Gibson Sammy Hagar Red Rocker Les Paul review
By MNJ
| Posted in Guitar
The Gibson Sammy Hagar Red Rocker Les Paul is a surprisingly restrained affair considering the larger than life rock and roll legend and tequila millionaire that it was made for. Never straying too far out of familiar territory as far as appointments go, the Red Rocker is still a true Les Paul, despite some eye-catching graphics.
Featuring a traditional weight relieved mahogany body and two-piece figured maple top with antique binding, the Red Rocker also features the Gibson colour designation of ‘Cabernet’, possibly an update on the old ‘Wine Red’. The back and sides are in ‘Translucent Cherry’ and the whole guitar is finished with low-build nitrocellulose and polished to a high gloss.
The pickups are Hagar’s own choice of a Classic ’57 in the neck positionand a Burstbucker 3 in the neck giving him the punch he needs whenever he’s in the ring with either EVH or Satriani. The white/black or ‘zebra’ pickups give the guitar a bit more attitude even though the difference in tone without the covers on is negligible in my view. The rosewood fingerboard with trapezoid inlays, machine heads and bridge/tailpiece are all standard issue Les Paul appointments. There’s no odd wiring, coil tapping or phase options either – it’s all straightforward Gibson wiring with two volume and two tone pots.
Apart from the stamped ‘Red Rocker’ logo on the truss rod cover, there is one more notable graphic addition to this instrument, and the observation can’t be put off any longer – the headstock has a silkscreened Chickenfoot logo printed smack dab in the middle of the headstock, joining up the machine heads. This graphic dominates the look of this guitar completely. If you’re a Hagar and Chickenfoot fan you’re going to love it. If not, this is one Les Paul that’s unlikely to appear on your shopping list, which is a shame, because the Red Rocker is a hell of a guitar to play.
Gibson has given it a neck that’s slightly meatier than a ’59 model, and a pickup combination which works great for classic Les Paul rock sounds. Hagar loves an “old-school, baseball bat neck” on a Les Paul, the instrument on which he has written most of his classic songs like I Can’t Drive 55 and One Way to Rock. The guitar has obviously been Plekked, as it feels really smooth to play and all the intonation is spot on. Plugged into my new favourite amp, an Engl Thunder 50, it rocks, with plenty of midrange and low end from the Classic ’57 and a good deal of power and grind from the Burstbucker 3.
For a guitar built to suit an individual’s own specification, especially one of such high profile in the rock guitar world, the Sammy Hagar Red Rocker is surprisingly standard in most of its features, which could either be a testament to the perfection of the Les Paul, or possibly a sign that Hagar is a traditionalist when it comes to guitars. I suspect both are true. As he says in the video clip on the Gibson website, there are not going to be a million of them made so if you like the look of the Sammy Hagar Red Rocker Les Paul, you know what to do.
Tags: burstbucker 3, chickenfoot, classic 57, gibson sammy hagar, red rocker les paul