Gibson has unveiled the Warren Haynes Les Paul Standard and it is a doozie that’s finished in deep red ‘60s Cherry, equipped with hum-cancelling P-90 pickups and an onboard clean boost that hit the front-end of your guitar amp with 15dB.
We particularly like the minimalist look of its plain maple cap, no pickguard, the cream pickguard covers against that finish. It’s a clean, classy design. And it had been coming. Back in December 2024, Haynes revealed to American Musical Supply that he was working with Gibson on a pair of signature guitars, and P-90s would be a common theme.
“I am about to delve into P-90 world pretty hard,” said Haynes. “I have always played humbuckers for the most part but whenever I pick up a guitar with P-90s in it I get some inspiration from it, so I am excited to do that.”
The second prototype is a Firebird with a trio of P-90s, so watch this space for that. But this new Haynes Les Paul is quietly radical in its own right. With a P-90 DC pairing at the neck and bridge, and that toggle switch for some extra juice, this is going to be a rock ’n’ roll machine. Haynes says he is “really psyched” about his choice of electric guitar pickups, admitting that it is a change of pace.
“Being mostly a humbucker guy, I’m really loving the hum-free P-90s,” he says. “It’s a really cool tonal change and the clean boost offers even more tonal options. Looking forward to playing it on stage and in the studio.”
There is a good chance you’ve heard the P-90 DCs before. That’s the pickup in Billie Joe Armstrong’s signature Les Paul Junior. They’re wax-potted, have a Neodymium magnet, and are a dead ringer for the regular soapbar single-coils. Only this time with no hum.
The boost control is a toggle switch nested among the traditional dual volume, dual tone control setup. You suspect Haynes will be glad of those hum-cancelling P-90s once the boost feature is engaged.
Elsewhere, we are on more familiar territory; the rosewood fingerboard with acrylic trapezoid inlays, the ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic bridge and stop-bar tailpiece. Single-ply cream binding ties the look together.
Like the current range of ‘50s Les Paul Standard, Haynes’ LP has gold top hat knobs with dial pointers. The pickup selector switch sits on a cream washer.
Hardware is familiar, with Vintage Deluxe tuners with keystone buttons. And this will give you plenty of electric guitar to hold onto – Haynes has gone with a palm-filling ‘50s rounded profile neck, so it’ll be nice and comfortable. A spritz of nitrocellulose lacquer and it’s ready for its closeup.
The Warren Haynes Les Paul Standard is available now, priced £2,399/$2,799, and that price includes a hard-shell guitar case. See Gibson for more details.
