I wasn't particularly into Les Pauls (I'm more of a non-Stratocaster Fender person), but I needed a second guitar (with humbuckers) to play heavier stuff, and not being constantly changing tunings on my main guitar (which is set up to standard, and I'd be playing all the way to B).
So I got a Les Paul, as I wanted a guitar able to play heavy stuff, but not super-high gain modern metal. I was leaning more toward stoner, sludge, doom and post-rock/metal stuff.
I was expecting a good entry-level guitar, but nothing like this. Not only is the build quality superb, but the guitar's playability is amazing. The neck is very comfortable, and the guitar balances well when playing standing up. Everything feels sturdy and robust.
The tone is pretty good — she loves a tube screamer-like pedal. I just don't say it is amazing because I've only played through a cheap practice amplifier at really low volumes so far. But as far as I can see through this setup it sounds great. I've already been able to get some decent post-metal and sludge tones, as well as blues, psychedelic rock, death metal, and everything in between. I suspect the pick-ups aren't ideal, but at this price point they are perfectly fine.
As I said, I wasn't much of a Les Paul guy. Now I'm sold. Can't put down the damn thing.
