Spot of necromancy due to the clone thread. Now that a bit of time has passed and there's more pictures available, what do people think? I think now that there's some real photos and video footage available the plate looks nowhere near as bad, and actually is growing on me.
As someone suggested this is really more the guitar Les Paul wanted than a '58 standard, technology has reached a point where Hi-Fi guitar output is a practical reality.
On the detail front, apparently the top is "marblewood" from Surinam, and it'll be cheaper than an LP custom or Axcess, so really not stupidly expensive.
I think people are being a bit harsh here, this is not the holy V, and they're genuinely trying to do something innovative, which i think they should be applauded for. Guitarists are a notoriously old fashioned bunch, so for a company like Gibson, launching guitars with tons of new technology on board is a bit of a bold move. Most of the "regular" LP buyers wouldn't want the tech anyway, so they can be more experimental with the aesthetics (although everyone slagged off the Darkfire, which was fairly staid, and I thought looked quite good, so they can't win).
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