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Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG
A quick listen to any of Zakk Wylde’s seminal playing, from Ozzy Osbourne’s “No More Tears” to Black Label Society’s “Bleed For Me”, tells you instantly that this guitarist goes at it rough and ready, and takes no prisoners. The Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG embodies the mammoth tone and over-the-top rock attitude of its name sake, and offers all the equipment necessary to undertake your own scorched-earth attack on your local music scene: from its rough-hewn bookmatched maple top, to its rounded ’50s-spec neck with ebony fingerboard, to its sizzling EMG 81 and 85 humbucking pickups — all approved by the Wylde man himself — the Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG is primed to deliver the message, in a big way. And with two Zakk-certified looks to choose from, a bullseye graphic or buzzsaw graphic over a satin-natural nitro finish, there will be no mistaking that you have come for business.
Body
Species
Each Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG is crafted from a two-piece, bookmatched maple top attached with ultra-strong Franklin Titebond 50 glue to a chambered mahogany body. This wood combination, one of the most legendary pairs in the history of the solid and semi-solid electric guitar, yields a “best of both worlds” tonal splendor, while also producing a stunning look.
  Design
The rough-and-ready style of the Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG is emphasized by the rough-hewn and minimally finished top of the guitar, the maple of which still bears the hash marks from the carving process, and the top is left unbound to further enhance its no-nonsense esthetics. The chambered back serves to minimize weight, while also adding tonal nuances to the guitar’s overall sound.
  Average Weight
The average weight of a Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG body is 5.15 lbs, which is about normal for a Gibson guitar.
  Tonal Characteristics
The Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG body woods present a combination of good clarity, definition and treble bite from the maple, and excellent depth and richness from the mahogany, elements found in the classic Les Paul Standard tone. The chambering adds a further dimension, increasing the complexity of this guitar’s tone, while also increasing its acoustic volume and sustain. The Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG nitrocellulose finish has also been kept ultra-thin to avoid choking the guitar’s natural resonance, resulting in a lively, ringing electric tone.
Finish
Color
The Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG is finished in a thin satin natural, with either black Buzzsaw or Bullseye graphics.
  Surface Texture
The satin finish with 30-sheen lacquer gives the Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG a look that is clean and professional, but less glossy and polished than many traditional guitars, with a slightly “pre-aged” appearance, and a smooth matt-finish feel.
  Process
The Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG is hand-finished in nitrocellulose in a process that is carefully monitored to ensure minimum build-up, in an effort to produce a final finish that breathes with the guitar and enhances natural resonance. Unlike many other manufacturers, who settle for a polyurethane finish, Gibson opts for a nitrocellulose finish that will encourage the natural vibration of the instrument for a purer tone. In addition, a nitro finish is very porous and actually gets thinner over time. That way your guitar’s wood can age beautifully and naturally.
Neck and Headstock
Species
The neck of the Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG is constructed from three solid pieces of Grade A maple, and glued to the body at a 5-degree angle (pitch). In addition to being a strong, reliable wood species for neck construction — and a traditional favorite among many guitar makers — maple’s tight, even grain and low porosity means it can be finished with minimum coats of nitro, for a comfortable, “played-in” feel that is fast and smooth.
Truss Rod
Gibson’s traditional truss rod, found in most all of our guitars, is highly responsive to the individual adjustments you’ll want to make to personalize and optimize string action and sustain.
  Grade
A-grade
Profile
The Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG is fitted with Gibson’s more traditional ’50s neck profile, which is a round, meaty profile that emulates the neck shapes of the iconic 1958 and 1959 Les Paul Standards.
  Joint Angle
5.0° (+/- 15 seconds)
Headstock Angle
The Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG headstock is carefully angled at a tried-and-true 17 degrees, which increases pressure on the strings and helps them stay in the nut slots. An increase in string pressure also means there is no loss of string vibration between the nut and the tuners, which equals better sustain.
Logo
The Gibson logo — one of the most globally recognized logos of all time — is silkscreened in gold on the headstock face.
  Tonal Characteristics
The angled, classical-style peg head and maple neck work together to provide exceptional tonal depth and resonance from the neck, with a snappy attack and outstanding articulation from the maple.
  Average Weight
The average weight of the neck is .95 lbs.
Neck Fit
Joint
Gibson uses what is known as the Mortise & Tenon joint to bind neck to body so that the two pieces form one solid unit. This time-tested joint style has been used in all the great woodworking arts — from shipbuilding to cabinetry — and has been proven to yield a stronger neck and body than if the instrument was made from a single piece of wood.
  Adhesive
The adhesive used to join neck and body is Franklin Titebond 50, one of the strongest glues on the market today.
  Tolerance
When fitting the neck and body together, we take advantage of our precise measuring equipment so that all angles, pitches and alignments maintain a tolerance within .005 of an inch. Not only does this help to keep your guitar in tune but it also maintains proper string alignment relative to the fingerboard.
