2009 Gibson Les Paul Traditional Pro Guitar Review Scott Grove

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[@groovydjs]

@ddayxable I'm more than happy to answer any questions you may have. So, ask away and let me know the kind of music you plan on palying also. It will have a big influence on the type of guitars that you should try out. Happy early birthday.

[@groovydjs]

Thank you. This is 100% stock and for my personal uses. Country, Rock, Blues and more....this is by far the most bang for the buck in variety of sounds that I've found. It's an amazing axe my friend. Thanks again, Scott

[@groovydjs]

@AkisColdplay No problem my friend. The new Grover tuners are the locking kind. So, you just stick the string in, pull it tight, lock down the string with the wheel on the bottom of the tuner and it locks the string in place, then you cut the string off and only have to wind the string a few times instead of having to do the wraps around the post many times as in the past. Just a few turns and you're there. It doesn't even go around the post one time. It's a real time saver.

[@groovydjs]

Much appreciated and contrats on getting this guitar. It goes where most Les Paul's only dream of going. Great choice my friend.

[@groovydjs]

@ddayxable You should honestly fire your teacher and contact me at groovylessons@aol. c o m and I'll teach you more (for free) in 1 week than you've learned in your entire life. I guarantee it. Music teachers are the biggest waste of time and money out there. Allow me to send you free downloads of all of my lessons so that you can spend your money on great gear instead of horrible lessons. Give it a try, it's a free offer. I want to show you what you're missing. Scott

[@groovydjs]

@The0ManJam Eamonn, I'm so glad that you ended up liking this axe so well. It is the RIGHT one to get if you are a Tele fan for sure. It is just the "Go To" Gibson that fits the bill perfectly. You are right also in that it has all of the tonal bases covered. You can easily take this one guitar to a gig and know that you don't have to pick up another guitar during the night for any reason. Congratulations on finding it in that finish too! That's a great score!

[@groovydjs]

Thank you, it really is a sweet offering from Gibson for a change.

[@AntmanFelix]

i guess I'm part of that few who like pickguards on Les Pauls too

[@groovydjs]

Yes, they will split just fine and can do so via the already installed push / pull volume pots. No problem at all my friend.

[@groovydjs]

@guitarguy610 Thank you so very much! I am really glad that you enjoyed the video and found it informative enough to want to go check one out and eventually actually buy one. I hope it is everything for you that it is to me. Just one of the most versatile Les Pauls made. If you ever decide to post yours on here, I'd like to check it out. Scott

[@groovydjs]

@61SGman That's cool, It only took them about 100 years to figure that out......but I'm glad they did. It is a much better feel than before.

[@groovydjs]

Thank you. I play through a Johnson Millennium JM150. All effects are built into it. It was the first modeling amp to come out back in the eary 90's. They have long since folded. I love them and have a couple around in case one was ever to go out on me. LOL Thanks again. Scott

[@groovydjs]

Thank you very much my friend. Very appreciated. Scott

[@groovydjs]

Yeah, they are Plek'd also and have the same Nitro finish on the back of the body and neck. Awesome guitars. Much appreciated.

[@groovydjs]

Thank you my friend, I just call them as I see them. I appreciate the comment. Scott

[@groovydjs]

Yes, each volume knob is a push / pull for each pickups tap. Such a great, stock feature. It is heads above the other models as far as a variety of sounds, plus it is not chambered at all. It's a true, heavy as they come Les Paul with a satin finish on the back and the back of the neck. It makes for a much faster playing neck instead of being stuck by sweat on a heavily sprayed neck. Somebody actually thought this one out. It's a keeper.

[@groovydjs]

@Glew1992 Thank you my friend. So very appreciated. Scott

[@groovydjs]

I was going to get a Standard until I came across this and then there was no turning back. Too many cool tone possiblilities with it compared to a standard. I play through a Johnson Millennium JM-150. I love those things. I have 3 since they were gone like 10 years ago. I get another one, run a midi cable between my first one and the new one and do a bulk dump of all of my patches and everything is in the new amp in seconds. I love these things. Thanks my friend, Scott

[@groovydjs]

@TheMariusDuaas The PLEK thing is the computer setup done at the factory that gets the setup perfect where as younger kids just don't seem to know how to setup a guitar, adjust the truss rod for the proper relief in the neck etc. and the PLEK system takes care of all of that for you.

