Tried a 2008 Les Paul Standard...

[sambo]

And it was very nice! The neck felt a little odd at first, but I'm sure you'd get used to it after a while. And it was reasonably chunky, too.

It was light, sounded good, and played extremely well. I think it had the jack-locks (no idea what the proper term is), that stop the lead from being pulled out of the jack which is cool. Overall, it was on a par with the PRSi in the same price bracket (about £1500/1600 if I remember correctly).

So basically- hats off to Gibson, and if you come across one it's worth giving it a try :)



P.S My personal favourite though, was a wine red Custom- I NEED it! 'Tis £2000 though :(

[WezV]

neutrik jack sockets.  i tried them a few times and they certainly do what they say on the tin... but i did start to wonder how much you actually need a locking jack socket.  For a start they are only held on with two screws.  On a les paul that means stepping on the lead would result in ripping the whole assembly out of the wood rather than just snapping a cheap plastic jack plate.

[gwEm]

i vividly remember one show where my jack fell out. i looked a bit of a fool i must say, but at least it didn't pull my table of gear onto the ground.