Watch Lukas Nelson's Rundown: bit.ly/LukasNelsonRR More First Look videos: bit.ly/FIrstLook Merch & Magazines: shop.premierguitar.com Don't Miss a Rundown: bit.ly/RIgRundownENL Subscribe to PG's Channel: bit.ly/SubscribePGUA-cam
I bought one. I had to oil the fretboard and give it a setup but it’s become the best guitar I’ve ever owned. I have an R9, custom shop tele, Duesenberg Starplayer Deluxe and a few other guitars but this Junior has become my main squeeze. Incredible.
@@CDT-8899 These things age fantastically! After a while the neck starts to polish due to playing but because the nitro is so thin it feels GREAT! Not like those super tacky/sticky traditional nitro finishes.
Great demo John. I don’t understand people on UA-cam who troll or slam the guitar and or artist. Lukas is a great artist and has a lot of UA-cam videos posted from his concerts, his house, hotel rooms after gigs, Jammin in the van series, etc. I love my 57 Junior. Listen to Leslie West play Mississippi Queen, and get another sound bite of what a Les Paul Jr. can do. Neil Young has been know to use one in his early days and recording also.
The Junior is fast becoming my favourite electric. The tonal variations you can get from the volume/tone knobs are incredible. So easy. Love the neck as well. The capacitors are fantastic. I’ve just got a USA model but have plenty of other CS LPs even a Murphy heavy aged 58 but this is becoming my favourite. I’ve had specials too. May sell my other LPs to purchase a real one mid to 58. Got an early 70s tele ( super light and plays fantastic) so that’s coveted. Have a lovely 335 too but they’ll probably all have to go to cover the cost. These are almost like a secret.
Love your demos John I just got a 66 SG Jr that I scrounged a 59 Dog ear for No regrets on that pickup They seemed to be hotter back then for some reason too Faber HyBridge wrap around upgrade All set plus didn't cost anymore than a reissue
Put gold top hats on a regular Junior and leave it in the light for a while. I had a '57 Junior which was better than my 2019 Junior is, but the new one will be great one day and is already very nice.
I'm a firm believer in that too When Billy Gibbons was getting all those awesome tones from his 59 LP it was less than 15 years old Granted better wood and parts back then Even in 69 - 70 they were scorching at a mere ten years old All these great reissues coming out will sound stellar in ten to fifteen years IMO
I've said it before and I'll say it again ! Les Paul Jr. Is the best guitar for me, it got me started on p90 and now that I've been playing guitar for 4-5 years I'm good enough to justify the Les Paul special TV single cut and it's now the best guitar ever for myself !
Great review as usual John, but I've suffered re-issue/signature model fatigue from Fender and Gibson for a long time. Luke is a great player to be sure, but I wonder if it's enough to have his name on them and sell enough to matter.
USA pickups, better quality electronics, better attention to fretwork(usually), different bridge material. I'm with you, Gibsons, in my opinion, are overpriced but if you're not going to do any upgrades, the Gibson is (potentially) the better sounding and playing guitar. Now, if you're going to do some hands on and budget for quality electronics, the sky's the limit
The 58 pickup is OLD and has that 60 yr magnet degauss that lends the vintage magic where the LN pickup sounds a little more powerful and defined I guess because it's DUH ...new!
The distance between the pickup and the bridge is pretty different on both guitars. Is that the difference between a '56 and a '58 Junior, or is that just because it's a reissue?
No in 57 gibson moved the pickup apart slightly, as the 56 and earlier jr's had a tendency for the wood cracking as the gap was too small to the bridge.
@@jerrytee2688 it has nothing to do with “this signature model” it has to do with the fact that the signature is a replica of Lukas’s actual ‘56 and in ‘56 the pickup was closer to the tail piece than the ‘58. They changed the pickup position in ‘57.
Yeah, that's the first thing I noticed, that the bridge was parallel to the pickup. That's why I don't like "signature models", why bother getting everything else to be "correct" and then do something so glaringly wrong? IMO
A friend of mine bought a star body Kramer back in the 80s. We couldn't figure out what was wrong with it. it didn't sound right. We figured it out the pickup was too close to the bridge. I think Willy's kid smokes too much weed also. He actually requested that. Because you are famous because of your father it doesn't automatically make you know what you're talkin about. And for some reason this guy didn't point that out. This really aggravates me.
