Distinguished as one of the most savage players in all of rock, Zakk Wylde has made his mark on everything from the tours and recordings of Ozzy Osbourne, to his own Black Label Society, to a wide range of solo outings and collaborations. Throughout it all, his outlandish style has been every bit as distinctive as his searing solos and eviscerating tone—as witnessed once again on the Zakk Wylde Vertigo Les Paul. High on personality and loaded with tone, this new guitar from Gibson USA exhibits a playful new twist on Zakk’s trademark “bullseye” graphics, with a vertigo-inducing “twisted bullseye” that creates an optical illusion that’s nearly as powerful as the music that you’ll make with it. The Zakk Wylde Vertigo Les Paul features all the traditional tonewoods and craftsmanship that have made the Les Paul a legend, along with Zakk’s preferred specs for optimum playability, and his choice of kicking EMG™ active humbucking pickups for unparalleled output and sustain.
To craft the body of the Zakk Wylde Vertigo Les Paul, Gibson USA starts with the timeless pairing of a solid Grade-A maple top and a mahogany back, which work together to blend sonic depth, richness and clarity. The mahogany body uses traditional weight relief which retains resonance while reducing overall weight. A solid one-piece, quarter-sawn Grade-A maple neck is glued in with a traditional mortis & tenon joint, and carved to measure .818” at the 1st fret and .963” at the 12th. It is finished in natural satin for a comfortable, played-in feel, and topped with a Grade-A maple fingerboard with Zakk’s preferred custom fret wire. In addition to the striking Vertigo graphic atop a natural finish, and the back’s contrasting Ebony Black finish—all in genuine nitrocellulose lacquer—the Zakk Wylde Vertigo Les Paul carries several Custom-style appointments such as 7-ply top binding, 5-ply back binding, multi-bound headstock with acrylic inlays. Furthermore, the back of the headstock displays a black Zakk silhouette decal, and the entire run will have a unique sequential serial numbering from “ZWVTO 001” on up.
The Zakk Wylde Vertigo Les Paul is powered by Zakk’s choice of an EMG-85™ humbucker in the neck and an EMG-81™ humbucker in the bridge, partnered by independent volume and tone controls for each, and a three-way selector switch. These active humbuckers are the first choice of many thrash, shred and metal players, and they yield unparalleled output and sustain for utterly demolishing neck pickup tones and incendiery bridge tones, yet with impressive clarity and a frequency response unmatched by any other pickup available. It all stays locked and loaded in the hardware department with the classic pairing of Tune-o-matic bridge and stopbar tailpiece, along with a set of high-quality Grover™ tuners with kidney buttons.
Each guitar comes protected in a plush-lined hardshell case with black exterior, and includes owner’s manual and adjustment literature.
Mahogany body with Vertigo "Bullseye" Maple top
Mahogany neck with Zakk's rounded profile
EMG-85™ and EMG-81™ active humbucking pickups in the neck and bridge
Tune-o-matic bridge and stopbar tailpiece
Grover™ kidney tuners with 14:1 tuning ratio