The last few days had been pretty fruitful. I snagged two $100 Squiers in the 2024 Squier Debut Stratocaster and the 2021 Squier Stratocaster HSS. They are both very good budget guitars, especially the Debut whose satin dakota red finish makes her look very appealing. And surprisingly both sound very good for that price point. The lauren fretboard on the Debut looks dark like rosewood. Honestly, she is tempting me to keep her with future mods on the pickups.
Before today, I had been wanting to replace my decent budget guitar, the Cort Spectrum. She looks cool, sounds good, sports split coil and locking tuners. And her matching headstock with the metallic green is killer. However, the bonding is missing. I was scouting for guitars at similar price range. There was a Fender Duo-Sonic, a Revelation RJT-60 and a FGN Mythic. I almost wanted to go for the Japanese latter. However, I decided to wait on the advice of someone.
Then, this left-handed guitar appeared in the horizon at a very attractive list price. She’s a 2012 Gibson Les Paul Studio ’70s Tribute in silverburst with mini humbuckers. I placed my offer and the rest is history. I still had to put her through the paces with Green Movement and Love Notes.
And though she had an underwhelming start to the test, she opened up with the help of the Kasleder House of Blues. And somehow the song that came to my mind and my hands on this silverburst guitar was Tom Petty’s Free Fallin’. It was such a rock solid jam session that lasted 10 minutes. She aced the first test.
The second test came when the Tribute played at Love Notes. Her mini humbuckers needed a little help from the Boost Killer. Then, she sang through the Mimic I and the Cool Cat Trem. Man, she sounded fierce and authoritative, especially from her neck pickup. It was such a joy hearing her sing Free Fallin’ in E major again. Then, I played the original Free Fallin’ on spotify where the song is in F major. I followed suit and the Tribute maintained her fluency.
She wasn’t supposed to happen. Just a search for a humble replacement for the Spectrum led me to her – a lefty Les Paul Tribute in road-worn silverburst, picked up for a mind-bending four hundred. I found myself playing Free Fallin’, and the name stuck.
She gave off a vibe of no rules, just freedom to express and create. A chunkier, heavier body that pulled close to me. A flipped control layout under my arm that made me play differently, but she fit. She may be a studio model, but her voice and feel put her in the same league as the legends (I prefer her to the 2008 Les Paul Standard). She’s not just a budget win – she’s a revelation.
She’s “Free” – the 2012 Gibson Les Paul Studio ’70s Tribute.