From the serial number my red Gibby les paul studio gem was made in 1996. Mine is ruby red in color, made in the USA, standard 22 frets, maple top mahogany back body, rosewood fretboard, gibson tuners, and two P90 pickups.

The gold hardware sucks, it corrodes easily, so I threw it all out and replaced it with chrome which looks far better and more subtle.

I play old school blues rock, a bit of rock and roll and loads of Black sabbath and zep style hard rock. My sound chain is pretty simple, the guitar goes through an overdrive, an echo pedal and an eq, sometimes a wah, chorus or compressor when needed. I play at home through a fender G-Dec and a Squier (yeah go ahead, flame me!) which works very well for the sort of music I play, and for practice and gigs through a variety of amps, mostly Bogner and Marshall stacks.

The stock pickups are very hot and raunchy, excellent for overdriving and produces a perfect hard rock tone. They also do very nicely for old school swing, funk, and jazz. I swapped them out and put in a set of Rio grande P90's which made it sound just the way I wanted it.

Now the sound is perfectly matched to my effects and gigging amps. I get slightly less mids but a more balanced sound overall, with tight bass and clearly articulated first and second strings. It sounds beautiful, clean and driven.

Having played a number of Gibsons, and other Les pauls from Burny (very creamy and smooth), Tokai (vintage sounding), etc, I can safely say that this LP studio gem is truly a hidden gem, value for money and 100% Gibson sound.

I've had this for ages, it works well for me.

Never had a single problem with this.

Never used.

Superb sound, reliability and value for money. I don't regret for a moment having bought this.

I have in my hands a nice blue "sapphire" LP studio gem. Specs are found in others descriptions so I wont repeat that. From the serial number, mine was made in 1996. Standard LP features, 3-way switch, individual vol/tone controls and P90 pickups instead of humbuckers.

This is really a gem. It resonates beautifully when played, it sounds great unplugged, and destroys the competition when you plug in to your marshall and crank it way up. Yeah the P90's sound different from standard burstbuckers or the other humbuckers, but the tonality is rich and complex.

Since I already have a BFG with a humbucker, I was not looking for a heavy-metal noise maker here, so I replaced the pickups with wolfetones from Wolfe McLeod - I used the mean and meaner combination for the neck and bridge. To my ears this combo sounds a lot better balanced in terms of output levels, and the sound quality is more subtle, bluesy and sweet, though it still has plenty of punch and growl on tap when pumped through some dirt pedals and a booster.

Thanks to the P90s the range of music I can play with this is much greater than what I can handle with a stock les paul or a (yucks) strat. If I really need that single coil tone, I dial down the gain, open up the tone and voila, there you are. If I want thick creamy fuzzy distortion like Zeppelin, I kick in my skreddy mayo, throw in a compressor and we're done. At a pinch, I've even done some heavy metal with this baby, through a compressor, an AMT dirt pedal, a chorus and a delay.

With the gain set high, the harmonics really scream. With a little sweetness from a blues driver or mild od, it is a perfect blues axe. Anywhere in between gets you classic Zeppelin, AC-DC tones.

This is really a rare gem, and the sound is 100% Gibson les paul.

Mine is an old and well used guitar from 1996. I got it through a friend's friend's friend, second hand. It did need some adjustment, the intonation was all off, the action was too high, and the truss rod was way loose - almost all the way out. After a setup, it's just fine.

This is as solid as they get. I haven't been let down by this guitar so far. I always carry a backup, but I am sure this axe can handle anything.

Are you joking? This axe is 12 years old and god knows how much abuse it has taken.

This is truly a superb bargain, a sound champ and a tone king and an all round very versatile axe and all Les Paul. I will never sell mine, they'll have to pry it out of my cold dead hands. I've wasted too much time on cheap and not-so-cheap clones from Epiphone, Tokai, etc, and they are all put to shame by this beast.

As someone else said, the gaudy gold hardware is the only negative about this otherwise beautiful guitar. Wish it were steel or black. Maybe I'll change them.

Mine is a dark maroon-ish coloured piece, specs are the same as the others here, with mahogany/maple body, 22 frets rosewood stock, and gold coloured hardware. Pickups are P90 single coils.

I have been searching for just this tone for a long time now. The tone is just perfect for old school hard rock Led zep or AC/DC style. This guitar absolutely nails Angus Young's tone and does an excellent job with Jimmy Page stuff. With the gain rolled down, it does really good cleans for rhythm, and the sound is not as compressed as a true humbucker, you can still hear the complex textures and tones which places this sort of between the humbucker and single coils, a perfect setup.

Of course this gets noisy when you crank up your death metal distortion to 11, it's a single coil after all, so as long as you don't use insane gain, you're good to gig.

I use it with a couple of overdrive pedals and maybe a compressor and a chorus depending on the song. For practice we go through a JCM800 or a smaller Laney 30w unit.

As someone else has said, the neck pickup was not that nice sounding, it was a bit too muddy/woody and lacked bite. I changed this to a Lollar bridge P90 and it is now perfectly matched with the stock bridge pickup. This combination also gives me an excellent versatility in tone, with the neck pickup for blues and more strat-like tones, and the bridge for ledzep and AC/DC type tones.

I bought mine used, probably third- or fourth-hand by the looks of it. The guitar was a mess. The fretboard appeared warped, but it turned out that the previous owner had gone mad with the truss rod and damn near spoiled it. I got this attended to and the action is just nice now. Mine had a serious case of belt buckle rash, but that's carelessness on the part of the previous idiot owner.

As for the electronics, they were just fine, and the tuners are still good to go. However the gold coloured finish looked like the diseased greenish stuff you might find at the bottom of a sewage treatment plant. I use this guitar in a humid part of the world, and this gold hardware just can't deal with it. I had to throw out the bridge.

They should simply use hardware which will hold up with time, as well as the guitar itself does.

And to some who complain about warping in humid weather, I have not faced a single problem so far, in 5-6 years of use. As long as you keep playing it and look after it, this will serve you well. Of course if you throw it in your closet for 6 years in a hot humid country, don't expect miracles.

I guess this guitar has withstood all I've had to offer it. We've done several gigs with it. The hardware seems like it's been through multiple world wars and it's still working. The finish must have been good at some time, when the fourth or fifth owner wasn't bashing it around, it looks worn now but still doesn't seem like it'll give up on me.

Strap buttons are my pet peeve. They're just too dang small. Why? Fender strap buttons are so much more practical. Was gibson trying to save cost or something stupid like that?

What customer support? I don't even know how many owners this has had and how old it is!

I am giving this a 10 because of the cheap price I got this for, and how nicely it plays compared to more expensive models. I use another Gibson LP standard, and more often than not I reach for this gem for the sheer versatility of the P90/single-coil/hb tones I get out of this.

What do I hate about this? The faux gold hardware which absolutely shits itself in humid weather. I wish it had better strap lugs.

Ruby coulour, nice. I'd hesitate to call it "Birdseye" maple, due to being almost uniform, quite plain. Vomit green "Classic" tuners. You all know what they look like. Bit difficult to give it high marks for feaures, 'cos it doesn't have many. But it doesn't need them, and I like things simple in life. Wood quality probably good due to the weight!

I play mainly hard/heavy/Classic rock. Covers it all very well. P90s are my favourite pickups for tone. I don't like normal single coils and Humbuckers don't have quite the richness, texture, subtlety or clarity of P90s. Used to play more blues, because of the band I was in, and it excells as a blues axe.
Wide variety of sounds, rich neck sounds, biting bridge sounds and a nice, chimey sound with both pickups. Good clean sounds and you can get brutal on the overdrive! I say you CAN play metal on this (I do) you just need a good amp. I use an ENGL screamer and although you won't sound like your using Humbuckers, the raw edge of the P90s actually gives you a more agressive sound. It lacks the power of my Hamer special (with P90s) and that's probably due to the Seymour Duncans and superior hardware that Hamer employs. The pickups could do with just touch more power and grunt.

Was badly set up when I got it, but it had been shipped from the UK to Germany. No problem to adjust it to my liking. I like the neck on this, very easy to do bends and vibrato. The bridge is solid and the nut fine. Actually, the fit and finish is way above normal Gibson quality from this period, which was utter crap. Pick up a full price Les Paul from Early 90's up until a few years ago and you'll see what I mean. However, only the front of mine is red and the neck, back and sides appear to have been coated in tar! The black lacquer is sticky which means sliding up and down the neck can be annoying.

When I got it, the Treble pot on the bridge was stuck at 10, had to replace that. The gold colouring is fading (no surprise) but actually wearing off quite evenly and is not corroding or pitting, which IS a surprise! Strap buttons replaced, of course, WAKE UP GIBSON!
I've never experienced ANYBODY having a guitar die on them at a gig, so I think the question is irrelevant. I wouldn't use this (personally) as my main guitar, because I prefer my Hamer. But for those whose main guitar this is, sure no problem. I always have a backup 'Cos I keep busting strings!

Bing in Europe, you have a problem you see the dealer.

Been playing far too long for the (lack of!) ability I have: 20 years. I have 2 westones, a PRS CE22 and a Hamer Special with P90s. It's a good guitar and plays well, but I wouldn't replace it as my Hamer gets played more. If I lost the Hamer, I would play this more often. But I'd upgrade the pickups.

