Gibson, Peter Frampton launch the “Phenix” Les Paul Custom VOS guitar
The ebony-finished, three-pickup beauty is a dead ringer (minus the dings and wear) for Frampton's legendary, lost-and-found “Phenix” Les Paul Custom
First announced – with few supporting details – back in January, Gibson has launched its new Peter Frampton signature “Phenix” Les Paul Custom VOS electric guitar.
The new Phenix is a dead ringer (minus the dings and wear) for Frampton's legendary Phenix Les Paul Custom – which is pictured on the cover of his star-making, bazillion-selling 1976 album, Frampton Comes Alive!, and was thought to be lost forever in a 1980 cargo plane crash, only to be miraculously recovered in 2011.
Like the original, the new Custom Shop Phenix features a mahogany body and neck, and an ebony fingerboard with custom pearl inlays.
The guitar boasts a trio of open coil Gibson Custom humbuckers, with custom wiring, a 3-way toggle switch and volume and tone knobs for the neck and bridge pickups, and another pair of knobs specifically wired to the middle pickup, for greater tonal versatility.
The guitar's other appointments include gold hardware, Grover tuners, Schaller Strap Locks and Frampton's signature on the headstock.
“My brand-new Gibson Les Paul Custom VOS has arrived, and boy is it good,” Frampton said in a statement. “I couldn’t be more pleased with the look and sound.
"Gibson has gone that extra mile in every area to make this feel and sound the closest to my original, storied Phenix Les Paul Custom guitar. The neck and weight of this mahogany guitar will amaze you at how great it feels and how light it is (and it’s even a hair lighter than the Phenix). This is the real deal.”
Get The Pick Newsletter
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
The Gibson Peter Frampton signature “Phenix” Les Paul Custom VOS is available now for the top-of-the-line price of $6,999.
For more info, stop by Gibson.
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month**
Join now for unlimited access
US pricing $3.99 per month or $39.00 per year
UK pricing £2.99 per month or £29.00 per year
Europe pricing €3.49 per month or €34.00 per year
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
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.
“A great-looking guitar that’s just a few minor tweaks away from being as good as its style suggests”: Gretsch Electromatic Pristine Ltd Jet Single-Cut with Bigsby review
“Billy Corgan literally said he wanted the ‘Sabbath note.’ He wanted that midrange that Tony Iommi has that really cuts through”: Reverend Guitars’ founders on their wild signature collabs with Smashing Pumpkins, Vernon Reid and Reeves Gabrels