In pictures: Gibson unveils LPX

Gibson unveils LPX

Gibson has unveiled the full details of the LPX, the guitar the company is calling the 'ultimate Les Paul'.

On a genetic level, the LPX has plenty in common with the rest of the Les Paul range, with a mahogany body and AAA-grade maple top and '60s 'SlimTaper' mahogany neck topped with granadillo, but under the hood is a whole different story.

With 55 on-board presets ranging from traditional humbucker and single coil tones through the acoustic, slide and resonator sounds, the self-tuning Robot Tuning system and the USB 2.0 G-Node interface - which allows players to record straight into a Mac or PC and access sounds with Native Instruments' Guitar Rig 4 - the LPX is an awful lot of guitar for the $4999 (£3270) SRP.

For more information, visit the official Gibson website, and click through the gallery for the full list of features.

Gibson press release

Effects, pedals, AC adapters, batteries, direct boxes, amps, tuners, patch cords—they're a major hassle, but a necessary part of your sound. Or are they?

More than six decades into the evolution of the solidbody electric guitar, the LPX—new from Gibson USA—unlocks your full potential as an artist by removing the boundaries between you and your instrument.

With the supremely playable and beautifully crafted LPX, your sound lives in your guitar. Plug into an amp, a front of house mixer, or an audio interface: your sound goes there with you. 55 expertly designed presets, using the LPX's dazzling array of world-class, built-in processors, take your tone from searing leads, to tender ballads, to the sound of various iconic guitars, to rocking rhythms, to much more—quickly and easily.

But don't stop there: Create your own signature sounds that shape the LPX to your musical desires. What's more, footswitch and expression pedal controllers communicate wirelessly with the LPX to minimize stage clutter, while robot tuning keeps your guitar perfectly in tune. And that's just for starters.

There are plenty of guitars for the timid. For the bold, there's LPX.

LPX controls

The LPX neck and bridge pickups are built with Alnico V and Alnico II magnets, while the middle pickup has a ceramic magnet, giving you all the tonal range you could need.

Additionally, the bridge is loaded with piezos, which alongside the three active pickups gives you access to a huge variety of sounds. The LPX also features 'virtual wiring', meaning you can organise the three pickups however you wish, with thousands of series, parallel, single-coil and series/parallel combinations available.

LPX headstock

The tapered headstock is certainly not going to be suited to all tastes, but the neck is pure traditional Gibson, a piece of mahogany with a slim '60s profile.

It makes for a fine counterpoint to all the technology on offer on the body - you can create on-board effects with the LPX, with distortion, delay, compressions, chorus, reverb, flanger, wah, tremelo, looper and octaver all accessible, alongside a 9-band parametric EQ for both the magnetic and piexo pickups, as well as a pickup mixer.

LPX neck (rear)

The Robohead automated tuning system has 11 tuning presets, meaning you'll not have to worry about re-tuning your guitar in a hurry.

You can access the alternate tunings from the guitar or alternatively via a pair of dual footswitches, which connect to the LPX via Bluetooth and can access the presets on board and control EQ and effects parameters.

LPX front

The LPX has a fairly formidable set of options for connecting the guitar up to outboard gear.

First up, you can plus in a standard 1/4" jack as usual, and use the guitars on-board technology to access all manner of digital goodness.

Secondly, you can split your output and connect the LPX to the G-Node interface (which is included with the guitar). This will allow you to link the guitar to a Mac or Windows computer, and access plug-ins or process strings individually via hex outputs.

Ableton Live 8 Gibson Studio Edition and Native Instruments Guitar Rig 4 are included as free downloads with the guitar, alongside editing software which allows you to tweak the LPX's in-built effects.

LPX rear

The LPX's onboard effects are powered by batteries which Gibson says are 'small enough to fit in your pocket'.

The guitar ships with an array of accessories that includes eight rechargeable batteries, a charging dock, a stereo cable, XLR cable, USB cabples, two wireless floor unites (pedalboard and switchboard), a power supply, an accessory case, a hardshell case and all the usual Gibson warranties and guarantees.