Gibson Les Paul DC Studio

Made in 1997, bought in 1999.
Two passive humbucking pickups, 3-way switch, 1 volume and 1 tone control.
Wide, thin mahogany neck, at least compared to a Strat. Dot inlays, no binding. (The DC Standard has trapezoids and is bound.) The scale is 24.75", I believe - shorter than a Strat, anyway. The resulting lower string tension makes some things easier to do than on a Strat; bends are really easy.
Two cutaways allow excellent access to all 24 frets. The body is mahogany with a maple cap. The cap has a decent grain pattern, but is clearly not AAA grade. Tapping on the back suggests that tone chambers have been routed into the mahogany, although Gibson's web site doesn't mention this. Wraparound tailpiece (combination tailpiece and bridge, strings not individually adjustable). No pickguard.
Surprisingly light weight for a Les Paul; similar to a Gibson hollow-body.
The finish is sort of Unripemangoburst (officially Heritage Cherry Burst, I think). This model was made in 1997 and 98 and has recently (March 99) been discontinued, according to Gibson.
Not many features compared to some, so I gave it a 6. On the other hand, I don't find the features of this guitar inadequate, other than having some doubts about the tailpiece.

I play mainly blues and related styles.
Even through a small amp (Fender Blues Jr), this guitar approximates a pretty wide range of classic Gibson blues sounds. The bridge pickup can get tones similar to Clapton's on the first Bluesbreaker album. The neck pickup can get close to Otis Rush's 335. Overall, the sound is on the dark side, but the bridge pickup, with tone dialed to 10, gets bright enough for the things that I play.
Having only 1 volume and 1 tone control gives a bit less flexibility, but also makes life a little simpler than does fiddling with 4 dials.

Bought used from the Gibson on-line auction. The action is too low, and on the rubbery side, making it hard to play clean. Some setup work, and a switch from 0.009's to 0.010's, will doubtless help here.
The wraparound tailpiece makes it a bit hard to get intonation correct. (Although it holds tuning, once you get it right, better than I expected.) I will probably switch to a stop tailpiece plus tunomatic one of these days. However, the intonation problem is not bad enough to make this an immediate necessity.
The ends of the frets are pretty rough, and this will need some work.
The finish is fine if you like mangos.

This is a pretty solid guitar, and I expect it will hold up well to use. The plastic tuner buttons are a possible weak point.

I bought it used. However, Gibson's customer relations department answered some questions by e-mail.

I've been playing for 30 years, although I haven't tried out as many guitars as that would suggest.
Overall, I like the DC, and play it quite a bit. Compared to a Gibson ES-125, the DC has much better access to the upper frets and a much slimmer neck, but a similar feel in other ways. It's a bit hard to go back to the stiffer action of a Strat, but sometimes you want a Strat sound. The price of a used one is pretty reasonable, comparable to a used LP Studio. Overall, I think the DC is a keeper, based on its playability and range of usable blues tones.

I live in Yemen. Guitar is good look. Black with lines creemy coloured pick gaurder. Came with no case.

This has very good warm sounds. I have a 1970 Marshall ampliflier. No guitar sounds as better as this.

Many of times hav i had to adjust some tuners. Will no stay in good tune for much longer than a haff a song or to.

This of all guitar sound has good. Only porblem is i cant have it stay tuned. Nowheer to gig.

I bott this swingers new so dont respect to have had any problems.

This guitar player is good for blues. BBKING. Or for bigger like Jimi Hendrix when he playd on Purple. I'm sory to have to sell it to my friend, I am liking to buy a 60 s reissue Stratocaster. Fell bad? I do because allready it was gifted to me.

Mine is a 1997 model made in the USA. It's got a mahogany body (maple top)and neck with a rosewood fingerboard. It's got a pickup selector switch and a volume and tone knob. With only the two knob I find it's less clutered then a regular LP. Mine is jet black with chrome hardware. I've heard a lot of anger towards the wrap around bridge but I've got no complaints. The DC body I find is vey comfortable and light. For what I paid it's a dream come true.

