Any experience w a Les Paul Special w P90s? Updated

I bought one a few months ago. The P90s cut through very well. The modern neck was much wider than the slimmer 70s neck that I’ve been used to. Very light coming in under 7lbs even with a Bigsby (it has a double cut upper bout). Very fun guitar. Thinking about upgrading the stock P90s in the future.

If I could only have one guitar, a LP Junior would be a very viable candidate. Hands down, THE most versatile one-pickup guitar ever. That's part of the reason Specials have for decades been second fiddle to Juniors, in the case of both LPs and SGs.

Be aware if you're shopping for a modern wraptail Gibson solidbody ... I've had two cross the bench in recent years that would not even come close to intonating due to poor bridge positioning at the factory.

No vintage or vintage-style wraptail intonates perfectly, but these weren't even close to passable. I had to use aftermarket (and saddled and subequently gaudier to look at) stoptails to get the range of adjustment needed without doweling up and moving the studs to the right place.

Here's my personal '55 Junior when it arrived at my shop.



Here's the "after" ... HEL did the period-correct nitro refin, using repro decals custom made with the proper gold ink I sourced from England. I did all the structural, fretwork, electronics, and wound a custom Carondelet "hot vintage" dogear for it. As hard as it may seem to believe, this guitar plays and sounds even better than it looks.

The tune-o-matic was the 1956 upgrade to a wraptail alone on pretty much every Gibson with the exception of Juniors. The TOM is intonatable, radiusable (via the proper files), more stable on its posts, and today there are a sea of upgrades on the market. There is a good reason Gibson's TOM is an industry standard in the realm of hardtail solidbodies regardless of the brand in question.

The wraptail, however, gets bonus points for originality, simplicity "mojo," hoodoo, whatever. You can't argue that all the vibration and resonance goes through two big studs versus being divided among a mix of studs and posts. There is a certain magic to them, whether real or perceived.

My compromise on the '55 is a MojoAxe wraptail upgrade. Look closely and you'll see a faint intonation ridge atop the bar. It's also made of a lightweight and tone-warming aluminum.

When you say TV Jones, I assume you mean their Filtertron pickup varieties. Filtertrons are low output, brightly voiced and very chromy looking humbuckers. P-90s are pure single coils. Other than both having a great reputation for versatility, they are apples and oranges blueprint wise. Play both to determine your preference, knowing you can't pick wrong or bad. Both are equally stellar picks.

So I went with the LP Special w p90s. TV yellow.

It was $1799 at Zzounds.com and I called and they took $150 off. Looks like there are some nice aftermarket adjustable wraparound bridges out there.

Should pair nicely with my '61 Champ and my handwired '58 Custom Deluxe Reissue.

And the 70th Anniversary Broadcaster. I've gone full old school.

Pulled the trigger on the P90 Special. I haven't plugged it in yet, but it feels nice. And it intonation really well. No bridge replacement needed.

7.4 lbs also makes me happy. Love the grain showing thru, particularly on the neck. Neck is thick and wide, which I was expecting.

You need a new desk though..

That special is awesome. I meant to respond yesterday, but I do have this guy that I picked up a few years ago. I’m pretty sure it’s refinished, but it’s got the tune o magic bridge.

I used to play thru a 59 bassman reissue, then I moved out of my old house into an apartment and then a townhouse so I had to downsize a bit for the neighbors…. The TOM and sperzels were on there when I got the guitar. It’s actually pretty live, I need to break it out more.