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Gibson Les Paul Custom (2019 - Present)

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Electric Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Custom (2019 - Present)

Gibson · Les Paul Custom (2019 - Present)

Price: 30 EUR – 14.471 EUR

Price history 07.09.2026 12.09.2026
Cheapest seen Most expensive seen

Availability: 9/10 (Common)

Gibson's original "dress-up" Les Paul, born because Les Paul himself reportedly wanted a version that looked like a tuxedo: black gloss finish, gold hardware, an ebony fingerboard with mother-of-pearl block inlays, and multi-ply binding throughout. This 2019 Original Collection version pairs that formal look with a 490R/498T humbucker set and - after a decade away - genuine ebony rather than the composite Richlite material Gibson had substituted in the meantime.

Where available? Go to the best price – 30 EUR About this instrument

About the Gibson Les Paul Custom (2019 - Present)

Where the Les Paul Standard models covered elsewhere in this research keep decoration to a minimum, the Custom exists specifically to maximise it: multi-ply binding wraps the body, an ebony fingerboard carries mother-of-pearl block inlays rather than simple dots or trapezoids, and gold-plated hardware replaces the chrome or nickel found on every other Les Paul variant researched so far. Unlike the non-relieved '50s and '60s Standards, the Custom uses a nine-hole weight-relief pattern under its two-piece plain (not figured) maple top - a genuine construction difference that likely makes this the lighter guitar of the two, even though no specific comparative weight figure could be confirmed.

The fingerboard material carries a small but real controversy of its own. For a stretch of recent production, Gibson substituted genuine ebony with Richlite - a dense, FSC-certified composite made from recycled paper and resin, originally marketed as a sustainable alternative given increasing pressure on tropical ebony supplies. The 2019 Original Collection run switched back to real ebony. According to accounts that circulate repeatedly among long-time Gibson forum members - though never officially confirmed by Gibson itself - the original move away from ebony had less to do with sustainability than with a personal dispute between then-CEO Henry Juszkiewicz and Taylor Guitars, which had become close to the sole legal ebony supplier in the US; the switch back followed his 2018 departure. That's worth passing on as circulating forum lore rather than a verified corporate fact, but it's the explanation most consistently repeated by people who watched the change happen in real time.

Where to buy

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Source: https://reverb.com/item/101315256-gibson-les-paul-custom-2019-ebony

Sound character of the Gibson Les Paul Custom (2019 - Present)

The 490R/498T pickup pairing on this Custom is the same combination already described in detail in the Les Paul Studio 1990-1997 research in this series - close-to-vintage humbucker warmth from the Alnico II-magnet 490R neck pickup, brighter Alnico V-family bite from the 498T bridge pickup. The genuinely ebony fingerboard, where fitted, is often described as giving a slightly harder, more immediate attack than rosewood, a small but real contributor to the Custom's reputation for a somewhat tighter, more focused response than a rosewood-board Les Paul.

Warm Midrange-forward Punchy Crisp

What owners of the Gibson Les Paul Custom (2019 - Present) say

The ebony-versus-Richlite question dominates community discussion of recent Les Paul Customs more than almost any other topic - players with a strong preference for genuine ebony treat the 2019 switch back as a welcome correction, while acknowledging that well-built examples with Richlite boards from the interim years still play and sound good, since Richlite's own selling point was always durability and consistency rather than being a downgrade in playing feel.

Beyond that specific debate, the Custom's fancier appointments - block inlays, extensive binding, gold hardware - are generally treated as a genuine aesthetic and status upgrade over the Standard line rather than a functional one, with players choosing between the two based on look and formality preference more than expected performance differences.

Playability & handling of the Gibson Les Paul Custom (2019 - Present)

The Custom's defining nickname among period players was "Fretless Wonder" - a reference to the extremely low, flat frets Gibson fitted to the original 1954 model, which suited the fast, quiet fingering jazz guitarists of the era favoured. Modern production doesn't replicate that exact fret profile, but the name has stuck as shorthand for the model's reputation among fingerstyle and jazz-leaning players.

The nine-hole weight relief under the maple top is a genuine, specific construction detail that distinguishes this guitar from the non-relieved Standards covered elsewhere in this research - in principle it should make the Custom noticeably more comfortable over a long set than an equivalent unrelieved Les Paul, though no directly comparable weight figures for both models were found to confirm the exact difference.

Recommended accessories & strings for the Gibson Les Paul Custom (2019 - Present)

The 24.75-inch scale takes the same .010-.046 starting point as other short-scale Gibsons researched in this series. The 490R/498T pickup pairing behaves the same way described in the Les Paul Studio 1990-1997 research already covered - the same amplifier logic applies here.

The genuinely ebony fingerboard (as opposed to a Richlite-equipped example from the years in between) is worth checking specifically if buying used, since both materials were sold under the same model name for stretches of Gibson's recent history - a detail collectors and players with a preference either way should verify on any individual guitar rather than assume from the model name alone.

