956) and are hand-wired featuring an orange drop capacitor and original spec 500k vintage audio taper pots. The aged nickel-plated hardware includes Vintage Deluxe strip style tuners w/ white buttons like the originals but feature a higher gear ratio for improved performance. The 50’s style wraparound bridge provides the same look and solid resonance as the original, but it is made with a stealthy compensation contour to improve intonation accuracy. The new Gibson USA Lukas Nelson ’56 Les Paul Junior will officially be available worldwide at all Authorized Gibson Dealers in August 2020.
Earlier this year, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real released Naked Garden via Fantasy Records. A companion to the group’s highly acclaimed 2019 LP, Turn Off The News (Build A Garden), this 15-track collection captures the joyful spirit and creative intensity of POTR’s ‘News’ with previously unreleased songs and alternate cuts that came out of those sessions at Shangri-La and Village Studios. Wide-ranging in scope and minimalist production Naked Garden embodies the band’s shared spiritual connection and consummate musical chemistry. Guitarist/vocalist Lukas Nelson and his band, Promise of the Real which is rounded out by bassist Corey McCormick, drummer Anthony LoGerfo, percussionist Tato Melgar and multi-instrumentalist Logan Metz, teamed with John Alagia to produce Naked Garden. A few of the album’s many highlights includes the studio version of fan favorite “Entirely Different Stars,” the plaintive romance of “Movie In My Mind,” a rough, early-stage version of “Bad Case,” and Lukas’s unearthly falsetto on the classic country waltz, “The Way You Say Goodbye.” Listen to the lead track, a supercharged, alternate version of “Civilized Hell” and watch the trailer for Naked Garden.
Pricing information:
$1,599 (street)
Watch the company's video demo:
For more information:
Gibson
Check out brand-new Epiphone collaborations with the Gibson Custom Shop, including a '59 Les Paul Standard, Wilshire P-90, and Fluence-equipped Prophecy and Extura models.
1959 Les Paul Standard
Made in partnership with the Gibson™ Custom Shop, the Limited Edition 1959 Les Paul™ Standard is Epiphone's stunning recreation of the rare vintage classic. Featuring a mahogany body with a AAA figured maple top, comfortable 1959 hand-rolled neck profile with long neck tenon, aged gloss finish, Gibson USA BurstBucker™ 2 & 3 humbucking pickups, Switchcraft® selector switch and output jack, CTS® pots, 50s era wiring, Mallory™ capacitors, non-beveled pickguard, new Epiphone Deluxe vintage tuners, and a vintage-style brown hard case. It also comes with an Epiphone Limited Edition metal medallion toggle switch plate and a Certificate of Authenticity. Available in Aged Dark Burst and Aged Dark Cherry Burst.
Wilshire P-90s
From its first appearance in 1959 the Wilshire has been one of Epiphone's most successful original solid body electric guitar designs. The Wilshire P-90 brings back many of the features of the earliest Wilshire models including the symmetrical double-cutaway mahogany body with dual PRO P-90 Soapbar pickups, three on a side reduced sized Kalamazoo headstock with Epiphone Bikini badge and ivory button Epiphone Deluxe tuning machines, and a butterfly tortoise shell pickguard with foil E logo. The Wilshire P-90 comes equipped with a glued-in mahogany neck with a medium C profile, Indian laurel fretboard with 12" radius and 22 medium jumbo frets, 2 volume and 2 tone controls and an Epiphone LockTone™ Tune-O-Matic bridge and Stop Bar tailpiece, and is available in classic Cherry and Ebony finishes.
Extura Prophecy
The Epiphone Prophecy Extura combines the elegance of the Explorer™ with the improved upper fret access of the Futura in an Epiphone exclusive design. Upper fret access is further enhanced by the mahogany neck's modern contoured heel, while the mahogany body is capped with a stunning AAA flame maple veneer and thinner Aged Vintage Gloss "Tiger" finish. The SlimTaper™ asymmetrical mahogany neck features a 24 fret ebony fretboard with jumbo frets, Block and Triangle pearloid/abalone inlays with abalone selected to complement the body finish color, Grover® Locking Rotomatic® tuners, and a black Graph Tech® NuBone® nut. The Extura comes with brushed nickel hardware, and is equipped with a pair of proprietary Fishman® Fluence® pickups with three voicing options that are selected with the push/pull volume and tone controls - high gain, classic humbucker, and hum-free California-style single coil tones are all here. Optional EpiLite™ case available.