The 12 best Gibson Les Paul Custom 70s demos

We found the best Gibson Les Paul Custom 70s demos and reviews on YouTube—and the reviews are stellar

The wait is over, and the reviews are in. The Gibson Les Paul™ Custom is back in the Gibson core lineup for the first time in 20 years after previously being available only via Gibson Custom, so we found all the best Gibson Les Paul Custom 70s demos on YouTube.

First, a little history. The new Gibson Les Paul Custom 70s sees the return of the classic 1970s-era Les Paul Custom that helped create a generation of heavy rock heroes. With a mahogany body, three-piece maple top, 70s-profile maple neck, bound ebony fretboard, and gold hardware throughout, it’s a faithful throwback to one of the most coveted eras in Gibson history. You can read more about how the Gibson Les Paul Custom 70s is a celebration of 50 years in Music City, too.

With original guitars from that era fetching massive prices on the secondhand market, this is a way to get an incredible guitar and make it yours. To celebrate the return of this iconic model, we tracked down the best demos of the Gibson Les Paul Custom 70s from trusted dealers and YouTube creators to see what they had to say about the guitars. It’s safe to say that praise for the tonality of the pickups and the feel of the neck were recurring themes.

The 12 best Gibson Les Paul Custom 70s demos

Without further ado, here are some of the best Gibson Les Paul Custom 70s demos and reviews we found on YouTube, from some of the best YouTube guitar channels. First up, from the UK, is a video from our friends at guitarguitar.

guitarguitar

The team at guitarguitar put the Gibson 70s Les Paul Custom through its paces, going straight in with a high-gain setup, dialing in the kind of saturated tones that made the model a legend in the first place. Their verdict? This Les Paul Custom feels every bit as good as it sounds. “They’re very nice to hold in the hand and very playable,” they note. The Calibrated T-Type humbuckers get special praise, too: “They always say the Les Paul sustains for days, but this could just keep going.”

Play and Trade Guitars

John from Play and Trade Guitars doesn’t pull punches in any review, and in this demo, he dives deep into the Gibson Les Paul Custom 70s, offering both a full performance demo and a detailed breakdown of its construction. He points out that the calibrated T-Type humbuckers™ “sound fantastic” and deliver the kind of sustain that made the Les Paul famous. After running it through clean and driven tones, John says, “There’s just nothing like a Les Paul Custom—the sustain on this guitar is the most insane thing I’ve heard in any guitar I’ve reviewed.”

John Connearn

John Connearn heaped high praise on the Gibson Les Paul Custom 70s, going so far as to call it “one of the most beautiful things the human race has ever created.” After exploring everything from cleaner Plexi tones to high-gain and ambient textures, he too loved the calibrated T-Type humbuckers for their authentic 70s voice: “That bark of a Les Paul when you really dig in—it’s so addictive. This guitar does that very, very well.”

Mountain Music Exchange

Clay at Mountain Music Exchange spotlights the Gibson Les Paul Custom 70s as a true Norlin-era callback, focusing on the three-piece maple neck with volute, three-piece maple top, bound ebony fingerboard, gold hardware, witch-hat knobs, and Posi-Lok strap buttons. He puts the T-Type humbuckers through their paces, loving the sound and how it blends with the maple/mahogany construction. “Probably the most interesting release Gibson has done all year—and definitely my favorite,” he says. “This guitar plays phenomenally and sounds really good.”

The Neurotic Guitarist

The Neurotic Guitarist takes us through one of his always-thorough deep dives into the Gibson Les Paul Custom 70s, comparing it directly with his vintage 1974 and 1975 models. And it really hits home how this sounds when paired with a more heavy metal-orientated amp and pedal setup. “This might be the most impressed I’ve been with the Gibson USA line in a very long time,” he says. “It plays and sounds absolutely amazing.”