The Gem I own , I bought in 96. It is the ruby colored one and has the same specs as all the rest.

The sound is very versitile, I have been in Ska bands to Metal bands and it has worked flawlessly, i disagree with the people who say you can't play metal with it it sounds wayy better than my ibenez rg-6. I play with an Ampeg 2-12" 140w combo and it screams, especially with the wah. it can however be noisey at high gain but small price to pay for such a great sound.

I love everything about the guitarno complaints

This guitar will gig with the best, i have a back up but never use it, hardware will wear but who cares? finish is a little weak but with very little care will last. i replaced the buttons with straplocks a must for on stage, i will always depend on this guitar and hardley play anything else!!

never needed repairs, never needed the warranty, never had to contact the company, however I might e-mail them a message telling them that they built the prefect guitar, and that they should bring them back.

Playing for quite a while, have owned lots of gear this is my favorite, if I lost it i would cry, and buy another one if i could find one.

Mahogany body, maple top, rosewood fretboard. Standard 22 frets. S/S P90's.

Hold that! Do NOT change the pickups (well, maybe just the neck). True to its name, the GEM is a rare gem of a guitar at a low price. I stupidly went through 3 different pickups for this guitar, including Fralins, Lollars and Seymour duncans. After all that I came back to the stock bridge P90 which simply destroyed everything else. The tone is unbelievable.

It simply dies to be played with overdrive or distortion. This is the classic Gibson les paul hard rock tone and NOTHING, absolutely nothing comes close to this.

P90's are middy by nature but wowza... how sweet it sounds. I use it with two OD pedals in series and a volume boost. It is the killer tone. I will never ever touch my strat after this monster.

The neck pickup is not that nice. It loses treble. I kept my Fralin in the neck and it sounds clear and clean now. Though the bridge pickup only measures 7.8Kohms, it is VERY loud. In fact louder than my Fralin which measured close to 8.6K.

I got it second hand two years back and the action was a mess and pickups were not set up. The moron who owned it had somehow damaged the neck pickup and cracked the cover of the bridge pickup. I just got new covers and they're good now.

Got a setup done and it plays lovely now.

Looks and feels solid. Gold hardware is corroding and I have some ugly greyish green gunk on it. Why the heck do they use gold coloring? Standard nickel/chrome hardware lasts way longer and doesnt look so ugly when it corrodes or oxidizes.

Strap buttons are solid but SMALL. Gibson, listen up - why the heck can't you make larger buttons? My strap slipped out and the guitar almost crashed the first time I played with it.

Ahahaha! discontinued model. Do u expect support? I guess not.

Truly superb sounding monster of a guitar for the cheap price. I got a steal on this one. Sounds and plays as good as any gibson costing 3-4x this amount.

Mine is a sapphire Gem, specs are the same as all the others here.

This is the classic P90 hard rocking tone. The bridge pickup simply rocks. It does great with distortion. The neck pickup is very mushy and boomy. There's no real tone in it, but it does good with distortion.

I replaced the pickups with Lollars and it absolutely blows away the stock gibsons. This guitar can now sing, chime, scream and blow my windows out.

I'm going to give this a 10 because without the great mahogany/maple body and maho neck, the construction and wood used, I will never get this awesome tone. I have used many LP clones before and nothing has come close to this awesome tone. Epiphone sounds like dogsh*** in front of this.

Action fit and finish were good. I lowered the action a tad, it rocks now.

Been using this for 6 years now, since 2000. Never given me a single problem.

not used.

At this price range you will never, ever find a guitar which rocks as good as this one. Just change the pickups if you want to play jazz. Lollar makes awesome neck pickups. It flat out rocks for distortion rock.

Mine's an "amethyst" gem which was probably supposed to be reddish in color, but looks almost dark brownish maroon. Nice color anyhow. Specs are at http://www.gibson.com/products/gibson/LesPaul/GemSeries.html

Dunno when mine was made but I bought it in the late 90's, probably 1998, from the local guitar center. It came with the hard case which was stinking for some reason. I replaced with a solid Gator case recently, it smells much better now :)

I left the stock P90's since they sound great. Wood is mahogany-maple body with mahogany neck and rosewood fretboard.

I've been going around in circles switching every few weeks between my strat and les paul, I simply can't make up my mind which one I like playing better. I however think the Les Paul wins for me.

It suits my style perfectly. The P90's on the guitar sound much better than the darker sounding humbuckers which are probably better suited for the metallica type of noisy junk. The sound is a perfect balance between depth, warmth and detail. The highs really come through unlike humbuckers from that vintage. It is not as dark or muddy sounding as humbuckers, and there is a good balance between the lows mids and highs. The neck pickup was a little louder and darker than I'd have liked it but I fixed that by lowering it.

The more I play with this axe the better I like it. Now that I'm getting older (I'm 48) my shoulders start aching after a while, it's not exactly a light one.

This is a great sounding guitar which is perfect for rock and blues and a bit of metal if you really want to go that way. The tone is really unique and powerful. Almost as hot as humbuckers but with better clarity and highs. You can't do death metal and that sort of crap with this pickup because they are single coils, the hum gets huge.

This is a classic. I'll never sell mine. The tone is really awesome. Classic hard rockin' tone.

The guitar itself is very solid, like any good Gibson. It has seen years of constant playing and has given me no trouble.

I've had to get the action adjusted a bit, and the fretwork needed to be redone last year since they wore out after years of playing. It's now good as new and plays as good as new, or probably better.

It's said that guitars age like fine wine, and I have to agree, the more I play with this guitar, the better it sounds over the years.

I've gigged with this so many times. It has never died on me even once. Never.

It slipped and almost fell, the strap buttons are too small. I changed to locking straps and it's just fine now.

Never needed.

This little known gem has been the perfect guitar for me for almost a decade now. In my playing (more than 40 different guitars) this has been the absolute best for hard rock, blues and blues rock. The tone is truly classic Gibson P90.

I just saw these pages on the Les Pauls, and thought I'd chime in with a review of my very own weather beaten and bruised old LP studio gem sapphire (blue). I've had mine about 10 years now, the serial number says it's a '96 model, made in USA. It has a very nice blue finish.

Solid mahogany body, maple top, has a mahogany neck with a rosewood fretboard. Standard gibson deluxe tuners and two absolutely mind blowing P90 pickups.

I give this a 9 because of the lack of fretboard binding as found on more expensive models, but hey for the price this is great.

It is said that the mahogany - maple top combination and the wood used in this model delivers tone from heaven. I disagree. I dont know what tone they have in heaven but this guitar delivers far better than that.

I bought this guitar last decade for one reason only, to play overdriven rock and a bit of metal. Throw in an overdrive or two and this guitar sings, screams, squeals and roars. This is the absolute best tone I have heard from any guitar, ever, bar none. I've never played an Epi or a tokai or those other LP clones which comes anywhere close to this tone, not by a huge margin.

I play this through a variety of overdrive pedals, from the smooth barber LTD, to a hot rodded TS808, all the way to some high gain distortion pedals, I am yet to come across any combination which sounds bad. No way dude, if this guitar sounds bad, it's your playing.

Action and finish was good since I bought it new. I've had it set up a couple of years ago and had a minor fret job done. The gold finish is going now, but hey it gives it that used and worn look. I like it.

It has lasted me nearly 10 years. I will never ever part with it. It's seen its fair share of live gigs and pubs, and has performed without a hitch.

Yeah strap buttons are a tad small, but I use locking straps so no worries there.

Bwahahaha, try getting support for a 10 yr old discontinued model.

As its name indicates, this is a truly rare gem, which sounds a lot better than most people think it could. This baby can take a beating and keep going. If you happen to find one, I challenge you to part with it. I am absolutely fortunate to have bought this - I can't get these tones from any of the recent LP's that don't cost a bomb.

My LP Studio Gem is made in 1998 in the USA, deep wine red in color. It has a mahogany back and maple top, mahogany neck with rosewood fretboard. It has two gibson P90 pickups, the usual gibson deluxe non locking tuners, 22 frets and 2x vol 2x tone controls, and a pickguard. It came with a hard case.

A gibson LP excels at two things - jazz (neck pickup) and overdriven rock (bridge pickup), I mean REALLY excels at these two. There's no other guitar on earth I've heard which can top the LP, is there any wonder the LP is a cult classic?

I bought this guitar used through craiglist a couple of months ago, and I couldn't be happier. This is the sound I have been searching for all my life. It is the most unique les paul tone I have ever heard, and no Epiphone, tokai, burny, etc comes anywhere close to this tone, not one among the fifteen or so LP copies is any match for this. I am dead serious. If you're looking for that classic gibson tone, NONE of the epi's and copies will satisfy you, unless your tolerance level is very high. It's all in the wood, the construction and the pickups. The difference between this baby and the epi's is real, and audible.

Even Gibson's own Les Pauls with standard humbuckers don't sound as beautiful; the humbuckers are very hot, but the P90 has an amazing clarity and bite, it's raunchy and raw, and yet full and fat bodied, like the best of both worlds - single coil and humbucker.