It sounds fantastic, I found it to sound better then most $2000+ LP's. I play everything from SRV to Alice in Chains and it sounds like a million bucks, the humbuckers give the nicest thickest tones. I play through a Marshall valvstate 100 and a Zoom 505 pedal and this LP can mimic any A in C song or Hendrix with perfect accuracy.

When I bought it was in decent shape the action was high the intonation was off, but I fiddled with the bridge and got it exact. I've heard complaints about not being able to adjust the intonation but you can easily with an allen key). The pickups were positioned perfectly. I got the black because I heard bad stuff about the transparent finishes. Sofar it's been great.

I'm starting to play live at some blues jams and sofar it's great, I have no worries about anything screwing up so I would go without a backup.

I've been playing for about 5 years off and on, I own a custom strat that I found used. If it were lost or stolen I'd by another one asap. It's a great value for the money and I'm so glad I got it.

What do we have here? A set-neck real Gibson for about $700 retail. Or maybe a Reed Smith for 70% less, I don't know but can say this is one outstanding guitar (for any money). Previous submissions have described it and praised it except for one who didn't give it the time of day. This is , basically, a 1960 LP special upgraded: that is , it has a maple cap and humbuckers instead of P-90s. I have shown this guitar to younger players who say, "cool Reed Smith, dude". No , this body shape came out in the late 50s. To summarize, this is a Les Paul with a slightly thinner body, double cut, mahogany body, maple cap, set-neck, routed tone chambers so its kind of light for an LP, two humbuckers, volume and tone control, and yes the wraparound tailpiece. Yes you can palm mute with one of these and intonate the guitar properly with heavier guage strings.

Think Les Paul BUT with the ability to produce clear neck position tone (almost Fender-like). In this regard it does the Reed Smith thing very well without sacrificing a good lead tone as a Les Paul should. I use two amps: Reissue Vibrolux Reverb and JCM900 half stack with slant cab/greenback Celestions (Celestions also installed in the Fender). I have loaned this guitar out , let others use it overnight , etc., and no one wants to give it back.

A couple of issues here: from the factory, Gibson installs 9s on most all of their new product. I guess this is for newbies, wannabees or whatever to think the instrument is "easy to play". Bullshit. It robs tone, and in the case of this particular guitar with a wraparound non-adjustable tailpiece, makes it near impossible to intonate. Plus , it will go out of tune quickly. Therefore, replace strings with 10s or 11s, reset the trussrod which is usually not tight enough after being shipped, and guess what? Whole new guitar, not what you played in the store. This is basically a very well made guitar and needs only a little TLC to be truly great. My guitar is cherry sunburst so I replaced the pickup surrounds with cream units, also installed gold vintage knobs and switch tip. Small stuff but gives the instrument a whole new and cool look.

If it holds up as well as older Les Paul Specials or Juniors, I think I will have no real complaints. Beware, this is a set neck Gibson so don't drop it as the headstock will break immediately. These come with a gig bag. Buy a case.

Not needed at this time.

the price mentioned above was an introductory deal, I believe they cost a bit more now (Gibson raised prices regularly, unfortunately). Overall, this is a true 10 plus. Looks good, plays good, excellent neck profile for me, strong pickups, and TONS OF TONE for $700? Are you kidding? I predict this guitar will either be discontinued or become relatively expensive. The word is out and there are players using these. Please keep in mind if you go to you neighborhood shop and play one out of the box it may be set up fairly well but if you take the time to simply put heavier strings on it and tweak the neck you will be truly amazed at what comes out. This is a great guitar.

I bought this one for the features: Beautiful solid maple body, 24 frets, arched top, simple pick-up/tone controls, mahogony neck, beautiful though dark finish on the body. The finish work on the neck joint left a lot to be desired - paint imperfections, splotches. The biggest dissapointment with this insturment is the tail piece. This wrap around design gives the musician the ability to control intination only by moving the entire piece, thereby affecting the intination of each string simultaneously (as you may know the B string needs more string length to sound correctly everywhere along the fingerboard.) I could not - nor the shop I bought this instrument from, nor guitar friends - get the intination exact. A minor point - I think not.

