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Average user rating 1 of 5

• literate_guitarist

  

  Tue 25 Aug 2009, 6:57 pm BST

  User rating 5 of 5

  I've never been a Les Paul lover (the guitar; I like the man just fine) but I bought my Trans Gold BFG a few months after one of my students got one. The thing just had a lively fizz about it, and the price was right. I think it is the lack of thick finish that makes the big difference, together with the chambered body. I like the feel of the guitar and the acoustic sound has real character. Despite some of the promos suggestiong it is a heavy metal machine, it's really more suited to classic rock and blues. The rough and ready finish is fine by me as it improves the tone. I didn't like the lack of pickup surrounds. I put a cream surround on the burstbucker and for the looks, a cream cover on the P90. For good measure I put the supplied cream tip on the toggle and added an authentic truss rod cover because I had one. The surround on the burstbucker I regard as essential in order to correctly position the thing and hold it in place. The pick up heights needed adjusting to get a volume balance between them; bridge pickup close to the strings, neck pickup lowered to balance. The neck feels great. Soundwise through a valve amp I can get Bluesbreaker, Zeppelin and old Santana sounds (OK, I'm an old fart). The two pickups give radically different sounds and together they give a third great sound. I find myself playing pinched harmonics with ease using the burstbucker. With a clean sound I can get a nice warm jazz sound using the P90, with plenty of separation for fingerstyle - I think Les would have approved. Once I had done my minor customisation and set-up, and strung it with 11s, I loved the guitar. It gets full marks for being a better sounding Les Paul (to my taste anyhow) for half the usual price.

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• adetheheat

  

  Mon 11 Feb 2008, 4:46 pm GMT

  User rating 1 of 5

  Gibson have taken the LP back to basic with this model. They openly say they've reduced the finish quality to bring down the cost of this. Basically Gibson have cut down on costs by missing out on the finish. So they've brought the price down to around £799 uk - although if you hunt around I've seen them for £649. Considering that LPs start at about £1000 then this good.
  The first thing you notice is the weight - they've hollowed out the body. Then the finish is as already mentioned. The upside to this is that you won't lose sleep everytime you scratch it or play it while wearing a belt. So to the sound.
  The Burstbucker bridge is great - gives a thick LP growl through my Marshall.
  The neck P90 is very very mellow and warm sounding - not in the slightest bit similar to the bridge and so sounds like a totally different guitar except it has a much more powerful output. In fact you'll have to turn down the output if you want a clear tone. So the decision for a buyer is whether to buy an LP studio or an LP BFG as they're around the same price. Luckily I have both guitars so can help you out here. Nerd that I am I compared the following attributes:
  Weight: Studio is heavier, BFG is very light.
  Sustain: about the same - I played an open E chord on both and timed it. Both seemed to have the same sustain - in that the first three strings sound seemed to fade out at about 17s. So about the same here.
  Finish: Both have carved maple top but the BFG does look more rock n roll and worn.
  Bridge pickup:Very similar sound to both although the BFG edges it because the sound is more balanced and even and
  has a thicker tone to it.
  Neck: BFG P90 tone is totally different - very mellow very warm and very powerful. The Studio neck sounds fine but similar to the bridge eg same feel but a little warmer. The P90 sounds like a different guitar to the burstbucker and studio.
  Action: fine from factory. No tweaking needed yet.
  Build Quality: The BFg gives the impression that if you drop it it will fall apart whereas the studio feels like a solid chunk of wood.
  Tuners: BFG keeps tune better than the studio.
  BFG vs Studio ?? BFG - wins on sound and playing, loses on build. As you play guitars and not look at them then the BFG wins for me overall.

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