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Gibson Les Paul BFG
Nett: $1,699
The idealist take on a ‘Les Paul’ is surely one of elegance as this guitar is indeed a landmark in terms of craftsmanship & sheer lure. It is rather perplexing why the Gibson chose to offer a Les Paul incarnation which is anything but elegant. The BFG is the epitome of a crude Les Paul- or so it seems.
Construction/ fit/ finish
If you are a Les Paul purist, every aspect of the BFG would prove heretical. The guitar in whole is completely devoid of a lacquer overcoat. Should one be familiar with the market’s satin finish, one would note/ feel the presence of a final coating to give the feeling of a finished article which is sorely absent here. In fact, the stained body has more furry patches to rival the unbuffered IKEA plank of wood.
The black hardware on offer is more palatable in terms of presentation but the uncovered truss rod cavity as well as the capless 3-way pickup selector simply makes this guitar look more demeaning than it should be. The kill switch (yes, you thought it was a pickup selector switch but that’s over at the volume/ tone knob grouping) in this particular model isn’t aligned well in the cavity; either that or the contraption itself is of the incorrect dimension for the instrument. Likewise, the neck P-90 here looks shrunk in its cavity but this is owing to its coverless nature more than it being the wrong size for the appointment. Still on pickup matters, the zebra finish Burstbucker 3 bridge unit has one of the sloppiest wire taping this reviewer has ever seen in any Gibson guitar. On the flipside, the electronic cavities are covered by a transparent set of Perspex but the soldering & general component placements are need enough to instill some pride in this department.
You’d think that this is an exercise to be excessively critical of the manufacturer’s famed model but the uncultured attributes of this guitar are indeed the very production philosophy adopted by the manufacturer; the BFG was intentionally conceived to be raw. The buyer either accepts this treatment or choose other models in the fine Les Paul catalogues.
Rating: 70%
Playability/ tone
The BFG has to be one of the lightest Les Paul to date & it has to be so because of its chambered body. It is no wonder that upon its initial unplugged strumming, the guitar resonates very well which is indeed a good preliminary indicator of what’s in store tone-wise. The neck sports Gibson’s 50s round profile but it was made rather repulsive by the sharp edges; the manufacturer might have taken things too far with the raw essence here if they indeed ignore the aspects of presentability just to add to the livery.
Upon plugging in, the BFG makes up in tone for what it lacks in craftsmanship. Both the Burstbucker 3 & P-90 makes sure the guitar is able to cover a wide tonal range; from blues to all-out metal, the BFG is ready to please. The chambered acoustics of this instrument contributes much to single note definition under high drive/ gain settings. Nevertheless, the former’s lack of wax potting means it has a limited hum-limiting capacity despite its nature to do so. This becomes rather pronounced if you are employing a cascading drive format.
Tone-test equipment:
• Amplifiers: Peavey Studio Pro 112/ Marshall JVM/ Epiphone Valve Jr
• Pedals: Ibanez TS7/ Guyatone OD2+
Rating: 88%
Final say
The BFG would no doubt polarize the Les Paul camp; the youngsters won’t hesitate to embrace it but the old-timers would stay miles away from one. The guitar’s physique is a love/ hate affair for sure. The players who believe in righteous tones wouldn’t mind putting up with the quirks because the BFG is one heck of an affordable Les Paul after all. Critics have already branded the BFG as a repackaged reject with enough make over to sell. If you despise the BFG because of its nature, it’s rather founded but the tone on offer is undeniably above-average. One thing’s for sure, the BFG isn’t the typical Les Paul Standard on a budget; it will never be one.
Final rating: 80%
Product availability: Swee Lee Music
Likes:
• Chambered body accentuates clarity
• Superb pickups on board
• Hard case included
Dislikes:
• Kill switch
• Sharp fretboard edges
• Chambered body robs it of the typical Les Paul thump
Worthy competitor:
• Edwards ELP-92SD Satin finish
