There have been many incremental changes to the Les Paul over the years, but the Gibson Les Paul Axcess Custom and Standard models, launched in 2008, represent one of the most radical enhancements to the core design.
This Les Paul Axcess Custom in Bengal Burst finish dates to 2021 and the Nashville plant based on its serial number. The number breaks down as CS YLRRRR where CS is Custom Shop, Y is the last digit of the year, L is the factory location with 0 being Nashville and 5 being the now-closed Memphis plant. RRRR are the ranking numbers for that production run.
This guitar is in very good, clean and original condition with very light wear, and no breaks. The Certificate of Authenticity is included in the original black Gibson branded hard shell case.
Materials and Construction
While the Les Paul Axcess Custom shares the basic construction concept of a carved Maple cap on a Mahogany body with a Mahogany neck. On the Axcess Custom model, the fingerboard is Ebony though Richlite was used between 2011 and 2019 due to materials availability issues. The block fingerboard position marker inlays, the Gibson logo and Split Diamond inlay are all Mother of Pearl.
The Les Paul Axcess has some significant differences from the traditional design. The body has meaningful weight relief and a 'Belly cut' contour on the back, the heel is well contoured, and the headstock uses the 'Apex' design for improved strength and durability.
Of course, as a Custom model, all the metal parts are gold plated. The Les Paul Axcess models are available as traditional 'Hard Tail' versions, with a factory-installed Floyd Rose system, or even a trapeze tailpiece!
Hardware and Electronics
For tuners, the Les Paul Axcess Custom uses gold-plated Grover Roto-Matic models with metal keystone buttons. The bridge and tailpiece on this hard-tail version are a standard ABR-1 and stop bar in gold.
Standard 498T 4-Conductor pickups feed through individual volume and tone controls, and the tone pots also provide coil splitting. A set of black 'Speed' knobs is installed.
Here is Gibson describing the current Les Paul Axcess Custom:
"The modern player's choice! The iconic Les Paul Custom is re-imagined in this Axcess version, featuring the new Apex headstock for added strength, redesigned contours for added comfort and fingerboard access, and powerful coil-tapped humbuckers for sonic versatility and strength. The solid Ebony fingerboard retains clarity in every fretted note and chord. Even with all the added features, the Les Paul Axcess Custom is still a Custom Shop model at the core, with showstopping looks thanks to its multi-ply binding, pearl appointments, and gold hardware."