Gibson Les Paul is the brand of guitar many guitarists grew up wanting.
One of the reasons is that many of their guitars have a cemented place in history, as utilized by many rockstars and musicians.
This series has much variety to choose from.
Sometimes we understand that it can be confusing, so here are some of the best Gibson Les Pauls we meticulously picked and tested for you to choose from, from the more affordable to the uber expensive.
Contents
The 10 Best Gibson Les Pauls
- Gibson Les Paul Studio – Best Overall Gibson Les Paul Electric Guitar
- Epiphone Les Paul Standard – Best Beginner Gibson Les Paul Electric Guitar
- Gibson Slash Les Paul Standard – Best Collaboration Gibson Les Paul Electric Guitar
- Epiphone Les Paul Custom – Best Gibson Les Paul Electric Guitar Under $1000
- Gibson Les Paul Special – Best Gibson Les Paul Single-Cut Electric Guitar
- Gibson Les Paul Junior – Best Les Paul Mini Electric Guitar
- Gibson Les Paul Standard ’60s – Best Les Paul Electric Guitar for Comfortable Playing
- Gibson Les Paul Standard ’50s – Best Vintage-Looking Gibson Les Paul Electric Guitar
- Gibson Custom 1959 Les Paul Standard – Best High-End Gibson Les Paul Electric Guitar
- Gibson Les Paul Modern – Most Versatile Gibson Les Paul Electric Guitar
Also Great | Editor's Choice | Budget Pick |
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Gibson Les Paul Studio
Our pick for the overall amazing Gibson Les Paul guitar is the Gibson Les Paul Studio in the eye-catching Smokehouse Burst colorway.
This Gibson Les Paul Studio electric guitar will give you the playability of a ’60s Gibson with all the current specifications of today.
The Gibson Les Paul Studio electric guitar is a solid body guitar with the Ultra-Modern Weight Relief feature that will remove a pound from the usual electric guitar’s weight to make it easier and provide comfort for the guitarist, primarily throughout a prolonged performance.
The Gibson Les Paul Studio electric guitar’s top is made of mahogany with a classic Smokehouse Burst finish, and the neck is also mahogany with the SlimTamper profile that would be a pleasure to play for your hand.
The rosewood fingerboard is given the Plek treatment, usually given to the higher-end custom guitar; this will provide you with leveled frets that will be awesome to play in, giving you a smooth canvas for easy finger styling and fingerpicking.
This guitar will give you the warmth, loud, and blues sound you expect with a Les Paul Studio; the 490r and 498T humbuckers will provide you with excellent cancellation of electrical hums to give you an overall smooth tone as you play.
The Les Paul Studio is a fantastic guitar for anyone who can’t afford a vintage or a custom Les Paul, and we guarantee that you will not be disappointed.
Pros
- excellent guitar construction and finish
- comfortable guitar neck for easy grip
- smooth fretboards for easy finger transition
- warm guitar tones brought about by the humbucker pickups and the mahogany wood tones
- lighter Les Paul Studio guitar for comfortable playing
Cons
- price tag expensive although justified for the quality
Epiphone Les Paul Standard
Epiphone Les Paul produces Gibson’s budget electric guitar but does not count them out since they bring out guitars that are some of the guitar player’s favorite.
The Epiphone Les Paul Standard ’50s Electric Guitar in the Sweetwater Exclusive Lemon Burst finish is our choice for the best beginner-friendly Gibson Les Paul electric guitar.
This Epiphone Les Paul electric guitar is a recreation of a ’50s Gibson Les Paul.
This Epiphone Les Paul electric guitar is a solid body electric guitar with a body and neck made of Mahogany and a maple top; this wood combination will give your playing clarity and a warm resonance to every tune you will be creating.
The Epiphone Les Paul Standard features the comfortable C neck standard in the ’59 guitars; with this feature, you will feel maximum ease as you transition from one chord to the next.
The ProBucker Humbucker Pickups is the complete copy of the vintage humbuckers; it’s so spot on that even guitar enthusiasts and vintage experts are convinced that they look and give off sounds just like the original.
The pickups in this guitar work excellent and will reduce hum and buzzing as you play; it will give you clear sounding notes even when plugged into an amplifier.
You will be sure that every dollar you pay for the Epiphone Les Paul Standard ’50s will be worth it and more.