With the inability to intinate the instrument, bar cords - as opposed to open cords - were not in tune. Who care about the amp if the instrument will not tune?

Deep, Dark burgundy red finish did not show much grain, which I think is done on purpose - consider the price point.

I didn't keep it long enough to show wear.

The dealer was very understanding of the concerns I had with this instrument. He allowed me to try different instruments before deciding on exchanging the LP DC Studio for a Martin D-28. WOW!!!

I've played on and off for years. I own a Martin D-28, a American standard Strat, a Guild dreadnaught, A baby Ovation and an Ibanez AE-18 double cut electric/acoustic. I still love the style of the LP DC's. But, in my opinion, save your money and get the LP DC Standard. The differences are astonishing: a correct bridge/tail piece, and beautiful wood that's not painted into obscurity. That instrument is definately in my future

the 24 frets is nice, and the standard les paul pickups are good, but i'm thinking of replacing them with Seymour Duncans. My is the ruby red - it looks sorta like a wine color inside, but in bright sun it starts reflecting light and it looks awesome! the bridge is a wrap-around, which could be better (the tune-o-matic on the standard), but everything else is really nice - the tuners haven't given me any problems, the double cutaway is ESSENTIAL now- if i ever bought another guitar it would only be a DC standard. the neck has a nice feel, and the wood gives a nice tone. I would like the standard les paul 2 volumes/2tones tho... it sorta limits live performance

I play anything from jazz to hardcore, and the dc studio is great. it's got awesome bass tone, good mid-range, and the treble is perfect. I use it with a Peavey transtube model (bandit 112s), and the sound is rich and full, but at the same time with the treble boosted it sounds more like a tele. the humbuckers cut down noise alot, and the pickup config gives you a good variety of sound, and you can get almost any sound out of it you want - from jangly 70's rock to Minor Threat.

The set up from the factory was ok. a really high action, which just makes me play better. the intonation is almost perfect, but still, the fixed bridge means it's hard to adjust. the finish is nice, but you need to give it a good polish every now and then - fingerprints stick, which isn't a big problem, but when you're playing outside in the sunshine, you want it as shiny as can be. the wood is a good quality, and even though it's not flamed, it has a fairly nice pattern.

great for live or rehearsing, AWESOME for recording. the finish is sturdy, and the hardware is gonna last and last and last. I wouldn't use ANY other guitar ('cept maybe the DC standard if i had the $$)... i wouldn't even consider a backup axe.

haven't dealt with them, but ppl say gison is friendly, and my warranty lasts for 3 years. what the heck, i'll give it a 10.

After having this axe for 6 months, i made a sacred pledge that i'd never part with it. that good enough? sure, a few things could be better, but really only the two knobs and the fixed bridge suck. and they're not really hassles, just lack of features that aren't essential.

My guitar was made, i don't know when, but in the U.S. of A. It's got 24 frets, Mahogony bottom and maple top, and mahogony neck with a rosewood fingerboard. Two gibson made 490R and 496T humbuckers with one volume and one tone control, and one three way toggle switch, pasive electronics, a 24 3/4 inch scale, a wraparound bridge and lots of other good stuff. Mine came with a sunburst. It didn't really come with much because i got it used. However, Victor's threw in a Gibson, Les Paul Hardshell case that smells funny and a sam ash gig bag for $10. Pretty good deal, eh? In other words, i got just what need and i think it's great.

hell, i play everything from blues to Metal. I use it with a fender princeton 122 plus and it is just awesome. I can acheive something that closely resembles the "brown" sound on my amp and many other tones that don't sound horrid and harsh. I can turn my amp up loud and not get a horrible peircing sound. Instead, i get a hella cool sound. Whether it's clean or distorted, i love the tones. There are so many tones for everything that i do. Everything about this guitar is just so great. I especially like the feel of the neck. i think it deserves nothing but praise.

