martin_gotte's Music Gear Setup

I own a 1991 ebony Studio and played it on countless gigs and in the studio. 1 piece mahogany back, 3 piece maple top, comfortable medium-sized mahogany neck, ebony fretboard, no binding, 490R/498T pickups. The neck pickup sounds warm and jazzy when played clean, and throaty and singing when distorted. The middle pickup position delivers a great rhythm sound, while the bridge pickup can sound (positively) gnarly in a clean setting and aggressive and rich when distorted. Due to the ebony fretboard, this guitar has a sharp attack and sounds more like a LP Custom than a LP Standard. This guitar has a great 70s/80s hard rock Les Paul Sound and is a real workhorse.

I own a cinnamon 1998 model. Two piece slab mahogany body with Strat-like belly cut on the back, and a fast playing slim taper neck. Thick rosewood fretboard with jumbo frets. No binding on neck or body. In contrast to other Gibsons, the SL models do not use nitrocellulose lacquer and they are therefore available at a good price point. I selected it from about 20 Les Paul Special SLs that were on display at Boston's guitar center, and this was the most resonant and responsive one. With the original 490R/498T pickups it was a great, warm sounding Les Paul, however, it sounded too similar to another Les Paul I own. Therefore, I replaced the bridge pickup by a Seymour Duncan Phat Cat P90 and the neck pickup by a Gibson 57 Classic. Now the guitar has great P90 and humbucker tones, with a phantastic sound in the middle position. However, in original condition, it is a great sounding and playing guitar as well, and there is no need to replace the pickups. This is an excellent guitar for Blues and Rock music, and a great bang for the buck.