Hats off to our friends at CME - this is a phenomenal Les Paul by any measure.
To be sure, there are a lot of Les Pauls in the world - Standards, Classics, Historic, etc…Even the most devoted guitar player can get lost in the sea of options. When shopping for a new LP (or any guitar), the question ultimately circles back to - what makes this one special / worth my money? Let’s see if we can help…
To start, this gorgeous LP Standard was originally offered as an exclusive with our friends at Chicago Music Exchange. It features a gorgeous Candy Apple Blue top, a beautiful 1-piece Mahogany body, a “Carmelita” neck carve, and a set of CME "S Bucker" pickups. Other specs are what you’d expect - short scale, 1 11/16th nut width, set-neck construction, etc…
With the basics out of the way, let’s circle back to “what’s special about this one” from a player’s perspective. For our money, it comes down to two specs - and to be sure, they’re both exceptional.
First? The neck. This is the first LP we’ve encountered that has a “Carmelita” neck carve, and to our hands, it’s absolutely perfect. Long story short, it’s a carve that’s based off of a scan of an actual ’59 Les Paul. Having experienced a few ’59 Les Pauls, we can say it’s very accurate - meaning, real ’59 carves aren’t as big or bulky as some of the reissues would lead you to believe. The Carmelita measures .88” @ the 1st fret and 1” at the 12th. It’s essential a C shape with the perfect amount of “shoulder” so it feels full, but not cumbersome or fatiguing.
2nd? The CME “S Bucker” pickups. We’re told these are meant to get you as close to a vintage PAF Humbucker as possible. Through a cranked (and we mean cranked, our ears are still ringing as we type) Victoria Silver Sonic (think Bassman), that elusive, sought-after “Tele on steroids” tone came roaring out of the Silver Sonic’s 12” speaker. Wow. Clarity, top-end bite, lower output feel….phenomenal clean, edge-of-breakup, or will raging amounts of gain…this LP is simply a joy to play.
SN CME 0082
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