It's great. I string it with 10's, which gives it a nice feel. The pickups are great, and everything about the guitar it great. It stays in tune, which is deserves some merit. However, when the strings get old, the high e string loses the intonation (and you cant change that on a wraparound bridge!) However, i like new strings more than the old strings and 10's last a lot longer than the standard 9's. I hate 9's.

Yes, this guitar withstands live playing. It's great live. I used it without a backup, pretty much because i don't have one. Since i got it used, it came with straplocks built in. The previous owner didn't put them on very tightly, but it holds on good and get's the job done. It's very dependable.

n/a

Great guitar. Great everything. It's just unbelievable. I probably wont need another guitar for a long time.

2 Humbuckers,1 tone, 1 volume, 3 way selecter. 2 tones 2 volumes would have been nice like on the original les paul's. Has a wrap around bridge which i actually really like, although the standard tune-o-matic would have been quite nice this bride i find has an aquired feel to it. the body is made out of mahogony (i cant spell so sorry) with a maple top. The neck is made of mahogony also. Very nice craftsmanship and finish. Beautiful heritage cherry sunburst colour. Body is basicly a les paul with an extra cut away. Have a feeling that the pickups are closer together though. Vey reliable tuners. Not a small neck but one i find really easy to play. It has 24 frets all about medium size. Very nice hard case included as well.

I play soft rock to metal (weid eh?) Most people would say this guitar is not suited to my style but thats not true. This is the most expressive and alive instruments i have ever played on. It has a very rich tone. Very very deep and not in the slightest bit harsh like cheaper guitars or strats. Not noisy at all perfect clean and esprcially distorted. I only really use distortion and wah as effects and they both soud so wonderful i cant contain my emotions when i hear them. The guitar is perfect for rock like the Pumpkins or soundgarden. It is also awesome to Metallica etc. Not the range i was expecting when i got it. I had a feeling it was more suited to jazz or blues but it can really sing to anything if played right. The pickup while not of very high output are so much more than my old Jackson PS-4 that i get so much more gain etc. its amazing to compare two guitars on both ends of the price range and hear the difference.

Action was a bit high for my tastes for a start so i got it lowered. This effected the tone alot for the wore because of the pickups being closer to the strings. After adjusting them to my taste the action and tone rule supreme in guitar land. definatly not suited to shredders and shit because its just not made for that (altough it can be made to sound like it!) Wrap around bridge is not really suitable for those palm muted riffs of metallica etc but again i suppose it is made for that stuff any way. I like it all the same, it really is easy to play. when i got the guitar i looked at the bridge and doubted its suitability to my playing style (picking really near bridge, palm muting etc) but after weighing it up i found it really very comfortable and easy. Very good finish although it had a few dings in it from freight i think. very good paint job. very good and reliable hardware and tuning pegs.

i estimate a very long life for this guitar as i take very good care of it. Wood i think is very prone to dings as it is quite soft i think. everything i think though is good enough to last the distance. i would definatly play at a gig with it without a backup.

love it. Best instument i have heard. I have tryed millions of guitars and this one just stands out. I love everything on this guitar with exception to maybe the bridge. But as i said before it has an aquired feel that just grows on me. Small price to pay. Compared to other les pauls, sg's , stats etc but none other comepare. playing is so much more pun now

Made in the USA by Gibson, with a two octave fretboard and easy access cutaways. It has a mahogany body with a maple top. It is basically a Les Paul with an extra cutaway where the selector switch would be. It looks real classy. There is a tummy cut and a partially hollowed interior which gives it a real mellow feel when played clean. The neck is mahogany with a rosewood fretboard. Simple controls- one volume and one tone. The standard passive Gibbie humbuckers have nickel covers. The 490r humbucker in the neck is nice and mellow and the 469t at the bridge position has a nice growl to it. The tuners are Gibsons with the green knobs.
Now here's my problem-the bridge. It is a stopbar tailpiece and that's it. This causes some weird buzzing sometimes. I am going to look into replacing it.

