One of Two. That's It.
You know how some guitars get described as "rare" and you take it with a grain of salt? This one actually is. The Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul Axcess Custom in Red Widow Burst Gloss is a Dealer Select instrument — part of Gibson Custom's handpicked "Greatest Hits" collection developed by Dustin Wainscott and the Gibson Custom team — and exactly two of them exist. This one weighs in at a feathery 7 lbs. 15 oz., which on a Les Paul is genuinely remarkable and something you feel the moment you strap it on.
The Red Widow finish is exactly what it sounds like: a dark, blood-red burst draped over a hand-selected AAA figured maple top, with matching red binding across the body and neck and a red stain carried through to the mahogany. It's a color that rewards you differently under every lighting condition — moody and deep under stage lights, alive and three-dimensional in daylight.
Underneath the looks, this is still a fully realized Gibson Custom Shop instrument. Players who love the Les Paul sound but want freer access to the upper register will feel right at home here — this guitar was built to be played, not stared at.
The Axcess Advantage: A Les Paul That Gets Out of Its Own Way
The "Axcess" name is about one specific thing: getting rid of the heel-block problem that's plagued Les Pauls since day one. Gibson's Custom Shop redesigned the neck joint with a contoured, sculpted heel and the Apex neck profile, giving you a smooth, nearly unobstructed path all the way up to the 22nd fret. Players who do a lot of work above the 12th fret will notice the difference immediately — there's no more reaching awkwardly around a thick body-neck junction.
The Apex headstock is another Axcess-specific detail. Set at a 14-degree angle instead of the traditional 17 degrees, it reinforces the headstock area and improves stability — one of the spots on a Les Paul that can be vulnerable. It's a subtle change that makes a real difference in day-to-day durability.
The body itself is weight-relieved mahogany, and this particular example lands at 7 lbs. 15 oz. — about as light as a Les Paul Custom gets. Combined with the ribcage and belly contours Gibson added to the Axcess platform, this guitar sits against your body rather than fighting it through a long set.
Tonewoods and Construction: Maple Meets Mahogany
The AAA figured maple top here isn't just a visual spec — it's hand-selected, and it contributes real tonal character to the mix. Figured maple adds brightness and articulation on top of the mahogany body's natural warmth and sustain, which is the combination Les Paul players have been chasing since 1958. The gloss nitrocellulose lacquer finish lets the wood breathe and resonate freely, and it ages in the way nitro always does — beautifully.
The set mahogany neck is carved to the Axcess Custom profile and pairs with a 24.75" scale length and a 1.69" nut width — specs that will feel familiar to any Les Paul player. The ebony fingerboard runs 22 frets with Jescar medium-jumbo reissue wire, and the 12" radius is flat enough to support fast runs without fighting you on bends. Tapered mother-of-pearl block inlays complete the picture — classic Custom Shop aesthetic through and through.
Pickups and Controls: Humbuckers with Options
A 496R at the neck and a 498T at the bridge — Gibson's modern humbucker pairing — handle the core tonal duties. The 496R delivers warm, articulate neck tones with a distinctly vintage character, while the 498T at the bridge punches harder with extra output and bite. Both are four-conductor, which enables the push/pull coil splitting wired into both tone controls.
Pull up either tone knob and you tap into single-coil textures — chimey, glassy sounds that are genuinely useful and not just a gimmick. The three-way toggle gives you standard neck/both/bridge switching, and the dual volume and tone controls let you dial in your blend independently. It's a versatile setup that covers ground from clean jazz voicings to high-gain rock without breaking a sweat. The ABR-1 Historic Reissue bridge and stop bar tailpiece keep intonation stable and sustain excellent, while Grover tuners with keystone buttons handle the tuning side of things reliably.
Product Features:
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Body: Mahogany with AAA Figured Maple Top (Hand Picked, 2PC)
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Body Construction: LPX Weight Relief, Body Scarf, Contoured Heel
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Binding: 7-Ply Black/White Top (No Back Binding)
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Neck: Mahogany, 14 Degree, Contoured Heel, Reinforced Apex Headstock
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Neck Profile: Les Paul Axcess Custom, Apex, Stopbar (0.835")
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Scale Length: 24 3/4"
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Fingerboard: 1PC Ebony, Bound, Tapered Mother of Pearl Block Inlays
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Fretwire: Jescar FW45100 Medium-Jumbo Reissue
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Nut: Corian
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Truss Rod: 18 1/2" Modern Teflon Wrapped
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Finish: Gloss Red Widow Burst (Top), Red Widow (Back, Neck, Rims)
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Peg Head Face: Black (Standard)
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Headstock Decal: Custom Shop Logo, Gold (Back of Peghead)
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Hardware Finish: Gloss Nickel
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Tuners: Grover 102NKM Nickel Keystone (Bass & Treble)
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Bridge: ABR-1 Historic Reissue 59, No Return Wire, Notched, Nickel
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Tailpiece: Stopbar TLPC, Nickel
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Neck Pickup: Gibson 496R CPN 15.5" 4-Conductor Uncovered
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Bridge Pickup: Gibson 498T CPN 12.5" 4-Conductor Uncovered
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Pickup Rings: Low (Neck) and High (Bridge), Black
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Electronics: Series/Parallel Push/Pull Pots, Tone
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Capacitors: 0.022mF, 100V, 20%
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Toggle Switch: Studio 4-Conductor with Black Knob
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Knobs: Black Speed
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Control Plate: Black, LP Non-TH
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Switch Plate: Medallion 2025 "Hand Crafted in Nashville"
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Pickguard: None
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Strings: .010–.046 Standard Set
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Serial Number: Ink Stamped, White – CS XXXXXX
Brand: Gibson
Model: Custom Shop Les Paul Axcess Custom AAA Figured Maple – Red Widow Burst Gloss (Dealer Select)
SKU: LPXCFPSL000000791
Condition: New
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