“I am about to delve into P-90 world pretty hard”: Warren Haynes has teamed up with Gibson for a new signature Les Paul, and, spoiler alert, it's loaded with his new favorite pickups
With a 60s Cherry finish and chunky mahogany neck, the guitar takes after the Gov't Mule man's favorite Les Pauls, and his beloved 1961 ES-335
NAMM 2025: Last November, Warren Haynes – he of Gov't Mule and formerly the Allman Brothers Band – revealed that he had two new Gibson signature models in the works.
The most notable aspect of said models, Haynes said, were their P-90 pickups.
“I have always played humbuckers for the most part, but whenever I pick up a guitar with P-90s in it I get some inspiration from it,” he explained in an interview with American Musical Supply. “[Haynes and Gibson] have been talking about it for a long time.”
Now, the first of the two models, a Cherry-finished Les Paul, has arrived.
Now, details of the guitar are quite scarce, but what we do know is that the guitar boasts a mahogany body with a plain maple cap and that aforementioned 60s Cherry finish, which is modeled after that found on his beloved 1961 ES-335.
The mahogany neck with a chunkier 50s vintage profile, in turn, takes after Haynes' favorite Les Pauls.
Aside from the P-90s, the Haynes Les Paul is also notably fitted with a toggleable on-board clean boost.
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In addition to the Les Paul, Haynes said last year that a rare triple P-90 Firebird was also in the works. (“I am about to delve into P-90 world pretty hard,” he said, to be exact).
“They had made me a Custom Shop Firebird one time with three P-90s in it, and I had never played a three-pickup Firebird before,” Haynes explained last year.
“It took some getting used to with the middle pickup, but once I got used to that, the tonal options were great. You could get so many different sounds, and so I loved experimenting with all the different possibilities.
“I am looking for new inspiration, something to change the way that I play at any given moment,” he continued. “I love the fact that I have settled into a great sound with my Les Pauls through the years, but it is nice to challenge yourself sometimes – it creates a new spark that takes you into some new direction.”
We'll keep our eyes out for more info on the guitar as it becomes available, but for now visit Gibson to see the company's other new-for-2025 offerings.
Jackson is an Associate Editor at GuitarWorld.com. He’s been writing and editing stories about new gear, technique and guitar-driven music both old and new since 2014, and has also written extensively on the same topics for Guitar Player. Elsewhere, his album reviews and essays have appeared in Louder and Unrecorded. Though open to music of all kinds, his greatest love has always been indie, and everything that falls under its massive umbrella. To that end, you can find him on Twitter crowing about whatever great new guitar band you need to drop everything to hear right now.
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