  Joint Angle
0.0° (+/- 15 seconds)
Fingerboard
Species
The Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG is equipped with an ebony fingerboard, which — much like its maple neck — enhances note attack and articulation. A hard, dense, dark-black exotic wood, ebony has commonly been regarded as a deluxe, upgraded option on electric guitars, and has been used by Gibson in the past on the Les Paul Custom. Ebony is also extremely hard-wearing, and more resistant to humidity and climate and weather changes than many other fingerboard woods. Despite its high-end wood and inlays, the The Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG’s fingerboard has no binding, enhancing the feel and look that this model sets out to achieve.
  Radius
The 12-inch radius of the Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG fingerboard provides smooth note bending capabilities and eliminates “dead” or “choked out” notes, common occurrences on fingerboards with lesser radiuses.
Frets
The Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG sports 22 jumbo frets, all immaculately dressed and polished.
  Inlays
The Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG’s fingerboard carries acrylic block inlays, echoing the classic look of the Les Paul Custom and other high-end Gibson models.
  Average Weight
The average weight of an ebony fingerboard is approximately .43 lbs.
  Tonal Characteristics
Ebony is a very popular up-market fingerboard material, known for its strong, clear tone.
Nut
Material
The nut on the Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG is made from Corian, which is mainly composed of acrylic polymer. It’s a very durable material, delivers enhanced sustain, and holds the tolerances of the precision cuts made in the slotting process. It is installed into the top surface of the neck, butting up to the end of the fingerboard to ensure proper tone and sustain transfer.
  Width
The width of the nut on the Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG is approximately 1.695”.
Pickups
Model
A pair of EMG active pickups, long favored by Zakk Wylde, make the Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG ready to rock on delivery. A high-output EMG 81 in the bridge position and a smoother EMG 85 in the neck position ensure an excellent balance between pickups, and deliver a wide range of contemporary tones, from a warm, singing, vocal neck tone to a punchy, snarly and aggressive bridge tone.
  Magnet Material
While many of the EMG 81 and 85’s specs are proprietary to the EMG company, these popular contemporary pickups do use classic alnico V magnets, which serves to enhance their smooth response and excellent dynamics. Employed in an active pickup of this type, alnico V nevertheless contributes to a hot, high-gain tonal assault that fits the Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG to a “T”.
  Tonal Characteristics
The EMG 81 and 85 pickups add an extra portion of scorch and sizzle to the combination of depth and clarity that the Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG’s body woods deliver. These pickups yield outstanding clarity and an unusually broad frequency range, with a dynamic response throughout the spectrum. They excel at high-gain rock styles, but also purr beautifully when applied to smokier clean tones.
Electronics
Volume Controls
The Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG features two black speed-knob volume controls with potentiometers made by CTS. The pots (short for potentiometer) have an ohm reading of 25k, which allows for a smooth variation from soft to loud.
Tone Controls
The Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG features two black speed-knob tone controls with potentiometers made by CTS. The pots have ohm readings of 25k, which allows a smooth transition from bright to warm.
Toggle Switch
The Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG features one three-way toggle switch made of stainless steel with white plastic tip, which acts as the instrument’s pickup selector. In the down position, only the bridge pickup is active. In the middle position, both pickups are active. In the up position, only the neck pickup is active.
Output Jack
The guitar features a 1⁄4” output jack made by Switchcraft. Its super heavy duty construction holds your guitar cable securely in place.
Hardware
Tuning Keys
The headstock of the The Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG is equipped with chrome-plated Grover kidney button tuners with a 14:1 gear ration. These tuners are sealed with a special lubricant to ensure years of stable service, and are recognized as one of the finest tuners in the industry.
Bridge
In 1954, Gibson rocked the world when it debuted the tune-o-matic bridge, setting a standard for simplicity and functionality that has never been bettered. Included on the The Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG, the tune-o-matic provides a firm seating for the strings, allowing the player to adjust and fine-tune the intonation and string height in a matter of minutes. It also yields excellent coupling between strings and body, maximizing resonance, tone, and sustain. The Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG’s bridge is made from Zamak then plated with chrome, and each one weighs approximately .118 lbs.
Tailpiece
Every Tune-o-matic bridge is combined with a separate “stopbar” tailpiece, which is essentially a modified version of the earlier wraparound bridge that’s designed to further enhance the connection between the strings and the body. The The Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG’s stopbar tailpiece is made from Zamak then plated with Platinum, and each one weighs approximately .168 lbs.
Strap Buttons
The The Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG’s aluminum strap buttons are the same style and design that Gibson has used since the early 1950s.
Plastics
Truss Rod Cover
As with most Gibson guitars, the truss rod cover on the The Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG is made from vinyl plastic, and is shaped like an antique bell, with "Zakk Wylde BFG" hot stamped in white.
Control Knobs
The control knobs on the The Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG are Gibson’s black speed knobs, found on many vintage and modern Gibson guitars.
  Pickup Trim Rings
The pickup trim rings on the The Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG are made of black ABS plastic.
Strings
  Gauge
The Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG is fitted with genuine Gibson strings, sizes .010 - .046.
Accessories
  Gig Bag
The Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG comes protected in one of Gibson’s durable black, padded gig bags Gibson logo silk-screened across the front in white lettering.
 
 
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