Technical data for the Gibson Les Paul Custom (2019 - Present)

Type Solid-body electric guitar, single cutaway, glued-in (set) neck
Collection Gibson USA Original Collection, launched 2019 (Nashville, Tennessee)
Body Mahogany with 2-piece plain maple top, 9-hole weight relief, multi-ply binding
Neck Mahogany, glued in (set neck), Medium C profile
Fingerboard Ebony (switched back from Richlite composite in 2019), 12 in. radius, mother-of-pearl block inlays
Frets / scale 22 medium jumbo frets; 24.75 in. scale
Pickups Gibson 490R (neck) and 498T (bridge) humbuckers
Controls 2x 500K CTS volume, 2x 500K CTS tone, hand-wired harness, Switchcraft toggle switch; passive
Bridge / tailpiece Tune-o-matic bridge with stopbar tailpiece
Tuners Grover Kidney
Hardware finish Gold
Finish Gloss nitrocellulose lacquer
Origin note 1954 original: black tuxedo-styled finish requested by Les Paul, first Gibson with the ABR-1 Tune-o-matic bridge, originally fitted with one P-90 (bridge) and one Alnico V pickup (neck) rather than humbuckers, priced $100 above the gold-finish standard model

Price history for the Gibson Les Paul Custom (2019 - Present)

Cheapest seen: 30 EUR  ·  Most expensive seen: 14.471 EUR

14.471 EUR30 EUR 07.09.2026 12.09.2026
Cheapest seen Most expensive seen

The history of the Gibson Les Paul Custom (2019 - Present)

The Custom's origin has a specific, well-documented human motive behind it: in late 1953, Les Paul reportedly wanted a more luxurious, formal-looking version of his signature guitar, describing the look he wanted as resembling a tuxedo - hence the black gloss finish, in contrast to the gold-finished standard model of the day. 1954 was the design's first full production year, launching at 325 dollars, a full 100 dollars above the standard gold-finish Les Paul - a genuinely premium price gap that reflected genuinely premium appointments.

The original 1954 Custom carried a pickup configuration almost nobody expects today: a single P-90 at the bridge and a single Alnico V pickup at the neck, not the dual-humbucker layout modern players associate with the model - that came later, once Gibson's PAF humbuckers arrived across the Les Paul line starting in 1957. The Custom also holds a specific engineering first: it was the debut instrument for Gibson's now-legendary ABR-1 Tune-o-matic bridge, a design that went on to define bridge hardware across the entire Les Paul family for decades. Two nicknames stuck from the beginning: "Black Beauty" for the finish, and "Fretless Wonder" for the extremely low, flat original fret profile that jazz players of the era particularly valued.

About Gibson as a manufacturer

This guitar shares the Original Collection relaunch context already covered for the Les Paul Standard '50s and '60s in this research series - Gibson's 2018 bankruptcy and the subsequent leadership change that produced the 2019 NAMM relaunch. What's specific to the Custom is a smaller, more recent piece of Gibson corporate history: the ebony-versus-Richlite fingerboard question, which several long-time community sources trace to personal friction between former CEO Henry Juszkiewicz and Taylor Guitars over ebony supply, rather than to a genuine sustainability rationale. That account isn't independently confirmed by Gibson, but it's a widely repeated explanation among people who tracked the actual timeline of the fingerboard material changing back and forth.

Whatever the real internal reason, the practical result for buyers is straightforward: the fingerboard material on a Les Paul Custom has genuinely varied across recent production runs under the same model name, making it one of the few modern Gibson specs actually worth double-checking on an individual instrument rather than assuming from the catalogue description.

Notable players & recordings featuring the Gibson Les Paul Custom (2019 - Present)

Unlike some other Gibson models covered in this research, the Les Paul Custom nameplate genuinely does carry a strong, well-documented roster of players who chose this specific model: Randy Rhoads, Mick Ronson, Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols, Adam Jones of Tool, Mick Jones of the Clash, John Sykes, and Peter Frampton, whose iconic black "Phenix" guitar is a Les Paul Custom.

Zakk Wylde's story is the most specifically documented: his primary guitar, nicknamed "The Grail", is a 1981 Les Paul Custom in his signature bullseye finish - originally meant to replicate the spiral from Hitchcock's "Vertigo", but painted incorrectly by the finishing shop. Wylde kept the result anyway and deliberately chose it to visually separate himself from his own major influence, Randy Rhoads, who favoured a cream-coloured Les Paul Custom. As with the other Gibson models in this research, it's worth noting these are largely vintage instruments or personal/Custom Shop guitars rather than this exact regular-production 2019-and-later model, though the Custom nameplate's connection to these players is genuine rather than borrowed from a different model tier.

Related guides

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