Take your guitar and put your pickup up against your bridge and see what it sounds like. You can't use UA-cam as a guide. That's why Nobody Does it. You won't find another guitar with a pick up that close to the bridge. It doesn't work.
Love me a jr but this things seems way over priced for what you're getting . If i'm spending that much i'd probably save a little more and get the real thing off reverb.
Meh, I bought one "blemished" for $1300 and couldn't find the blemish, that's not bad at all for a guitar with a case. Juniors rock. EDIT: i’ve had this guitar for about a month now and it’s become my main axe, probably the best guitar I’ve ever owned to be completely honest. I own an R9 and a Custom Shop Tele Custom and I don’t even play them anymore. This guitar is simply incredible, at least for me.
John would be damn near perfect as a demo player if he threw a couple Pete Townsend and Dave Davies styled licks into the mix, but don't change on my account.
That's a competitive price for a guitar made in the USA with a labor intensive nitrocellulose finish. That having been said, they should bring back the 2014 Melody Maker, (the one with the thin maple cap). It didn't come with a hard shell case, but I paid less than $600 for mine brand new. That was a real steal. The 2014's were a little rough around the edges with the quality control, but they have it where it counts.
@@DylanGladstoneMusic competitive because of mass lunacy perhaps. It's a few slabs of wood, no carvings, inlays, trim, etc that probably cost $$300 tops in materials $1000 would make sense since it's Gibson
@@papa_pt I have no idea really. There's a lot of labor in a Gibson, so my guess is that's the majority of the cost. That's especially apparent when you get into solid carved arch top jazz guitars which typically sell for over ten thousand dollars. The materials are a tiny fraction of the cost. If I played jazz I'd have to make due with a heavily used second hand plywood arch top. :D
@@DylanGladstoneMusic yes exactly, I think for that much money you should probably have a carved top at least (unless it's some ultra rare exotic wood like Honduran Hog or Brazil Rosewood where the cost of material goes way up). Those details are directly related to the amount of labor required. Here you have two slabs (more?), some routing, glue, Plek machine done. I think my dream guitar right now would be a PRS Hollowbody or a McInturff..used to have one of those Royale's and regret selling it. Best playing guitar I laid hands on
Watch Lukas Nelson's Rundown: bit.ly/LukasNelsonRR
More First Look videos: bit.ly/FIrstLook
Merch & Magazines: shop.premierguitar.com
Don't Miss a Rundown: bit.ly/RIgRundownENL
Subscribe to PG's Channel: bit.ly/SubscribePGUA-cam
I bought one. I had to oil the fretboard and give it a setup but it’s become the best guitar I’ve ever owned. I have an R9, custom shop tele, Duesenberg Starplayer Deluxe and a few other guitars but this Junior has become my main squeeze. Incredible.
Just got one this week.
Have one too. only 300 made WW
@@CDT-8899 These things age fantastically! After a while the neck starts to polish due to playing but because the nitro is so thin it feels GREAT! Not like those super tacky/sticky traditional nitro finishes.
One of the most beautiful guitars ever made...and who needs a neck pickup...
Bolinger is the MAN when it comes to hear demos...and of course rocking out
Just got one and it’s quickly becoming my #1!
Great demo John. I don’t understand people on UA-cam who troll or slam the guitar and or artist. Lukas is a great artist and has a lot of UA-cam videos posted from his concerts, his house, hotel rooms after gigs, Jammin in the van series, etc. I love my 57 Junior. Listen to Leslie West play Mississippi Queen, and get another sound bite of what a Les Paul Jr. can do. Neil Young has been know to use one in his early days and recording also.
The Junior is fast becoming my favourite electric. The tonal variations you can get from the volume/tone knobs are incredible. So easy. Love the neck as well. The capacitors are fantastic. I’ve just got a USA model but have plenty of other CS LPs even a Murphy heavy aged 58 but this is becoming my favourite. I’ve had specials too. May sell my other LPs to purchase a real one mid to 58. Got an early 70s tele ( super light and plays fantastic) so that’s coveted. Have a lovely 335 too but they’ll probably all have to go to cover the cost. These are almost like a secret.
thats the best sounding telecaster i ever heard...........
