With the new Les Paul Traditional, Gibson USA has proved they know how to make good guitars better, and are dedicated to making the best Les Paul Standards ever made. The new Traditional is for players who want a Les Paul as it was, yet can't afford a Custom Shop Historic Reissue. It's for players who want up-to-date features and that warm, powerful, solidbody sound that can only be produced by the pairing of a mahogany back and carved maple top; the 22-fret 50s' mahogany neck with rosewood fretboard, Tune-O-Matic bridge and stopbar tailpiece; and a pair of specially wound humbuckers with Alnico magnets.

The Traditional has precision fret dressing and setup thanks to use of Gibson's new Plek machines. As the guitar lies in a cradle, a computer-controlled robot arm moves along the neck measuring each fret's height, the fingerboard radius, even the bow in the neck. Using that data, the Plek machine adjusts the truss rod, cuts the nut slots for optimal spacing and height for each string, files each fret to a hundredth of a millimeter accuracy, and then polishes the frets. In a fraction of the time it takes a skilled technician, the Plek machine eliminates buzzing strings and dead spots, producing a neck with superb action and playability.

The Traditional's Classic '57 humbuckers use the original specs of the humbucker developed by Seth Lover, featuring Alnico II magnets and an equal number of string windings for both coils, they produce a warm, balanced sound.