Given that it has single coil P90s yes it can get a little noisy with high gain, but nothing objectionable, and not even as noisy as my MIM strat.

The tone is absolute pure heaven. I have found what I'm looking for. I have played with this guitar for a couple of months now, and every time I pick up the guitar I continue to be amazed at the tone.

Here's what this baby can deliver. Warm beautiful sounding jazz tones from the neck pickup, truly classic. Put this little wonder through an overdrive and you have the classic 1970's les paul P90's tone which is truly second to none, in the rock world. This tone is so unique and beautiful, one must really play through one of these buggers once in their life and achieve nirvana.

I use it with a marshall 50 watt stack at gigs and a smaller marshall valve amp at home for practice. At gigs it has simply blown away every other guitar it's pitted against, in terms of tone, clarity, depth and timbre. I've done about 10 gigs with it so far, and I've heard nothing but praise, and quite a few jealous looks and comments.

Unfortunately the scale only goes to 10, otherwise I'd have given this a 20.

When I first got the guitar the action and fretwork was seriously messed up due to neglect. The previous owner had left it lying around, uncovered, exposed to sunlight, moisture, wind, and whatever else he could muster up. The metal was badly tarnished and corroded. There was fret buzz, dead notes, etc. There were dings and scratches galore. There was an incredible amount of dirt on the fretboard and some frets had become greenish.

Under this ugliness lay a true beauty. I observed there were no cracks or serious dings on the body. The metalwork could be cleaned or at worst, replaced (which I ended up doing). The fretboard was ramrod straight, so I simply had some frets replaced and adjuster by a luthier, which cost me $100 for an excellent job.

The pickups were disastrously badly adjusted, with plenty of dings and scratches (how the *&#(@$ did the guy manage to damage his pickups?). I got the pickup covers replaced and adjusted.

After a few weeks of painstaking work, the guitar still looked like it's seen WW-II, but it plays like a dream. It is absolutely perfect, low action, awesome fretwork, and great for bends.

Since this was a badly treated second hand guitar, I cannot comment on the action/fit/finish, but I must say that Gibson's work has been truly excellent otherwise this guitar would have cracked, warped, and otherwise become unuseable with the treatment it has seen, so I will still give it a 9. I have seen epiphones subjected to much less, and show cracks on the neck, fretboard and other places.

After the refretting, cleaning up, and general setup, it feels and plays solid as a rock. I can gig with this without a problem, in fact I've done 10 gigs so far in pubs and other events, and it has played without a hitch.

As with most other gibbies, the strap buttons are a tad small, so I got locking straps.

Muahahahahaha, try getting warranty support for a 8 year old model.

I am going to say 15, though the rating here only goes to 10. I have described everything I had to in the previous paragraphs. Nothing more remains to be said, except that if it were stolen, I'd be driven close to suicide, I will probably never find something to replace this baby at this price. I love it almost as much as I love my kids and wife :) She feels I love it more :)

1996 Les Paul Studio Gem Series-Sapphire (blue) All the typical stuff from the other reviews, gold hardware, very nice case came with it (I bought it used) Just the most beautiful guitar ever... I fell in love on the internet when I saw pics on craigslist... when I got to the seller's abode, I loved it even more... visually stunning!

I play country rock, americana, a little blues and beatles/60's rock. I've always been a tele guy but always wanted to play "blue sky" and get the Dickey sound... this does that. it is a flexible guitar with lots of available variations.

Perfect cosmetics (I am the third owner) I spent some time measuring and did the nickel tests.. it is beautifully appointed (you can tell I'm a happy customer) The intonation is good, but I will probably "Buzz Feiten" this guitar in a couple of months.

It is a les paul. it feels very solid and well put together. I gigged without a backup with this the first night I owned it.

I've been wanting a Les Paul for years and just never found THE one. this is it... it will live happily with my two teles, strat, Dearmond, baritone, dano's, P-Bass, mando, and larrivee... It is a perfect addition to the family and I'm sure I'll be enjoying it for years until I can give it to my kids or grandkids

I recently purchased a 1996 LP Ruby Studio Gem. I am the third owner. All gold hardware. Ruby red maple top, no binding, the rest of the guitar is black. Rosewood fingerboard with standard LP frets. Much to my suprise and satisfaction, Ruby came with P-100's. In addition, the tuners, not original, were made by Ping. I changed the tuners to a set of Grovers. I prefer the look, feel, and tuning accuracy of the grovers. The neck has the chunky Gibson 50's contour. I prefer the 60's slim taper. As some point in the very near future I will have the taper reduced and have larger frets installed.

In my opinion a LP with P-90/100's has a very unique sound. It is very reminecent of the 50's and 60's and blends well with other instruments. My 2 gripes about LP's are: 1; When using the center position you cannot turn one pickup completly off without affecting the volume of the other. 2; Let's say you are play a lead using the center positon, volume and tone on 10 on both pups. Your finished with your lead, you would like to keep the same tone for rhythmn, and you need to reduce your volume. Now you have to either grab both volume knobs and turn them together or do each one individually. Too much trouble. So typically, I would switch to the the neck pickup then back down the volume. I decided to rewire the guitar so it makes sense for me to play on gigs,studio or just plain ejoying the guitar. I now have the neck pickup wired to the bridge volume control, the bridge pickup wired to the bridge tone control, the switch inputs go to the volume pots. I would highly recommend you solder the switch leads to the input side of the pot and the pickup leads to the output side of the pot. This way you can blend in the pups in the switch center position at any volume! The switch output goes to the input of the Neck volume control and the neck tone control goes to the input of the neck volume control. So now you have a master volume and tone for all pickups settings. I would also recommend using 100pf silver mica caps accros the input-output lugs on the volume and master controls. This way you don't lose high end response when you lower your volume. I would also recommend using a .047 sozo cap for the tone contral cap. Bottom line is you will love the control, tonal varations, and ease of use. Enjoy!

Ruby was used with a few battle scars. It's amazing what maguire cleaner and carnuba wax can do for a finish.

I expect this guitar will out last me. Hardware is fine. I prefer the standard gibson strap buttons.

Gibson always works well for me.

I have 2 other LP's, a 75 and 89 both with fralins, along with several strats, two rics,and a 68-345. I really enjoy the sound of p-90's. I have been playing for over 40 years..geeezz,there is something unique about a LP with P-90's/100's. I enjoy using ruby on live gigs as well as the studio. The rewiring I have done has enchanced the playing of this guitar. I will be checking out a LP gold top with P-90's. I used all black face fenders, DR, SR, Vibrolux, and TR. I use a host of fulltone, Cochrane, and H&K pedals along bill lawrence cable. Good luck and thanks!

Have the ruby one (with a birdseye-maple top) and specs are the same as mentioned below.

Bought it because I find LP's with humbuckers too muddy. Play it on my Fender Bassman Ten 4x10" and most of the time on my Mesa Blue Angel 4x10" and it's just the sound I want (very dynamic and cuts beautifully through the bandsound.

A friend of my has the same GEM, but his body is just as heavy as a normal LP and sounds a bit fatter in the lows. My one is a bit lighter....which is very comfortable.

I like the Gibson Goldtop P90 model a lot, but things imported from the U.S. are bloody expensive in Europe...especially in Holland where I live. The before mentioned friend said the GEM series are cheap and made from the same woods as a standard LP, but don't have the fancy shit like bindings, logo-inlay and nickeled hardware.
Since I am not paying 2600 euro's for a LP Goldtop, that choice was easy to make.

If you (just like me) care about how the guitar sounds, instead of buying it for the looks (in this case...it still looks bloody beautifull) that this guitar is a 12 out of 10 !!!

Bloody good !

It's got a thin cellular paintjob, which is perfect, since it doesn't kill the vibrations in the body.

Apart from that....it's a good guitar for cheap, so don't wine about it !!!

Totally dependable, except for the tuners....but that's a known fact.
Tip for these kind of tuners...don't give em to much stringwindings.

I bought my Gibson LP Gem and Gibson J-200 secondhand and asked a lot about it via e-mail. The customer support from Gibson US was excellent.

Purchased from Coda Music Luton in 1997 for #699 including Gibson hard case, my guitar is the Saphire Les Paul Gem with the two P90 pickups and standard passive volume and tone controls. As the review at the time in Guitarist mag said it has the full weight of a Les Paul (no corners cut on the density/quaility of the Mahogany used)No binding on the body or the neck is solid colour, but has the Mother of Pearl crown inlays on the fret board. Gibson logo is a transfer and not the Mother of Pearl inlay. All usual Gibson gold hardware and the klusson Tulip machineheads etc.

Sound is excellent, I have had many Les Pauls and personally find the Humbuckers too muddy, the P90's give more clarity and definition whilst giving out same volume (amp set at same setting as comparison check)trade off is that the P90's can be noisey if you are too near the PA desk etc. Through amp - Crunch sound (Orange Custom Shop AD50 set at Class A 30 watts (EL34's) and Marshall 4x12 cab)Bridge pickup growls nicely with definition from Bass and middle strings and with a nice ring from the treble strings that is hard to get from Humbuckers. Both pickups sound a bit Telecaster ish, but with the Les Paul mark still stamped on it. Front pickup - only one word here - Creamy - ohh suits you sir!

