2010 Gibson Les Paul Chad Kroeger Blackwater Signature Guitar Review + Demo

While the frontman for Nickelback, Chad Kroeger, is mainly known for playing PRS guitars, Gibson gave him his own signature Les Paul in a limited edition release. Chad likes to play Gibson acoustics, so he essentially had them build an acoustic Les Paul with a built-in ghost Piezo system. This guitar is really bright sounding and fits in a category all on its own.

Become a Patron to Support Trogly's:   / trogly  
Like us on FB for Updates / Messaging: www.facebook.com/troglys
Current Inventory: https://reverb.com/shop/troglys
Email for Business Inquiries: [email protected]
Music Credits: Bensound.com + iMovie Stock

The Case...
Chad's signature guitar comes in its original Gibson USA case. Unfortunately, Mr. Kroeger's guitar didn't come with an extra special case like some signature models do, but this black exterior with white interior case definitely does the job. It shows some wear and tear in the form of tolex scratches and chips, but overall, it still does its job. The handle shows some wear, but is currently functioning as are all of the latches. The white interior is in great shape and is free from foul odors. It protects the guitar well and does its job. Some of the original paper work is also inside of the case. Gibson did not issue COAs for this run of guitars since they were made in the USA line - not the Custom Shop.

The Guitar!

This was a limited edition guitar, but the sources seem mixed. I've seen 200, 400 and 600 quoted as to how many of these were made, but there definitely aren't too many of these around and they don't show up for sale that often. This one has replaced tuners that are a similar Grover Style Tuner but with Kluson like tips. It could be possible just the tips were changed, but the original tips/tuners are not present. The strap buttons were swapped out for Schaller Strap buttons.

What makes this guitar special is its beautiful translucent ebony finish that reveals an insane flame top underneath. It has a Ghost Piezo system installed at the factory. What this is, is essentially an acoustic pickup that is hooked up to your bridge saddles. This gives you realistic Acoustic tones that are definitely usable. This is basically a perfect coffee house / open mic night guitar if you love to play your Les Paul, but need acoustic sounds. You can blend the Piezo with the regular 490R and 498T pickups as well for unlimited combinations. It's also possible to purchase a Y-splitter cord to send the Piezo sound to a separate amp and the traditional humbuckers to another. It's really quite the versatile guitar, but it is definitely bright sounding in all positions and therefor, not a guitar for everyone. The Piezo requires a 9V battery to function and there is some damage to the battery compartment 'door.' This guitar is chambered which makes it really lightweight as well. There are also large stars below the dot side markers on the neck. Chad put those there to help you see the markers at dimly light gigs. Chad also changed up the wiring for this guitar - The Neck Volume and Bridge Volume have been reversed per his design and the traditional bridge tone control is now a master tone for the humbucking pickups and the tradition tone for the neck pickup is now the volume control for the Piezo. The rest of the guitar is pretty much standard.

The face of the headstock shows some string change wear and a few light nicks/dings. The frets show some wear, but are currently playable and do not need work. The frets were polished, the rosewood fretboard was conditioned and a new set of 10s were just strung on the guitar.

The face of the body is in good shape. There are some very minor dings and polishing and picking scratches all around, but nothing that really takes away from the overall look of the guitar. The poker chip has scratches on it. Everything functions the way it should.

The back of the guitar is all black, so as well all black guitars - it will show EVERYTHING from the faintest scratch to the smallest dings. The back of the headstock shows some light wear and scratches, but it is free from breaks, cracks or repairs. The back of the neck has a very tiny touchup area that I still don't even see unless the guitar is viewed under blacklight. The back of the guitar has lots of scratches and buckle wear though the bright lights in the photos make them more prominent than they usually appear. The sides have some light dings and scratches as well.
Affiliate Links are found in this description + comments section - clicking and purchasing items from partners will help financially support the show.