Limited to 100 pieces, the guitar is the only Les Paul Special ever to feature a nitrocellulose black finish and gold hardware
(Image credit: School of Rock)
School of Rock – a Philadelphia-born, now-international school for music education – has partnered with Gibson for a limited-edition Les Paul Special electric guitar.
Available exclusively to School of Rock students, the guitar – of which only 100 have been made – boasts a solid mahogany body and neck with a glossy black nitrocellulose finish and gold hardware – both unique features on a Les Paul Special – as well as a cream-bound rosewood fingerboard and wraparound stoptail bridge chosen for “the best intonation possible”.
Other features include uniquely numbered backplate, four-ply black pickguard, vintage '50s-style “button” tuning machines and P-90 pickups with hand-wired orange drop capacitors. Additionally, each guitar comes with a hardshell case.
As School of Rock explain, the idea is for the Les Paul Special not only to be a student's first guitar, but their “first forever guitar”.
“At School of Rock we aim to instill in our students a musical passion that will last a lifetime,” says Elliot Baldini, School of Rock's Chief Marketing Officer. “We designed this guitar to be part of that journey – something they will cherish the rest of their lives.
“This vintage-inspired guitar pays homage to the history of rock and other music styles such as blues, reggae and pop. These timeless genres are the foundation of School of Rock's patented curriculum.”
“We want this guitar to not only inspire our students, but to also help make gear and music education more accessible to new musicians.” Baldini adds.
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(Image credit: School of Rock)
100 percent of the profits from the sale of the guitar will go towards Save the Music, a key partner of Gibson's charitable branch Gibson Gives that aims to help students, schools and communities reach their full potential through the power of making music.
Says Henry Donahue, Executive Director of Save the Music: “[We] share the belief that when young people have the opportunity to make music, they start a journey that benefits them for a lifetime – in terms of both the creative outlet and the life skills that come with learning an instrument.”
“We can't wait to hear the music that comes out of this project from the School of Rock and Save the Music communities.”
(Image credit: School of Rock)
“It's exciting to evolve out collaboration with School of Rock with the introduction of the School of Rock Limited Edition Les Paul Special guitar,” adds Cesar Gueikian, Gibson's Brand President.
“We have been working on this project for over a year, during which our Gibson Lab team led by Mat Koehler, with Elliot Baldini, [School of Rock CEO] Rob Price and the group from School of Rock designed a versatile Les Paul Special that combines vintage features with modern concepts and looks badass!”
Unfortunately, the Gibson School of Rock Limited Edition Les Paul Special has already sold out, probably because it's one of the best-looking LPs we've seen in recent months. We're hoping more will become available, and to the general public this time, too.
Sam was Staff Writer at GuitarWorld.com from 2019 to 2023, and also created content for Total Guitar, Guitarist and Guitar Player. He has well over 15 years of guitar playing under his belt, as well as a degree in Music Technology (Mixing and Mastering). He's a metalhead through and through, but has a thorough appreciation for all genres of music. In his spare time, Sam creates point-of-view guitar lesson videos on YouTube under the name Sightline Guitar.
