I was sure I was going to get a Mustang Special, as I stated a couple of weeks ago... until today.

I tested out a Pawn Shop '72. It blew me away much more than the Mustang did. I loved how you can blend the pickups. But what also surprised me is how bright the bridge pickup is for being a humbucker. The warmth of the neck pickup was very pleasant. And as for the looks of the guitar, it looked 100x better in person than in pictures or videos; it's a beautiful guitar.

But something also dawned on me. I just can't stand the muddiness of my Les Paul pickups (in fact, I hate them and can only stand them under heavy distortion). I can't stand how easily and how fast dirt accumulates on the back of the neck. It also constantly gets out of tune. When I compare that to my Blacktop Strat or Nashville Tele, I almost never have to tune, and the back of the neck never accumulates dirt.

Some people may say that the Pawn Shop series is overpriced. But after comparing those guitars and my Les Paul Studio, I say that Gibsons are overpriced by about $300-$500.


Hopefully the Les Paul is sold before someone decides to pick up the '72. I have major GAS for this guitar.

Congrats on the new guitar. One thing to remember is Gibson only manufactures in the USA and that is probably where the price difference lies. I wouldn't own a Fender guitar made outside the U.S. but that's just me being traditional. I'm not slamming quality, sound or any of that stuff. I just find the whole Gibson being overpriced kind of funny when every once in a while Fender comes out with a 25K guitar like Blackie and the EVH Frankenthing or a 6K sig guitar that just bolts together like a $150 Saga guitar. Of course you're entilted to your opinion. Whatever the market will bear drives the prices.

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Life...... It's sexually transmitted and always fatal

traded a studio LP for an american special. only thing i did was swap the bridge pickup. l loved the sound of the LP but never played it cuz it wouldn't stay in tune.
the clean tones of the strat are incredible. better to my ears than the LP.