GIBSON SLASH COLLECTION LES PAUL STANDARD & J-45 STANDARD

Picture this. It’s a grey morning on the last Friday 13th of 2019 and we have been invited to the sumptuous Gibson Guitars HQ in central London to review not just a new model, but a whole signature collection of guitars created by Gibson for one of its longest standing and highest profile artists, the mighty Slash himself.

Upon arrival we are welcomed into the Made 2 Measure lounge – the guitar equivalent of a Savile Row tailor’s fitting room. Here, the Gibson London team fosters a convivial environment where the well-heeled client can specify the exact stripe of maple, shade of burst and carve of neck on a bespoke instrument. It is an oasis of calm for even the most jaded of six-stringers and, arrayed for our attention, we find the entire Slash Collection, comprising four Les Paul Standard electrics and two J-45 electro-acoustics.

The contrast between the genteel surroundings and the obvious rock ’n’ roll leanings of this collection is most apparent in the array