Anyone have a Gibson Les Paul Junior?

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romanianreaper

romanianreaper

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I never looked into these before and thinking about getting another guitar thst is a backup to my Les Paul Classic. I know it has a P90 but never had one and thought it may be cool to have. My band does punk and rock and seemed like it would work well. Thoughts?
 
I had one -- great guitar, but I'm having a K-Line built to how I want it, so I sold it. The frets on the Gibson were far too small.

I also have an Eastman SB55 which is an awesome guitar as well. You can get them in single or double cutaway. Very nice guitars indeed. Frets are larger -- not jumbo but enough. You can get these for the same price as a Gibson, maybe a little less. Can't say enough good things about them.

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I’m a big p90 fan. Very raw sound. I think it could be perfect for what you’re asking for. I’ve got a 1957 Gibson LP Jr retrofitted with a ‘50’s neck p90 that I like even more than the bridge. It’s to me the best vintage Gibson I’ve tried so far and I’ve played a real 59 LP burst as well as others from the late 50’s
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I'm admittedly not into Gibson single cuts, but I couldn't get rid of this thing fast enough lol.

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romanianreaper said:
I never looked into these before and thinking about getting another guitar thst is a backup to my Les Paul Classic. I know it has a P90 but never had one and thought it may be cool to have. My band does punk and rock and seemed like it would work well. Thoughts?
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I love my LPjr.
Mines a 2010 guitar center exclusive.
They came out in tv yellow and vintage burst.
I didn’t care for the yellow so I sent it to MJT and they did a white Nitro on it.
It’s a little different because it came with the single Humbucker instead of a P90.
 

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I have 8 guitars including 2 Gibson Custom Shops. But the guitar I play the most is my 2019 Jr. I love that thing. Tuning can be a pain, but it’s raw and raunchy. Just for kicks I tried both a BKP and Lollar P90. The stock pup went back in……it’s perfect.
 
EyesOfTheSouth! said:
I have 8 guitars including 2 Gibson Custom Shops. But the guitar I play the most is my 2019 Jr. I love that thing. Tuning can be a pain, but it’s raw and raunchy. Just for kicks I tried both a BKP and Lollar P90. The stock pup went back in……it’s perfect.
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String butler
 
I have a Special. Similar guitar, only with a neck pickup and a TOM bridge that can be intonated.

There's something primal and cool about a single-pickup guitar though.
The sustain may be slightly better without a neck pickup as well.

IMO having a neck sound - and four-knob control - makes the Special better for me.
Still, I think everyone should own and play a single pickup guitar for awhile.
You learn to do more with less. And the feel is genuinely different.

The other guitarist in my band has a Junior from '59 and one from '62 (SG style body); he also has a later- 60s SG Junior.
He uses the '62 most of the the time. His was modded with a patent # humbucker though.
The '59 Junior is amazing. The '62 is pretty cool too, nice feeling neck. But SG bodies and I don't get along well.

While we're on the subject of classic rock players who used a Junior, let's not overlook Leslie West.
AFAIK all the Mountain stuff was done on his old Junior.
 
eclecticsynergy said:
Or a properly cut nut, and some lubricant if a good nut doesn't do the trick...
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I’ve had a dozen Les Paul’s.
I’ve had them setup by nearly as many Luther’s.
I’ve never had one that would hold tune well, new nuts, nut cut at a slant, heavier strings, locking tuners on and on.
So, come cut the nut on my Les Paul’s and make it stay in tune as well as my fenders, I’ll shut up.
And why doesn’t Gibson cut the nut correctly in the factory if that’s all it is?
 
You can get a USA one in black or sunburst now for about $1100 to $1200 and some of them are pretty light. I've played a couple and they don't suck.
 
Mr.Fun said:
I’ve had a dozen Les Paul’s.
I’ve had them setup by nearly as many Luther’s.
I’ve never had one that would hold tune well, new nuts, nut cut at a slant, heavier strings, locking tuners on and on.
So, come cut the nut on my Les Paul’s and make it stay in tune as well as my fenders, I’ll shut up.
And why doesn’t Gibson cut the nut correctly in the factory if that’s all it is?
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Every guitar is different to begin with, and players approach theirs differently too.
Me, I've had more tuning problems with Strats over the decades than with my LPs.
But I did have a late-60s Firebird for a while that wouldn't stay in tune no matter what.

Looking back, I think with the Fenders it was mostly trem issues for me.
Certainly it makes better sense for strings to go straight across the nut.
I think PRS got that right with his headstock.

I agree the Gibson design is not ideal. Still, there are plenty of LPs that don't have tuning issues.
For the ones that do, IME a good nut often fixes the problem. But there is no universal fix.

For something that seems so simple, a guitar can be pretty complex.
 
Not a Jr, but a ’55 Special I picked up last year. The right P-90 is hard to beat. Re-recorded alot of my current project with it. With as much play wear on it, I knew it was a good one. Swapped on a Music City bridge and intonation / tuning sre very good.

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I have a Les Paul Special. I don’t play it as much as my humbucker equipped guitars, but whenever I do I’m always floored by what a great guitar it is. Light and resonant, and the P90s can go from sparkly clean to scream with a roll of the volume knob. You can also get some great “fat single coil” neck pickup sounds.

My P90s are a lot more open and less tight/focussed than my humbuckers, which is why I usually reach for a “full fat” LP or my PRS for the music I play. But that Special holds a special place on the guitar rack - pun intended….
 
I bought this 1993 Hamer USA Special with custom ordered red finish & gold hardware about 2 years ago to try out as a guitar with P-90 pickups. It's the first time that I've ever owned a P-90 Les Paul Junior style guitar and enjoy the sound & feel that I get from it. I loved the OEM Seymour Duncan pickups that came with the guitar, but I found them noisy, and didn't want to have to use a noise gate pedal onstage. I installed a set of Mojotone Hot Quiet Coil P-90 pickups that I like the sound of, lack of noise, and am happy with the tone that it gives me.
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EyesOfTheSouth! said:
I have 8 guitars including 2 Gibson Custom Shops. But the guitar I play the most is my 2019 Jr. I love that thing. Tuning can be a pain, but it’s raw and raunchy. Just for kicks I tried both a BKP and Lollar P90. The stock pup went back in……it’s perfect.
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Gibson dog ear is the best bridge P-90 I’ve ever heard. Have owned a couple of Juniors and Specials (currently a TV Y Jr) and I don’t know why but the dog ear sounds better than the soap bar.
 
Gibson Jr may be my favorite guitar. Admitted Gibson fanboy! With all the Gibson’s I’ve owned though, I’m kind of a unicorn. I have never experienced neck stability or tuning issues, ever.

Anyways, a wrap tail bridge and single P90 is heaven…
Had to toss in Firebird jr pic too!
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