Gibson Les Paul Menace
June 3, 2007 by Jo Minor
Gibson says of it’s Les Paul Menace electric guitar that it is “not for the faint of heart.” The flat black finish is indeed mean and menacing in appearance. And in sound? Again, it’s not for the faint of heart. The Menace is a without a doubt a guitar designed for playing heavy metal music.
So who exactly is or was Les Paul, and why does Gibson put his name on so many of their electric guitars?
Lester Polfus (alias Les Paul) was born in 1915, and is now 92 years old. Les Paul is one of the most important pioneers in the development of the modern electric guitar. He is a jazz guitarist and a guitar designer who built his first electric guitar in the 1940’s. He was not happy with the design of the guitars that were available in the 1930’s. The guitar he created in 1952 ultimately evolved into all the Gibson Les Paul guitar models we see today, including the Menace.
There are some details that set the LP’s apart from other guitars. One is a carved maple top that has an arched, curved appearance. They have a three way toggle switch. But the most important innovation Les Paul came up with was the solid wood body. Earlier designs were hollow, with two problems. They had a lot of feedback and they didn’t have much sustain. Both of these problems were fixed by using a solid piece of wood for the body of the guitar.
The Les Paul Custom debuted in 1954 and was made only of mahogany. Several changes took place over the next decade, until the Les Paul SG, or solid guitar, was issued in 1961, with its angular curved horns. More variations were released throughout the years to come.
Some people say that the Les Paul Menace is just a Gibson Les Paul Custom electric guitar with the pickup covers removed and a few cosmetic changes. It’s also been compared to the Gibson Les Paul Studio electric guitar, although sometimes the comparison is negative.
Advantages: The Gibson Les Paul Menace is playable and good looking. The price is good, too, since you can get one at discount for less than $1000. The list price is $1168. The neck action is reported to be good. It’s lighter in weight than some of the other Les Pauls, which some players might think of as more of a disadvantage than an advantage. It has good sustain and the smoky coil pickups really rip.
Many reviewers compare it to a Les Paul Custom at a fraction of the price.
No doubt about it, the Menace is definitely suited for heavy metal. If you want the value of a Gibson electric guitar, this is definitely one of the best prices you’re going to find. In fact, if you’re looking for your first good rock guitar, the Gibson Les Paul Menace is probably one of the best values you’re going to get.
Disadvantages: A few people say that the Menace is not made with the same attention to detail that the other Gibsons are made with. The frets are reported to be sharp and squarish, giving it a different feel in the beginning, but you can get used to it. You might need to get the action adjusted since it’s high when you first bring the guitar home.
Some buyers don’t think it’s all that good looking, and that a glossy finish would be better, and that the neck does not have enough coats of finish to cover the wood grain totally. Some people like the tatoo logo and fist designs (the fist is used as a gold tone inlay at the fifth fret), but others find them a bit corny.
One user suggests trading out the pickups for DiMarzio Super Distortions if you get too much gain from your preamp, making the sound fuzzy.
Specs
- Maple top, Mahogany back
- Mahogany neck in a 1960 slim taper profile
- Neck joint location - 16th fret
- Ebony fingerboard
- 24.75 inch scale length
- 22 frets
- brass fist inlays
- 1.695 inches wide at the nut
- Black chrome hardware
- Stop Bar tailpiece
- Tune-o-matic bridge
- Black Speed knobs
- Black Grover tuners
- 490R Smoky Coil brass stud humbucker pickup at the neck
- 498T Smoky Coil bras stud humbucker pickup at the bridge
- Two volume controls
- Two tone controls
- Three way switch
- Brite wire strings in .010 to .046
- comes in a gig bag with silver Gibson USA Logo (unless your supplier throws in a hardshell case
- The tapered neck is 0.818 inches thick at the 1st fret and 0.963 inches thick at the 12th
- Neck width is 2.260 inches at the 12th fret.
Read all about Les Paul guitars at Wikipedia.
Comments
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I don’t know what to say about this. Yeah it’s cheaper than other gibsons, but the sound just doesn’t cut it for me. Maybe i’m just too old skool to appreciate all these newer stuff..