[@groovydjs]

@midiman56 Thanks and congrats on the new axe. I really hope more folks find out how versatile this is and appreciate it for all that it is, not what it isn't. I find it hard to put down too. They get one right every now and then and these are keepers. Enjoy my friend.

[@contrabandjoe7974]

Hello Scott.. I just got one of these this week.. I purchased a 2012 Trad Pro II in Cherry Burst... You are right! these are really REALLY good. Like the coil split and the 10db boost, locking grover rototuners as well.. Mine has a flame top as well.. just superb...

[@groovydjs]

Thank you very much my friend. This is actually a great guitar. They got one right......right for me that is. Thanks again. Scott

[@groovydjs]

@Requius76 Yes, when split into single coil mode, the black coil in the bridge position is on (furthest from the bridge for a more useful, Fenderish sound) and the white coil is on in the neck position for the same reason.

[@groovydjs]

Many thanks my friend. Scott

[@groovydjs]

@TheMagford Yes, it is vintage sunburst. The tag on the guitar and the warranty stated otherwise, but it is vintage sunburst.

[@groovydjs]

@xTurquoiseGlazex So very appreciated! Great to have you on board! Scott

[@groovydjs]

Thank you so much, that is too kind of you. I just like to point out the good and the bad as I see it. Other's may see the same guitar differently and like what I find fault in. I am proud to have turned you on to this one and to have helped you make your choice. I appreciate the plug my friend. Many, many thanks and enjoy! Scott

[@groovydjs]

@stratcatavarious My pleasure my friend. It's a great way to get our Gibson and Fender sounds all in the one axe.

[@groovydjs]

@KimKarterthewriter Thank you so very much! Yeah, these are very cool. They've got this version still, but soooo many different versions of them out now. So, if you get any other year than the 2009 (Which were all identical to this one) watch out for which one you get. They will ALL still be called the Traditional Pro, but you can get the fatter 50's necks, the P-90 pickups (which takes away the whole coil splitting thing....so you have single coils only) etc. So, choose wisely! Cheers.

[@groovydjs]

@sonicnator My pleasure. You can't help but find something you'll love from those guys.

[@groovydjs]

Hi there, yeah, I can't figure out why it's cheaper either, but I'm glad that it is. And it sounds a lot better than my SG too. It also is the best sounding Les Paul that I've had. I really am enjoying all of the sounds you can get out of this thing. Scott

[@groovydjs]

They are all good, It's just a matter of if you want only humbuckers or if you want the option to be able to have a lot more sounds with the coil taps that are installed on the Pro. All depends on your needs my friend.

[@groovydjs]

It is waaaaay worth the extra investment. This particular has so many extra sounds via the coil taps, plus the solid body witout the chambering just sounds like the Les Paul is famous for sounding. Just like a thick, heavy beast instead of a hollowed out version of it. LOL I hope that makes sense. Pull those knobs out and split those coils and you are in Fender territory. It's a nice feature to have when you want it. Plus you don't have to hack up the guitar to get those sounds. Sweet!

[@groovydjs]

Certaina pickups are able to be split, the easiest way to tell is to look for 4 wires coming out of each pickup. That will usually indicate if they are able to be split or tapped.

[@groovydjs]

@ThaNatural777 Howdy. Nope, no holes in these things. This model is original weight, but sounds so much better than all of the other models. They really did a great job with these. They aren't all dark and dull like they typical Les Paul's, these pickups and coil splitting options actually make for a very musical axe. Plus, the bridge will stay on durning string changes (the tailpiece still falls off) and the locking Grovers are the best keys to be put on any Gibson to date. Great axe.

[@groovydjs]

@tamirke Awesome! That's the way it should be. I'm so happy for you. Congratulations and I would love to see it.