Sunny Haair

Sunny Haair compares his new Gibson 70s Les Paul Custom directly with his older Les Paul from Gibson Custom. “If you told me it was from the Custom Shop, I’d believe you,” he says. “It’s a dream guitar—I’m so happy they’re back in USA production.”

Andertons

On the Andertons channel, Captain Lee and Danish Pete are not known to hold back regarding whether they love or loathe guitars. It’s safe to say they were having a blast playing the Gibson Les Paul Custom 70s. “It’s not just any old other Les Paul—that’s a glorious one,” says Lee. “I mean, what I love about the Les Paul is just it does everything from jazzers like Les Paul through to Steve Jones in the Sex Pistols. You could be Kirk Hammett in Metallica, you could be Gary Moore… It’s just it’s such a versatile guitar.”

Long & McQuade

Next up, Justin from Long & McQuade popped into our Gibson Gear Guide studio in Nashville to review and demo the Les Paul Custom 70s. Eagle-eyed viewers will spot the Gibson Gear Guide’s very own host, Dinesh Lekhraj, giving the full rundown alongside Justin from L&M Toronto. After playing through a few pickup positions, Justin points out the 70s details like the volute, Grover tuners, Posi-Lok strap buttons, and the witch-hat knobs all make this guitar feel like a time capsule.

Guitar Center

Guitar Center teamed up with Nicholas Veinoglou for a demo and he loved how well the T-Type pickups handled dynamic shifts. “That’s got such great range on it, these pickups are voiced so so well,” he says. “It’s one of the most comfortable neck shapes that Gibson has made.”

American Musical Supply

American Musical Supply keep it short and sweet, going over all the historic-inspired features like the three-piece maple top, neck volute, witch-hat knobs and gold hardware. “This thing screams 70s,” they say. “But it totally rips. You can totally do modern stuff with it.” The tonal versatility also gets a nod: “These pickups are perfect for pretty much anything; roll it back for clean or rip it—it sounds great for everything.”

zZounds

Miles and Sergio from zZounds visit Gibson HQ to check out the 70s Les Paul Custom. Sergio gives a quick history of the guitar, and after putting the guitar through a heavy MESA/Boogie-fueled workout, Miles says, “It feels really good. The tone is really beefy and really just thick and rich.”

Gibson TV

Finally, we handed the 70s Les Paul Custom to a group of working pros and studio legends—Kent Wells, Julian Raymond, Derek Wells, Sadler Vaden, Chris Leuzinger, J.D. Simo, Guthrie Trapp, and Dan Dugmore—and let them react in real time. This is less a demo and more a shared moment with players who know tone. “There was a clarity there that also was backed up by this just amazing power,” says one. “A desert island guitar for sure for anybody in any style of music.”

What’s so special about the Les Paul Custom 70s?

The Les Paul Custom 70s channels a defining decade in tone and style—and arrives as Gibson celebrates 50 years of handcrafting guitars in Nashville. Originally developed in 1953 as an upscale version of the Les Paul Model, the single-cutaway Les Paul Custom was reintroduced to the Gibson catalog in 1968, evolving through the 1970s and becoming the choice of countless hard rock trailblazers.

Built with a mahogany body and three-piece maple top, the new Les Paul Custom 70s model captures the spirit of the era. The bound ebony fretboard, maple neck with volute, 70s neck profile, and Split Diamond headstock inlay nail to the period-correct vibe. Gold hardware and witch-hat knobs complete the look, and it’s almost like stepping back in time.

Tone aficionados will love the Calibrated T-Type humbuckers that are handwired with Orange Drop® capacitors for classic tone, delivering those tight lows, articulate highs, and all the sustain in between, whether you’re playing blues or hard rock and metal. Available in four vintage-inspired finishes—classic Ebony, Tobacco Burst, Wine Red, and Buttercream Top—the Les Paul Custom 70s comes complete with a hardshell case so your guitar is safe in transit, too. 

The Gibson Les Paul Custom 70s is available worldwide now via Gibson.com, authorized Gibson dealers, and Gibson Garage locations.