Pros
- fit and finish is better than expected
- colorway embodies old-school looks and is amazing
- great Les Paul tone brought about by probucker pickups
- weighty guitar just like more expensive counterpart
- great beginner guitar for the first time electric guitar users
Cons
- high action at first but can be adjusted
Gibson Slash Les Paul Standard
Here is our pick for the best Gibson Les Paul collaboration electric guitar: the Gibson Slash Les Paul Standard Electric Guitar made in collaboration with Slash, who is known as the leading man of the rock band Guns N’ Roses.
Slash is also famous for using and preferring a Gibson Les Paul, going out of his way to call Gibson Les Paul guitars “the best all-around guitar” for him.
This electric guitar will add a warm tone to your tunes, and the combination of the solid mahogany body with a triple-A maple top has half to do with it.
The mahogany neck, which is patterned on the effortless playing ’50s vintage neck, is adorned with the rosewood fingerboard that would make you feel like you are playing on silk since your fingers will glide pleasantly shift from barre chord leads to finger styling solo.
It also features the little modification Slash did, like the color-coordinated hardware that would come with whatever colorway you decide to go with; it also comes with a “Scully” drawing on the back of the guitar’s headstock.
To add to the many reasons why this guitar is worth it, the sound in this guitar, coupled with the blend of the woods, is warm and crisp and has a moderate output that would make it perfect for any genre from hard rock to metal, even jazz.
If this guitar is good enough for Slash to use at every concert, we won’t be disappointed with this ax.
Pros
- the unique guitar looks customization
- Slash collaborated and approved
- fantastic guitar for every music genre
- emits vintage tone due to Orange Drop capacitors
- comes with a pretty sturdy hardshell case
Cons
- price tag inaccessible for some fans
Epiphone Les Paul Custom
Here is another excellent Epiphone Les Paul guitar to consider buying for your first electric guitar — the Epiphone Les Paul Custom Electric Guitar in the sleek and shiny Ebony colorway.
The Epiphone Les Paul Custom was born when Les Paul himself asked for a classier, higher-end model, and since the Gibson custom costs a fortune, Epiphone made a budget-friendly version for all the custom fans!
The Epiphone Les Paul Custom has an all-mahogany body, a mahogany neck with an ebony fretboard, and all this wood will give you that little oomph you need to take your sound further.
The mahogany neck of the Epiphone Les Paul Custom features a SlimTaper neck profile that will ensure that you will have optimum playability.
In order to do justice with Gibson Custom sound, the Epiphone Les Paul Custom Electric Guitar created their pickup, which is the ProBucker humbucker, and this pickup will affect your overall tone by making it more precise crisper — a quality loved in the original Gibson Custom.
All in all, this Epiphone Les Paul Custom electric guitar will make you feel like you’re playing a Gibson Custom because no shortcuts were made to produce it.
Pros
- warm sounds and resonance
- excellent guitar looks and colorway
- very comfortable guitar neck
- the fretboard is smooth for fast transition
- amazing beginner electric guitar
Cons
- no case or gig bag included in the Epiphone Les Paul Custom
Gibson Les Paul Special
Single-cut guitars have more wood and more contact between the neck and the body, thus making single-cut guitars have better and more sustainable and more sustainable means that a not will have more extended resonance.
With that, our pick for the best Gibson Les Paul Single-Cut Electric Guitar is the Gibson Les Paul Special in the eye-catching Vintage Cherry.
The Gibson Les Paul Special electric guitar was released initially in 1955 as an alternative to the heavier Les Paul Standard, and this current edition will bring playability, comfort, and impressive aesthetic all in one gorgeous cherry red package.
To follow its 1955 original version, the Les Paul Special also has a coating of lightweight nitrocellulose lacquer; the thinner gloss will keep the guitar lighter and make the guitar “breathe” to give you the best sound possible.
The nitrocellulose lacquer that is used on the Les Paul Special will also, over time, keep your instrument and will make it age gracefully, just like vintage guitars.
This Les Paul Special is equipped with the P-90 pickup that will give you that Les Paul Special variety of tones that will make this guitar worthy of being used by any guitarist no matter what their genre is.
Pros
- Plek treatment on the fretboard
- Amazing guitar neck feel
- Versatile guitar for any genre
- a classic, vintage-looking guitar that will age well
- high-quality hardware
Cons
- expensive electric guitar
Gibson Les Paul Junior
The next electric guitar that we picked as the best Gibson Les Paul Mini Electric Guitar is the Gibson Les Paul Junior in the Vintage Tobacco Burst colorway.
