The Gibson LPX electric guitar is a full featured Les Paul with built-in sound processing and mechanical tuning.
This guitar literally carries an entire rig inside its body, capable of producing various guitar sounds (including acoustic emulations), and effects.
This guitar is meant to reduce the hassles of having to carry multiple guitars, amps and effect boxes – by incorporating a sound shaping processor into the instrument itself. It follows the same idea used on the Firebird X, providing as many features as possible, although this time around the features are improved and more effective.
At the core of this instrument is a mahogany body with figured maple top, carved into the familiar single cutaway shape that we normally do not associate to technology. So the guitar may come of a surprise and weird to those that are expecting the LPX to be just another Les Paul guitar. The mahogany neck of the guitar follows a comfortable ’60s SlimTaper profile, which means that it will play and feel like a standard LP. The fretboard is carved from granadillo and features dot inlays.
To give the guitar tonal versatility, Gibson equipped it with Alnico V and Alnico II magnets in the neck and bridge positions, while the middle position is a ceramic magnet. The tune-o-matic bridge comes piezo loaded which allows for impressive acoustic guitar tone approximations. This expanded pickup configuration allows for more tonal palette options.
Aside from these traditional components, the body also houses powerful electronics that will give you a wide range of sounds. You can easily plug it into an amp, straight to PA, or to an audio interface – the guitar will serve both as your instrument and as your pedalboard. It features a variety of guitar sounds that can handle everything from acoustic guitar sounds to jazz, to blues and even high-gain metal. It even has a preset that mimics the sound of a resonator as well as other acoustic sounds.
As expected, Gibson gives you in-depth control over the parameters of the various effects within the guitar. The LPX also comes with a footswitch and expression pedal that connects to the guitar wirelessly. These small pedals are meant to replace an entire pedalboard, it will let you control and switch the sounds while minimizing the space used and the clatter. Another cool feature of this guitar is its Robot tuning, a mechanical tuner that turns the tuning keys for you after you set your preferred tuning.
Here’s a demo of the Gibson LPX by Rob and the Captain.
Like Gibson’s other X guitar models, the LPX is getting a mixed response among guitarists. Fans of traditional Les Paul are more likely to look past this guitar, but experimental players and session cats will appreciate the convenience and technology that this guitar packs in.
The MSRP for this guitar is $4,999, However I’ve seen it selling for only $2,999. You can find out more about the LPX by visiting Gibson.
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