I had to set several of the Gems up in the shop that were on sale at the time (Coda assured me that they would have done this for me up front on request) can only assume that to keep costs down as well as excluding body binding and the Mother of Pearl logo, Gibson bang them out without set up? However set up is personal, so no worries for me, been playing 30 years 25 years semi pro (approx 1400 gigs to date) do own set up and many musician friends etc. Apart from the set up quailty of finish etc. was very good for a Studio model, usual chunky stable neck with no problems (used same sting gauge and not had to re-adjust the neck since initial tweek - superb!).

I have gigged this guitar constantly since purchase mid 1987 (approx 400 gigs) As you would expect there are a few cymbal chips in the headstock, strap marks/scratches - general wear and tear, but the guitar so far has matched the durability and reliability of any Les Paul Standard, Deluxe or Custom that I have previously owned or know of. Frets are just about getting ready for re-dress, but in true Gibbo tradition plenty of meat on them to be able to re-dress. Only little gripe is the gold on the hardware seems to be a little thin and has worn away in places (maybe I expect too much?) I replaced strap buttons with locking types and suggest all players that value their instruments do similar. Tuning is very stable even with the Tulip machineheads which look great but are not the best, however they have not let me down yet! I change my stings at least every other gig so broken ones are rare and because the Gem is so dependable I only take the Gibbo to all my gigs(I am also too lazy to carry another with me but would if I had not got confidence in the Gem)

No problems with any Gibbso Les Paul that I have owned so never had to contact the Gibson factory

I have gigged this guitar constantly since purchase mid 1987 (approx 400 gigs) and know it will still be going strong when i am pushing up the daisies. I have had several back up Telecasters and strats but Les Paul so reliable and sounds so good dont need them, just take the Gem to all my gigs - no incentive to use anything else etc. If my Gem was lost for whatever reason I would find it hard to get another to replace (not that many made and people keep them - does that not say something!) but would walk the earth until I did get another or if not consider trying upgrade to a Goldtop 56 re-issue with P90's - nice but twice the price!

1996. Normal Les Paul Studio with a fat neck, gold hardware and two P90s. Ruby Red finish. Neck and back of body are black. Cream pickups and pickguard. Manufactured in Nashville, USA.

The P90s make the difference. They give you more dynamics, more bite and more noise. Noise as in HIssss but also; It's great for feedback and all the tiny little nuances you play.

I play rock. I have a 50W Marshall JCM 800 2x12 Combo. It's a single channel. I use the controls to make the RHYTHM my clean channel. It works out perfect. This gives you AC/DC type lo gain crunch which rocks! Then I have BOSS SD-1 for boost. This way you can have infinite sustain and you can also do metal.

Lots of reviewers wrote that P90 don't do metal well.
I disagree.

It's kinda like a Kurt Cobain Gibson sound.

It's got the Les Paul fatness, yet it's more noise, more aggressive.

Bought it used.

Setup is okay. It came with 009's, which I switches for a set of 011. But still the guitar played too light for me. Now I use 012. The sound great and the guitar really needs to be played with power and control. This combined with the fat neck and the ultra dynamic pickups gives you great response.

It stays in tune forever this way.

It's really well built. There's nothing as steady as a Gibson. Finish looks great. It stays in tune forever. It came with straplocks, they're solid.

I recently had my first gig with it. I borrowed a Epi LP from a friend of mine. I played almost an hour. I did not need the backup. No broken strings. I didn't even have to tune in between songs!

Ofcourse there's hum, but I just flip the switch over to rhythm and it's quiet enough for me.

Don't know about Gibson. The make great guitars.

A Gibson Les Paul and a Marshall JCM 800. They're a match made in heaven. It sounds great. Also with the SD-1 it's got a great hi gain lead slash sound to it. Don't use too much gain though, it tends to get noisy. Just put on fat strings and create sustain with yr fingers!

I can really depend on it.

Made in 1996 and bought by me five months ago ( June 2002). Unmodified from standard specification.Mahogony body with maple cap and standard Gibson controls.See through red top, back sides and neck finished in black.Cream soapbar P90s.

Great for blues jazz or rock. I play clean with only a little overdrive,it suits perfectly. I use with an Orange AD15 (all valve) and a Laney TT20 (all valve) with no effects.It is the classiest, richest most inspirational sound I have ever got from a guitar. It outshines my Strat, Tele, 335,Blueshawk.A heavy body and P90 pickups are a wonderful combination. I also have an Epi Gold Top with seymour P90s which gets very close.

Bought used.Very accurate neck and very well finished.

I'm sure it will last forever. Gold plating wearing off as usual. Usual problem with Les Paul strap buttons (strap tends to slip off) so strap lock is a good idea.
The lacquer seems thinner than on more expensive Gibsons so will probably mark easier but on the plus side the wood probably resonates better as a result?

Immediate response from Gibson when I raised a couple of questions.They couldn't find a wiring diagram however but sent some other info to try to help.

I have been playing on and off for 40 years.I own three Gibsons, four or five Fenders, a Hamer, a Rickenbacker and other cheaper guitars and I have owned other Gibson Les Pauls over the years.If it were stolen I would beg steal or borrow to get another P90 equipped Gibson Les Paul, no question.

My Les Paul Studio Gem was made in 92. When I bought it, it looked and felt good as new. Save for a few blems on the headstock. The sapphire finish was very well done in my opinion. (The store didn't even list it as Gem Series, only sparkle blue les paul). Despite the stories I heard about les pauls and their weight, I had no problems with this particular model. Of course it does have some weight to it, but not bad at all.

I play in a hard rock band and it's my number 1. By myself I play blues and jazz which this guitar is absolutly great for. I run it through a Roland JC-120 which brings out the natural sound of the guitar. It is rather noisey with the P-90s at high gain levels, but not as noisey as I thought. I play to get noise and feedback and stuck anyway so it's still great for my rock ventures. For rock I keep the selector on the treble p-up for the crisp biting tone I need with the distortion. But as for as jazz and blues I keep it in the middle with both the tone pots rolled back half-way. Very VERY warm tone.

Right off the rack I was able to play it with ease and comfort. The action was at medium and with the next, it felt like butter. (This has to be the best neck I've played in quite some time.)

The finish is very delicate. I've bumped into a desk onces and it cut down all the way to the mahogany. That concerned me at first, but I didn't let it bother me because I knew things like this would happen. I just didn't like how easy it was to do some. Twice more it's been dropped and took and head on impact from the other guitarist on stage. It's very solid, I'll give it that. Hasn't failed yet. I normally go without a backup on gigs because of space restraints. But I would love to have another one of these.

N/A

I've been playing for just over two years, which feels longer than it really is. I have a MiM Fender Strat and I haven't picked it up since this guitar. It's very unique in sound and outward appearance so I'm very proud I found it amoungst the other sunburst, heritage burst les pauls at the store. If it was stolen, after a crying fit I would try my best to find another one. I've only seen this one and no others in any of the stores in the maryland area. I realized they stopped making them in 96. Overall, I really hope this will be the last guitar I ever need. I haven't had a desire to purchase another one since this one. I absolutly love it.

Made in USA Gibson, 1996. Mahogany body, maple top, mahogany neck, rosewood fingerboard, trapezoid inlays. Set neck, 24 3/4" scale, 22 frets. Two volume, two tone, 3 way toggle switch. P-90s!!!!!!!! YES!! Sapphire Gem finish (a little bright for my taste, but it's what they had), gold finished hardware. Came with the 'pimp' case, the brown with the hot pink interior. Tune-O-Matic bridge, useable tuners. Big old baseball bat of a neck. No binding, no bells, no whistles, no OnStar GPS, VERY simple, just what you need, nothing more. I like gadgets, but this one don't need 'em.

I tend to play southern rock/country/classic rock/blues/jazz/punk in that order. I had bought a Nighthawk special with the 3 pickups and coil-tapping for versatility, idea being I'd never need another guitar. Then I fell from grace, picked up a cheap LP copy that had P-90s, fell head over heels stalker-style in lust with the sound, and knew I MUST have an honest to God Les Paul with P-90s. It sounds like Dickey Betts, Leslie West, George Thoroughgood, Dave Gilmour and Aretha Franklin had a love child in the Nashville factory. It's almost perfectly tonally balanced. It's warm but not muddy, clean without sounding wimpy, bright but not too bright, bassy but not too boomy. It's got the balls for hard/classic rock, the clean sounds for jazz, the bite for the blues, and although not twangy, pulls off a fair rendition of about any country you could want. Clean, the neck pickup is bassy right up to the point of being muddy, but has very good definition for a Les Paul; the bridge is biting and agressive, but never harsh; and middle position is very neutral, very chameleonesque. Turn up the gain a bit, and the neck sings with a creamy, warm, but still defined lead sound; the neck screams like a virgin on prom night and growls like a pitbull with a baby in sight. It's raucous, but still completely controlled. Yes, they're single coils, so yes there is 60 cycle hum, and it can get annoying depending on the amp and how well the building's grounded, but it's manageable and not much of a price to pay for the sound you can achieve. My old M-80 chorus is pulling pranks, so I'm shopping for a new amp. That's the weird thing. I've played just about every amp in a 30 mile radius with 'shop' guitars, then went back one weekend with my LP in tow and tried many of them again. While it didn't change my opinion of any amp, the good amps sounded really great in conjunction with this guitar, and even several of the worthless amps I had tried before had one or two impressive tones that I could squeeze out of them with this guitar. This baby loves tube amps, sounds a little brittle through solid state. Not really all that much variety of sounds (2 pickup, 3-way switch), but all of them are good. I rarely use effects, sold most of mine. These P-90s seem to drive an amp much more pleasantly with a clear signal chain. You can't do everything with this guitar, but I think I could hold my own at about any kind of show short of balls-out metal with this and a couple of good tube amps.

