Gibson Les Paul signature guitar, Gary Moore Special

Gibson Les Paul… Gary Moore special.

I recently purchased a Gibson Les Paul Gary Moore special, which is the first six string guitar I’ve bought since 1970 and that was a Les Paul too. This one is very different from the last; I don’t just mean the colour. This model is described as a BFG, or barely finished guitar and because of that, it does not have the high polished finish that other Gibson guitars tend to have. It has a raw look to it that is very attractive, and it only comes in one colour, lemon burst.

One of the most striking features is the pickup setup, most Les Pauls come with matching Humbuckers but not this one; the neck pickup is the P90, that produces a tried and loved sound reminiscent of so many early Gibsons. The bridge pickup is a new one to me the Burstbucker3, a raunchier pickup with a fantastic range of sounds that compliments the P90 perfectly. Staying with the hardware a moment, bizarrely there are clear plastic covers on the access holes to the pickup wires, I’m not sure why I need to see them. There is also a kill switch positioned where the pickup selector switch usually is, it has its uses. The two pickups share a common treble switch, another feature I like.

The balance is nice, with the body slightly lighter than my other Les Paul, mostly due to it having a chambered body and not just solid mahogany, which makes it sit well on your neck. The neck is slightly wide and chunky, officially described as the 50’s style, but each of these has a hand-finished neck so that no two have exactly the same profile.

It does have all the usual things, the Grover machine heads and Tune-o-Matic bridge, the neck is plain without the usual pearl inlets, I think it is a shame not to have added those, but there are dots to indicate the fret position.

If you are just looking for a great sound then this is a great guitar, but if you are looking for pretty then I think you would be disappointed. To be honest I have a couple of well gigged and travelled guitars that look smarter.

I think it has a lot of street cred. and if you want to impress then this is your baby…rock on.

The case is very well made and should withstand the roughest roadie, and it has lots of nice fluffy stuff inside.

I was very sad to hear of Gary' death this week. He was very underrated as a guitarist but he was appreciated by every guitarist and he will be missed by his many fans.

I would like to send my sympathy to his family and those who held him dear.