I read a lot of good reviews on this guitar here and watched a lot of reviews on Youtube. Decided to go for it - you never know when there will be a price increase, etc. It was also an easy justification for myself since this has P90 pickups, meaning that it will have a different sound than any of the other guitars I have.
Quality: I am impressed with the current Gibson quality. They are setup and play fantastically right out of the box. Mine had a tiny chip in the nitro on the back of the headstock. But this is nitro, so it will get more of these chips in the future - just not perfect when you see it on a brand new gloss finish.
Sound: it sounds perfect with a fuzz. Creamy and soft growl. Mmmmm. The noise, however, is quite unbearable - I will change the pickups to a noiseless option in the near future. I do that on all of my single coil guitars, so that was to be expected from me. These are even more noisier than any Fender pickups - must be due to the higher output of the p-ups. Some people will have no issues with that.
Features: I can't believe that this guitar is so cheap (for a Gibson):
It has the heritage
It comes with a case
It has 2 pickups - 4 control dials
The bridge is a single piece, wrap around - I was worried that it could be an issue, but I really don't notice that when playing. It is perfectly in tune and intonated. The string action is low and the bridge is adjustable.
The TV Yellow is the most beautiful choice they offer, and also the cheapest. Wow!
Yes, it has the dot inlays only.
Yes, it doesn't have the carved maple top.That makes it thinner and weigh less. Many, many people will see that as a plus.
It is just beautiful. The rosewood on the one I received is even darker than the one on my 2025 standard. But that can be different for you, of course.
I've made a small clip of how it sounds in a mix on youtube - if you are interested, just search Gibson Les Paul Special 2025 - First tryout