[@groovydjs]

Hi Matthew, this is the best money I've spent on a Les Paul. If you really want a variety of tones, this is the one. I've had at least 50 Les Pauls and this is by far the most versatile one yeat and easily the best playing one right out of the case. I would go back and pay twice the price for it if they raised the price and mine was lost. It really is that good of a guitar. Thanks my friend. Scott

[@groovydjs]

I just watched your demo. Awesome playing my friend and your Traditional Pro is beautiful! Great sounds and amazing playing. Congrats and I'm glad that you are enjoying yours as much as I do mine. Thanks again and thank you for your review also, great job my friend.

[@groovydjs]

@minnesotaleadpicker Thank you very much. I use the Johnson Millennium JM150's. All of the effects are built into the amp. So, no outboard effects. I actually sold off all of my tube amps after getting a couple of these. I got rid of the Twin also. This amp actually gave me a much better clean sound than I could get from the Twin. With the tubes, there is always a certain amout of "idle" noise that is always there. I like my rig to be dead quiet if I'm not playing . Gate built in too!

[@islandboy40]

Thanks for the review! That was really informative! Did not know they came factory with split coil pickups!

[@groovydjs]

@315hb You are exactly correct. That is a great trem and would be wonderful on this axe. Good call.

[@groovydjs]

@Stringprodigy I don't doubt it. Simply the first that I'd heard of it.

[@groovydjs]

@mangamathys No problem, when you pull out the volume knobs, the pickups that are humbucker pickups that give you that "GIBSON" sound, become split in half and are now single coil pickups and they will make your guitar sound pretty much like a Fender Telecaster. No other Les Pauls are doing that at the moment. So, it's a great option so that you don't have to take a Gibson style guitar and a Fender style guitar both to a gig with you to cover all of those sounds, this guitar does them all.

[@groovydjs]

@Requius76 Sure enough, you can spin it whatever way you want it. If you want the single coil away from the neck, just spin the pickup around and no problems at all. Just if it has enough wire to reach around is all.

[@groovydjs]

Hello, I use the very first modeling amps to ever come out and they are still the only amps I use. They are Johnson Millennium JM-150 amps and they have to be programmed. So the settings have literally hundeds of parapaters to them rather than they typical bass mid treble stuff on standard amplifiers. They have a fully digital preamps section itegrated with a set of 12AX7 preamp tubes, solid state power amps (stereo) and Celestion 75's as far as the dual 12" speakers go. Great amps.

[@groovydjs]

Thank you my friend. They are a very nice departure from the same old....same old Les Pauls. Please let me know if you ever get to try one. Scott

[@groovydjs]

@smOfficialMusic I'm sure that laminated isn't the word you were looking for. But, the back of the entire guitar (including the neck and sides) are finished with a satin finish. So, it's not like you are playing against the raw wood, there is a major finish on it all, just a satin (non stick) finish that is very comfortable and so much nicer than sticking to the regularly finished axes. The only way that you could have a faster playing playing surface is to go to raw wood (which I love).

[@groovydjs]

@MrDvirHamadbir Yeah, it's cool that they made a variation to fit everybody. I wish that they would've covered a few more bases by putting the coil split option on the othe axes too. I'm not a fan at all of that Page or Slash sound, so I'm so glad that the Pro was offered up. That was the one and only reason I even considered getting another Les Paul after owning so many of those things. I haven't checked to see if the Gold Top is the same as the other finishes, I can't imagine why not.

[@groovydjs]

@minnesotaleadpicker Thanks much. I simply ran out of time. I was only allowed to post 10 minute videos at the time of recording this and now I'm allowed 15. I only had 3 seconds left over. But, these are really the only Les Paul that I would ever take to a country gig. The humbuckers don't sound like typical humbuckers and the singles don't sound like typical singles because it's impossible for them to do so, but they do both well enough that it makes for a very versatile axe. Keep Tele !

[@61SGman]

I tried a standard version of these and it rocked so hard, i feel in love with it

[@groovydjs]

@wehurtthosewelove Thank you very much my friend. My pleasure.

