“If we had been told these two Les Pauls had been made in fully thoroughly different factories, we’d imagine it”: Gibson Les Paul Contemporary Figured and Contemporary Lite evaluate

There’s a though-provoking dividing line between Gibson USA’s items – Fashioned and Contemporary – that must intend within the event you’re extra classic-specific, then you definately walk for the outdated, and within the event you adore just a few extra sounds and a few up to date upgrades, no longer to mention colours, you’d walk for the latter. Easy…besides there’s a great deal of crossover neatly-liked, no longer to mention label.

Alongside with the most contemporary commence of the $/£4k Les Paul Supreme, with a model title that first and predominant looked just a few decades within the past, two extra fresh additions to the Contemporary Sequence illustrate the diversity further. 

Our fresh Contemporary Figured, priced at $/£3k, is de facto a slightly pared-aid Supreme, but the Contemporary Lite is half of that label and though it’s bundled into the an identical strand of the catalogue, it is a very thoroughly different guitar.

Importantly, Gibson tells us, “though the Contemporary Lite isn’t any longer billed as a stammer substitute for the Tributes, they’re taking their predicament as the entry-level model from USA. The Tributes had been discontinued.”

The Contemporary Figured is a slightly upgraded Contemporary Les Paul, and shares loads with that fresh Supreme: it’s an attractive posh-taking a learn ’Paul with an upmarket ebony fingerboard, which advertises (but doesn’t specify) a compound radius, sparkling mother-of-pearl inlays, an AAA figured high and a trio of, properly, ‘neatly-liked’ colours. 

Ours is Cobalt Burst, a ambitious blue ’bursted over the maple high that’s edged with a gleaming white binding and a translucent blue over the aid, sides and neck aid, which appears powerful darker, nearly black. Now no longer surprisingly, we earn the ‘Extremely-Contemporary’ weight relief – sticking this one on the scales, it weighs 3.85kg (8.47lb). An even commence.

The centre-joined maple high completely has a nice thinly flamed figure, despite the indisputable truth that it appears to be jog-matched, in wish to completely bookmatched. It’s no longer uncomplicated to see the aid wood by the invent, but below gleaming sunlight hours that you would be succesful to per chance presumably see some great grain stripping and the truth that it’s centre-joined and beautiful powerful quarter-sawn. Then you undoubtedly survey the contoured heel, or rather the roar station of the body correct within the aid of the heel that’s machined away, reducing the majority below the tip frets.

Outwardly, there’s diminutive else that shouts ‘neatly-liked’. Yes, rear-lock tuners weren’t around within the late 50s, but they’ve been with us for many years. And even supposing every adjust has a pull-swap activated alternate operate, all over again, we’re taking classic stuff: so-called ‘coil-taps’ (which offer “Gibson humbucker and single coil P-90 sounds”, says Gibson), a part swap and a stammer-to-output swap for the bridge humbucker. Extras within the event you’ll want to always have them, then, but retain the controls pushed down and its industrial as habitual.

Easy Vogue

The Contemporary Lite takes reasonably a thoroughly different route and is the most contemporary in reasonably a prolonged line of ‘decrease-label’ Gibsons, no longer least the outgoing Tribute, which below-cuts the Contemporary Lite by $/£250, and the prolonged-working ‘financial system’ Les Paul, the Studio, which is right $/£100 dearer. What’s the deal here?

First off, the body – all mahogany and not using a weight relief – is a long way thinner than the classic Les Paul, constructing a if truth be told gentle weight of three.03kg (6.67lb). Intensive, it measures 45mm on the apex of the carved high and 33mm on the rim, as a substitute of the 62mm/50mm dimensions of the total-full Contemporary Figured. 

The true high prick appears a diminutive shallower than the Contemporary Figured, an impact that’s enhanced by the 5 opaque satin ‘commence pore’ colours. 

Gibson refers to these hues as “consideration-grabbing”, and while that accurately describes our Cardinal Crimson evaluate sample, the different four colours are a diminutive pared aid, a diminutive extra neatly-liked. 

In inequity to the Contemporary Figured, and plenty of other LPs, these colours quilt no longer staunch the tip but the overall guitar – including the headstock for the first time on a Les Paul model – besides the unbound, dot-inlaid rosewood fingerboard. What’s beneath is somebody’s bet, though the grain that you would be succesful to per chance presumably see appears adore it’s a centre-joined two-allotment body with a one‑allotment neck.

In spite of the assorted colours, all occupy the an identical uncovered black humbuckers, a black pickguard, black knobs and black toggle swap tip, which invent visually pull the level down reasonably. 

