At School of Rock, we aim to instill in our students a musical passion that will last a lifetime. The specific guitar a musician plays is part of this lifelong musical journey. It’s the vehicle by which their unique voice is expressed and heard. With partnership from Gibson, we have created a unique, vintage-inspired instrument that pays homage to the history of rock and other music genres such as blues, reggae and pop. Introducing the School of Rock Limited Edition Gibson Les Paul Special. It's an American-made signature guitar students will cherish their entire lives. It's not intended to be a student's first guitar, but instead designed to be his or her first FOREVER guitar. Plus, School of Rock is donating 100% of all profits from the sale of these guitars to Save The Music, a non-profit foundation that helps students, schools and communities gain access to music instruments and music education. 

The Les Paul Special was first introduced by Gibson in 1955 and quickly became a magical and versatile workhorse for many famous musicians. John Lennon was one of the first adopters of the Les Paul Special. Shortly after that, British Punk bands of the 70s noticed the unique tonal characteristics of the guitar’s P-90 pickups. Combined with the set-neck and solid mahogany body, the Les Paul Special had a tone perfectly suited for rock music. The guitar’s sound was rich, full and had a natural breakup, or crunch, when paired with an overdriven tube amp. More musicians began picking up the Les Paul Special over the years. Bob Marley, Johnny Marr of the Smiths, Carlos Santana, Billie Joe Armstrong, Sheryl Crow, members of Stone Temple Pilots and Sonic Youth would go on to use a Les Paul Special throughout their careers. The Gibson Les Paul Special is embedded into the music School of Rock uses as the foundation for our curriculum. What better way to pay homage to these genres than to create a signature guitar based on an instrument critical to the music’s history? 

First introduced by Gibson in the 1950s, P-90 pickups offer an iconic tone. They are bright, thick, and able to stand out in any band’s mix. The real magic happens as players turn down the volume knob. The pickups respond by pulling back on their grit and offering a cleaner and smoother tone. And, when pushing up the volume of an amp, the P-90s offer a natural tonal “breakup” saturation associated with those classic rock guitar tones. Watch the demo below to hear the P-90 pickups come to life. 

Just like the original Les Paul Special, the School of Rock Limited Edition Gibson Les Paul Special’s body and neck are made from solid mahogany. A hard, tonewood known for its resonance. The rosewood fretboard is surrounded by a cream binding that provides a classic, vintage aesthetic, and the headstock features a pearl Gibson logo inlayed into a thin slab of cherry. 

One of the most special elements of this guitar is the bridge. Its wraparound stoptail bridge focuses string vibrations directly into the body, which helps capture the natural tonal resonance of the solid mahogany body. You can actually feel the string resonance as you play the guitar. Additionally, the guitar’s bridge is compensated. We added a small inflection ridge along the bridge’s top edge, resulting in much more accurate intonation. This means the guitar will sound more in tune compared to non-compensated bridges. This feature isn’t available anywhere else. 

Gibson first introduced their Les Paul Custom model in black, an aesthetic Les Paul himself referred to as being inspired by a “black tuxedo”. However, large-scale production of black Les Paul Specials has been infrequent since the model's launch in the ‘50s. With partnership from Gibson, we’re bringing this classic color to the Les Paul Special for this limited edition guitar. The guitar is finished with a glossy nitrocellulose lacquer, the  same type of lacquer used in the ‘50s. A “nitro” finish is a special thing. It’s classic, vintage and will age with the guitar as students carry it throughout their musical journey. Most importantly, a nitro finish is extremely thin, which maximizes the natural resonance of the mahogany body. You can always tell a nitrocellulose finish because it has a unique sweetness to its smell.  

The School of Rock Gibson Les Paul Special is a limited edition. At this time we are producing only 100 of these amazing guitars. To commemorate this special series, each guitar comes with a backplate recognizing it as being one of one hundred units, making it an instant collectible. The guitar is only available for purchase to School of Rock students, parents and staff. 

We’ve paired the black body with all gold hardware, a feature that is very rare among Gibson USA guitars. Combined with the 4-ply, black and white pickguard, this guitar has a faint touch of Les Paul’s “black tuxedo” design aesthetic, and this color combination can’t be found on any other Gibson Les Paul Specials produced today.  The truss rod cover features the iconic School of Rock "Batwing" icon. A blank truss rod cover is also included in the case. 

The School of Rock Limited Edition Gibson Les Paul Special comes with a vintage-inspired hardshell case, guitar strap, extra blank truss rod cover, and an extra red tortoise shell pickguard. 

Feature Comparison With Other Gibson Guitar Models

The School of Rock Limited Edition Gibson Les Paul Special was designed to be our students’ first forever guitar, but many young musicians can’t afford the gear they need. We want to help. School of Rock is donating 100% of all profits from the sale of these guitars to Save The Music, a non-profit foundation that helps students, schools and communities gain access to music instruments and music education. Both School of Rock and Gibson want this guitar to help not only inspire students, but also provide opportunities for new musicians to have access to music gear and music education.