I play blues mostly and this guitar sings. It has a very full sound and is quiet. I play it through a Marshall Valvestate, which in my opinion has pretty flat clean channel. So I don't use it very often. When played through the dirty channel this guitar really gets to strut its stuff. You can even put it in the neck position with the treble rolled off and get a nice jazzy sound. I am getting a tube amp soon and can't wait to hear how this Les Paul sounds throught that.

The action is the best I've played with. I used to have an Epi Les Paul which I thought was nice. But this guitar has a much better feel. There are some minor cosmetic flaws, but its the least expensive real Les Paul you can get. The finish job where the side fret markers are could be better. Also the finish isn't perfect where the bridge routs are. But none of these take away from the sound. So when I have few grand I'll get the DC Pro. My guitar has the wine red finish which looks real nice with the rosewood fingerboard.

This guitar seems pretty dependable. The selector switch needed to be replaced, but that because I turned it around to make it more like a Strat. I have worn the finish down with some pick scratches. I would definitley play it live without a backup. The electronics are nice and simple so you don't need to worry about that.

It has a lifetime warranty. I haven't had to talk to Gibson. I brought it into Guitar center because of the selector switch. They ordered a new one and replaced it while I waited.

I have been playing for four years. I have a Strat and a Tele. I wanted a real Les Paul with humbuckers but I also liked the look of the double cut Hamers. Then this guitar came out. It has the best of both worlds. My one problem is the bridge. I kind of wish it had a tune-a-matic bridge.

24 Frets,wrap around bridge,hollow chambers,mohogany back and neck, mable top,chrome covered humbuckers,1 vol,1 tone,3 way toggle,pretty close to your average gibson solid body.

Good alternative to a PRS for alot less money, I was trying to get my hands on a used PRS,but could'nt even afford that.(House,kids,wife... you know the story). My buddy plays one in his band and I've used it. they are great,but the price,whoa!!! I've been playing a '76 Les Paul Standard for 3 years,strat player before that for 11 years. the Standard is f***ing heavy on your back,but has a great sound with distortion. The strat is much lighter and sounds great,but is thinner than old Les. Then comes the Gibson DC.Sounds like both Les Paul and Strat,but is lighter than any strat i've ever owned,i've owned 3 plus 2 telecasters as well.I can get more clarity in the neck pickup than i've gotten on any neck h.b. before. The bridge p.u. sounds great too,but i'm thinking about changing it for something with a little less gain,though it does clear up when rolling the vol. knob,so maybe not. Also I love the wrap around bridge, it's comfortable and simple,yet to my surprize, it keeps better intonation than the tune-o-matic on my '76 Paul.Yea, I like it.

I haven't played with the intonation,neck relief,string gauge or p.u. hieght since I bought it.That baffles me,because its usually the first thing I have to do when I get it home. No flaws on mine, I know the guy that runs the shop,he won't sell me crappy stuff.

Guitar seems as solid as any others I've used live,but the only parts I worry about are the plastic tuning pegs,why do they do that!!!! Nostalgia my ass.(did I spell that right?)Anyway I have some good sperzels on hand if they ever die.By the way, all factory strap buttons suck,ya know what I mean.Strap locks or Those wing shaped buttons from Stewart-McDonald are the way to go. Never use without backup because strings do break.

never did it,always used a local shop

Been playing since 1978,got some marshalls i'm getting rid of,playing those and a peavey classic 50 head through a straight marshall cab. Got a couple newer Les Pauls hanging around,and a tele or two.Lots of pedals.As for the guitar,I would buy it again,it's light,it sounds like my buddy's PRS enough that for the money I can't complain at all,plus I love the fact that it is still Gibson scale,unlike those shitty nighthawks. To anyone who has thought about one of these,I say definitely give them a try. I was not going to go to a gibson again,but I just casually picked this one off of the wall while waiting for a pack of strings and I left the shop with it.