Ok so let me start out by saying as Gibson Les Paul’s go, this one minus the headstock is a mighty fine example. The Cabernet finish on the Flame Maple top is stunning and the Zebra ’57 Classic humbucker in the neck and Zebra Burstbucker 3 in the bridge look cool although I wonder what gold hardware would have looked like? But a signature Sammy Hagar Gibson Les Paul? Fair enough Sammy getting a custom guitar from them, and even having his own private signature template that they can reproduce but a signature Les Paul available to the public for the RRP of $3894? I personally wouldn’t buy it just because of the headstock, the Chickenfoot and Red Rocker logos just make it look cheap and tacky, plus as far as I can remember I have never seen Sammy play a Gibson let alone a Les Paul. I’m not saying he hasn’t but if you scour the net you will find him playing a Yamaha Sammy Hagar Signature model and plenty of photos of him playing a Dean but no Gibson. I fear Gibson may have made yet another strange marketing decision thanks to Chickenfoot’s recent success. Also, no offence to Sammy, but he isn’t really classified as a legendary guitar hero. Does he really stand up against the signature models of Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page and Slash? Sorry but the answer is no. I respect that he has had a long prosperous career in the US but ask anyone in the UK or Australia if they have heard a Sammy Hagar solo record the answer will most likely be no, most people probably don’t even know he can play guitar.

This isn’t a personal attack on Sammy, I just think that Gibson are making a series of very poor decisions and devaluing their Signature models that should be saved for special cases.

For more info about the Sammy Hagar Red Rocker Les Paul head over to Gibson.com.


Credit: Image donated by Bob Sebago