Originally Posted by: jpolitoI bought a Gibson Les Paul Standard on line at Sweetwater.com.

I also went through Sweetwater to buy a 2013 Les Paul Traditional. Like you, I got the guitar with absolutely no problems, and it was gorgeous to look at. It sounded great, but with one flaw. At the 7th fret on the high E string the guitar produced this awful harmonic. Instead of a nice, smooth sustaining B note, it produced a squawking overtone that sounded terrible. I took it took a luthier who felt it was just something inherent in the guitar, not something that could be fixed. I have to say that visit was nerve wracking... he played it while wearing a belt with a huge metal buckle, and at one point, needing to answer the phone, just plonked the guitar down on a hard wood work table. I was amazed that the guitar didn't get damaged.

Anyways, I sent the guitar back to Sweetwater, and their tech checked it out, confirmed the problem, and said there was nothing that could be done, it was just a sympathetic harmonic due to something in the way the guitar was made... maybe something in the wood, who knows.

They did provide me with a full refund, and I was charged any shipping at all. The thing I find contrary when it comes to Les Pauls is that people say they are such a great sounding guitar (thus the $2299 price tag) but in the same breath turn around and that no two sound the same. I was disappointed that Gibson let this guitar get out of the factory with this problem. They say they check every note on every guitar they sell, but it didn't take me long to spot this problem at all.

I'd also like to mention that I A/B'd this guitar with a $1300 Fender Strat, and a $300 Jackson. The Strat is a very different sounding guitar, so its really apples to oranges. However, the Jackson, equipped with humbuckers, was really close. The Jackson had about the same amount of sustain as the Gibson, and every note played flawlessly, whereas the Les Paul had a few bum notes. This is why I recommend that people really try other guitars before splurging on a Gibson Les Paul.