No complaints. A little stand damage around the headstock area, but it had been hanging on a wall for several years when I bought it. Setup was fine, I tweaked it for my personal tastes. Nothing to gripe about here, really. I would prefer a slimmer taper to the neck, but it's definitely the most comfortable of the round profile necks I've ever played. If you like Smurf blue, you'll LOVE the finish on this guitar. *L*

Very solid. Angled headstock, so careful with the jumping around and smacking stuff with it. Tiny strap buttons, using a camlocking strap. It's a Gibson finish, it's delicate, but it's gonna get some wear anyway. I'll be nice to it, but it won't be pampered. Gold finish on the hardware. Yuck. Not ugly, but it will be after I sweat on it for a couple of years. I have gigged without a backup (once), and it's dependable, but I won't do it again... just scares me. I've owned it about 4 months, so the honeymoon is over. No problems. This is a very well constructed guitar, and as heavy as any LP I've ever picked up. If you need to stop a charging bull, hit him in the head with this thing...

Never really dealt with them. What with the great website, I've only needed to email them once for a little info. Return email came within a couple of days. Can't really complain about that.

I've been playing about 15 years, mostly in my own house, but also with a couple of bands. I've owned Fenders (strat and tele), other Gibsons (ES-Artist, B-25 12-string, and Nighthawk,), Yamaha acoustics, a Hamer, and a Martin Backpacker. I haven't played everything on the market, but I've played most of the instruments that interest me. Once you fall in love with the P-90 sound, you'll always love it... you may not be true to it, but you'll always come crawling back to it. If this thing were stolen, I'd track the hapless b*st*rd down and shoot off his kneecaps. This is my BABY. NOBODY messes with it. If you need a guitar to play just about anything but metal, and you don't get migraines from 60 cycle hum, check out one of these things. You can probably get a better deal than I did, and it's a lot of good (REALLY good) tone and quality guitar for the money.

Mine was made in December 1996 - Ruby Red in Colour & the same specs that everyone else has stated.

The reason I bought this guitar was for the P-90 sound..If it had humbuckers I would not have bought it...But I have always loved the look of the Les Paul & this one come with Single coil pickups...I usually use the guitar for raunchy blues sound..

One problem is the cracking of the finishes on the headstock..

I use this guitar as a backup to my Fender Strats, so it doesn't have to be that reliable, but I'm sure it is..I have had it for 4 years with no breakdowns..

N/A

For the price it is fantasic..I always wanted to own a Les Paul but hated humbucking pickup. Then the Gem come a long..

Made in 1996 I believe, in USA. 22 frets, carved 1 piece maple top over mahogany body and neck, 2 tone, 2 volume controls. Comes with 2 P-90s. Dark DARK green "emerald" finish that looks like solid black unless the guitar is really clean in good light, then you can see that it's really a deep transparent green. The finish looks good over the maple cap, but seems totally black over the mahogany; if you know the dye is supposed to be green, the mahogany kinda looks like this vomit-dark-brown color...but hey, it's on the back of the guitar. Gold hardware, tun-o-matic bridge, standard gibson tuners. Gibson hardshell case: total paid $700 used with case and shipping. I'll give it an 8 because I hate the gibson tuners and the bridge pickup does not have enough output in comparison to the neck, and I should have chosen the Topaz finish (my fault :/)

The P-90s are obviously pretty noisy but I love the way they sound. The neck gives your a fat, smooth sound that, despite being single coil, drives an amp like a humbucker does...imagine you plug a strat into an amp and it's clean all the way to 6, this starts to give you mild breakup around 4. A plus for me. The middle position is nice for distortion, and clean it's kinda twangy, but not in a bright way...it's just kind of a bouncy tone. Pull-offs sound really cool on the middle position clean. The bridge pickup seems to have huge mid-spike and I can't play it with the tone all the way up with the amp distorted because pick attack is way to harsh. Problem solved by scooping the mids on an EQ or rolling back the tone. I'll give it a 9 because it sounds way way way better than my old guitar did. (Ibanez S470).

First of all I bought the guitar used so Gibson is not responsible for these flaws. For rating purposes I'll give it a 8, the only flaw inherent in the guitar being my sweat is corrosive to the finish. When I play my right forearm rests on the body as an anchor for my picking hand: if I sweat and it dries, it scratches the finish when I wipe it off no matter what. There's already a finish rash where my arm rests.

The guitar was set up badly: action was so low that the strings were stuck to the pickups, fretboard had dead skin on it, bridge was too low, neck wasn't straight, pickups too high, tone knob falling off...just bad. Good for me though, because there was nothing I couldn't fix and it was the reason I got the guitar for 700 with case and shipping instead of more.

It would definately withstand playing live, I'd have to put straplocks on it first. I would never play without a backup but I prolly wouldn't need it with this guitar. It's built like a tank.

Never had to deal with Gibson.

If it were stolen I'd buy another all the same except with the Topaz finish. Otherwise...10.

Mine is a 1996 Topaz colored Gem. Details are P-90's instead of humbuckers and no binding on body and neck. Gold Hardware. Has a beautiful tiger stripe on the maple top.

I play mostly blues and jazz and this is perfect for that sound. My ART T-28 amp also allows good overdrive when required and the guitar delivers.

Action was high but I'm trying to get a set that will be good for me.

Finish is exquisite, fitting is 100% okay. Just had to spray the selector switch with an electro contact cleaner to remove the noise.

Never had to deal with them. More a tribute to the quality of the guitar.

I love that I have a LP for a price that is affordable and that the P-90's give me a sound that is between a strat and an LP with humbuckers. Like having the best of both worlds

2001 Made in USA
All the features you know and love about a Gibson
Real nice Emerald green finish.
Hard case included

My musical tastes vary, but I tend to gravitate to 60's and 70's rock. Ocassionally use a Boss distortion, or a Blues Driver. Run it through a Fender Blues Deville, or a 72 Fender Bassman. The sound of the guitar kicks ass. It sounds as good as any standard I've played. Real nice bluesy sound, and can get real dirty if it has to.

Action is awesome for my style(or lack of). I put new strings on it,which is a must after promptly removing the dental floss put on at the factory
Finish is nice, but the difference is noticable from that of a CLassic or Standard with regard to detail

Seems durable. No past problems with Gibson

N/A

I have been playing on and off for about 25 years. I own a LP Classic, Fender P Bass, and several acoustics.
Stacking this up against my classic isn't easy. They have different pickups, so they sound different. Where this guitar falls short is in the cosmetics. It is apparent that the corners are cut with hardware and bindings, etc. I would replace it if I got it for the same price, which was a steal($599 with hard case, not a gig bag, and free shipping). If I had to pay full price, I would probably save a little more and go with the LP Standard

It's build in 1997 in the USA. Wood and hardware, see below. Mine has a beautiful blue finnisch (Sapphire) even at the back of the neck. I didn't get any accesoires except for a set of very old strings, which I replaced immediately. The guitar itself has everything I need, but I give it an 8 because I didn't even get an case.

When I bought this, I was looking for an affordable Epiphone LP. Tried all the models in the rack. This was the last one and I didn't notice that it was a real Gibson. When I strummed my first chord I was amazed, 'cause it did sound so much better than te rest. Then I noticed it wasn't an epiphone.
This baby's got sustain. You can play a tone, drink a cup of coffe and after that, it'll still be ringing.
The p90's sound great, nice and fat, just a little bit thinner than Gibson buckers. Only little noise while playing with high gain. They say it's not suitable for metal. That's true on my Peavy amp, but when I tried it on a Marshal I got a great trash sound.
Playing clean, the neck pick up has a beautiful rich sound, I'm absolutely addicted to that one. The three positions all heva very distinct sounds, especially the middle one, 'cause you can play with both tone and volume controls to adjust it to your taste.
I shouldn't use this guitar for funky music, it at it's best playing blues based rock.
Over all, for me, the sound is exactly what I need, so I give it a 10.

However this guitar had been in stock for about 3 years, the finnish was in great shape. The finnisch is beautiful blue. This one gets noticed.
I made the bridge a little lower. Couldn't find any flaws on in construction. The pickup selector was noisy and gave up after a few months, I couldn't select the neck pick anymore, but after I replaced it, all problems dissapeared. I think the gold will eventually wear off, but so far after 8 months, it's still in great shape.