Initially released in 1954 as a beginner’s entry electric guitar, this guitar has nurtured rockstar dreams for over 60 years.
The Gibson Les Paul Junior has a solid mahogany body and a mahogany neck that will sure to give warmth to anything you play, be it hard rock or mellow jazz.
The main objective of Gibson Les Paul in designing the Les Paul Junior is maximum comfort and easy playability, and they delivered by giving you a neck profile true to original and would fit just as great in your hands.
The Les Paul Junior neck house a smooth rosewood fingerboard that will make finger transition easy with the buttery feel of the fretboard.
The pickups on the Les Paul Junior electric guitar are the P-90 pickups that will give you a vast tonal palette that would complement humbuckers and single-coils.
If you want a taste of what the Les Paul Junior’s P-90 pickups can do for you, go and search for Carlos Santana’s Woodstock performance or the Who’s Live at Leeds record.
Pros
- flawless sounding P-90 pickups
- mahogany body and mahogany neck brings warmth to playing
- sleek electric guitar looks
- high-quality hardware included
- comes in a hardshell case
Cons
- high price tag for beginner electric guitar
Gibson Les Paul Standard ’60s
If you are a working musician looking for a workhorse that could give you all that smooth sounds and excellent playability and versatility to be played on stage, then look further than the Gibson Les Paul Standard ’60s.
The Les Paul Standard of our picking comes in the sleek and classic Bourbon Burst colorway that will surely add to your overall aesthetics.
The Les Paul Standard ’60s is made of a solid mahogany body with a carved maple top and a mahogany neck; this wood combination in itself will contribute to giving warmness to your tone but, coupled with the burstbucker pickups, will provide you with chunky tones amplified or not.
The burstbucker pickups in this Les Paul Standard sound crisp and clean but can also wail and snarl no matter what sound or tune you are playing.
The Slim Taper neck and the Plek-ed frets add to the playability of the Les Paul Standard ’60s; the rosewood fingerboard is creamlike and would make playing this guitar a dream.
We are sure you wouldn’t be able to the Les Paul Standard ’60s down.
Pros
- amazing burstbucker pickups
- incredibly comfortable electric guitar
- mahogany neck and mahogany body add to the tone
- glorious and glossy electric guitar looks
- gorgeous carved electric guitar maple top
Cons
- price is not for every budget
Gibson Les Paul Standard ’50s
Here is another premium Gibson Les Paul electric guitar that will give you the sound and feel of a ’50s vintage Gibson Les Paul electric guitar, and this is the Gibson Les Paul Standard ’50s Electric Guitar.
This Les Paul Standard electric guitar will give you the vintage playability of a vintage ’50s electric guitar with a more modern high-performance upgrade that will improve your sound.
This electric guitar is made of a mahogany body and a mahogany neck, and if you are a fan of the chunkier vintage neck, you’ll be a fan of the mahogany neck in this Les Paul Standard.
There is also a buffed rosewood fingerboard included in this electric guitar, and it will help with your hand’s dexterity as you change from one finger position for a chord to the next.
You won’t only feel the history with the way guitar looks, but you will also hear it as the Les Paul Standard ’60s is equipped with that bustbucker pickups, and it would best capture the vintage humbucker pickups tone in everything you will play.
Pros
- thinner nitrocellulose lacquer finish
- a vintage mahogany neck that will fill your hand
- “22 medium-jumbo frets that have been Plek’d
- amazing vintage humbucker pickups sound
- great Tobacco Burst colorway
Cons
- tone can be dark with humbucker pickups
Gibson Custom 1959 Les Paul Standard
If you are looking and willing to buy the best electric guitar Gibson Les Paul offers, look no further than Gibson Custom 1959 Les Paul Standard Reissue Electric Guitar in the bright Dirty Lemon colorway.
Owning a colorway of the 1959 Les Paul will make you the envy of all your peers; that’s a guarantee.
Since the original 1959 vintage Gibson issue is one of the most coveted and most expensive Gibson Les Paul out there, here is a chance to own an affordable one with the reissue of the 1959 classic.
This electric guitar has lightweight mahogany back, 2-piece figured maple top in the 1959 Les Paul Standard body, while the mahogany neck is patterned on the original ’59 medium C neck that would fill your hand pleasantly as you cradle the instrument.