Still waiting for the
Charlie Starr Signature Series from Gibson....
Good things come to those who wait!!! It's arrived!!!
Love your demos John I just got a 66 SG Jr that I scrounged a 59 Dog ear for No regrets on that pickup They seemed to be hotter back then for some reason too Faber HyBridge wrap around upgrade All set plus didn't cost anymore than a reissue
Now!!!! That’s what I call a demo 👍🏻 thanks 😊
Put gold top hats on a regular Junior and leave it in the light for a while. I had a '57 Junior which was better than my 2019 Junior is, but the new one will be great one day and is already very nice.
I'm a firm believer in that too When Billy Gibbons was getting all those awesome tones from his 59 LP it was less than 15 years old Granted better wood and parts back then Even in 69 - 70 they were scorching at a mere ten years old All these great reissues coming out will sound stellar in ten to fifteen years IMO
@@paulcowart3174 Absolutely! They just need love and playing.
I've said it before and I'll say it again !
Les Paul Jr. Is the best guitar for me, it got me started on p90 and now that I've been playing guitar for 4-5 years I'm good enough to justify the Les Paul special TV single cut and it's now the best guitar ever for myself !
Great playing....for me the best demo of this guitar.
Great review as usual John, but I've suffered re-issue/signature model fatigue from Fender and Gibson for a long time. Luke is a great player to be sure, but I wonder if it's enough to have his name on them and sell enough to matter.
Nah don't think so I didn't even know who he was Times have changed Whatever to make an extra buck
That Blackface Deluxe (sans reverb) is to die for...
Sounds great.
Really cool but besides the Gibson logo and Nitro finish, what would be the big difference with a Epiphone that goes for a quarter of the price?
pickup, compensated wrap around, tuners but yeah the same otherwise.....
USA pickups, better quality electronics, better attention to fretwork(usually), different bridge material. I'm with you, Gibsons, in my opinion, are overpriced but if you're not going to do any upgrades, the Gibson is (potentially) the better sounding and playing guitar. Now, if you're going to do some hands on and budget for quality electronics, the sky's the limit
Love me a Jr. Not a terrible price point, but not stellar either however.1500 seems a little steep.
@@cchavez248 Makes sense thanks.. Also I figure that the wood selection is a step above on the USA factory..
@@jebusgod Ok Thanks :)
People who complain it only has 1 pick up, (like my boss) just DON'T get it! \m/
Will you explain it?
"Less is more".
@@ST-xg3gy shhhh, they don't need to know...,...nothing to see here
@@cchavez248 LOL!
@@ST-xg3gy QUIT trollin' will ya?
Rock machine! ❤
The 58 pickup is OLD and has that 60 yr magnet degauss that lends the vintage magic where the LN pickup sounds a little more powerful and defined I guess because it's DUH ...new!
Although when those guitars were recorded in the 60s and 70s, they sounded amazing and they weren't that old
NICE tone !!! /// Ya know, I'll take the new one !!!
Gibson moved the pickup farther from the bridge in the '58 model due to structural issues with the earlier models like the Nelson.
COOL !!!!!
The distance between the pickup and the bridge is pretty different on both guitars. Is that the difference between a '56 and a '58 Junior, or is that just because it's a reissue?
No, a '56's bridge is angled like the '58. It's something they did for this "signature model".
No in 57 gibson moved the pickup apart slightly, as the 56 and earlier jr's had a tendency for the wood cracking as the gap was too small to the bridge.
@@jerrytee2688 it has nothing to do with “this signature model” it has to do with the fact that the signature is a replica of Lukas’s actual ‘56 and in ‘56 the pickup was closer to the tail piece than the ‘58. They changed the pickup position in ‘57.
Does the body comes with one piece mahogany or two pieces... or it's random? Not mentioned in the Gibson's site! Great video!
Great review, John. What brand guitar strap is that rose one?
What tremolo pedal do you have on your board here?
I was using the amp's trem..but I also have a @EHX Oceans 11 for trem, verb, delay
Nice variac.
Yay
The pickup’s kissing the bridg too. And the bridge don’t look too slant.
My favorite guitars have one pickup.
My favorite women have one leg
For some reason he wanted the pickup closer to the bridge. That's a big No-No. So if you buy one and it sounds weird that's why.