I've only got it for 8 months or so, don't know if it will last.
The guitar looks like it can handle some beating. I think this will never happen, 'cause it's much to heavy to throw. Finnish is very gibson-like, so I think it'll get old very nicely with some cracking.
Never had problems with the strap buttons.
I won't use the guitar without a backup, but only because I'm afraid of breaking a string.

When the switch was broken, I got a new one within a week, so no comlains about that.

I play the guitar for about 9 years now. I've got an Aria Pro II XR electric guitar, a Washburn D97 Ltd accoustic and an accoustic guitar of obscure origin. This guitar is perfect for me. I love the thick neck an the great sound of this guitar. And very important, I love the price 'cause it's hardly more expensive than highly inferiour epiphone LP's. I'll buy one right again if I lose this one. It has got everything I want.

It's a Les Paul made in the Nashville, Tennesee. Has 22 frets, Rosewood fingerboard with inlayed trapezoids, Mahogany neck and body (Black) with a solid carved Maple top (Translucent Red). It has P90 soapbar pickups and gold hardware. Love the neck on this thing - '59 Rounded type. This is very much the same as a Les Paul Standard without the insane price.

The sound is great for my style which is a cross between blues and AC/DC inspired rock. The bridge pickup delivers a humbucker-like crunch, but can also pull off a pleasant clean sound without the treble of a strat or tele style pickup. The neck pickup is slightly muddy, but great for overdriven blues solos. All the knobs have a good range and clear voiceing, so all in all, this is a great sounding guitar.

When I got it, the action and pickup height was crap - but it had no finish flaws and looked gorgeous. On close inspection when I got it home, I notice the string grooves in the saddles had been roughly done and the screws holding the machine heads on weren't all original. Nothing major but it was annoying none the less.

This guitar has withstood several gigs so far and it's still going great. The hardware is gold and some of it has worn off, but it will las a long time. The stock strap buttons on ALL Les Pauls are far too small - mine's fallen off the strap so many times - Get straplocks. I never use any of my guitars without a backup.

Never dealt with Gibson

Ive been playing electric guitar for 18 years and I own (All Gibsons) a Les Paul Standard, Custom, SG Standard, The Paul II, an old Les Paul Studio and the Gem. I have two Marshall JTM45 heads through two 4X12 half-stacks. If it were stolen I'd beat the bastard to death with it. I was torn between the Humbucker studio and the P90 version, but went with the P90's just for a change. Overall, the guitar is real good - probably my favourite.

My Ruby-red Gem was made on January 26, 1997 in Nashville. I bought it really cheap, brand-new, for 1200 Dutch guilders ($1 = 2,50 Dutch guilders) since nobody seemed to want P90's!

Refer to Gibson.com for details.

As far as features go, it has all I need. It's a great concept: good woods, good construction, good pick-ups. Who needs more?

I use it for blues, jazz, rock and pop. The P90's suit those styles really well. It's an amazing sound, actually. I use a Fender HotRod Deluxe amp and it sounds killer. The sound is rich and full, but it can become bright as well given the right amp settings. The noise from the single-coils never bothered me.

I have no dislikes about the sound of this guitar; it's awesome.

Apart from a little problem with the nut (it was a bit uneven causing trouble with intonating the high E and B strings) everything about it was damn near perfect. Like practically all Gibsons, it has a tiny ridge between the neck and the fingerboard that shouldn't really be there. Apart from that: I've never seen a finish this deep and the workmanship is really happening.

I gig with it; all I need are spare strings. I don't need a back-up. The finish is so exquisitely beautiful that any scratch hurts. And scratches are pretty inevitable. All in all I'd say this axe is very durable but you to be willing to accept some cosmetic wear and tear. It adds character and with proper maintenance it can pretty much be kept mint.

I haven't had (or needed) customer support. Living in Europe, I'd need the distributor.

I've been playing for over 20 years. I don't think I'll ever part with this instrument. I've played a host of other guitars in the past, some much more expensive, and this one beats 'em all easily. In fact, if I ever come across another one I'll probably buy it. But they're hard to come by these days.

My Gem is a '97 model. Made in the only place a guitar should be... Nashville. It has 22 frets with a mahogany body and a maple top. It has two each of volume & tone controls with a 3 way pickup switch. It is equiped with 2 P-90 single coil pickups which are very clean and don't handle distortion well if you really want that crunchy sound. It is finished in Emerald Green which is in my opinion the most beautiful finish ever put on the Les Paul. When viewed from the front it appears black but as the light hits it from an oblique angle it gives a deep translucent green that'll knock yer eyes out. All of the hardware is gold plated which can take a little bit of upkeep but is well worth it. The neck is the '59 Les Paul profile which is a little chunky for me as I prefer the '61 slim taper neck of the Les Paul Classic or the '61 SG reissue. The Guitar comes with the standard California Girl case (brown on the outside and pink inside)which is fairly robust.

The guitar has a beautiful clean sound but doesn't do metal very well. Being that it uses P-90 single coils it does have the 60 cycle rumba. One improvement may to have put a dummy coil in it like the Blues Hawk.

The guitar played well right out of the box. I have never had to set it up at all. It will even hold it's intonation after string chages. The only problem I have with the finish is that when scraping the binding the factory didn't scrape enough and it has left a small ridge were the binding meet the finish which can be irritating while playing.

The guitar is very robust and VERY heavy. Probably the heaviest Paul I've played. The finish is nitrocelluose laquer and as such isn't very tolerant of evry day things like sweat. If the guitar isn't cleaned after every use the finish will dull quickly. Nitocelluose finishes also shrink over time so I'm expecting checking & cracking down the road but I think this just adds to the character. The gold hardware does require some upkeep and is starting to wear thin but again I think this adds to the charater.

I haven't dealt with Gibson on this guitar but I have other Gibsons that I own. As long as you live in the States they are very easy to deal with. If not(as I live in Canada) they don't want to know you and will refer you to their distributor, thus adding to an already lengthy service period.

I have been playing for 24 years and I own 6 Gibsons (Les Paul Gem, Les Paul TV Special, 1961 SG reissue, Flying V, Explorer, BB King Lucille, I also own A Fender Stratocaster, Fender Precision Bass, and a 1962 Burns of London Tri-sonic. I play through a 1962 Ampeg Revrbo Rocket and a Fender Ultimate Chorus using a RP-5 for effects. If the Gem were lost or stolen I would die, It was a gift from my Grand father who passed on last year. I wouldn't part with it any amount of money.

Bought in February 2001, 5480 Hong Kong Dollars, say US$705, it is a model that Gibson discontinued from 1998. I believe that the shop had them in a remote area of the stock, and they sold them quite cheap (for a guitar like that one). You may refer to the Gibson website for photos and details of the feature, but the most important are: Mahoganny and Mapple body, Mahoghanny and rosewood neck, 22 frets, two volume and two tones control, and two p90 pickups. However, cheap plastic on the pickups, and cheap plastic on the pickguard. Why? Ask the maker, it's a pity. Oh! And you have to maintain the gold color hardware if you want to keep it shinny.
Comes with a good case, and I got new set of strings from the dealer.

I try to play blues, and my teatcher found this guitar in the store, and told me that was a good one. I trusted him, try it, and bought it. That is my first electric guitar. I have two accoustic. This guitar is made to play blues, with me, and in better hands is wonderfull for a wide range of music, especially Rock.
I use a Trace Elliot Velocette, and a Peavey Valverb, far too good for me but they both suit the guitar VERY WELL. About the sound, that guitar is perfect for me.

The guitar was playable when I tried it, and I was quite able to make it perfect for me after half an hour of trial. I would'nt ask the people of the shop, they are here to take money and give the invoice. I cannot imagine that elsewhere but here, but that's a fact. Everything was of good quality, and nice out of the shop. But one more time, why did they use cheap plastic as pickguard and as pickup protector? And why that golden colored hardware, impossible to keep nice? If I can, one day, I'll change it for something else. I also put strap locks, the beast is heavy like a cow, you know.

I do not live play yet (I'll try in one year, you are invited), but I would not hesitate to bring it on the stage. It is well built, strong, nothing wrong. It seems that she will last longer than me, if I forget (sorry, one more) the cheap plastic and the gold colored hardware. I realy hate it. I have never had any small problem with it, I don't think that there is a reason to have one. I play it every day, one hour or more. Well, say six days a week. Yes, I would use it on a gig, later, and I believe that I will not need any backup.

I communicate once with Gibson. Immediate answer.
The locker of my case had a failure. I still wait for a replacement. BUT it may be because of the store where I bought the guitar, since I have to go throught them to get it. Warranty is one year in the shop, and Gibson is supposed to give a life time warranty, something I don't trust, that's for me anyway. So, for Gibson, I give a 8, but for the shop, I would have given a 2.