[@groovydjs]

@chymist66 Thank you. That is the long discontinued Johnson Millennium JM-150. Johnson was a division of Digitech and were made in Sandy, Utah. They folded a good 10 years ago. The amps were originally a couple grand, they can now be had on Ebay for about $400.00 on average. Amazing amps. They are a modeling amp and are quite the groovy box. The only amps I'll use. I have a few around to make sure they last me until I meet my maker. lol

[@groovydjs]

@macaius That is so cool my friend! I bet you love that thing. You'll really find the great combinations of tones between the humbucker and single coil sounds and have a much more versatile axe than the rest of them Enjoy that puppy and play it loud and proud!

[@Patmclean232]

I can't even get over how great the coil tapping sounds on this! Great demo!

[@groovydjs]

@HearingLossProvider You'll be so happy with it. It is unlike all the other Les Pauls in so many great ways. There's even a small Allen screw on both sides of the bridge so that you can have the bridge stay on the guitar without falling off and messing up your finish during string changes. They didn't do it to the tail piece though. I thought that was kind of odd. But, everything about these particular Les Pauls just smokes all the ones before them. Versatile as crazy and FEEL great!

[@groovydjs]

@macaius Thank you very much and let me know if you grab one. This is easily one of my top 2 favorite Les Pauls of all time. It's like a Swiss Army Knife, it will do pretty much everything and do it well.

[@groovydjs]

@Razorfist91 Yes, you can find this model in the 2011 versions with your 50's neck and available in Honey Burst, Black, Gold Top and Wine Red. You can find them on the Gibson website for a complete list of all current options.

[@groovydjs]

@Clivebarker88 Thank you so very much my friend. It's great to have a NORMAL person on You Tube!. lol I really appreciate your comments, feel free to post a lot more! lol

[@groovydjs]

@CaptiousMusic Awesome! I know you'll love it. It really does bridge that gap quite convincingly and the best of both worlds are represented so well that dragging the one guitar to the gig is actually possible without sacrificing any quality in an axe that you can depend on. Let me know how it does for you after it arrives. All my best and thanks again. Scott

[@groovydjs]

@Statchar Thank you. Buy used for sure. There isn't much of anything new worth buying for that price and yet there are MONSTER, more vintage guitars that will smoke anything you can find new. I would honestly check out axes from the 70's and 80's from Aria, Greco, Fernandes, Ibanez, Peavey, Washburn and Yamaha. They had some great stuff back then where as their current stuff at three times the price, doesn't even come close.

[@groovydjs]

@Masterpas Thanks my friend. Much appreciated.

[@groovydjs]

I understand. I have had others point that out too. It's a beautiful color. I diggin' it, whatever it is my friend. Thank you for the information. It seems to be true after looking at other vintage sunburst and desert burst Gibsons. This color doesn't resemble any desert bursts that I've come across.

[@groovydjs]

@66mixalis The Standard is the Traditional. They simply didn't use the word "Standard" for a couple of years. lol These were designes as a Guitar Center Exclusive thing. Just a promotional thing as most companies do. The Plus, like mine, has the thinner 60's neck and the coil splitting on the volume controls for tons of tonal options. The others are just Standard Les Paul's with a Fat, Baseball bat 50's neck and regular humbuckers with no switching and chambered bodies to make them lighter

[@groovydjs]

@Webitop These are great guitars. I love the finish. They did do a few limited edition Traditional Pros that were finished in a deep wine red and another batch that were Gold Tops. Each of those were limited to 100 guitars each.

[@groovydjs]

@omfg51 It is actually VINTAGE SUNBURST. It's been discussed 1,000 times. Desert Burst was what was written on the ad and the hang tags, but obviously, it's not.

[@groovydjs]

@ChanielDang I'm excited for you. Be sure to let me know when you get it and let me know how you like it.

[@groovydjs]

@reviewsnake If you go to the 2009 catalog, you'll see that they simply did away with the Standard that year and replaced it with the Traditional name. The Traditional line took off so well that they kept the line around and then let the name Standard back in this year and they added the P-90 equipped Traditionals. It's all good, as long as everybody finds a few that they like and buy 'em up.

[@groovydjs]

@macaius That stinks about the difficulty of getting them into the country over there. I ended up with the Pro strictly for the split coil feature and because there isn't any kind of wood missing with the weight relieved etc. Very cool axe.

[@groovydjs]

@joshmrtn10 You are correct, it is listed as desert burst on the hang tags and on the warranty. But it is vintage sunburst.