Yeah, that's the first thing I noticed, that the bridge was parallel to the pickup. That's why I don't like "signature models", why bother getting everything else to be "correct" and then do something so glaringly wrong? IMO
A friend of mine bought a star body Kramer back in the 80s. We couldn't figure out what was wrong with it. it didn't sound right. We figured it out the pickup was too close to the bridge. I think Willy's kid smokes too much weed also. He actually requested that. Because you are famous because of your father it doesn't automatically make you know what you're talkin about. And for some reason this guy didn't point that out. This really aggravates me.
Doesn't sound "weird" and "wrong" to me, especially after the comparison to the original. The new one sounded snappier in very interesting ways.
Take your guitar and put your pickup up against your bridge and see what it sounds like. You can't use UA-cam as a guide. That's why Nobody Does it. You won't find another guitar with a pick up that close to the bridge. It doesn't work.
56' les paul Jr's had the pickup next to the bridge. In 57' Gibson moved them apart slightly to stop the wood cracking .
JB + LPJ = ACE
Love me a jr but this things seems way over priced for what you're getting . If i'm spending that much i'd probably save a little more and get the real thing off reverb.
Please link me to a 50s jr for a little more.
@@justinguitarcia you know what mean
MY VOS COST ALMOST 4 GRAND AND WORTH EVERY PENNY SOUNDS AND PLAYS AS GOOD AS MY VINTAGE ONES.
Meh, I bought one "blemished" for $1300 and couldn't find the blemish, that's not bad at all for a guitar with a case. Juniors rock.
EDIT: i’ve had this guitar for about a month now and it’s become my main axe, probably the best guitar I’ve ever owned to be completely honest. I own an R9 and a Custom Shop Tele Custom and I don’t even play them anymore. This guitar is simply incredible, at least for me.
Let just compare this to my ‘58 LP Jr... wow
Nice one! But your Special looks damn fine!
John it's obvious you like you some Fender amps I bet even the Vavletrain has 6v6's. :)
I really like it but I think Charlie Starr should have got a Signature Jr too.
The time has come
Boehlinger can make a P90 twang. Even a regular Les Paul with Humbuckers he could make it twang
Great Demo, hate noisy pick-ups!
John would be damn near perfect as a demo player if he threw a couple Pete Townsend and Dave Davies styled licks into the mix, but don't change on my account.
This guy could play a rubbber band and it would sound better than you (and me).
Strange Gibson never put out a L.P. Jr. Leslie West Signature! And West played the Juniors way before anyone else even thought about it.
bridge and pickup are closer together
$1500 for a junior.. jeezus
Collings make a Jr. for $6K! I mean WTF?
That's a competitive price for a guitar made in the USA with a labor intensive nitrocellulose finish.
That having been said, they should bring back the 2014 Melody Maker, (the one with the thin maple cap). It didn't come with a hard shell case, but I paid less than $600 for mine brand new. That was a real steal. The 2014's were a little rough around the edges with the quality control, but they have it where it counts.
@@DylanGladstoneMusic competitive because of mass lunacy perhaps. It's a few slabs of wood, no carvings, inlays, trim, etc that probably cost $$300 tops in materials
$1000 would make sense since it's Gibson
@@papa_pt I have no idea really. There's a lot of labor in a Gibson, so my guess is that's the majority of the cost.
That's especially apparent when you get into solid carved arch top jazz guitars which typically sell for over ten thousand dollars. The materials are a tiny fraction of the cost.
If I played jazz I'd have to make due with a heavily used second hand plywood arch top. :D
@@DylanGladstoneMusic yes exactly, I think for that much money you should probably have a carved top at least (unless it's some ultra rare exotic wood like Honduran Hog or Brazil Rosewood where the cost of material goes way up). Those details are directly related to the amount of labor required.
Here you have two slabs (more?), some routing, glue, Plek machine done.
I think my dream guitar right now would be a PRS Hollowbody or a McInturff..used to have one of those Royale's and regret selling it. Best playing guitar I laid hands on
1600 Euro for a junior with a misplaced pickup 😂😂😂
Huh? misplaced pickup?
@@cardbored_ This model has its pickup placed closer to the bridge then normal.
Super caro, dado lo simple del modelo.
La 58 suena mucho mejor.