I play guitar for two years, accoustic, and I played before (long time ago), but I never really played before the last two years. For music, I own: one accoustic folk Yamaha, one accoustic folk Gibson Hummingbird (a bargain, again), one classical accoustic guitar, no brand, a Godin Radiator, that belongs to my girl but I love that guitar and rob it from time to time, a Park GT10 (my girl's, again), a Trace Elliott Velocette, a Peavey Valverb, not to mention a Yamaha piano, a Pearl flute, and a violon. If that guitar was stolen, I would be very sorry, since it is difficult to find this kind of instrument, and I would try to hunt the responsable person. Anyway, that giutar never go out of my house yet, and when I don't play it, it's in it's case. There is no robbery here, but if I go back home, may be I will (I am not a collectionnor, don't kill me, I just play, play, play) damaged the finish, paint my name and phone number on it, well I love that guitar, no joke. (exept the plastic, you know already) Favorite feature is the SOUND, which comes from these wonderfull P90, according to my teatcher. They are great for me. Now, if you ask me what guitar I'd like to have, I would reply a Telecaster, the one I try in the shop last week, and a Gibson es 335, the one my teatcher have but OUPS, I've been told that Heritage makes someting similar/better, at a better price, so..... I like that one because it seems even more versatile than my Gem. and the Tele is, well, a weapon, so aggressive... If you find a Gibson Les Paul Studio Gem at a reasonnable price, well, ask for a try, on a real amp, and buy it, it's a great guitar. So, fantastic value, but please take care of your money, I found some on E-bay which were, well, overpriced.

This 1996 Gem Topaz has a beautiful dark sunburst finish and P-90 pickups that roar!It is a solid top maple guitar that is heavy compared to a fender...but who cares? I swore of Fender after plaYING THE p-90'S LIVE. IT features 2 tone/ 2 volume and a 3 way switch. It is US made. The P-90's have all of the raw power of a humbucker with a twist. They can put off a single coil tone that isnt thin and whimpy like Fender. I like the stop tailpiece. Gibsons just dont do well with a trem.

I use it for christian praise rock and for church. It will scream with the best of 'em and it has the nuances when played clean that only a single coil can give you. The bridge pickup is full and bright without being tinny. The neck pickup is a deep dark tone monster. It can be a noisy beast.....but tone like this has its price.....buy a gate. I often play the bridge pickup through a 15'' bass speaker.......very very bassy distortion sound. I wish there were mose tone selectons though.....if there were I would never need another guitar.

There were 2 models in the store I shop. I picked the topaz for the action. It is smooth as a baby's butt! The fit and finish are as near to perfect as you will get without going to a custom shop. It was flawless and fun to play. I like the gold hardware and so far it is holding up well.

The guitar loves live. I often use it as my sole guitar. I have had a major headstock collision with my bassist. It held up great....a little tuning and away we go!

I dont know about the GIbson COmpany.....But I do recomend Sound of Music" In Kokomo Indiana. They are a great store that backs me up well.

I HAVE BEEN PLAYING 10 YEARS. THIS IS MY SECOND PAUL AND BY FAR THE BEST. EVER WANTED A FENDER WITH NADS? BY A LES PAUL STUDIO GEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Price paid: 5460HK$, say 700US$
Bought at Tom Lee Music, Wan Chai Branch, Hong Kong
This model have been made from 1996 to 1998 by Gibson. Oddly, Tom Lee still have (NOW, 28-03-2001) some new models on display for sale. Made in the US of A.
This guitar has 22 frets, body is mahogany with maple top. Neck is Mahogany with Rosewood fingerboard. Two volume, two tones, three way switch. Pickup are single coil P-90. The finisf I have is Ruby, which looks the same color as some antique chinese furniture. I have a case with this guitar which is realy something! Looks like the van where some people think it 's nice to bring a girl. But it is a good case.

That one is very good to play blues, which is what I play now. I use it thru a Trace Elliot Velocette class A, that I bought at the same time (Also on sale), and a Park G10R. Both give a superb sound, (OK, better with the Velocette). However, when you push the volume, some cracking noise come. I think it may be the pick up construction, or the jack. I changed it and it seems better, so let's try another even better for the next visit to Tom Lee. Because of the rounded neck, it is difficult to be fast on this guitar. If it have a Music Man or a Fender neck it would be perfect.

I believe that the guitar has been in the shop for a very long time (Gibson stopped the model in 98, I bought it new in 01), in a very humid environment, but the guitar is absolutly in a perfect shape, as well as some of the other displayed (Some are damaged, but by the customers). Everything is perfect on mine. I own it for a little more than one month, play every day, nothing breaks or come loose.

The guitar is perfect as long as I am concerned. People who play with seems to have also a lot of pleasure with it. Gold hardware have a bad rep, so I make sure they are dry before to put the guitar in it's case. It's either in it's cas or in my hand, and I put some silica bag in the case to avoid humidity as much as I can. The finish seems to be very durable, I am confident in it. I put Jim Dunlop strap locks on it, they are easy to use, and I would not play this guitar with the strap buttons provided. I do not gig, I am not good enough, but I realy think that this guitar would not be afraid about this idea.

Well, if you ask something to the company, they just say "go and see Tom Lee", and since I feel always sorry to give my money to such a loosy shop, I will give a bad rating, and hope that if you live in the US of A, they are more helpfull. (I asked customer support for another model of Gibson, not this one)

When I came to the shop, I was with a friend who teaches me a little it. I was not there for this particular model But after he tried this one, he told me that it is a very good guitar, and since the price was more than correct, I took it. The only thing I miss is a neck like the Music Man have. It would be perfect.

Please see previous posting and the Gibson website for a complete listing of features... (under 1998 discontinued models). The most important note though is that this guitar has Gibson P-90's. The price I paid included a Gibson Hardshell case.

I play blues, rock, and some metal. As far as the blues and the rock is concerned, the guitar is exceptional. The neck pickup has a very rich and full sound, while the bridge pickup has a very bright sound without any twang. The pickups could be a little less noisy though. One note for metal players... this guitar will not give you the razor edge distortion most metal heads are looking for, which goes to prove the old rule, you need humbuckers for metal. Everything else though, I'd put this guitar up against anything....

The action was a little high from the factory, but the dealer lowered it for me and set it to my personal preferences. They did the same with the pickups. The finish is one of the most beautiful I've seen. This model is the Topaz, which is a three color finish (black to a deep topaz to blonde) I was very impressed since I would expect this type of finish only on LP Standards and Custom shop models

This guitar has withstood live playing and sounded awesome. The finish on my guitar seems very deep. I think it will last with care. I replaced the strap buttons with strap locks only because of the weight of the guitar. I depend on it heavily, but I would use a backup only because its too easy to break a string with all the bending I do.

Gibson has always been helpful, and the dealer takes care of any problems I have.

I've been playing 5-6 years. This guitar seems to fit me perfectly. If it were lost or stolen I'd be heartbroken because I think it would be impossible to replace. I love the clean fat tone, but it could be a little less noisy. I chose this guitar because of how good it sounded and how good it looked. (Note, this guitar really soars when played through tube amps...) This guitar really is a 'gem' if you can come across one....

*kindly refer to gibson's homepage for a more technical specs, under 1998 discontinued model. *standard LP studio features, except for the rounded '59 neck, & a pair of P-90 pickups. *gold hardware. fades when polished, high time gibson gets formula right. but close inspection reveals 'made in germany'. *at time of purchase, neck was warped, nothing that i couldn't fix as warping not severe. not gibson's fault, likely to be errant dealer/ reaction to temperature change. *small strap buttons. is this a joke? how do u support a jumbo like the LP with such small buttons? *neck proved to be comfortable but will induce lethargy when playing fast. '59 rounded neck is slash's favourite, but i prefer the LP classic 'speed' neck. however Gem's neck better than LP custom's- should've been made into hockey sticks/ police batons instead.

*typical LP sound- deep & thick. *not as muddy as Gibson's stock 490R & 498T humbuckers. i bought this gem out of the genuine desire for the P-90 sound, however the expected clarity wasn't significant. would've bought fender's jazzmaster if it's available but in singapore dealers sell popular brands/ models, not the players' needs. should've saved harder & bought the McCarty soapbar instead. *although single coils, the P-90s still sound fat & no match for real single coil's clarity- the reason i bought a telecaster. plays well with distortion, i find that the gem reacts better to my marshall than to my fender. bridge pickup delivers crunchy rythm but can be tamed with the right amount of volume rolled off. neck counterpart delivers solos well but typical LP mud can be heard when guitar volume is reduced. *humming P-90s, more on this below.

*i tweaked the gem to accomodate my set of .10s & can still achieve a low action. *scale also makes playing easier unlike fender's 25" *super construction & finish, found no flaws here. no fret burrs too.

*has not broken down yet. switching also functional unlike epiphone LPs. *my gem gets out of tune fairly easily at later stages of playing, can the buzz feiten unit help?

*unit hasn't broken down so no encounters in this category. *however, salesman was dishonest, nearly swindled if not for store manager's intervention. oppressed customers will strike back, just wait & see...

*there's no 6.5 rating here, so 7 isn't really the grade. *don't think LPs respond to my playing needs/ has the favourable tone but doesn't mean that the gem is no good. *utmost dissent- humming P-90s. what do u expect from single coils right?? not really. my American Std telecaster doen't hum, implies that technology is available to cure this kinda hiccup. Seymour Duncan makes stacked P-90s, why doesn't gibson contract with them? PRS collaborated well with Seymour Duncan to model the perfect P-90s for their McCarty soapbar. maybe it's the "oh, it's just a Studio" mentality. *better buy- PRS McCarty soapbar/ LP Studio Lite (this one comes with "speed" neck + super pickups- pity it's discontinued also...)