[@groovydjs]

@HeavyPsych I can always find a drawback. The one and only true drawback with this guitar is actually an electronic enevitibility, which is that the pickups, when tapped, are not as loud as when they are in full humbucking mode. That's always the case, so I can't really gripe. The knobs / pots are positioned perfectly to pull at and they really thought this one through. So, no other gripe at all. I love more than anyone to point out the flaws if they are there my friend.

[@groovydjs]

@101Petercriss101 Hello, the Traditional Pro is made only for Guitar Center and the companies they own (Musician's Friend, Music 123 etc.). So, as long as it's the Traditional Pro, the year won't matter. Don't pay over $1899.00 brand new for one. That's what they go for with free shipping etc. If you have a GC near you, go get one there after trying many out as Gibson tends to have a lot of lemons between the good ones.

[@groovydjs]

@mixpebz I would give the Squier a test drive. They are putting out guitars that are pretty close to the USA Fender's now. Fender quality control is really slacking these days, so everybody is going the Squier route because they have actually stepped up their game. So, that is a good place to start checking when you arrive. Good call!

[@rickycompton2610]

Man dr groovy I missed this old video you always find all the gems in the guitar world brother.

[@groovydjs]

@Georg5555 It looks good my friend. I think you would really love it. I know that I won't ever be getting rid of mine. My other Les Pauls....sure, but this one will stay with me.

[@groovydjs]

@JaySFaires I totally agree with you there. My pick never hits the guard, It's just a looks thing for me too.

[@groovydjs]

@myway43 Thank you, these are awesome axes. I'm using one of my old Johnson Millennium JM150 amps. They were the first ever modeling amps. You can find my review on it if you type in Scott Grove Johnson. So, all of the sounds, and effects are all from the amp only, no pedals.

[@groovydjs]

@Danirenegade Awesome, glad that you got you one! The single with one humbucker makes for just the right amount of clarity and fullness on the clean sounds and like you said, hit the buckers when it's time to wail and you're off to the races. Funny that you mentioned the wider strap. Someone asked me how I could wear that thing all night, I told them to just get an inch wider strap and you can wear any guitar.

[@AudioInstruments]

14 years late, but I finally stumbled across this video. I bought the exact same guitar in 2010, and it's still my favorite Les Paul!

[@groovydjs]

Very cool!

[@groovydjs]

@TheBudhistpunk Yes, it is Vintage Burst. It has been discussed several times since posting. It was advertised as Desert Burst when I bought it and the hang tags also say Desert Burst, but surely a Vintage Burst. Cool axe.

[@groovydjs]

@macaius Yeah, there is a guitar for everybody out there and if someone can't find one....just have it made. If it feels good and sounds good to you, grab it, if it don't, then don't fault everybody for what they want to play. I like to have tons of options on a guitar. I'm personally not one of those people that believes that less is more when it comes to a guitar. So, I just like to have tons of options at my finger tips. It's nice to know that all those sounds are there when I want them.

[@groovydjs]

@InspiredProphecy I'm right there with you my friend,100% a Strat guy and if there's any Les Paul to get it's This one or the Les Paul Studio M-III that I have a review on here on my channel also. The M-III has the same thing going for it with the addition of the addition of another single coil in the middle position.So, it's a bit more familiar for the Strat player. But if you want it to look like a regular Les Paul, but do the work of both it and a Tele, then this is it and it's held up great.

[@bobbyswamp]

Dude! Love this guitar, man. As always, great demo, my friend. This guitar SINGS in your hands...

[@groovydjs]

@alexmaiden0666 Hi Alex, the pickups are not active at all, no batteries required my friend. Just simple coil splitting for the single coil type sounds via the push / pull volume knobs. Straight forward and easy wiring.

[@ddayxable]

Ok im a 4 year player. Ive never had but one guitar so It seems very overwhelming everything I have to take into consideration. Im glad that you as a professional have taken the time to educate me! My birthday is the 29th of August so im really trying to figure out EXACTLY what i want.