Clearly, this Lite is an roar in financial system, label-awake craft, but that you would be succesful to per chance presumably’t support pondering distinct colours would learn a diminutive cooler with some zebra pickup bobbins, cream and amber parts, or even those neatly-liked transparent high-hat knobs we see on the Contemporary Figured, shall we embrace.

However, there’s some commonality, too. Obviously, the scale length and the medium jumbo fretwire, which is beautiful powerful fashioned for the United States items, and we earn the an identical Nashville-style tune-o-matic with a mild-weight aluminium halt tailpiece on both, apart from the ‘wider than classic-style’ aluminium strap buttons.

No doubt feel & Sounds

If we had been told these two Les Pauls had been made in fully thoroughly different factories, we’d imagine it. Every has a if truth be told distinct if truth be told feel. There’s the significantly thoroughly different weights for one part, then the seated stability, the ribcage decrease on the Lite, no longer to mention its ideal slightly radiused edges.

Even the necks, while an identical, occupy a contrasting if truth be told feel thanks to their disparate finishes: the Contemporary Figured will likely be quite glossed and if truth be told comfy, but the Contemporary Lite’s extra textured if truth be told feel isn’t rotten. 

The SlimTaper profiles stammer a rather skinny-depthed shallow C with huge-ish shoulders and are almost an identical. Measured with our callipers we earn: 20.7mm on the 1st fret and 23.2mm on the 12th on our Figured; and 20.9mm/23.6mm on the Lite.

As to that compound radius of the Figured, we measured that at approximately 241mm (9.5 inches) in entrance of the nut and 305mm (12 inches) on the fingerboard stop; the Lite sticks to the fashioned 305mm (12‑scoot) radius. 

Fretwork is beautiful beautiful on both – the Figured frets if truth be told take a seat over the threshold binding without the extra habitual nibs (one other Contemporary-ism) and seem extra polished than the slightly grittier if truth be told feel of the Lite’s frets.

Setup clever, there’s no longer so a lot in it. Every necks had been arrow straight with slightly thoroughly different string heights on arrival, so we introduced some very limited relief and standardised the string heights at 1.5mm (0.06 inches) on the treble side, 1.8mm (0.07 inches) on the bass.

To be picky, the nut slots on the Figured are slightly high, too, much less so on the Lite, and the Lite has a slightly steeper neck perspective which manner the bridge sits about 1.2mm greater. We can dwell with that.

These subtleties in if truth be told feel and invent are noticeable – and they also’re magnified by the slightly sq. fingerboard edges of the Lite, which additionally has decrease height frets, which manner that you would be succesful to per chance presumably if truth be told feel the extra textured grain of the rosewood over the smoother ebony of the Figured. The invent of the compound radius fingerboard? Neatly, with those over-high nut slots, it’s laborious to observation on. ‘Subtle’ would be our make a selection.

Unplugged, the adaptations are more straightforward to retain in mind. The Figured has that habitual great, punchy and reasonably large-sounding ring, whereas the Lite is – you guessed it – a diminutive lighter and no longer more large-sounding. Gibson SG fans will if truth be told feel at home with the Lite: it’s a diminutive brasher and extra uncooked-sounding, too.

Every other time, with thoroughly different pickups you’re in for a rather thoroughly different abilities plugged in. The Lite has an attractive classic mid-centered punch that will take a seat properly in 70s Who and classic-generation Conflict. 

There’s no longer the high-stop detail we hear on the Figured, nor the depth, and irrespective of the high DCR measurement, the bridge pickup kicks and has thickness, however it’s no longer overdone. It can probably per chance additionally be very gentle for your shoulder and but, as we said, its SG-adore classic rock and beyond credentials shine by.

The Figured is a Les Paul model with appreciable clout, depth and readability, however it sounds extra refined. We compared it to our reference 2019 Les Paul Classic (with retrofitted Burstbucker 2 on the bridge and 1 on the neck) with the an identical pull‑swap circuit, and if anything else the Figured sounds staunch a diminutive smoother, with a slightly extra commence midrange. The pickups are supposed to be potted here, but while the bridge potentially is, the neck pickup doesn’t sound it to our ears. 

We occupy got an unfair advantage here in that the Les Paul Classic will get reasonably just a few roar, so we’re outdated-customary to the ‘coil-taps’, which pull down the highs a diminutive, nearly equivalent to you’ve slightly pulled aid on a wah pedal with barely any volume drop. And they’re no longer single coil: they’re humbucking in both modes.

They completely don’t sound adore fashioned coil‑splits, but we judge they’ve a if truth be told usable personality, especially within the dual-pickup combine and whilst you train the allotment swap into roar. It does a ‘Greeny’ properly – staunch pull aid one of many volumes a diminutive. However pull up the bridge tone swap and we earn the total output of the bridge pickup, straight away giving a diminutive extra sizzle. Extra sounds? They’re undoubtedly there within the event you’ll want to always have them.

