Gibson Les Paul Signature ‘T’ (Vintage Sunburst, Gold Hardware)Gibson USA is celebrating 2013 as the Year of Les Paul, and there’s no better tribute than a guitar dedicated to the man himself. The Les Paul Signature “T” wraps all of Les Paul’s legendary innovation into a sweet looking and great sounding Les Paul that honors the memory of this legendary guitar’s inventor, while providing an instrument primed for the power and versatility demanded by today’s gigging guitarist. Traditional tonewoods are married to enhanced playing comfort and two of Gibson’s finest PAF-style humbucking pickups, with upgraded switching for bonus single-coil tones. The Grade-AA figured maple top looks great beneath your choice of high-gloss nitrocellulose lacquer finish. You can add extra class to this tribute to the man himself by opting for the Les Paul Signature “T” Gold Series, with the elegance of gold-plated hardware.The Les Paul Signature “T” is built on a foundation of the same traditional tonewood combination that helped to make the Les Paul Standard legendary when it first arrived six decades ago. A carved solid Grade-AA figured maple top lends bite and articulation to the sound, while a select mahogany back—treated with Gibson’s traditional weight relief to increase playing comfort and enhance resonance—contributes superb warmth and depth. A solid, quarter-sawn mahogany neck is glued in and carved in the fast 60s SlimTaper™ profile, and topped with a rich brown Grade-A Granadillo fingerboard with 22 medium-jumbo frets and traditional trapezoid inlays. Traditional touches include cream body and fingerboard binding, pickguard, and pickup rings, along with gold Speed Knobs and a black “bell” truss-rod cover with commemorative “T” engraving. Classic Gibson construction ensures optimum playability, too, along with traditional specs like a 24 ¾” scale length, a 1 11/16” width across the PLEK-cut Corian™ nut, and a 12-inch fingerboard radius for smooth, easy bending.For a blend of vintage tone and modern versatility, the Les Paul Signature “T” is loaded with a pair of Gibson’s ’57 Classic™ pickups, mounted “open coil” for a subtle hotrod look. Both are made in the image of the hallowed PAF humbucker of the late 1950s with Alnico II magnets in the neck position for plenty of warmth and clarity, and in the bridge position, the ’57 Classic Plus™ which features slightly over-wound coils for juicy crunch and wailing lead tones. Both pickups are wax potted, too, to avoid microphonic squeal at high volume levels. Both pickups feature push-pull tone controls which provide coil splitting for authentic single-coil tones. The innovative pairing of a Tune-o-Matic™ bridge and Stopbar tailpiece ensures solid sustain and precise intonation, while a set of high-quality Grover™ locking tuners ensures smooth, accurate tuning. You can upgrade to the Les Paul Signature “T” Gold Series for the custom touch of gold-plated hardware.Each guitar includes a Gibson hardshell case covered in black snakeskin-textured vinyl, an owner’s manual, and truss-rod wrench.