Made in 1996,basically a more or less limited edition Studio with jewel colors (mine is "amethyst",a very dark purple),gold hardware and,most importantly, two P90 pickups. Mahogany body with maple top,mahogany neck with rosewood fretboard and pearl trapezoid inlays,no body or neck binding.

Great sound ! This is a Les Paul with a very usable clean sound. I once borrowed a LP Standard for three days,but it left me cold (too muddy). This Gem however,gives you a very warm,clear clean sound that's still very Gibson-ish (much more bassy than a Strat). Oh yeah,you can get great overdriven sounds too! This guitar can cover jazz,blues,R & R,and '70s rock with ease. Metal...probably not. I especially like the "both pickups" sound : a very authentic '50s bell-like sound,great for rockabilly and Chuck Berry stuff. Naturally,since p-90s are single coils,it is a bit noisy. I don't want to offend anyone,but I feel the combination of a Les Paul and P-90's is more balanced than a Les Paul with humbuckers. Yes,you get great overdriven "heavy rock" tones with the latter,but the clean sound is too muddy IMHO (a fellow player once described it as "a bastard that tries to be a nice guy"). With the Gem,you can still get nice,fat crunchy distortion,but you also get fantastic clean sounds.

Setup was O.K.,but it came with .009's. I prefer .010's or .011's,so they quickly disappeared. The finish is the traditional nitrocellulose lacquer,which is very good tone-wise,but rather delicate.It's sensitive to temperature and humidity,and will develop cracks if stored in the wrong environment.The gold hardware is prone to tarnishing,so if you want it to keep the good looks,wipe your guitar after playing,and store it in your case. A bedroom is not a good environment to store a guitar with this sort of finish...as I had to find out the hard way!

See the above remarks concerning the finish. Other than that,it seems as solid as any Les Paul. I guess that means : rock-solid,but watch out for the headstock,as it can break off relatively easy. I really like simple,two-pickup designs with a hardtail bridge. You get three very usable and clearly different pickup positions,and because of the lack of a whammy bar,tuning is stable. That's why a Fender Telecaster is next on my wish list.

Never dealth with 'em.

I wish I could get another one if it was stolen,but they're out of production since last year (Gibson made them for about 3 years,I think). The price went up pretty quick when they still made it. Here in Belgium,it started at about 28,500 Bfr.,rose to 33,000 , 35,000 , then 37,500 , and now,if you can find it,about 45,000. (1 Bfr. =38.5 US $). I have become very attached to this guitar ; won't ever sell it.It looks good,sounds great,is very versatile,and has the warm "traditional" feeling of a Gibson.You've got to be careful with the finish,though.My previous guitars were a fairly decent Korean ES 335 copy ("Action"),and a Fender US Std Stratocaster. This Gibson is far more satisfying than that Strat (the Fender was bulletproof to the climatic conditions in my room,but it sounded too harsh and brittle,even for a Strat). Recently,I have opened my ears to the music of Danny Gatton,and with that,the true potential of the Fender Telecaster,so I'm moving into that "territory",but as I said,I'll always keep this one.

This guitar is a 96 model. 24 frets and mahogany. Features a pair of P-90 pickups and a beautiful Topaz finish. Probably the best looking guitar I have ever seen. The neck feels smooth and comfortable. Have heard alot of complaints that this guitar is so heavy. I'm a mailman so this thing is light compared to a sachel full of mail! Features Gibson Grover machine heads and a stop tailpiece.The neck is identical to the standard and is a 59 replica.

The P-90 pickups are the main reason I like this guitar. At first I thought it lookes sorta 50 ish but after 1 minute it looked 90 ish! I use a Marshall JCM 900 half stack with this guitar.The sound is just lovely. I can go from the blues to rock n roll to metal. Heard some complaints that the P-90's are noisy at higher volumes. Guess what ever heard of a noise suppressor,after that no problems.I like a fat full ballst sound and this guitar serves justice. Can get a excellent mothery tone out of the neck pickup.

Factory settings were a little high but again no problem.Just do your own tweaking. Pickups were a little high but after 3 turns to the right I was set to jam. All accessories on this axe were set pretty cool. No noticeable loose joints to speak of.

I believe a guitar will take care of you if you show proper respect to it.Everything on this guitar is quality made. The only way to screw this guitar up is to physically beat the ### out of it. All parts were secure.I would and have gigged without a backup.

Dealt with Gibson a few times. Support is excellent. All service reps are very knowledgable on all Gibson guitars. A word of advice when calling,don't say the word Fender!! Support is top knotch.

I've been playing 21 years. This is the best axe I've played on. Have played Fenders,Kramers, Gibson Les Paul Gold Custom. If this guitar was stolen I'd find the person resposible . This guitar just feels so comfortable.

I bought the les paul studio gem (american) because i fell in love with the guitar as i played it at the store. I have got to say that is is one of the most gentle guitars i've ever played, 24 frets , 2 volume knobs and 2 tone knobs , with the p-90 pickups you get an amazing clean and a killer distortion aswell , i got the guitar in a fancy gibson case with velvet cusioning , i couldnt of asked for more.

This guitar is actually made for collectors Because its an unfinished series, it has p-90 pickups which give it a very warm , rich sound and makes clean riffs sound more alive , my style of music is grunge and rock so i think its suites me best. I wouldnt buy this guitar if i would play metal because nomater how hard i tried i just couldnt get the guitar to get a real metal distortion ( im using a rocktron rampage). if u play funk , jazz , blues hell, anything except metal BUY THIS GUITAR!!

I got the guitar set up in perfect action , perfect shape , amazing wood quality and it doesnt have any flaws..........

Ive preformed with this guitar a few times and i never had any problems with it i wouldnt take a backup with me because its one of the most realiable guitars i have ever played.

NEVER NEEDED ANY!!

what can i say, GO BUY THIS GUITAR!!!!!!!!!

I bought my Les Paul Gem series Topaz about a year ago and I love it. It has P-90 single coil pickups. I play alot of blues and blues/rock and some metal. They give me the sound I am lookinmg for. But if you want a fat sound go with a double coil. These pickups suite my personal taste. It has gold hardware, which is starting to tarnish a little, but I play it all the time and don't always wipe it down. I bought the guitar and case for $1200 even new.

It has the warm tone for blues and the drive for rock and some metal. The pickups buzz a little and can be annoying if you are not used to single coils. I am used to it though. The tone is from warm to screaming on the distortion side( depending on your ampI use a Crate Blue Voodoo 120 half stack and the guitar sounds killer) The clean tone is warm, a little bright if you play country and want twang then this is not the guitar for you. No twang at all.( thank God)

The action is sweet and real smooth. The pickups are great. The paint is a dark sun burst.

I haven't played live with this guitar yet. I am in the military so it hard to get a band going. I do play it everyday for at least an hour and I have not had a problem yet except for the tarnishing gold hardware. I would use it in a gig without a backup even though I have never triedit. I trust it.

No problems yet. I'll let you know if and when.

I have been playing 8 years. I have a Fender strat copy. I would without a doubt buy this guitar again. For the money ( it is a cheaper Les Paul) it is a great guitar. I compared it to PRS, Fender, And Ibanez. I picked it over the others because it was what I was looking for in a guitar. Take the time to shop around. Find what you like, according to your style, what sound you want, etc. Keep in mind your amp has alot to do with it. I didn't like this guitars sound until I bought my Crate Blue Voodoo. Keep playing!!

The cherry red Les Paul guitar I bought was made in the US. I wanted the Joe Perry Signature Les Paul, but the shop here said they didn't carry it. Anyway, I bought the next best thing and I was quite disappointed. The second pickup (P90 at the bridge) poped up from its socket once I took the guitar home. Nothing serious, but I returend it and exchanged for another one and the same thing happened. Went back again and this time, the salesman hammered the screws right into the wood to make sure the pickup stayed in its right place.
The B and G strings seem to hit the frets no matter how high I raised the bridged, especially on the 5th frets. Other than that, the sound was pretty much what I liked, mellow. On closer inspection, workmanship is not that great, but I can't expect much, this is one of the cheapest Les Pauls you can buy.

The sound is quite good actually, no need to change the stock pickups. I play jazz and some rock, and this is quite a versatile guitar for both musical genres.

Set up was bad, It could have been better, and service sucked big time. I had to wait and wait for them to fixed the pickup, and the service people just didn't seem to give a damn here.

The jack had some problems. I couldn't put the 1/4 cable in and out smoothly. I had twist it and fight it most of the time. Quite crappy actually. Overall, no other problems except the pickup, jack and the buzzing. which to me is pretty major!

I've been playing for along time, and play keyboards, bass and guitar including acoustic. I would not buy a Gibson unless I'm willing to pay the extra bucks. I've since sold it and am waiting for the Joe Perry. I expect to find myself inspecting it carefully.
For the Studio Gem, I won't consider buying it again. It's not really that good. I've seen the Brian Moore and a Pete Beck. They are quite amazing!