When you play in an attractive rocking ‘one-two-three-four, see you on the different stop’ kinda band, the Lite would be our preference. And while the Figured doesn’t reasonably occupy that particular person uncooked punch, it does occupy so a lot extra and, adore loads of beautiful Les Paul, it covers appreciable ground with added textures that you acquired’t earn for your classic-style LP.

Verdict

Alongside with the rate, there’s an ocean of distinction between these guitars. They fragment the Contemporary title and a few parts – and both occupy ‘Gibson’ on the headstock! – but that’s about it. Unfortunately, both additionally fragment just a few lapses within the finer particulars, and though those would be immediate sorted in-store, you are left with the feeling that both had been slightly rushed off the manufacturing line.

The ‘but’ is that both sound rather beautiful, with right tuning. The lightweight Contemporary Lite’s extra easy, rawer suppose is classic all-mahogany Gibson that will additionally without complications invent beautiful carrier as an cheap spare or alternately tuned scoot guitar. 

The Contemporary Figured provides significantly extra sounds with extra readability and width, and a few nice touches equivalent to that contoured heel. It’s potentially beautiful to narrate we’ll see extra adjustments to the evolving Contemporary Sequence in 2024, but both fresh additions occupy reason and validity, providing powerful extra preference for the Gibson fanbase.  

Specs

Gibson Les Paul Contemporary Figured

• PRICE: $/£2,999 (inc laborious case)
• ORIGIN: USA
• TYPE: Single-cutaway, solidbody electrical
• BODY: 2-allotment mahogany with carved AAA figured maple high
• NECK: 1-allotment mahogany, SlimTaper profile with contoured heel, glued-in
• SCALE LENGTH: 624mm (24.6”)
• NUT/WIDTH: Graph Tech/43.1mm
• FINGERBOARD: Single-high-tail ebony, mother-of-pearl trapezoid inlays, measured 241-305mm (9.5‑12”) compound radius
• FRETS: 22, medium jumbo
• HARDWARE: Nashville tune-o-matic bridge, aluminium stopbar tailpiece, Grover Rotomatic rear-locking tuners w/ keystone buttons – chrome-plated
• STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 51.5mm
• ELECTRICS: Covered Gibson Burstbucker Pro (neck) and Pro + (bridge), 3-procedure toggle pickup selector swap, volume and tone for every pickup every with pull-switches for coil-faucet, allotment and bypass
• WEIGHT (kg/lb): 3.85/8.47
• OPTIONS: None
• RANGE OPTIONS: LP Contemporary with 3 right high colours ($2,999/£2,799); LP Classic ($2,199/£2,399) uses the an identical pull-swap wiring but with uncovered 60s Burstbuckers. Extra opulent LP Supreme ($/£3,999) shares many sides with the Contemporary Figured, including pickups and circuit
• LEFT-HANDERS: Now no longer this model

Gibson Les Paul Contemporary Lite

• PRICE: $£1,499 (inc refined shell case)
• ORIGIN: USA
• TYPE: Single-cutaway, solidbody electrical
• BODY: Mahogany with carved high
• NECK: Mahogany, SlimTaper profile, glued-in
• SCALE LENGTH: 624mm (24.6”)
• NUT/WIDTH: Graph Tech/43.2mm
• FINGERBOARD: Indian rosewood, acrylic dot inlays, 305mm (12”) radius
• FRETS: 22, medium jumbo
• HARDWARE: Nashville tune-o-matic bridge, aluminium stopbar tailpiece, Grover Mini Rotomatic tuners w/ kidney buttons – chrome-plated
• STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 51.5mm
• ELECTRICS: Uncovered Gibson 490R (neck) and 498T (bridge) humbuckers, 3-procedure toggle pickup selector swap, volume and tone for every pickup
• WEIGHT (kg/lb): 3.03/6.67
• OPTIONS: None
• RANGE OPTIONS: A bunch of rate effective ‘Moderns’ encompass the unbound LP Studio ($1,699/£1,599); LP Tribute ($1,299/£1,249) has a thinner depth body with maple neck and covered 490T/490R humbuckers; slab-bodied LP Particular Tribute with wrapover bridge (and humbuckers or P-90s) ($999/£1,029)
• LEFT-HANDERS: Now no longer this model
• FINISHES: Cardinal Crimson (as reviewed), TV Wheat, Gold Mist, Inverness Green, Rose Gold– satin nitrocellulose with colour-matched headstocks
• CONTACT: Gibson