Another thing to love with this Les Paul Standard is the attention to detail regarding the electronics included; everything was materialized to bring you that unique 1959 Les Paul Standard tone, and since finding a bunch of original ’50s PAFs is near impossible, Gibson fashioned the CustomBucker Alnico III Humbuckers which is a complete and most accurate pickups patterned with the original.
These pickups will give you that coveted ’59 Les Paul Standard sound and resist and will make your leads and chord progressions sound the best.
Pros
- excellent 1959 Les Paul Standard reproduction
- Lightweight mahogany back and mahogany neck
- comfortable C neck profile
- CustomBucker pickups sound accurately recreates PAF tone
- Holy grail Gibson Les Paul
Cons
- high price tag for premium Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Modern
If you are looking for the best Gibson Les Paul electric guitar that could accommodate any music genre under the sun, then you might like the Gibson Les Paul Modern in the Burgundy top colorway.
This electric guitar will give you all the reasons why everyone loves Gibson Les Paul; with all the modern modifications you will need to keep this guitar running for a long time, the Gibson Les Paul Modern is the workhorse of a guitar you have been searching for.
This guitar has a mahogany body and an “Asymmetrical SlimTaper neck profile” that will provide you with comfort in using this guitar for hours of playing, and the guitar also has a contoured heel that will allow you to reach higher fret notes with ease.
The Modern is with the dual “Burstbucker Pro” humbucking pickups that, coupled with the wood blend of this guitar, will give you a warm and smooth thrill to your playing.
The dual burstbucker also allows you to switch with a “push-pull coil control” to “coil tapped single-coil” tones.
The Modern is genuinely a versatile guitar ready to switch from hard rock to metal to bright British pop and jazz with a control nestled on the electric guitar’s body.
Pros
- high-quality Grover Rotomatic tuners
- SlimTaper neck for hours of playing
- electric guitar fit for concerts and recording
- versatile humbucking pickups plus single-coil tones with a push-pull coil control
- Ultra-Modern Weight Relief for a lighter Les Paul Modern electric guitar
Cons
- Expensive workhorse of a guitar
Why choose Gibson Les Paul guitars?
The Gibson Les Paul brand has been a trusted brand and a forefront in guitar making.
The longevity owes to the fact that many famous musicians spanning across different genres utilized the instrument, and the quality of their guitars has only had a trajectory going up.
Build Quality
The build quality of Les Paul electric guitars has not wavered and has only developed with current specifications as time went on.
Still, one thing has always been consistent: some of their guitars come in the mahogany neck and body, and we know that this wood is sturdy and helps give a warmness and richness to your tone.
There is also an emphasis on ergonomics with their designs, which is essential for all modern players; an example is a contoured heel, the weight relief feature, and many more.
You can guarantee that every guitar from the more affordable Epiphone Les Paul to the premium Custom shop is built with the highest standards and quality.
Sound Quality
For every guitar you buy from Gibson, whether you are looking at the Epiphone Les Paul or other Gibson Les Paul models, the quality of sound you are guaranteed to have is bold, thick, warm, clear, and sustaining.
If the Stratocaster has a distinct sound on its own, the Gibson Les Paul guitars do too, and no other guitar company has come close to producing one that has a Gibson’s distinct sound.
FAQs
What is the most popular Les Paul guitar?
The most famous Gibson Les Paul guitar is owned by Led Zeppelin’s lead man Jimmy Page.
Jimmy Page holds a ’59 Les Paul Standard in the sunburst colorway.
His guitar is also known as the Number One.
What is the most sought-after Gibson Les Paul?
The most coveted guitar from Gibson Les Paul is the vintage ones released in the ’50s, particularly the “Burst” Les Paul Standards.
Also, any Les Paul produced in its golden era between 1958 to 1960 has been regarded as some of the most sought-after Les Pauls and could go on to sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars in some secondhand market and auctions.
What is Gibson’s best-selling guitar?
The bestselling Gibson electric guitar is the Gibson SG Standard.
These guitars not only offer premium build quality and impressive sound yield bought about by upgraded electronics, but they also come in an array of prices and finishes to choose from.
They came out in 1961 and have been regarded as the new Les Paul.
Conclusion
Choosing any Gibson Les Paul electric guitar can be the best choice you can make if you are looking for a guitar that will last you a long time.
The best thing about a Les Paul is that it’s a classic because the pickups and wood combinations will give you a flexible and versatile sound that will grow with you through time.
You will never regret going for any of these Gibson Les Paul we listed, and that’s a guarantee.