[@groovydjs]

@R0ckagainst Thank you very much. The amp never really got a fair shake when it first came out. It was the very first modeling amp. The Johnson Millennium JM-150. I think it was their horrible presets that hurt them so badly. As you can hear, a little tweaking and some great sounds are in there and immediately recallable via the J-12 MIDI controller. I really love these things. Thanks again.

[@groovydjs]

@Martinezlopez113 Sure, why not. The locking tuners work GREAT, but then again, so do the standard Grovers. Plus, with the addition of the pickup covers, it won't change your sound a single bit. Just solder them to the bottom side (one dab on each side) and you are good to go and it will look all kinds of vintage. Go for it!

[@groovydjs]

@macaius Very cool, I'm glad you did your homework before you laid down your money and you are right, these are just as comfortable as it gets. I really would like to see that video!. The other one that I love is the Les Paul Studio Lite M-III (long name huh?). It has the addition of another single coil pickup in the middle. So, there is a 2 ways switch and a 5 way Strat switch. The 2 way, keeps it like a Les Paul, then flip it and ALL the pickups are single coil and you have the Strat sounds.

[@groovydjs]

@ThaNatural777 My total pleasure my friend. I hope you find just the right guitar for you.

[@Reckefisch]

This video made me buy my LP Standard Traditional Pro and I don't regret it. I really love this versatile piece of art, because it looks and sounds amazing! I've got one in Wine Red which is in my humble opinion the most beautiful color for this particular guitar - gorgeous. Thank you, Mr Grove for that awesome review, I'm so happy with that guitar!!! The only thing that I dislike about this thing is the fact, that the nut is white and not cream, just like the binding. But I got used to it...

[@groovydjs]

@574jmann Thank you very much. I'm plugged straight into my Johnson Millennium JM-150 amp. All of the effects are built into the amp, so they are just patches that I've created.

[@groovydjs]

@bobcatharris I agree. Easily the most useful Les Paul I've owned. I would love to get one in each of the 5 finishes offered in the Traditional Pro.

[@groovydjs]

It's a great guitar, you won't be let down by this one. My amplifiers are Johnson Millennium JM-150's. They were the very first modeling amps to come out. They are long gone now but you can still find them on Ebay. They have every sound and effect in them that you can imagin and they do it so much better than Line 6 or Vox. They were simply ahead of their time and people were affraid of change at that point. Nobody believed you could have an amp with built in effects. lol

[@groovydjs]

@AaronJD123 Thank you. I'm using the Johnson Millennium JM 150 You can see my review of it on here. Just type in Scott Grove Johnson and it will be the first in the search.

[@groovydjs]

@Reckefisch The wine red is a great looking and rare finish for these, same as the Gold Top. I would love to grab one of those up. I'm glad you are enjoying your axe. You are right, the binding is kind of what people are calling "fleshy" colored. It doesn't bother me at all. I'm not sure why Gibson does most of what it does, but at least they finally put out a great axe with this variation. I really get tired of the same old same old with them and Fender. Just enough of a change, cool!

[@groovydjs]

@dlowe81 That is true. As discussed dozens and dozens of times below. The tag on the guitar and the warranty card both say Desert Burst on them, So, that's what I went with when I did the review the day I received it. But yes, it is Vintage Sunburst.

[@groovydjs]

It's what the hang tag and warranty says on it....so, I went with it.

[@flugdude]

Guitar player magazine should totally pay you to review guitars. You are definitely someone that all guitarists can related to and you do a DAMN GOOD JOB OF IT, you actually sold me on this one!

[@groovydjs]

@KedmenecMartin I like this one better because of the Slittable pickups. Way more tonal variations. But if you just want standard humbuckers, then go with the standard.

[@groovydjs]

@snowfosho2 Thank you very much. It's called the vintage burst despite the Desertburst reference on the video. It was simply what it said on the sale tag and the warranty card. Leave it to them to mess it up. lol I am glad that I ended up with this finish over all of the others. It is so early "Ace Frehley".

[@groovydjs]

I would recommend this over ANY Les Paul ever made. I've owned over 40 different Les Paul's over the past 30 years and this one smokes every single one of them. They could put a $5,000.00 price tag on it and I would gladly pay it again and again if this were ever taken from me. They really are THAT good. Thanks again my friend. Scott